Oh dear. I hope you don't come home to find a Noracicle on your doorstep!

I've been somewhat amused to see cars getting stuck on my street. Except when they skid a little too close to my new car. Which they really shouldn't, because the city shut the bridge two houses down off, so they shouldn't even be on my little piece of unplowed street....

ION, I have blueberry muffins baking in my oven. From the extraordinary Duncan Hines mix. Soon there will be yumminess.

!!!!!! good thoughts and energy and all other good things.

Ow. I was just ambushed by a sneeze. I think I pulled something. I think I'll blame my mother.

(she had a hernia growing up such that it would...herniate, I guess, if she sneezed without bracing it. She did this by drawing her knee up. Both my brother and I do not have hernias, but bring our knee up when we sneeze. It's done something weird because if we don't, OW.)

I kind of want ice cream. Maybe I am crazy.

I've been craving egg nog ice cream. And I've never even had egg nog ice cream before. But, Alton Brown made some and now I want it.

My feet are freezing, but at least my streets are not frozen, and I am not involved in any accidents concerning trains, planes, or automobiles.

I did have a bizarre experience yesterday, though. Coming home, I'm sitting at a stop light at the intersection of a toll road and a major street. I look up, and a car from the other street is running a red light. Then he's weaving around stopped traffic. Then he's running another red light. My thought progression went like this: "Idiot? Drunk? Medical emergency? Oh, police chase."

Right around the time the cops came roaring after him, he was being broadsided by oncoming traffic. The guys staggered out of the car, and other people jumped out of their cars to hold them until the cops could reach them. It was surreal. And kind of scary.

Freaky!

There are decorators in the hallway. Some of them were the drinking sysadmins. I think I should be afraid.

I've been craving egg nog ice cream. And I've never even had egg nog ice cream before. But, Alton Brown made some and now I want it.

I have some. Come on over.

I was listening to Cassandra Wilson singing Sting's Fragile. Now it's a cover of The Crystal Ship by X.

Phew, Nora's fine and her train is about to arrive in Salem. She's going to make her way to the Beer Works and stake out some bar space. Now I just need to figure out how to get there myself...

That is scary, Dana.

TomW! And Nora! BE OK, YOU GUYS.

I take back almost everything I said about the weather, because in between this morning and now, nearly every one of my neighbors actually shoveled, and the warm means that the sidewalks are almost entirely clear. Except for the massive ice/slush/water puddles at both corners of my street, which will now stay there all winter.

AND I have Cold Stone, which I am finally figuring out how to order from. Except I forgot to tell the poor girl working today not to cheer when I gave my 13 cents change as a tip, and then I felt bad.

I'm so glad that Nora is okay!!!