Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"[...] it's much more interesting to live through history than to read about it (assuming, of course, that you actually live through it)." -- Howard Tayler, Schlock Mercenary, 2002-04-15 (in footnote)

Wow, two and a half days since I consumed the relevant beverage, and I still smell artificial cappuccino flavouring every time I pee.

Okay, I heard the forecast -- flood warnings, winter weather advisories, "wintry mix", all after the late-spring/early-summer temos we had a few days ago -- but it didn't quite sink in. I heard rain earlier and knew to wonder whether it was freezing rain; I heard the sound change subtly and thought maybe it was just as well that I wasn't trying to limp my wounded car out to Glen Burnie in whatever slickness was falling from the heavens; and then I heard the sound change to distinctly that of sleet.

So I expected the front walk to be a little icy, and was going to throw salt on it.

I just opened the front door and stuck a foot out. It's not as slippery as I'd expected, but it's thick and will likely turn into a solid, thick sheet overnight.

I'm going to have to shovel the darned sleet. That's a new one for me. Now I wish I'd gotten out with a camera while we still had afternoon light.

[Added after scraping the sidewalk: It turned out not to be as thick everywhere else as it was on the top step, so no, not an inch generally; maybe 3/16 or 1/4. Easily scraped aside, though it's falling fast enough that I'm not sure whether I'll be any better off tomorrow for having done it. I'm worried about people trying to navigate the sidewalk encountering a nearly uniform sheet of ice and sliding all the way to the far end of the block on their asses. If the weather doesn't get too far below melting overnight, the salt I threw down ought to make it safe. I've got to remember to buy more salt when I have any money again.]