Slip Sliding

Oooo. Snowy morning. Wind blowing. Drifts impeding visibility. I dread having to take Sugar out for her morning walk. There is no help for it. We venture forth, she with no protection, I will scarf and mittens and tightly buttoned winter coat. I am wearing my new winter boots. It took me forever to find what I wanted - knee length, black, side zip, warm lining, firm tread, and wide calf. After months of looking, I finally found what I wanted - and on sale!

The sidewalks were buried in snow, but the plow had taken a swipe through the parking lot behind the cars. Sugar waded through the mounds of snow and when she hit the relatively clear parking lot, she took off, slipping and sliding on the icy stuff hidden beneath the coating of snow. I yanked on the leash to slow her down and suddenly found myself lying on the ground, the breath knocked out of me.

How embarrassing! Even had anyone been looking out their window at 7am, they probably did not see me fall since the snow was drifting so hard. Still, I felt ridiculous. Worse yet, I had a hard time getting to my feet. Sure, my knee stung a bit, but with the swaddling coat, I was hard pressed to roll over and get my footing. I finally managed to stand, but Sugar, who had come back to me to see what the holdup was, took off again. I hit the stop button on the leash and she jerked to a halt, turning with accusing eyes in my direction.

We stumbled about and finally managed to return to the door of the building undamaged though Sugar was not a little indignant. I tried to walk in the hallway, but the bottoms of my new boots were so caked with snow and ice I couldn't get an even stance. I scraped my feet on carpet but could not dislodge the snow. Some good the tread is doing! After much work, I was able to clear the soles enough to get up the stairs.

I removed the boots in disgust. So much for traction and safety! I will wear my sneakers until I find a better pair. Too bad I can't return them as all sales items were non returnable. Pooh. At least, other than a dented knee, I was unhurt. But smart enough to know better than to try that again.