For the second time in a week, lanes where I live had to be dug up to repair burst water lines. Last week the burst line was one lane over. Earlier this week and yesterday, it was my lane. I had several things I needed to do, so I was glad I wasn’t blocked in my parking spot like my neighbor with the white pickup parked to the left of the backhoe in the photo.

We’ve had some snow lately, though not too much. Below freezing temperatures and the fact the infrastructure is older than the hills is a recipe for burst water lines.

When I left to pick up cat food and the new crushed walnut shell cat litter I tried and both cats and I decided we prefer over the old litter, I drove the wrong way down this lane because it’s a little closer than going the other direction for grooming or veterinarian business. Just beyond where the backhoe is in this photo taken minutes later, there was a lake of water pooled on the lane. When I came back home, the crew’d arrived to fix the burst line. At least this time I had no choice but to drive the wrong way on a single lane one way lane!

Looking over the roof of my car from my parking spot, this is what I saw when I returned home from picking up cat stuff. You can see the work crew assessing the lake in the lane, which is where they’d fixed another leak earlier this week. I was glad I had to get groceries because otherwise I knew I’d  piddle around in the house stewing about the fact the water was shut off and all of a sudden I felt thirsty or needed to use the toilet or take a shower or wash dishes or give a cat a bath or…! Yep! I’m a “stew arounder” when it comes to interruptions in utility services.

I counted on the repair being done when I returned from the grocery store because I park where the pickup is to unload my groceries. It’s the shortest walk for me, no small consideration since I have lousy knees. I had to unload groceries from my trunk from the right side instead of the left because I had to come in from the south instead of the north because the backhoe was still in the lane, but that wasn’t any problem. My cats would have been pissed if they had to adjust to this deviation from norm, but not I! Ha!

Groceries unloaded, I remembered I needed some change. One more trip needed before I settled in for the day: stop by the bank for cash. When I returned, this pickup was parked in front of my apartment.

You can see the top of my car, parked in my parking spot, which is behind the pickup. (Yeah, across the lane from where I live: It’s a pisser not having one right by where I live.) My access to the parking spot was partially block, but I managed to maneuver the buggy into place with a little effort.

On the other hand, look closely, and you can see where I had to tramp through snow along the bed of the pickup, which was parked close to the edge of the lane. Do that using a cane on ice on the sloped lane when you are not too stable on your feet! Look at the sidewalk and you can see where I stomped my feet to get as much snow off my shoes as possible before entering the apartment.

The alternative route, around the pickup on the other side, is farther than the one I took and meant walking with a cane on a sloped icy lane, definitely less safe than tramping through snow covering uneven ground, but not much.

Cat doodad by my door….

The pickup could have been parked farther up the lane. There was room enough. That would have left me less dangerous, more direct access to my sidewalk. That’s why I didn’t pixellate the company name on the door. I can be very petty when my personal safety comes into play. I guess I should have been grateful he didn’t park in my parking spot (which is cleared out) since the other side is covered with a drift and snow removed from my spot. That would have really stirred me up if I had to park in deep snow because my spot was taken!

Since it was nasty cold out, yes, I was wearing my vintage 48-year-old neck scarf from my university days. You knew I would be. I accidentally took this photo, but the scarf looks great, eh?!