Monday was exhausting. The amount of living that went into Monday knocked me out by 7:00 pm.

I started out for the ferry at 7:30am; boat left at 7:55. Off into Seattle, across the bridge, and then traffic. Actually, traffic started before the bridge. It took me an hour to get from West Seattle to the county line. Trust me, that just should not happen.

From the county line I made good time. It was cold out, no more than 45 F, but with my nifty weather suit I was good to go. Warm and dry, a beautiful combination. Got to mom's after a rollicking 60-mile ride through two counties and eight municipalities. To uninstall Messenger from her POS hand-me-down Windows machine.

Yes, that's correct. I tried talking her through it over the phone, to no avail (and actually to our mutual frustration). There was simply no other way to deal with it than to go there.

A clever friend, the ever-delightful Cajun, asked why I couldn't get my brother or his wife to walk next door from their house to my mom's and do it. Well, you see, they don't know how, either. They don't own a computer. They use - you guessed it - my mom's. For email. To buy guns and slobber over Pinzgauers. End of computer savvy.

Sigh.

Okay, so I uninstalled Messenger so mummy dear wouldn't keep seeing IMs from various people. On her screen. Mama doesn't need to know what lazykittyranch talks about with the boys.

Ate a leftover rockfish taco, slammed the coffee mom had bought me, and off I went again, back the way I had come. I worked five hours. At the end of the day I was grateful for my all-weather gear! The rain was relentless. Visibility on I-5 was about ten car lengths. Speed? 40mph, tops.

Snow. Sleet. Hail. Back to rain. All this on a distance of about five miles. I got off the freeway at 85th to cut over to Aurora, because it stays west of the city and shortens the trip just a smidge.

Except I forgot about the Aurora Bridge (high, with scary, narrow lanes that have no center divider). And the Battery Street Tunnel (slick with exposed, polished aggregate stones in the concrete). And the Viaduct (old, nearly earthquake-unworthy and dark, in a film noir kind of way).

I made it to West Seattle without dying, and decided that I'd hole up in my favorite Deaf Pizza place (a deaf guy owns it, and deaf people work there, so hey, fun for me). I had about 5 minutes before the ferry was supposed to leave. Why rush? I could eat and then get the next boat.

Abbondanza was closed.

I got back on the bike, and drove carefully but quickly to the ferry. I actually got on! Whew! No waiting!

By the time I got home, I couldn't feel my feet. Even though I have a weather suit, my boots are lace-ups, and water was driven into them as I rode.

Hot shower. Hot chocolate. Hot meal. Instant sleep.

I made it.