monday, october 14, 2024
Well, here we are again…it’s a new week. my shift key isn’t working so maybe i will do all lower case. we can’t have it all, people, can we? it only works if i really slam on it, so how ’bout we just forget conventional grammar rules?
thank you for all of your comments on my five (five?) travel posts on Spain. i really can’t believe i had that much in me to write that many posts, but i thoroughly enjoyed re-living it. it wasn’t perfect but it was really special for me and my crew.
also, i want other people to know you can do this. we have house projects waiting and really old cars. the money could have gone to much more practical things. but, there is a sense of urgency with not knowing where our kids will be in a year and what jobs they will hold and sometimes you just have to do it. also, some international vacations are not much more or even less than vacations within the US.
With paying for a trip, it doesn’t come all at once. you first start with the plane tickets. you can wait a bit for the lodging if you aren’t super particular, then the train tickets, and i was still booking activities up until a week before. this whole trip came together from july 15 and we left september 28.
someone asked what we did with not-so-little anymore eddie otis. he had a dogsitter (and his new best friend) stay at our house. she was wonderful and she is the best friend of ali who watched ernie during our uk trip. she sent us lots of pictures and kept in contact with us so we could enjoy our trip.
so, seriously, if you have any other trip questions or want any help, let me know. i am definitely not a travel agent, but i have learned a few things. we only had a week so that had me questioning this whole idea, but a week was perfect for us. less time means less expense. we have learned as a family that after about 9 days, we are done. our uk trip was pushing that limit and to be honest, we wasted our last couple of days because we were just so travel weary and ready to be home.
so, let’s talk about the weekend…
how was yours? Mine went so quickly! I am linking up with Sarah and Holly, by the way, for hello monday.
friday was a day. no, it was a good day at school. after school, erica and i went to mojito and had a drink and some melted cheese with bread. i went home and then the kids wanted to door dash tacos and i just ate left over vegetables from the week because i wasn’t very hungry. i read a bit and watched a bit of tv and then went to bed at 8:08! And, then I slept like crap.
My drink at mojito which wasn’t a mojito. it had bourbon and some sort of berry.
i got up Saturday morning and had to get ready for the funeral of one of my best friend’s dad. the visitation was right before the funeral so i wanted to be there for a bit of that, too. tom is also good friends with her and her husband so we were going together. tom is very serious about showing up for people like this.
I did this wine colored press on set:
The church food was really good after the funeral and she really wanted us to stay. it was in a small town about 45 minutes away and the church ladies really did a nice spread. No one likes doing this, but I now know how important it is to just go even if you don’t know what to say or if you feel uncomfortable.
On our way back we had to put our boat in the water and make sure it was running well after being repaired and then we had to put it back on our trailer. Our trailer was also repaired. We brought clothes to change into at the marina.
Then, we went home to our baby who had missed us. We had been gone all day. I am pretty sure he acted out because he was upset.
i read a bit of this. i feel like I have read this premise so many times and also some of the book (most of the book) isn’t realistic.
we ordered pizza for dinner and I watched Lonely Planet on Netflix. Zero chemistry between Laura and Liam. Did anyone else think that?
Sunday morning Eddie otis snacked on some leaves. leaves are starting to turn and drop here.
I ordered a bunch of the Premier pumpkin spice to make cold brew with my instant coffee. I really like it!
And, we got the boat out for real but it was really windy and the water was choppy so it wasn’t that enjoyable.
We went to Captain’s Quarters where they were decked out for fall. we ate lunch on the boat and I saw my student who works there.
We had a gorgeous view of a sailboat as we headed home and a…
beautiful blue sky and bridge view.
And, we returned home and did a few things to prepare for the week like changing sheets and mowing and a little bit of meal prep.
It’s hard to believe it’s mid-October already!
Tell me something you did this weekend,
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
It’s crazy to me that it’s already mid-October! I feel like this whole fall is just flying by. We spent part of our weekend packing away all the outdoor furniture and stacking wood on the patio for the woodstove. That always makes me so sad because I know it’s going to be months before I can sit outside in the sun reading my books again. BUT… it’s in the 30’s some mornings so it’s definitely time.
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That first picture of the bread and cheese looks delicious! I hope you slept better Saturday night. I did just the opposite….I slept well Friday night for the first time in forever it seems, but now am back to not so great the past 2 nights. I wholeheartedly agree to show up for the funeral whenever possible. It means so much to people & word aren’t always necessary. I also agree with your perspective on travel. Don’t stay too long, but take the trip! I have a travel policy that I don’t want to be in the same place for more than 5 days. I think it was good y’all changed locations for your trip and it seems like you did a great job planning! Hope your Monday goes well.
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Loved all your recaps! I can’t believe how quickly October is going too. So sorry for your friend’s loss. The boat pics are lovely even if it was windy. This weekend was so nice. This week will sure feel like fall! Have a great week!
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as a show of solidarity, i will not use any caps – upper case is overrated – ha!
i think a week is the perfect amount of time, i was exhausted after our last two trips and was ready to be done – next time i will only go for a week that seems to be the sweet spot if you ask me. also, definitely take the trip – great advice. house projects and new cars, etc don’t create lifetime memories with your people!
sorry about your friend’s dad but i know it meant a lot to have you there.
xo,
kellyann
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I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks a week is good!
Thank you!
I’m on my phone so I can do caps!
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I totally agree on prioritising travel if possible.
To keep costs down, I travel with a chopping board, Swiss Army knife (in my checked luggage!), vegetable peeler and empty food containers. My husband thinks it’s hilarious. However, it’s fun to grocery shop in foreign countries and eat picnic style lunches on some scenic bench overlooking the ocean :).
I also play around with travel dates and different airlines during the booking process. This can save a lot of money too.
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I love this! You are serious!
I do, too! That’s how we ended with sat to sat – best price!
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So glad you enjoyed your trip. And you are so right about where grown kids will be a year from now. You will still have family time but logistics are a lot more complicated once they fly the nest. I agree showing up matters. Nobody really knows what to say when a loved one dies, but being there is important. One of my favorite sites in the whole world is sunlight sparkling on the water on a blue sky day. Great picture! Have a nice day!
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I am also big on showing up for the people in our lives who experience the death of a loved one, and I love that y’all stayed for the mercy meal afterward. I remember being surprised by how many people I love who stayed for my dad’s this summer. I really needed them then since that was when I wasn’t really speaking to Todd much then. I love that you went prepared for your boat ride after the funeral! I’d imagine y’all don’t have many more boat days this year; when will you winterize her and store her for the next season? I hope your week is easier than last week now that you’re adjusted to being home again. And hopefully your sleep is better, too! That’s terrible when you can’t sleep; I’ve been going through that lately and just toss and turn all night long. Have a great one, my friend!
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What a fun and cozy little weekend- best medicine for getting back into the swing of things right?! Glad Eddie Otis has a BFF that stayed with him- he is the sweetest. We had football and a pumpkin festival- great fall fun!
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I feel the same way about the length of a trip. I think 7 days is the sweet spot. We were definitely ready to get home after our long trip to Spain. EO is looking so grown up!
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How many days were you there?
He is! He is really in need of a certain surgery!
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EO is so big! (What? you didn’t take him WITH you? lol)
Going to catch up on your Spain series….
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I think you are so smart to put travel first because you really don’t know what the future holds. We thought our retirement would consist of traveling all over the place…then 2020 happened and lots of other things. Needless to say, I think our traveling together days may be over, and that really makes me sad (and a little bit angry). I always check the box that says my dates are flexible when looking for tickets. Sometimes, it works; sometimes, it doesn’t.
I read a lot this weekend, and we finished up This Ends with Us. Have you seen it? I wonder if they’ll do another movie for the other book.
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
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