I left work (Fox Run Mall in Portsmouth, NH) at 8:00 PM (have I mentioned that retail sucks?) and spent a number of minutes in the parking lot de-icing my windshield, rear windshield, windshield wipers, etcet etcet. The car was encased in clear ice.

Driving, while not particularly great, wasn't as bad as I expected. It was raining. The trees, I think, were covered in ice and sort of looked white. They were probably very beautiful, but I couldn't take my eyes off the road.

Never went faster than 45 -- expected it to get slippery once I got west of Rte. 125. (125 is a weather line.) Didn't have any trouble making the turn on to Freeman Hall Road or going down the hill or turning onto Priest Road -- and I didn't continue down the hill when I asked the car to turn into the driveway. The car turned rather docilely.

Breathed a sigh of relief, though, at being home. Wipers had just started to ice up. Tom came out on the deck and spread ashes so I could walk up the stairs (the handrail was shiny ice -- as was every other surface), across the deck and get safely into the house.

I'm leaving the computer right now for a well deserved piece of Tom's pecan pie and a snifter of rum.

The weather tomorrow is supposedly going to be sucky -- and I have to open. (Have I mentioned retail sucks?)

Linn