blue artichoke

It's still cold, but no new ice or snow fell today, so I decided to get up off the couch, change into street clothes and leave the house. It took a while, because I had to break through the 3" layer of ice covering my car. My strategy was to pry open the driver side door, turn on the front and rear window defrosters and crank up the heat inside the car. I also moved the car into a patch of sunshine. At 8 degrees, I wasn't sure the sun would be warm enough to melt the ice, but it warmed up to 12 degrees in the sun! I hacked away at the ice until my hands were numb, then retreated back to the couch to rest up for the second bout. About an hour later, the sun had moved across the car and melted the very top of the ice, but the parts in the shade had already frozen again, so there was a thin sheet of ice to break through to get to the looser ice underneath. Once I worked a big chunk off the back windshield, I was able to grunt, curse, pound and scrape the rest off. If I slowed my furious pace, though, my glove, vest, pants or any piece of clothing that touched the car would freeze to it. I was tempted to try sticking my tongue to it, to see if it really would stick, but thought better of it. I mean, the lotion I put on my face right before going out to battle the ice froze under my eyes where I didn't rub it in very well. My tongue would definitely have stuck to the car.

It didn't actually take very long to dig out my car, maybe 45 minutes. And let me tell you, I can wield an ice scraper; I think I'd be good at carving ice sculptures. I have a powerful, yet delicate touch. Anyway, I dug out my car and headed off to the grocery stores where I bought food. I had only cleared the windshields and windows; there was still 3" of ice on the hood, roof and trunk of the car. After leaving the first grocery store, I loaded the groceries into the back seat and when I slammed the door, the ice slid off the front of the car in one big sheet. Cool. I pushed on the ice on the roof and it sailed off the side, maybe clipping the car parked next to me, but not causing any damage. I tried to push the ice off the trunk, but no dice. Maybe tomorrow.

By the by, remember the Banana Bread Snackdown? Yeah, it's still going on, I just stopped writing about it. It gets kind of boring reporting on each and every loaf; I'm sure it's boring to read too. I'll write up a general summary if it ever comes to a close, and you can choose to skim it then. But I baked loaf #35 today. I think there are 4-5 more to go, then the finals round, which has maybe 10 contenders. Finishing this Snackdown is a resolution of mine. Next should be something less fattening, like a Salad Snackdown or Raw Vegetables Snackdown!

Getting to Know All About You: What food would you like to see in a future Snackdown?