what a mess

Wow, am I glad I had the foresight to change plans. It looks like the train I was to be on last night never left Chicago.

The problems with Amtrak seem to be a combination of frozen switches, "host railroads" (the freights) being unsure whether track is safe, the "window" that Amtrak can use (to avoid conflicting with freights) closing, and equipment not making it back to the station where a train is supposed to originate.

I'm really hoping it's all sorted (or at least sorted enough that there's a train for me, and it's somewhere close to being on time) by Thursday.

I did go out for a while yesterday and help my mom shovel. It was cold, but it wasn't the "Oh My Gosh I'm Going To Die" cold I was expecting - the wind, which was really bad Sunday night, was almost gone.

We shoveled enough of a path to get the rollcart down to the street (IF there is trash pickup today) but then an enterprising fellow with a riding mower modded to be a snowblower showed up and offered to do the rest of the drive for $20, which was worth it.

I finished the Pocketses vest, and the big Ostrich plumes shawl, and some other smaller things. (I never pulled out the Hagrid sweater to work on it and it feels vaguely ridiculous to do so now). I'm working on a pair of socks and the Mizzle shawl at the moment....

I read nearly all the books I got for Christmas already (especially "Call the Nurse" - the memoirs of a woman who was the district nurse on a remote Hebridean island in the early 1970s. It's fascinating, though it has its share of very sad stories. (It also has its share of very funny stories, and some heartwarming stories - the Hebridean people seem to be very good at supporting one another through times of hardship).

I'm ready to go home, I guess, but just not ready to brave possibly terrible Amtrak delays or equipment problems....