Day 1290

I didn't even realize it was a round-number day when I started this post; I just wanted to catch up and check in.  On Sunday November 24 I proved physics still works by sliding off the road onto a guardrail.

In my defense 1) it was snowing >1” per hour which I did not know when I left NJ 2) it was exactly 32 degrees Fahrenheit 3) I was hauling this damned bed for my brother in law the boxes of which got delivered to the wrong house.

I was not speeding - was going well under posted limits due to conditions but combo of curve, conditions and weight led to skid from which I could not recover.

There were so many other worse accidents that it took over an hour for law enforcement to arrive. Eventually however a nice young deputy gave me a lift the half-mile home, filled out accident report in my driveway and said he would wait with my vehicle till tow truck came. MUCH later Sunday the tow truck operator called to say my vehicle had been deposited at dealership and I did the insurance thing.

So that was pretty icky.  I didn't have sense enough to be scared at the time but everyone else helpfully asking "is that a BRIDGE?!?" kinda made me think about it. The answer is "yes" because the body of water is Oaks Creek which forms the back border of our property line a third to half mile right of the photo. It has a whole bunch of swampy bits at the shore and I don’t think it ever gets very deep, certainly not around there, so I would not have been in -mortal- peril but it would definitely have been Really Awful.

 

Fortunately that got settled before US Thanksgiving on Thursday. Our insurance facilitated getting the car to the body shop and getting me a rental car so things are okay for now. The car has a LOT of damage underneath -- will probably be in the low five figures -- but is not a total loss so I don't have to go through that new-to-me process.  I'm still a little shaken up by it not all the time but if I stop and think about it....and I've kind of avoided that road a bit since it happened. I figure it will fade in time. Or not, and that's okay too.  I just filled out the mandatory State of NY accident form and upon realizing that the checkboxes for "weather" "road conditions" and "type of road" were "snowing" "snow covered" and "curve and grade" I felt a little better about what happened. Less like I was somehow doing something -wrong- anyhow. 

 

Then of course we had US Thanksgiving and that was sort of a drag as the family is separate right now. Spouse, Eldest, SiL and Middle are all in the Pinelands while Youngest, BiL and I are in the Upstate NY house.  Not a problem for any of US but my mother in law and her older sister are six miles away from the NY house so I was put in the charming position of Doing Something For The Holiday with JUST my in-laws without my own spouse or two of my three kids.  I would have much preferred for the Something to be "nothing at all!" and Youngest was down with that plan but my mother in law wasn't about to have any of that.  She said "well I'm doing a turkey!" and I, the vegetarian, used that opportunity to say "fine I'll do ALL the sides and we have it at my place." 

MiL the Admitted Control Freak didn't like this but had to accept it. (Tee Hee.) 

Two Old Ladies For Thanksgiving went better than it could have gone, all things considered. They clearly didn't like the dogs and I did have to sit with mine for a while because he wouldn't stop barking otherwise but the dogs were confined and not interacting directly with anyone so it wasn't -that- much a hardship. MiL's turkey was Not Good -- very dry white meat and underdone-still-red bottom parts but that was an SEP (Somebody Else's Problem) for me, the non-carnivore. She arrived expecting to use both my oven and microwave to heat up her food --I'm wondering just how far ahead she prepared the bird. That went okay though -- I could Let It Go! -- as I'd done all the side dishes well in advance and made use of my warming drawer.  

 

Elderly Aunt (age 86) made a flan, which impressed me no end as I can't do caramelized sugar stuff at all. They made ME unmold it from the Bundt pan but it came right out in one piece. It kind of collapsed on the plate afterwards but it was indeed whole and tasted just fine. That was my favorite part of the entire event. Still is; we have one piece left. Looks a wreck but tastes great.

In any case it was two hours start to finish and I let her take my photograph which will turn out awful because she simply cannot take a good picture of me but that's okay as enough of her relatives are my FaceBook friends now that they'll know I don't really look that bad. 

 

Meanwhile I went to the office this morning to clear out my email and I'm surprised at how little of actual _substance_  happened in the six weeks I was away.  I guess that's good--? Not sure how it will be to go back tomorrow...I'm of mixed minds. 

Anyhow that's to let you know that life keeps on rushing right at you but you know what I DIDN"T do after that horrible accident? I did NOT say "I need you to go to the liquor store" to another licensed driver and I did NOT get more drunk than usual and all maudlin....and I did NOT have ANY kind of hangover this whole holiday week and that right there was a HUGE blessing. 

In fact...I know "the holidays" start pretty much now and don't wind up till New Years a whole month away.  I also know that culturally they're an excuse to booze it up even MORE than usual and try to convince non-imbibers to try and skimpy one-sippers to cut loose and that's really hard on anyone's willpower so let me say something from the other side:  it is So Fucking AWESOME to be hangover free during holiday season!! If you tell everyone at [event] that you'd love to but just -can't- because you had to start taking allergy medicine because [unexpected change in situation--can make up any silly thing you like] YOU can be smugly hangover-free too! 

I like "allergy medicine" because it's really vague but everyone knows at least ONE person who drank on top of cold medicine and was out scary-cold so they tend to back off when you drag it out.  You don't have to tell them that the "allergy" is to feeling shitty about yourself and the "medicine" is sobriety.