Two In a Row

 

I worked hard to get my house ready for the festivities on Christmas. I cleaned. (I emptied out the silverware drawer, washed everything in it, cleaned the inside, and then put everything back.)

I decorated. I cooked. I even made a Tourtière. 

This is a big deal because even though I grew up eating toutiere every Christmas and New Year's I haven't eaten one in over forty years and I've never cooked one before. It's really easy (you know, "in theory"). Mix leftover stuffing from Thanksgiving (which in my French-Canadian, Quebecois family is a mixture of ground pork, beef and veal with a bit of onion, celery, some dried bread, Bell's Seasoning and chicken broth... but I liked it when my mom added walnuts and chopped apple) with some leftover mashed potatoes and put it in a pie crust (top and bottom) and bake till done. Eat hot. It's probably an artery clogger of epic proportions, but it's as homey comfort food gets. I don't even know why I thought of it, but it's not the kind of thing you make in a single serving.

 (It was absolutely flat-out spectacular, by the way.)

So what I was NOT ready for when I woke up on Christmas morning was temperatures just below freezing, and rain. Freezing rain is the worst. Not to look at or to weather, but driving in it is near impossible, When it is freezing rain, Gravity Rules. You can go, but you cannot stop. Or rather, you WILL stop (eventually) but it won't be pleasant. 

You can drive in snow, and if you are prepared, and you are careful, the odds of your getting from point A to point B safely are in your favor.

Not so with freezing rain. If the road is cold, and the rain hits it, the road freezes. Driving on it is a crap shoot. Gravity is a Hard Thing. I live on a steep hill. Do I want to get into my car only to slide down the hill into the house at the bottom of the street? I do not.

By 9 AM in the morning the news was full of accidents (one 12 car pileup about 10 miles away from me closed a major highway for several hours), and by midday several highways and roads were closed. With temperatures staying below freezing all day, and the rain forecast to fall all day, it was abundantly clear that Christmas this year would be a solitary thing.

Again.

I had a lovely FaceTime visit with my son and his family (he loves fountain pens and I gave him a box to put his in) and I talked to several of my friends and every member of my family.

Before I went to bed, I even soaked in the tub. (Sorry, no action photos).

Good thing Millie kept me company.