icy slick

as i walked down my front stairs this morning, i almost fell because they had frozen with ice. i didn't see it... i guess it was "brown ice". (since the stairs are brown). then i got to my car and there was a thick layer of ice on every window. it was thicker than i'd seen in a LONG time. it took vigorous scraping to remove even a small portion - i think that with a lot of pressure and motion, removing about eight square inches took about one or two minutes. i removed a small portion from each side window, from the back window, and a slightly larger area from the front windshield... but still just from one side... i turned the back defroster on, and (is it called the front defroster when you blow warm air on the windshield?)... it was about five minutes before i was able to really see very well but since i was late i had to leave then...
my new commute is shorter than my old one. i hadn't expected there to be that much of a difference but i think it's at least 5 minutes less. plus, i NEVER have a feeling of dread when i'm driving home any more. =)