Snow Day

First of all, let us celebrate that I now have a computer!

Last week I was scheduled to be driving around to various nursing homes Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. Wednesday I was in Prairie Village, Kansas and was to leave there around 4:30, stop by home in Gladstone to pick up my suitcase and head to Macon, MO to check into a hotel where I would sleep before heading to Paris, MO for a visit on Thursday.

The drive from Prairie Village to Gladstone usually takes about 40 minutes. On Wednesday evening, thanks to lots of snow falling to the ground it took much longer. About 1 and 1/2 hours into the drive (and I was still in Kansas) I decided that continuing to drive to Macon was not in my best interest. I am usually a 'rain, sleet and snow' kind of person, but decided I really didn't have anything to prove to myself or anyone else. I have a perfectly fine home and bed in Gladstone and could always reschedule the Thursday visit. I made it home around 7 PM and stayed put.

Why the picture of my stove? Did you notice how CLEAN it is? Since I was snowed in on Thursday morning, I started cleaning the kitchen. I started with the dish washer. I had not noticed how incredibly dirty it was. From there, I actually looked at the cabinets, stove and refrigerator and realized it had been quite some time since I had remove the debris from their surfaces. The removable parts from the stove and oven went into the dish washer and I cleaned all else with elbow grease and soap/water. It is SO clean. Maybe I should do this at least once a year??

Around noon I headed to Illinois for the Friday visit. The sun was shinning, the roads were clear, and my kitchen was cleaner that it has been in several months.

It's Snowing

I made a quick trip to Detroit Monday evening and arrived back in Kansas City Tuesday night where I picked up a rental car for the rest of the week. The plan was to drive to East Missouri on Wednesady, to West Illinois on Thursday and back by Friday night.

Wednesday I was scheduled in Prarie Village, Kansas. The plan was then to stop at home to pack and head to Macon, Missouri to spend the night in preparation for the Thursday visit in a small Missouri town called Paris, Missoui. The snow started about 1 PM in Priarie Village. I left that facility around 4. What is usually a 40 minute drive to Gladstone was over 2 1/2 hours. When I started sliding sideways on I-635 I decided it was not rational to believe I could drive to Macon, Missouri tonight. It's one thing to be in a blizzard and need to keep going to find a bed, but I HAVE a wonderful home in Gladstone where I made it safely. I can sleep in my own bed and not sacrifice my life (or the rental car).

I canceled the reservation for Macon, MO for tonight and will call the nursing home in Paris, MO in the morning. In the mean time I am watching it snow.

What a Week!!! Part Two

The snow caught up with me on Monday night.

When I awoke on Tuesday, there was snow, about 4 inches deep, everywhere. It continued to snow throughout the day until around 3 PM. By the time I left the nursing home at 5 the streets through Chicago were in pretty good shape. That is until I reached the Indiana line. From there it was snowing and blowing and the Free-way was snow packed and slick. I arrived safely at the hotel around 8 and by morning the snow was over. However, the car was covered with snow and ice and car did not have an ice scraper. I swept the snow off and then sat until the car warmed up and melted the snow.



When I headed home on Thursday evening, I drove back to Chicago Midway airport. That drive takes me across Chicago about 5 miles on surface streets. With the traffic and stoplights it takes about 20 minutes and sometimes 30. I was following a maroon SUV with big rear windows. I noticed it had dual DVD screens dropped down and a movie on. As I drove along, I started to notice the movie and then REALLY noticed. Yep, it was porn. It was a little disturbing and I tried to get a car between us, but that car turned and I was right there again. I couldn't see anyone in the back seat, but who knows?



When I arrived at the airport I had a little over an hour to check my bag and get through security. The security line was backed up farther than I had ever seen it. Midway doesn't have a 'Fly By' lane. Well, actually, they have one labeled Fly By, but they don't monitor it and it isn't any faster than any of the other lanes. I picked the shortest and started waiting. The line was moving slowly. After about 15 minutes, this lady behind me asked to cut in front of me because her plane was going to start boarding in 10 minutes. I told her mine was, also. Most of the people around me were needing to get through security and there didn't seem to be much hope in sight. It took 40 minutes to get to the person who checks the identification. Then I still had to get through the screeners. I called Molly and asked her to check to see if my plane was delayed. According to the website, it was on time. I finally got through the screener and then pretty much ran all the way to the gate. The departure board said the flight was boarding. But, alas, when I reached the gait, it wasn't boarding. I waited 30 minutes to board the flight. We didn't have a pilot. Then we waited another 45 minutes to take off.

What A Week!!! Part One

Last week was a series of adventures.

I escaped the snow in Kansas City on Monday afternoon with only about a one hour delay while they de-iced the plane. When I arrived in Chicago there was no snow in sight. The streets were clean and dry. I flew into Midway and drove to Glenview, which is a suburb on the north part of Chicago. As I arrived in the Glenview area, I saw a Subway, and since I am on the Jared diet, I stopped to buy a sub. Then, a few blocks further, I pulled into a 7-Eleven to buy a six pack of Michelob Ultra. (Not sure if this is actually part of Jared's diet.) I was going to be there three nights which equaled two beers per night at 95 calories per beer.

I bought the beer and put it in the trunk, placing two bottles in the side pocket of my suitcase. the other four would stay cold in the trunk for subsequent nights. I then closed the trunk. I put my hand into the pocket of my coat to retrieve my keys and open the car door. Alas....the keys were not in my pocket. Where might they be?????? HMMMM. I guess they are in the trunk. I am now locked out of the rental car. Not only am I locked out, but I have nothing with me but a coin purse. No phone, no debit or credit cards, no identification, NO NOTHING.

I returned to the 7-eleven and asked to use the phone to call a lock smith. It was about 4:45 PM. I reached a lock smith who said they did not have anyone to send. I would have to wait until after 5 when the emergency line kicked in. About that time I realized I have AAA for just these situations. While I was trying to find a number for AAA, I noticed two fellows entered the 7-Eleven in official law enforcement type clothing. They were there for free coffee and chatted with the people at the cash register, apparently asking about the crazy lady using the phone. They were from the Cook County Shederrif's department. One of them tapped me on the shoulder and said that their co-worker, Bob, would have a key kit and could probably break into my car. I told the nice AAA lady I had the potential to solve my problem and hung up.

The Cook County Sheriff Deputy called Bob. He said he would be glad to retrieve my keys, but had just arrested a fellow and would need to take him back to lock up first. Well, Bob finally arrived and was able to unlock my rental car. I then used the trunk release and retrieved my keys. I was about 10 minutes from the hotel. I checked in and ate my Subway and washed it down with my Michelob Ultra lite.

Very Long Three Day Week

I'm in Arizona this week and doing a lot of driving. I left KC on Tuesday and flew to Phoenix, then drove to three hours to Yuma, arriving around 8 PM.

Wednesday, I worked at the nursing home from 9 to 5 and then drove three hours and some minutes to Lake Havasu City, arriving around 8:30 PM.

Today, Thursday, I worked at the nursing home from 9-5:15 and then drove four hours and some minutes back to Phoenix. I had a little trouble finding the right Hampton Inn. I tried to navigate it using the GPS to get me to the airport, as I thought I could easily find the hotel from the airport. It was dark and I couldn't find the landmarks I wanted to use. When that approach wasn't working I pulled into a parking lot to retrieve my itinerary from the trunk. Then I chose to not believe the GPS, even after I programmed the address. I found a Hampton, but it was not the one at which I had a reservation. So, I finally followed directions from the lady in the GPS and found the right hotel.

Tomorrow morning I get to come home. Between the working and the driving, it has been a week with very little down time, and both reports will be complicated and time consuming, which will cut into my week-end.

Thanks for letting me whine.

It's a New Year

After three wonderful relaxing weeks, two of vacation and last week visiting facilities close to home, I am back on the road this week. I headed to Arizona today and am in Yuma right now. Tomorrow I will work here, then drive to Lake Havasu City for Thursday and home on Friday morning. It's in the 50's and 60's here, but it's warm in Kansas City, too.

There were MANY amateur travelers out today. Must be the stragglers finally going home from the holiday travels. The lady in front of me going through security used five, that's right, FIVE, bins for her stuff to go through security. Then once she was through, she stood right there and reassembled everything and redressed, totally blocking the line of people trying to come through. I took my ONE bin and maneuvered around her to get out of the way and go sit down to put my shoes back on and replace my computer in the briefcase. Then it took forever to load the plane in Kansas City. People were so slow figuring out where to put carry on stuff and picking out seats. They just stood in the aisle holding up traffic while they had long conversations about where to sit. The lady behind me sat down and told her seatmates, "I haven't flown in several years." I wanted to turn around and say, 'Really!!!" but I refrained.