All for a bunch of grapes

Today we woke up to sun shining and no wind. On Friday the weather had been so bad it is hard to describe. There was a blizzard in the morning before school that made all the windows in the house covered with snow that looked like icing sugar. The wind howled and the house rattled. We made a run for it to get to school while there was a break in the weather. I live constantly on a knife edge here!

I then decided that I needed a bunch of grapes and had to take the car. I have driven in the car once since I arrived here in 4 weeks and then I decide on the worst day possible that I have to get in the car. I HAD to get grapes. I do not know what possessed me.

First of all none of the doors would open. The temperature was -14 with the wind chill and all the doors were frozen apart from the back door. I climbed in over the back seats and started the car. Then I realised the windscreen wipers were too frozen to work. I had no ice scraper. I went back into the house and improvised with the plastic shovel to scrape the windows and windscreen.

As I got back into the car the wind blew the car door onto my leg and it really hurt. It is a major problem here with car doors blowing off and I am completely serious. I am constantly on my guard for car doors flying through the air. Then outside the car while trying to scrape the ice the wind blew the shovel out of my hand and it blew under the car out of my reach. I decided at that point to get into the car and let it warm up. Twenty boring, cold minutes later things were starting to defrost.

I got to the shop to discover there were no grapes but there was wine so I bought several bottles of grape juice instead and a bar of Dairy Milk. I deserved it after my ordeal and would celebrate if I made it home safely. Outside the shop on the way back I forgot that when driving the car the first and only time I was unable to get the car in reverse. Stupid gearstick, stupid car. A passer-by had to stop and help me. While stationary the car was actually moving in the wind from side to side.