PlazaJen: Passion Knit

As I was driving home last night (pre-moving adventure) I was thinking about how the conditions were primo for black ice. I've only had one encounter with black ice in my life, and while it scared the spittle out of me, I was unharmed.

Minneapolis, MN. January, February, who knows, one of those months where it gets dark at 3 in the afternoon and the air is so sharp it just might shatter all around you. It's after 9 at night and I'm driving around Lake of the Isles to get back to my apartment at the intersection of Hennepin & Franklin. (I miss Liquor Lyle's SO MUCH right now just thinking about it.) If you've ever been around the lakes, you know that they've got wide spots here and there so you can park & then get out & enjoy the bike trails or walking tails. Fortunately for me, no cars were parked in one of these wide spots! I hit the black ice in my little tank of a car (1986 Ford Ecort, and have we got some stories there - It almost seems prophetic that the Escort later died by fire. Fire & Ice! Pat Benatar, where'd ya go?), anyway, I hit the black ice, SPUN 450 DEGREES, and came to a stop. It was like instant teacups at the fair, the spinning was so fast & sudden, but fortunately my ride did not last as long. I had NO clue where I was, what direction I was facing, it was pitch black outside, and then I realized I was facing the lake! I had made a complete circle plus another 90 degrees, and was pointed westward ho! Shaking, I got my car turned in the right direction, and made it home without further incident.

So, when I left for knit night last night, hubby said, "Watch out for black ice!" and I thought, "You can't SEE black ice! I don't know how to watch for it!" but I knew what he meant was, "Don't speed demon drive the Civic because you might never be so lucky again if you hit black ice!" There wasn't any black ice (that I saw), but I sure was cautious.

If you're wondering, I now have TWO loveseats, TWO chairs and the old sofa in my living room & dining room. It's that overstuffed-overfilled-we-need-14-cats-to-complete-this-picture look!
Hopefully it will change, because if it doesn't get done tonight? GRIN. I'm calling my guy friends tomorrow while hubby's out of town for a meeting. Heh. I can be my own version of black ice, baby.