Anyone There? **tap tap** Hello?

My lovely long weekend of forced laziness due to snow and icy conditions is now turning into a borderline case of cabin crazies.  Even the dogs are getting testy.  We haven't been off the mountain for nearly a week.  Six incredibly long days. No mochas at my favorite coffee kiosk, no human conversation, not even any mail (and hey, aren't they supposed to deliver mail no matter what?)

The temps have been in the very low teens so the ice isn't melting, then for a tiny short window in the afternoon, it marginally warms up, ice softens, the sun sets...and another sheet of ice forms over the top of the previous day's layer.  Since last Friday, I've been able to walk the boys in the snow along the edge of the road, but now even the snow has morphed into ice.  Yesterday I nearly did a face plant when I found myself skating instead of walking in what should have been snow, not camouflaged ice.

Max doesn't want to go out at all anymore because on Sunday he got trapped in the middle of the road on 4" of solid ice and couldn't stay on his feet.  Frantically, he flailed, fell, crawled, fell, cried, fell, scrambled, fell...all in the two minutes it took me to rescue him.  Now he's totally freaked out and thinks the ground under his feet is yet another thing to be afraid of.

There are three really dangerous patches of ice between my house and freedom.  And that doesn't count my steep driveway--if I don't turn sharp, I'll go right over the embankment.  I'm pretty sure the Blazer can handle it, though past my house is a gnarly section by my neighbor's place that never gets sun so the ice is really thick, then another stretch near the mailbox, but the worst part is at the hairpin turn to head down the winding road to town.  I have no idea what condition it's in, though yesterday I hiked to a viewpoint at the far end of my road and could see cars and clear, dry roads in the valley, so I know once I get out, I'll be fine.  Course, getting back might be a different story, but whatever, one problem at a time.

So anyway, today I was making a break for it.  I'd planned a trip to the post office to mail my Christmas cards, then wanted to get more groceries as freezing rain is now predicted for this coming weekend.  Instead, I woke up to dense, icy fog.  I hoped it would lift, been waiting all day, but no such luck.  It's approaching 4:00 now, and will be dark by 5:00.

I'll have to try again tomorrow.  Seriously try.  Like buckle your seatbelt, I'm getting off this frigging mountain or else try.  Because too many more days stuck up here and I think it wouldn't take much for me to turn into one of those hermit people who rarely bathe, eat wild vegetation, and have entire conversations with their socks.

You think I'm kidding...