You'll never walk in this town again!

Okay, I was working and putting together handouts for the rest of this week's teaching.

Incidentally. Vacation next week. Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Give it up for vacation next week.

And then, the sound of uninvited people coming into the house, someone saying "The Maids!", and yes, our housecleaning people were here to clean a week early. Thus did I quickly have to write a check, and skedaddle. I like skedaddling, since in the middle there, three of four consecutive letters are d's.

So I walked into Maynard for lunch at the River Rock. Normally all the sidewalks are plowed for us walking types, even after really big snowstorms. But not this time, not the scaredycat sidewalk plow guy who was on duty after the blizzard. Yes, the sidewalk right across from us was accessible, if slushy and gooey. But it petered out after the bridge over the Assabet.

So there was walking in the road, a little walking on the slushy gooey sidewalk on the other side of the street, jumping over deep puddles, walking in the street ...

And I got the lunch special. The Philadelphia something something. It was very good. Even a Greatest Hits of the Gipsy Kings soundtrack didn't spoil it.

I don't like the Gipsy Kings.

It may be worth mentioning that it's been thawing weather, and little by little the OCD in me likes to extract a small victory over the wintery stuff covering our driveway. I always win, because you know, spring and stuff. But I like the small victories on the way, too. So I had done several five-minute shoveling things in between all the class prep stuff. And that crunchy sound when a whole layer of icy snow schmutz yields and reveals pavement? I live for it. I have an uncomplicated life after blizzards.

So what was once

got whittled down by Ma Nature to

this morning.

And with the help of a "shovel" and temps in the mid 40s, the driveway got down to bare pavement, as viewed from the opposite angle.

All was for naught with this walk downtown, though.

On the way back, the sidewalk — which passes in front of significant commerce, mind you — was completely neglected.

Then there was a short plowed section in front of town hall that ended as it passed by the police station.

Thus was there more walking in the road, as the town of Maynard would have me walk through and on top of these landscapes.

Back at home, though. The smell of cleaning fluid, and sharing the sun porch with the cats. Life is like that.