So Much For Planning

I went to bed last night only 15 minutes (or was it 30?) past my new bedtime of 10:30 (or is that supposed to be 10:00?) - yikes, better get those details clarified.  ;)  Anyway, the point is that I got up and padded to the bathroom to turn off the 6:50-ish alarm this morning like a good girl, put my bedside light on to keep me half awake and ready for the 7:00 alarm 10 minutes later . . . and woke up at 9:00, the lamp shining in my face the entire time (not ideal if you're off-grid).  Oi vey.  So, instead of my Happy New Year post today, you'll get this abbreviated version.

Maybe I'll have time to write tonight, but I probably won't get back to you until Tuesday, I'm thinkin'.

For those of you who read my mom's blog, you already know that the visitors this past week were the wonderful Erin and her hubby and two boys - all the way from Virginia (state, not MN)!  For privacy (or safety, if folks are gone from their homes), I never like to reveal exactly who guests are until after the fact, but, as my mom pointed out, Erin mentioned in her last posts that they were going on vacation, so my hesitation was pointless.  Still, that's how I roll, so . . . .  ;)

We three bloggers.  Mama Pea, yours truly, and Erin (mid-sentence).

Anyway, we all had a lovely time together, and I'll regale you with the stories and pictures from my perspective soon.

We did not hold New Year's Eve here at Swamp River Ridge as planned because the weather was again' us.  Warm temperatures and freezing rain followed by a QUICK drop of the mercury into single digits made the roads that day NASTY.  And, after MUCH back-and-forthing regarding same, we ultimately decided that, were we all going to be together for the night, it made much more sense for the four of them plus my folks to stay put (or, at least, within the city limits) and only 1 of us to venture out.  That'd be me.

I had no troubles since I was driving the heavy 1-ton and plow, but the drive home in the wee hours of New Year's Day was purdy darn slow.  We'd been experiencing super gusty winds off the lake all day, and that, coupled with the predicted new snow falling onto icy roads, made the 19 mile trek on the highway annoyingly difficult.  The conditions were pretty much white-out, and all I could do was stay close to the right-hand snowbank and hope that would keep me out of the way of the little oncoming traffic there was.    Fortunately, there were few people out, and even the ambulance that caused me to pull over to the side of the road was moving s-l-o-w-l-y, not wanting to further endanger its passenger.


So, after a slow drive home Friday night followed by plowing in the 4+ miles of the winter driveway . . . plus chores and a little relaxation once I arrived, it was somewhere between 3:30 and 4:00 AM by the time I fell into bed yesterday.  When I did wake up, I allowed myself to be LAZY all day, and, besides chores and then some ironing when the generator was running, I "accomplished" nothing more than watching the two Netflix movies that had been waiting for a couple of weeks.  'One Last Wish' was incredibly well acted by the young actor I'd never before heard of (sad, sad), and 'Onegin' (ahn-YAY-ghin) was visually STUNNING, filmed on location in St. Petersburg.


Anyway, that's me today.  Now, I need to jump into the shower and get on with the day.  Next up, New Year's Resolutions!  (I'm a sucker for 'em!)