battening down for winter

Time has a way of getting away from me, somehow slipping away without leaving a mark. I started writing this post several days ago but keep forgetting to get back to it… 

I'll do a bit of time travel and am sure to mess up the tense as I update what I wrote a week ago!

The Thursday before last, (October 16th) we went to the villetta for a few nights - a last hurrah before bringing the beast home. We eeked out every last minute of enjoyment and then Saturday morning we were up and at'em after a quick coffee. It didn't take long to get travel ready… well, not long considering we'd been parked for 4 months and had settled in comfortably. A few pictures came down off the walls in the bedroom, the baskets were hoisted down from above the high cupboards, carpets were vacuumed and rolled up. Odds and ends were secured.

It was an easy hitch and we were on our way after a teary good-bye. It will be over 7 months before we return. It's a long time to wait, but I also know that the time will fly by and we'll be driving into our spot before we know it.

We got home with no trouble, got backed into the laneway after a few high emotion tries, and we were home. The weather was good so I got right to it, initially thinking I'd just empty the fridge, but as these sorts of things go, once inertia is overcome the job flies. By mid afternoon the camper had been emptied of everything that can freeze, including all the food, and various odds and ends. Carm carried loads of stuff into the basement - we've gotten a lot more organized over the years and what used to take a few days is now compressed into a few hours. For years, the dining room table would be covered with 'stuff' to be distributed around the house, but now, dedicated bins and duplicates of everything that doesn't freeze makes it a breeze with no giant mess.

While I finished up inside, Carm got the pink anti-freeze ready to run through the water system. And then it was done!

Sunday was another beautiful day in the high 20s, so we got busy and planted the garlic. While Carm worked at that, I deeked away to wash and wax the hardwood in the camper. Two jobs done! There are just odds and ends left in the trailer - easily taken care of over the next few days. So that leaves us mostly ready for our trip in 10 6 days!

But surely we've done more than that! I've made a few trips into the city to visit Mom & Dad, we've run errands, I've walked on the treadmill but have been too lazy to do weights. We've had covid and flu vaccines. It's taken me over a week to recover from the busyness of the previous few weeks - I don't have the stamina for long periods of activity. It's always been that way for me but it's worse since I started all my bipolar medications. It's great when I'm a bit hypomanic, unfortunately I can't call that up when needed!

This past Saturday we had lunch with Jo Ellen and Don. They treated us to a Greek lunch at their place which was lovely :-) 

The spare bedroom looks like a tsunami of clothes crashed upon the bed and desk. So many pairs of shoes are heaped on the floor. How many bathing suits should I pack? Is 4 pairs of shorts too many? I've got my dinner clothes all sorted out along with their accoutrements (those shoes again!) - that was the easy part. 

A throng of suitcases have been brought upstairs, most empty except for the giant one that contains our dedicated travel paraphernalia. The idea of sorting through all that stuff has me paralysed on the sofa. Most of my clothes are ready to be folded and tucked into bags. Carm is easy - I have historically packed his things and will continue to do so. I've been mostly successful but did forget proper socks one trip which resulted in him getting a bad blister - I'll do better this time! (update: I packed a few extra pairs jic!).

The weather has been more seasonal since the weekend with not enough much needed rain. But we did manage to get Grace's cage hefted out of the house and pressure washed. It seems to get heavier each time!

Today Carm got the hitch out of the truck and more hoses picked up… slowly but surely we are getting battened down for winter!

Through all of this I've been struggling a bit mentally. Vestiges of sorrow have been joined with seasonal ugh… but I've been pushing through and mostly managing well. It's not really a surprise after such an emotional fall. Having our trip planned has been a blessing and a curse… I'm finding the preparations to be overwhelming even though there's really not much left to do. Even packing is mostly done, I just need to shift a few things around and then add the hanging clothes so there's really no excuse for feeling so discombobulated but I guess I'm used to it!

I have to remember to tell myself that 'today is a better day' and get on with things!

"you are no longer where you were, but you are everywhere that I am"  Victor Hugo

Awesome!

"camper parked safely in the driveway for the long winter"

"164 cloves of garlic tucked into the nourishing ground"

"the new food basics in the village"

"house cleaner"