Minor Delays

I hope delays will be minor. Yesterday, I was all ready to load the final bits and pieces into the van and it wouldn't start. My new large, expensive, heavy duty 4WD battery was flat! And the alternator wasn't working. I know - better to have it happen in my driveway than a few hours or days along the road, but it is a nuisance. The van has spent the day at the auto electricians. With a bit of luck, it will be ready this evening and I'll be on my way.

I don't want to put a hex on my trip but I do wonder what more could possibly need to be done.  What else is going to fall apart or fall out? The car must be almost new. I am sure there is nothing left that hasn't been replaced. I have had a total replacement of the automatic transmission. The fan for the airconditioner had  to be replaced and I have put in the battery just mentioned. Wheel rotations and alignments have been done and a major service. To comply with NSW legislation I have installed a smoke detector and fire extinguisher, although I can't imagine that I would need both. If I don't hear the smoke detector, it will be too late for the fire extinguisher. If I need the fire extinguisher and I'm not in the car, I'm unlikely to venture close enough to use it.

Being stuck at home, I decided to do a follow-up trip to the doctor as I had had blood tests done early this month. Good news! Everything was fine, every condition (those symptoms of old age!) under control. But my GP decided to do a biopsy on a spot on my shoulder. I told him he had done that twice before but he thinks a biopsy is better than an autopsy. He'll have the results tomorrow. I don't expect to hear from his surgery before I leave as I am sure all will be well.

If I don't leave tomorrow, I think I will have to hide out in a cave somewhere. I have said my farewells, several times to some people. Nobody wants to see me again till the middle of the year. Leave-taking should be quick, not drawn out like this! Let me go!

Drive Safely

Drive safely! That's the message everyone gives me. And I plan to, of course. I don't intend to spend my holiday time waiting to have the van repaired. I certainly can't afford to write it off.

But there are five particularly good reasons to drive safely.

First there is Timothy. Tim is almost nine. He goes to school in Mackay and this is his back-to-school photo for 2012. He is going into Year 4. His out-of-school activities are pretty important. Because the family has a pool, he is in the water at every opportunity. He's like a little seal, totally confident in, on and under the water. He also plays golf (fairly well from what I've been told) and is about to sign up for the rugby league season - though he is careful not to get too close to the action!

Cory is six and is going into Year 1. He is a Thomas the Tank Engine fan and seems to have almost every engine and carriage available. Since he was about 18 months old, he has been playing trains and makes very intricate rail layouts with the many metres of track he has accumulated. Construction and strategic games are also his favourites on the computer. He'd rather be inside than out, although he has become a bit of a dare devil at tree climbing.

Hudson is the wild child. He has been a climber since he first managed to struggle to his feet and sees every vertical surface as a challenge. One look at his face and you know he is up to mischief. Yet, he is surprisingly reticent when he is out with strangers. This year at pre-school will be good for him. All he did last year was Kinder Gym to work off some of his excess energy and three year olds have plenty of energy.

Equally energetic is Cooper. At three months younger than his cousin, he is a bundle of mischief. He is very social and affectionate and loves his days at child care. He is a real chatterbox and speaks very clearly (and constantly). I think he is going to be a really sporty kid as he seems to have very good coordination and he loves being out doing things.

My youngest reason to drive safely is Oscar. At six months old, he is just a happy chappy and this makes him the centre of attention. He's at the stage of being up on his knees and about to take off. He sits up and surveys his world. I don't think he ever cries unless he is tired, hungry or hurt. I love the way he goes to bed quite happily. He clutches his little giraffe, then rolls over and closes his eyes - wonderful!

With five little grandsons, why would I be anything but careful and safe on the roads!

Making Lists and Getting Organised

 I know I am not heading off into the wilds of Africa or even the heart of Australia but there is a lot to do for about 6 months away. Well, the six months will be no more than 5 months as I have an appointment at the end of January. I want to be back now by the last week in June as my elder son turns 40 that week and I'll help him celebrate. At the same time his little son, my youngest grandchild, will be having his first birthday. What better reason to get home!

For Winter (which could be now, in Tasmania) I have a small neat zipped up bag and a similar one for Summer. The Summer bag will have to be cut right back. It is hard to imagine needing warm clothes when the weather is as hot as it is this week. I am being ruthless, packing enough to give me variety and still only enough to fill the space allotted. I am also very careful to make sure that there is nothing that will ever need ironing, no matter how it is squashed into a bag. I hope to get to Toastmasters meetings and meetings of the Red Hat Society and possibly the VIEW club so I do have to have some respectable outfits. And you never know, I might get an invitation to dinner sometime in those few months.

I don't consider food very important but have stocked up on crackers and dips, and cereals and long life milk. This trip I am definitely going to have hot food occasionally so I've bought some instant meals and some of those 'just add hot water and it will cook' packets. Tinned tuna will make me feel I've had some protein. A few packets of nuts and dried fruit, and my pantry is ready to be packed. At the moment it is all sitting in grocery bags behind my lounge chair. (Having only a small one-bedroom cottage means there is not much storage space.) Besides, it is very important to support the small towns that I'll be travelling through and there will be plenty of opportunities to replenish perishables.

The thing that has driven me crazy on previous trips is managing cords when machines are being charged through the cigarette lighter. I now have a multi-unit charger which I think charges four items at once. I've been experimenting with a container which will separate each item and keep the cords from tangling. I might have solved that, with help from my mechanically minded daughter. However, I won't be too proud to say the storage hasn't worked and toss it out if I get frustrated with it.

Sometime before I leave I also have to find out something about the inverter. I'm not really sure what it is and what it does, how many things I can run from it and for how long. That's my homework for the next little while. Any advice on this will be gratefully received.

I have been surfing the Grey Nomad sites (though of course I'm a Silver Gypsy, not a grey nomad) and have got together a collection of reference and travel books that have been recommended. A few games and some cards should keep me out of mischief and have something to share with fellow travellers.  I've also put some useful looking apps on my iPad and subscribed to a few podcasts which look as though they may help.  I've stocked up on audio books and downloaded a lot of reading matter. On this trip I've decided to start knitting again and have some nice simple patterns and a few balls of wool. When I'm not driving (and even when I am, with audio books) I should be able to keep myself entertained. And of course I'll have at least one camera. I'll have to make a decision on that. How serious do I want to be?

Over the next fortnight I'll be finishing off a few things. I'll go to my tap dance lessons next week and the following week just to get into the swing of exercise again and to arrange to have lessons videotaped (is that the word for it these days?) and sent to me along the way so that I can slot in again when I get home without being too klutzy. I want to do a few lunches with friends and will be flying to Mackay for about 10 days to see the kids before I leave.  I'll see Mum as often as I can, though I'm not sure whether she will realise that I'm going away.  None of my other clubs and activities will have restarted before I go, so it will be a leisurely preparation.