rising to the challenge...

 It has come to my attention recently (well actually some time ago) that there is a lot of road work going on in our area.  Not too surprising since it is that season.  For almost two years I've watched work on the Spy Run bridge, aka Veterans Memorial Bridge, from my balcony and managed to avoid the worst of the snarls by taking other routes around town.  However, recently I've been exposed to a whole different driving challenge.  I've been spending quite a lot of time visiting with my GPP lately, and yes he won at Scrabble yesterday.  Since he lives in Blackhawk, that involves sometimes dealing with the construction on State Street.  I do take Lake Ave whenever I possibly can.  I'm pretty sure that at least 90% of Fort Wayne's orange and white barrel collection is now arrayed along State Street.  I know it's not 100% because they've managed to scatter quite a few along Trier recently (naturally, since that's an alternate route for me). I do wish I owned shares in the  O&W Barrel and Cone Company.  Yesterday I had to drive from Blackhawk to a shop just one block south on State Street for a haircut.  In ordinary (non-construction) times that would be a five minute drive.  Yesterday it was a 15 minute drive and I had to do it twice.  My fault, I forgot to take a check to pay for my haircut, so had to backtrack to an ATM in Georgetown for some cash.  I thought I might be able to pay with Zelle but my stylist wouldn't accept that for business related reasons.  Anyway, since I couldn't turn left from State Street into the parking lot I needed to get to, on the south side of the street across two unfinished lanes, I left Blackhawk on State Street, turned left onto Maplecrest, easier than it used to be since they re-set the lights, right at the light into Monarch Park, drove through the subdivision (nice smooth street, no barrels), 'til I reached a street that took me back north to State Street where I could turn right again and approach my hairstylist's parking lot from the west, allowing me to make a right turn into the driveway.  I'm very thankful to a man in a big white truck who let me turn onto State Street in front of him.  Otherwise, I might still be sitting there.  The traffic, especially in the late afternoons is never ending.  I must say, considering the pace of the drive (think creepy crawling bumper to bumper) the drivers I shared this little trip with were all very patient.  The really good thing is that my next haircut is five weeks away.  Who knows?  The entire project may be finished by then.  Just in time for them to move all those barrels to your street!