Here's hoping...

[gerisullivan]

...the rest of the week doesn't get any worse.

While running an afternoon's worth of errands, I slipped on ice in the Rite-Aid parking lot in Palmer. Actually, I wasn't running, I was shuffling along really quite slowly and carefully, 'cause, y'know, it's icy out there.

Bam. Point of impact: my left knee, which seems to be my default point of impact whenever I fall. In recent years, that's been once or twice a winter, though I may have gone through one of them without falling at all. Five years ago, I spent the whole winter falling, something like five or six times, and once with the sort of pain that today's fall seems to have brought on. Needing to use an ice pack when it's cold out is cruel and unusual punishment.

One of these days, the knee is going to say "enough!" I hope it's not this time. So far, it doesn't seem to be, but it's still Not Fun.

More Not Fun awaited me at home. All that ice we've been having? It appears to have torn the gutter off the side of the garage. Or, more precisely, half-torn. Which means there's an unsightly mess, with half of the gutter still attached, a twist in the middle, and the rest of it dangling down to the ground. I've been putting off the call to s Mr. Gutter to replace the one in back that I lost a few years ago. A quick look at his website this afternoon confirmed my impression that the repairs will probably cost a little less than the amount of the deductible on my homeowner's insurance, so I'm not inclined to file a claim.

I wish the damage weren't visible to anyone coming down the driveway. I'm not inclined to try removing it myself or even to have Mr. Gutter remove it until there's something less than a foot of snow and ice on the ground underneath. Leaving it hanging there does not appear to put the garage itself at any further risk; the shabby appearance is just an embarrassment. It's affront to my sense of pride, which tends to be distinctly shaky on the home upkeep and improvement front as it is.

The day wasn't all bad, far from it.

One of the stops on my errands run was at Turley Publications to proof Sybils & Spaceships, the chapbook of Jo Walton's poetry that I edited for NESFA Press in time for her GoH appearance at Boskone 46 next week. The proof looked good; the finished chapbook should look even better. I'll post a link to ordering information as soon as the chapbook is available. Folks coming to Boskone will be able to pick it up it in person. $12 (and discounted at the convention, IIUC). 44 pages plus cover. Tasty, tasty. It's an honor to work with such good material, and a delight thanks to its creator, who is an utter pleasure to work with. Thanks, papersky! I look forward to handing you your author's copies next week!

Onward, with something of a limp.

Comments

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Oh, Somerville was quite the mess the last time I was there! (That was during and right after the Arisia storm.)

Jane Yolen told me about Yaktrax two winters ago. She loved hers and I've looked at them on line and in stores several times since. But I haven't tried them yet.

I have no idea if I would wear them when running errands like I did today -- would wearing them inside stores work? Or would I have to take them off and put them back on again before going back across the parking lot to my car?

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

You have to take them off, which is why I have a pair I've never worn. Very few stores have chairs at the entrance so people like me can fiddle with footwear. I did once take them with me to bookgroup and put a chair right inside my door so I could snag it and sit there if it snowed, but no snow.

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

I have been able to wear them inside stores, though they feel awkward, and they're very slippery on metal surfaces, so you have to be very careful of metal runners in doorways. The rubber-band part is strong enough that I wouldn't feel comfortable trying to put them on while standing up, so I find it awkward to try to deal with them without having something to sit on.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That's just the sort of information I was wondering about.

[redbird]

They are also a disadvantage on some other hard, smooth surfaces, such as subway stairs.