Counting Down

The last couple of  days have been all about counting down until we go away.  I've been washing clothes, hanging out clothes, ironing clothes, putting away clothes, packing clothes....you get the drift.

I felt particularly in need of a holiday yesterday, as I didn't sleep well on Thursday night and then had to be up early to go to the GP's surgery to get some bloods taken. I'd had them done a couple of weeks ago, at the hospital, but they had got lost somewhere in the system, so I had to go again, which was a bit annoying.

Consequently, I didn't feel much like packing or doing the small jobs, i.e. preparing the garden for our absence, leaving the house reasonably tidy, getting up to date with paperwork, internet banking and other matters, that all need to be done before you go away. I just felt too tired.

I eventually did get myself into gear, finished the ironing, started packing, and then later when OH had taken the dog out, I tidied the garden and fed and watered everything.  I'll do the watering again today before we leave and will also clear the lettuce bed.  The lettuces are almost going over and will have gone to seed by the time we come back, so I'll be composting them and sowing some new seeds into this bed.  I'm going to try to harvest some first to take with us in the coolbox.

I have to admit that I don't really enjoy the couple of days before we set off for a holiday, as it is such hard work to remember everything you need to take and do before you go, plus packing and repacking your stuff.

I always find myself flying around the house right up to the last minute, tidying up and stuffing things into our bags before I forget them. I do, however, like the bit where we get in the car and drive off and leave all thoughts of everyday life behind, for however long we're away.

I think when holidaying in this country, it is a little easier in some regards, as you know you can get anything you've forgotten pretty easily, without any cultural or language difficulties.  The unpredictable weather, however, does make it harder to pack and I usually end up taking far too much to cover all weather eventualities.

Talking of the weather, it has turned a bit rainy here just as we are about to leave, which makes it all the more difficult to decide what to take, although the forecast for the week ahead is good, with rain only forecast for one day. Not that we completely trust any weather forecast in the UK, but if it is pretty accurate, we should be in for a good week; not too hot and pretty dry. This would be ideal for living in the van, as if the temperature is too high, we will melt at night and have difficulty getting to sleep and if it rains a lot we'll be stuck inside during the day climbing the walls.

Enough procrastinating, I'd better get on with things. I'll be blog reading when I can while we're in Wales and I might even manage the odd post here and there.

Have a good week.