The thing I noticed this week more than anything else, was the fact that when I leave work at 5pm, it’s not completely dark. For me, this is something to celebrate. Over recent years I have found I’ve struggled with the dark mornings and evenings during our lovely British wintertime, especially the evenings, I find they leave me lethargic, hungry, restless and even bored. I know a lot of people use the dark evenings as an excuse to knit or paint or read; I use them as an excuse to watch television and enter the rabbit warren of YouTube. The fact it’s not completely dark when I leave work means that the return of my daily motivation and enthusiasm for life are just around the corner. It might even be light enough for me to walk the hour home instead of driving or catching the bus soon, that would be a breakthrough.
Should Be Packing
Are you someone who packs your holiday bag at the last minute, or do you add things to a pile in the spare room for a good few weeks before you go anywhere? I’m normally the latter – packing to go on a holiday is an absolute pleasure and I enjoy the process of deciding what to take (and what to leave behind). I guess it’s the part of me that can’t stand being unorganised, I just have to have things ready to go, and a list of the bits and bobs I need to add later. As I write this, though, I am looking at my packing list for my much awaited week in Tenerife, doing a lot of frowning; it’s Friday evening, we go tomorrow, and so far I’ve only gathered two pairs of trousers, a swimsuit, a handful of cables, and my new Tesalate towel. I’m used to travelling light, but I am going to need more than that. Please don’t think this post is rushed this week – I am taking time and care over it – but I really do need to get some stuff in a bag as we fly tomorrow! And I guess you now know what next week’s weekly blog will be focusing on…
Three and Forty
I started this week with a weekend in Surrey, celebrating my nephew’s third birthday and my brother-in-law’s 40th. This involved some soft play, some walking (including around RAF Kenley, featured in this week’s header image), and lots and lots of eating. It’s good to take some time out with family on occasion, with nothing to do but to play with trains and discuss Disney movie characters, it’s good for the soul.
I’m sorry to my family, but the highlight of my week was probably the (adult’s) birthday cake… this Deluxe Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Cake from Desserts Delivered Bakery was simply delicious, and I would consider ordering one for our next celebration.
Pushing the Button
I mentioned in my first weekly blog (who’s read all of them?!), that I’ve been working on a rather large project at work for quite some time, and this week was the opportunity to press the big red button and switch off the old system I have been replacing. A big moment which was definitely worthy of the tasty biscuits my friend and colleague bought me. It’s not completely over, these things never are, but this was an important milestone. While it didn’t quite go completely perfectly, I would still say it was a success. This development has pushed me, pulled me, tested me, and taught me a lot – the monster has been tamed and I am happily satisfied about that. And I am very glad indeed to have got it done.
My home based adulting have all been boring chores, you know, washing, ironing, changing the bed, cleaning the bathrooms, more washing, cooking dinner, and the rest. Why are the chores never finished?!
In the Post
The reaction to my comment in last week’s weekly blog about getting cool things in the post thanks to blogging was great and very much appreciated, so thank you. You seemed to understand that such deliveries are a very nice by product of having this space online, a couple of you even added that you valued my opinion, which was extra nice. Maybe I’ll continue to mention my random parcels here as and when I receive them.
This week I had some of the new Cawston Dry sparkling water “with a twist” delivered. There are two flavours, a lemon and ginger one and a raspberry one, and to be honest the jury is out at the moment. They’re certainly dry, which is something I do like in a drink, but they’re a little lacklustre in flavour. I imagine they would make rather lovely summertime sippers on a beautifully hot day, but they’re not something I want to drink with food or when they’re anything less than ice cold. My other half really dislikes them. I’ve got a few ready to take to work and I’ll let you know what my colleagues say when they’ve tried them.
Road Trip Dreaming
A week isn’t a week in my life if I haven’t spent at least some of it dreaming of my next road trip. Honestly, I’m obsessed. I often say that if my life could be one long road trip I’d be a very happy gal, and I know that’s a true statement. But the fact of life is that’s just not possible for me (right now…), so instead I make do with short trips once or twice a year, and a whole load of planning for “one day”. There are so many biggies on my list – Japan, New Zealand, more of Canada and the USA, Central and South America, and not forgetting my ultimate bucket list dream of driving or riding from North Cape Norway to South Cape South Africa.
This week’s dreaming has been a little different, though, as I’ve been allowed to legitimately plot route ideas and make planning notes while we’ve been deciding what to do for this year’s motorcycle tour. We are pretty much decided on Europe, we’re still undecided on whether we will head to the National Parks and seaside of Spain and Portugal or the greenery and culture of Poland. One trip would involve bobbing up and down on the Bay of Biscay twice (read about my Brittany Ferries experience here), and the other would involve the Bike Shuttle (read about that here) one way and the Euro Tunnel for the other. One would be two countries, the other maybe up to ten. Both would involve some great roads, mountains, forests, good views, and, most importantly this time around, exploring places we’ve never been before. I genuinely don’t know which I’d rather do. Which would you choose?
This Week’s Question
Thinking about that packing list again, and I going to go and get on with it as soon as I hit schedule, I promise, I thought I’d ask a question that might cause all kinds of difficulties when I read your replies, because it will be too late for me to add any of these things to my bag. Tell me:
What’s your one non-essential essential for holidays in the sun?
I’m not thinking sun cream or sandals here, those are certainly must-takes. Rather the bits and bobs you take that always come in useful that I might not think of. Mine would probably be my good headphones, so I can sit and relax with some music playing without bothering anyone else (and can block out the sound of everyone else on the plane!). Or maybe my iPad for some writing, photo editing, game playing and movie watching. I’d love to know yours.
If you enjoyed reading this blog, if you think my weekly blog series is a good idea, and especially if you got to the end of this episode, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. And I mustn’t forget the vloggers’ catchphrase – please like and subscribe for more posts like this in the future!
Come on by next Sunday at 6pm for the next in the series of real life on the blog…