Stranded

After a long trip, which included a mad dash to the ferry - which we thought we might miss due to it being "full" - checking weather reports every few hours and driving through the night to Regina... We got stranded 45 km from home.

We left Winnipeg in a "flurry". Apparently this flurry included rain in Northern Ontario, because, as we neared the border we met an RCMP blockade. We were able to get a little further on a side road, but an OPP was at the border and we could go no further... and we couldn't go back as the road was now closed in both directions. So we were stuck at a weigh scale at the border, 45 km from Keewatin - no bathroom - no warm bed - no proper food (okay we made do with leftover Christmas baking - but that gets tired when you really want a proper meal)... and that is when we discovered something is wrong with our car heater.

Car heaters normally heat up the car when either driving or at rest. We discovered that, while the car will heat up when we are driving, it will only blow out cold air when we are stopped. So - picture this - while all the other cars at the blockade powered up every once in a while, we had to make a little race track through the cars and semi trailers to warm up. We got some pretty crazy looks.

This morning, on one of our "warm up" sessions, we also discovered that there are concrete barriers in unexpected places through out the area. Our car was hung up on one of them, until a few good men came and basically lifted it off.

Sometime after that, I lost it. I mean I really did. I like to think that I stay calm in difficult or crisis situations - but I was tired, I needed a shower, I was hungry for real food and there was nothing I could do about it. Maybe it was feeling hopeless that did me in - but I totally bawled.

Then, a voice of reason - coming from the seat behind me - said, "Mom, get control of yourself"

I suppose he could have told me to breathe, or count to 10 (which is what we often say to him) - but I had to eat my own words... It was humbling!

So - in the end, the west bound highway opened up. We returned to a nearby town for breakfast. Only toast and coffee was on the menu due to the majority of the employees being stuck by the closure - but it was the best toast and coffee EVER! Then, by the time we returned, the east bound lane was opening up and we made our way back home - to a hot shower, a warm bed and a well needed rest!

Happy New Year!

Money, Garbage, cause and effect (or affect?)

I caught myself the other day being effected by money...

Garbage collection, here in Kenora, is a bit different. You pay for tags so that your garbage will get picked up. It works out to about $2 per bag. However, the recycle people will pick up your recyclables (if they are sorted) for free!

Now, I would like to think that I recycle for moral/ethical reasons - it is the right thing to do, less wasteful, better for the environment, etc., etc. But there are certain things I don't do - like if I don't find a recycle bin right away, I just throw things in the garbage. If something is dirty and I would have to wash it before putting it in the recycling, I just throw it in the garbage... In other words, I recycle so long as it is convenient to me.

But when I learned how garbage worked in Kenora, I started thinking about how we could reduce the number of garbage bags by recycling more... thus using fewer of our $2 garbage bag tickets...

I guess my actions are effected by money afterall.

BTW E and I discussed the use of effect vs affect in this blog posting. I am sure that R will correct us, leading into a huge discussion on the use of english grammar - but DON'T LET THAT PULL YOU AWAY from the real, life changing issues at hand - which are money... and garbage... and reading my blog...