Picture this...

I wished I had had a camera with me today, or better yet a photographer follow me around. However, since I'm not famous enough to have paparazzi stocking me I'll have to recount this adventure as best I can.

It seems to be law that the downpour will always start when you are furthest away from the shop. The first downpour this morning was no biggie - I was out weeding when it started to rain so I took off across the yard on the golf cart and sought shelter. I was wet but not too soaked.

Then this afternoon I was over at Narnia house trimming tree branches when it started to drizzle. I quickly finished trimming the branches and was gathering them all up in a pile when the skies opened up big time. I abandoned my branches, jumped on the little white golf cart, and put the pedal to the metal, flying across the lawn and parking lot. When I got the shop I tried to open the garage door with the opener but the battery was obviously dead. So there I was sitting in my golf cart in front of the closed shop door in the pouring rain, trying in vain to get the door to open with the opener. I finally jumped off the cart and opened the door, and drove in. Shelter at last. But by that time I was thoroughly soaked.

So I stood, dripping, in the shop watching the rain fall. When it let up a bit I thought, Well, I'm already soaked. Might as well go and finish what I started. So my cart and I ventured back out in the now gentle rain. I gathered up the branches that I had trimmed back at Narnia house and headed for the burn pile. Now here's the thing - some large equipment was working out by the burn pile and had created quite the mud pit. I, however, was unaware of the situation and so as I came around the corner and saw the mud pit which lay before me I had to do some quick thinking and in haste thought, I need to go as fast as I can through the mud so I don't get stuck. Full speed ahead (which on a golf cart isn't all that fast but can feel fast to one sitting on it while off-roading) I sped past the bulldozer that was working and through the mud. I did not, however, anticipate the fact that I would have to turn in the mud pit to make the corner so I cranked the steering wheel with my one hand while hanging on to my load of branches with the other and turned at the last second - and the back end of the golf cart totally drifted. I dodged a couple more mud puddles and made it to the burn pile. After dropping off my load and headed back to the shop.

Of course, I am soaked from head to toe at this point - which included my wide-brimmed hat. What happens to a wide-brimmed hat when it gets wet? It droops. What happens when wide-brimmed hat droops? Alicia can't see. So as I drove back to the shop with only partial visibility I did not see the gigantic puddle that had formed on the parking lot and I hit it smack in the middle. Water sprayed everywhere - and I have to admit it would have been a pretty awesome picture! If anyone saw me do it they probably thought that crazy maintenance woman hit the puddle on purpose. But I swear I didn't ;-)

And so ended another day at the office.