Waiting for the Storm

I worked early today, at 9AM, and for 7 hours. It was total bedlam almost the entire day. What a mess! We're supposed to be getting about 2 to 4 inches of snow, plus possibly rain and sleet, Wednesday night into Thursday morning. I'm getting tired of all the freaking out over something no one has any control over. I like the winter. The weather doesn't bother me. The snow is fun and cozy. It's supposed to get into the 40s after Thursday anyway, and it's more than likely that whatever we get from this round will be gone by Monday. People were a cranky pain all morning and afternoon.

I was fed up and frustrated when a college girl finally went in for me at 4. I went into the bathtub as quickly as I could when I got in. Put on my Wynston Marsalis CD of jazz music based around the Vincent Guaraldi originals from the Peanuts specials, Joe Cool's Blues. Spent the next 40 minutes or so relaxing, reading The Elusive Pimpernel and my new Chicken Soup book, and trying to improve my mood.

I was jolted out of my reverie by the phone. It was my sister Rose. She was wondering if I'd like some flax seed; she bought a big bag for a recipe and had too much. Sure, I'd love to try it! She was also worried about me getting a ride on Thursday morning. That's when we're supposed to be hit hardest by the storm...and of course, is my other early work day. She has to work and take her son to day care and can't drive me. She'd figure something out if she needed to, but I'd probably need to contact Dad and ask him for help, too.

I did that after I got out of the shower. Dad wasn't as enthusiastic. He bought his van in Florida, and it doesn't have four-wheel drive. I felt bad about calling him in the first place. He'd drive me if the snow and/or ice wasn't bad, but if it was, I'd have to call a taxi. If he can't get out in the weather, a taxi wouldn't, either. If he can't drive me, I'll walk. Oh well. It's my fault for not being more prepared for bad weather.

I put on The Boy Friend to cheer me up while I had leftovers for dinner and turned a white cake mix into Tropical Bundt Cake (lemon juice, a ripe banana, and crushed pineapple along with the egg whites and vegetable oil). This salute to the big Busby Berkley backstage musicals takes us to an English musical touring the hinterlands of 1929. Sweet little Polly (Twiggy) finds herself thrown onstage with almost no preparation when the star (Glenda Jackson) breaks her ankle. While she navigates her way around the stage, the rest of the cast fawns over the director De Thrill who has come to see their show. Ken Russell's weird extravaganzas aren't normally my thing, but if you're a fan of Twiggy, Tommy Tune (who is one of the title "Boy Friends"), or the backstage musicals of the 30s, this one is worth looking for at the Warners Archive.