It's enough to turn you off people

It has happened again.  Our house sitter has cancelled on us.  She rang on Friday morning to say she has a job interview on Tuesday in a large city a few hours south of here and if she was offered the job it would be a great opportunity for her, etc., will it cause you much inconvenience etc.  I replied "yes, it will......it leaves us in quite a hole".  I don't think she wanted to hear that, but I don't care - it's true.  I am fed up with people.  This is the third sitter to cancel on us in barely two years so I don't think we will bother using the system again.  We have had some lovely house sitters, one dud (the last one), but three cancellations is just too many.

Kevin was all for cutting our holiday short but I said no.  I have been looking forward to visiting Victoria again for a long time, we have made tentative plans and cancelled them before, and this time I want to go through with it.  We are going.

We ran round chasing our tails on Friday to organise what needs to be done.  Fortunately Bianca has been booked into Deb's cattery, she has been before - we were so very lucky that Deb had a vacancy for the time we need.  It's money we hadn't planned on spending, but it won't break the bank.  We also have a gardener popping in a couple of times a week to check on our garden, especially the newly planted section - poor plants, they are really struggling in the current hot dry weather - more money.  Our neighbours are lovely people but they have their own homes, families and gardens to look after, we don't want to put a burden on them, and anyway the young couple in No 70 have a new baby due to hatch any day now......it's already a week overdue!  Luckily a 'hold mail' form had already been lodged with the post office so we don't have to worry about that.

So on Wednesday morning we will hitch up our little caravan, hop in the car and take off.

That's Kevin enjoying doing nothing behind our little van.  It's just the right size - 12 feet long - for the two of us, some clothes and food......and two ukes.  Yes, they're both coming with me!

Who needs a huge behemoth to tow when you can have compact and cosy, and cheap?  We're sure the owners of bigger vans look at ours and laugh, but then we drive past them filling up with enormous amounts of expensive fuel and we laugh ourselves silly.  Nearly every time we take the van somewhere we are approached by at least one person asking if we want to sell, and our answer is always no.

We'll be driving to Canberra  first, spending our time volunteering before and during the folk festival,  enjoying lots of great music (and of course, for me, playing and singing) catching up with family before and after the festival, and on Monday April 4 taking off again to drive south to Victoria.  We plan to arrive back here on Tuesday April 19 so this blog will be silent for the duration, but there will hopefully be lots to tell you all about on our return.

My hand is much better, neither it nor my arm have fallen off, so that will something we don't have to worry about while we're away.  The burn on my elbow is healing too, just as well......burns are rather unsightly.  It won't stop me enjoying the festival!

"Keeping step.
In walking together, especially when arm in arm, it is desirable that the two keep step.  Ladies should be particular to adapt their pace, as far as practicable, to that of their escort.  It is easily done."

Every year at the festival we spend a lot of time catching up with friends not seen since the last such event, and it does entail some walking......and much talking and passing-on of news, so it's essential to keep pace.

Enjoy your days!