Sunday 24th November

The weather has been really wintry.

As you can see, icy.   Too icy to venture out, I just hunkered down today with Bubbles, hot drinks, television  (trying to sort out the channels)  my crocheting.

The snow showers didn't come to much this afternoon.

On the subject of sorting out television channels, a guy from the cable company came on Thursday evening to connect the new HD boxes.   When he was testing it I asked where the programme guide was, he said it will come on in the morning when "it has sorted itself out".  He was lying.  I rang the cable company yesterday and they said I would need to upgrade if I want a programme guide.  All the channels are different, and I don't know what is on anyway, so am feeling a little testy.   If I am able to go out tomorrow I will let them know in the office that I am not happy.  Not that it will make any difference, or they will care.   Part of me is very tempted to go to another company, have a satellite dish, but I know they are more affected by the weather than the cable, and when a tornado is bearing down on me I want to know where it is - it is not the time to have your television go down.

I was glad of my little break away at the retreat in Oklahoma City, even though the journey was a bit nightmarish, I was driving in freezing rain, I had just got on to the interstate when it started, otherwise I might not have set off.   There was a very bad accident in Mid West City which I came upon just after it happened, so I was held up for about an hour while the emergency services were dealing with it.    The afternoon session started at 2.30 on Saturday, and finished at 5, so I had to leave early on Saturday afternoon to be sure of being back in Shawnee before it got dark.

Actually there were several accidents on the interstate in the freezing rain.   When I arrived at the Catholic Centre where the retreat was held, I could hardly believe the ice that was on the car, I couldn't even open the back door, it was frozen up.    Neither could I understand the cars that had all been speeding past me, they were even getting irritated and sounding their horns at me as I was doing the legal minimum of 40.    I vowed to try and keep off the interstate in future.  Navigating six lanes of very busy traffic, trying to cross to my exit without hitting anything, was stressful to say the least.   But it was worth it when I got there, and I've recovered today.