The Little Prius that could

Hello friends and family! It's been awhile since my last post. With the holidays, the close of my show and then.....oh yes....the WEDDING...times were busy. But I am here to tell you the Blürg is back!

Now sit back, relax, and I will share with you the tale of the Little Prius that Could.

The time was 12:30 am on Christmas Eve. The place was the alley behind my house. It had been a long snow filled day of work, then a show, then a visit to Clarke's for some hot chocolate and socializing with friends. After taking a detour to drop off my friend at her house I made my way home. It must be noted that I have spent my previous Chicago winters driving a Jeep, and was still getting used to navigating the harsh roads in my more compact, fuel efficient vehicle.

As I pulled into the alley behind my house I was quick to notice how much snow had accumulated throughout the day, and my little Prius was trying as hard as she could to get over the snow mounds. At one point I thought to myself "I should just park out front" however I ignored the little voice in my head and kept on truckin'. I came to my garage and began to engage in the oh so delightful snow mobile dance. The dance consists of two steps, driving forward a few inches, reversing a few inches, driving froward a few inches, reversing a few inches. It's tedious but if done correctly it will safely get you over the snow mound and home safely. My car was aligned properly to enter the garage, I pushed on the gas in a final attempt to hurdle over the mound of snow in front of my garage and as soon as I made it over my little Prius surged forward and through, not into, but through the wall of my garage. The carnage looked something like this:


Yeah see that open space...a brick wall used to be there!

I sat in disbelief as I watched a wall of bricks collapse on my windshield and shatter. It was cold, dark and I was all alone. Not to mention it was only a little more than a week before the wedding! Not what you need as you enter the final prep stages for such a huge event.

In the end all I could do was be thankful I wasn't hurt, and amazed that my car wasn't horribly damaged. Look how well it help up!

The Prius is all fixed now and the wall....well it's still down but construction should commence soon. In the meantime I am parking out front more often, for this is a mistake you are only allowed to make once!

Slip slidin away.....

Mother Nature has reared her ugly head once again. It happens every year, and regardless of how many Chicago winters (this will be my 8th!) you have survived it never seems to get any easier. Currently we have about 5 inches of snow on the ground with the threat of more. It's lovely to look at, but not so lovely to walk or drive through. With this snow comes ice....lots of ice. And with this ice comes....doom!

Last week I headed out the door on my morning venture to the mindless day job. The hour was early and I was groggy, so I walked slowly down the three flights of stairs to my garage. I had made it all the way to the first floor flight when all of a sudden and without warning I felt my feet slip out from under me. I flew up, then back, then down, right on my sacro with a brute force and proceeded to slide the rest of the way down the stairs. I saw stars and crumbled into a heap at the bottom of the staircase in the snow. I could not believe what had just happened, and wondered if I could feel my legs or move my hips. Thank the heavens above for I managed to make it out of this debacle virtually unscathed. I am still pretty sore, and doing seven shows a week is not aiding in the healing process, but I will persevere.

Thinking back on it this could have been an absolute nightmare. Had I fallen on my head or my neck it's quite likely I would not be around to type this blog. I could have potentially broken a hip or my tailbone, which would not have fit into my "dance all night" wedding plans. I find it best not to ponder the "what if's" but rather count my blessings daily. And always hold onto the handrails, like a seven year old child.

Be careful...it's dangerous out there.

Some views from my back porch. Brrrrrrr.......