Monday Moanings - October 5, 2015

Dithering

At the top of this week, I'm dithering; just rocking back and forth in my wagon. Ahead of me lies a week crammed to the gunnels with stuff to do, so much stuff that I'm feeling overwhelmed by it all. I don't know what to do first and while I dither away, time flies away and so the needle on my angst meter crosses the red line. One of the things I've noticed since 'Going over 60' - I am easily overwhelmed when my ordinary week gets complicated with special events.

This week, in addition to the usual, there is a Thanksgiving Feast to prepare for the family celebration on Saturday. I know how to do this. I know the tasks - I've been doing Thanksgiving for ... well let's just say... a long time. And it is a joy, a cooking extravaganza that puts me in my favourite place in the house, my kitchen. I can handle this, for the most part, without red-lining.










BUT in just eight days my love and I set off on another adventure, this time to Japan. I know how to prepare for these treks. I know the tasks - I've been globetrotting for a while too. It's a joy, an extravaganza of anticipation and then discovery where the unexpected is often the greatest pleasure. It's also a lot of work - not just planning and packing but briefing the house sitters and getting in supplies for their stay.







AND tonight we're head to the city for the second time in 24 hours to see a play, Cracked: New Light on Dementia. I'm hoping to find some some touch stones for the memoir about my journey with my mother through Alzheimer's. While perhaps not a joy, this will be a discovery with maybe an intriguing turn to the unexpected.

Now put these three very special events, Thanksgiving and Travel and Theatre in the same week that has the usual two blog posts, gym and chores...

And yes, I do know the best way to 'eat the elephant' of tasks before me, is 'one bite at a time'. But I'm having trouble taking the first bite - where do I begin?

Well with a Monday Moaning of course!

It's now just past noon and time for me to kick off into the week.
Let the cooking begin!

©2015 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - March 16, 2015

Can I get a note?

It’s little more than 36 hours until take off and I’m a tad frantic. The string on the tether ball marking the departure time is very short and my 'yet ToDo' list is very long. I've been very good and certainly much more thorough than in years past, yet the accumulation of scribbled post-it notes, scrawled lists and neat entries in the official travel prep booklet does not seem to be diminishing as planned. This was supposed to be the most organised departure ever. This was supposed to be the least stressful departure ever. And up until Saturday it was. But then the power went out!





The service interruption alarm on the household Internet router announced the loss of electricity at 4:30am, and it kept at it with a triplet of chirps every 30 seconds for a full hour until choked to death by loss of battery power. At first Hydro One told us the power would be restored by 7:30am. We went back sleep and awoke at 9am to no lights, no heat, no water. Worst of all NO COFFEE!

But the folks at Hydro One said all would be back by 11am and thanked us for our patience. Well it wasn't. The entire afternoon was clocked by missed then revised estimates for power restoration. The sun set. And within minutes back came the lights and the heat and water. But the day had been lost; a day that was stuffed full of things to do - laundry, vacuuming, cleaning and preparing two writing submissions.

I've done the laundry and I’ve tidied the house - sort of. There remains a slim chance of the vacuuming being done, but the window of opportunity for the writing work has slammed shut. Can I get a note from Hydro One, excusing my failure to complete the submissions?

To Whom it may concern;
Please excuse April's inability to complete your writing requirements. Spring runoff of salt laden snow (fault of the Roads Department, not us!) corroded our equipment. The resulting pole fires and a few exploding transformers interrupted electrical service for fifteen hours.
We are sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience. 

I'm disappointed, but not devastated - there's no time to wallow in missed opportunities this week. The house-sitters move in tomorrow and will have to be fully briefed, not just by me but also by Sophie the resident canine. She will want them to know the 'correct' meal and treat schedule, which is not the one mommy wrote out. I know that she will pine for us just a little; mope around for a week or so but then motor on.  I will miss her morning greeting, a cold wet nose nudging my cheek accompanied by a little whine, “Mommy, are you in there?”



My love and I will be far away on another adventure, where it will be warm and wonderful. I will not be posting on this blog, no “Monday Moanings” or “Thursday, or Thereabouts”, until sometime after April 8. Look for me then.

In the mean time, hold the fort while I'm gone, and take care of each other.


©2015 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - March 5, 2015

Miles to Go

The travel bags have been taken out of storage and are now parked in the living room, awaiting deposits of software and hardware - clothing and gear. Every now and again an item gets tossed on them, at them, near them. An attempt to assure its inclusion in one of the bags. But of course, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. When it comes down to the final pack, some previously deemed essential items just don't make the cut.

The old blue-green travel pack, having passed the test pack with flying colours a few days ago, does have a secured reservation on this journey. It may look like just any old fabric suitcase, but unzip the backside and there's a sturdy backpack frame with all the requisite pads and harnesses.

This intrepid traveller could tell a tale or three about the places it's been. From atop a shelf at Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) in Toronto, this Canadian made rugged beauty began its adventures with me in 1996 with an epic family trip to Europe.

Vienna, Innsbruck, Munich, Koln, Amsterdam and London were followed in subsequent years by Mexico, St. Lucia, Alaska, and Spain before hibernating for a few years while newer luggage took up the duties. But the blue-green bag was never forgotten and when another epic journey came into view in 2008, it was once again pressed into service. This time it was a land and sea voyage via the Panama Canal to South America, including Nazca, Cusco, Machu Picchu then around Cape Horn to Buenos Aires.

Now here we are once again getting ready to head out on a trip of a lifetime, this time to Darwin's playground, the Galapagos Islands, and of course old faithful, the blue-green travel pack, will hold all - well most at least of my stuff. From wet suit, fins, mask and snorkel to drug bag and first aid kit; from collapsible trekking pole, bug spray and sunscreen to my clothes for three weeks and a bottle of biodegradable laundry detergent, all will find the perfect spot within the fabric grotto.

The sturdy zippers sing with delight as the old bag murmurs, "miles to go before I sleep; miles to go."

©2015 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - March 2, 2015

Hello March sunshine!

March has eased her way in front of her frosty brother, coming like a lamb with blue skies and warmth (relatively speaking). Why yesterday the temperature outside my door dared to cross into plus territory, for a whole twenty minutes of jubilation. And today opened with just a SINGLE digit following the minus sign on my thermometer (-7°C). Warm enough for me to ditch my woolly toque, wrap around scarf and the mitts that go over my gloves, for my trip into town. Delightful!

I'm given to believe that there's a bit of weather nastiness on tap for Tuesday. No worries! March is like that - up and down, rain and snow, warm and cold, spring and winter. And right now the sun is shining, the sky is blue and it's just...

More than that, I've got travel on my mind. March is adventure month for us and the preparations have kicked into high gear. Yesterday I not only successfully completed a test pack of my backpack (complete with wetsuit, dive mask, snorkel and fins along with the usual),

but I also gagged back a booster dose of Dukoral®. The stuff is vile - tasting much like the pre-colonoscopy preparation concoctions - but of course the consequences of omitting this vaccine can be far more vile. So, down the hatch!

Tomorrow I'm off to the doc to get a script for some altitude sickness meds. Quito, where we begin and end our adventure, sits just above 2800m (9200 feet). This is not the kind of high my body enjoys - something I learned in Peru a few years ago. So, get the drugs.

Add them to the 'drug bag', which seems to grow with every new trip. Last year's China trek taught me about the importance of having medications that I know and recognise in my kit.

This little case is perfect for all those small containers and packages. Thanks to our son and daughter-in-law for giving it to us!

There's lots more stuff to do before departure - haircut, house cleaning, food for the resident house sitters, instructions for the house sitters (how to fire up the snow blower, how to set the house thermostat, how not to feed the pleading canine, and more), buy more sunscreen, write more ToDo lists, and so much more...  I'll keep you posted.

Make it a great week!

©2015 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts – April 10, 2014

Leavin’ on a jet plane…





It’s less than 24 hours until take off and I’m actually quite relaxed. I wonder what I’ve forgotten? I’ve tidied the house but a full Spring cleaning will have to wait until we get back. The house-sitters have moved in and been fully briefed, not just by me but also by Sophie the resident canine.

She has made sure that they know where find the bickies, treats, bones and kibble – several times! I know that she will pine for us just a little; mope around for a week or so but then motor on.  I will miss her morning greeting, a cold wet nose nudging my cheek accompanied by a little whine, “Mom, are you in there?”

My love and I will be far away on another adventure. I will not be posting on this blog, no “Monday Moanings” or “Thursday, or Thereabouts”, until sometime after May 11. BUT – I have launched a new blog for our travels: “Where in the World are We?”, the globe-trotting adventures of Schwartz vonBear and his two Sherpas. For those of my readers familiar with my “Photos du Jour” emails, this blog replaces those photo laden emails of the past.

I spent the better part of a weekend learning how to use Windows Live Writer. Now I can compose and format posts, including photos, entirely offline and then upload to the blog either in draft or publish directly. It seems to work pretty well! This is a huge accomplishment, and it works for a number of blogging platforms, not just Blogger. To quote my love, when it comes to Internet in faraway lands, “It may be slow, but it sure is expensive!” This offline strategy should limit connection time. Here’s hoping.

Take a moment to visit my travel blog, and please consider signing up for the email subscription so you won’t miss out on an Asian Adventure. Schwartz and the two Sherpas would love to have you along!

Take care! See you back here in May.



©2014 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - March 27, 2014

A Tyranny of Lists

Thursday already?! The rope on the travel tether ball is shortening at an alarming pace and there is so much still to do. For months it sat buried underneath other months, each one with its own schedule of appointments, celebrations and reminders, and then all of a sudden The Asia Adventure ballooned out of calendar.

©Africa Studio - Fotolia.com

I started making the lists two weeks ago: things to buy, things to clean, things to do, things to pack. But that's not all. There are sub-categories: clothing, food, house, books, documents, meds, accessories, gadgets, power supplies and more.

It's a nightmare, albeit an semi-organized one. UNTIL one of the lists goes AWOL ('absent without leave' for those unfamiliar with the term). A massive search and recovery mission ensues fueled by caffeine and cuss words. It's not a pretty sight let me tell you. But worst of all is that many of those rascals sneak back into the community of lists and often just after I have reinvented them. I can't say 'recreated' because that would require a memory skill, something I often can't find either. Occasionally I do get to celebrate the lost which is now found, but mostly the tyranny of lists gobbles up entire afternoons.

©Africa Studio - Fotolia.com

In spite of a few sporadic disappearances, I am making progress. The house may not get cleaned for the house sitters, but the essentials will get done. It is possible that one power supply may be forgotten, but we'll be in Hong Kong and then Taiwan. They just might have a few for sale there.

And my love and I will begin our Asian escapade right on schedule.





Between now and then, chaos will reign. Just warning you. Be prepared.

©2014 April Hoeller