I haven't written in a while, we got too busy with our final preparations for our trip OS and before I knew it we were on the plane!! But before I get too ahead of myself with most recent events, I should just recap the Adelaide happenings prior to our departure.
James and I had our Christmas get together a couple of Saturday's ago, on the 9th of December. It was a brilliant day, but it was an absolute scorcher... it reached about 43 degrees, making it our hottest December day for half a century! Those familiar with our house will know that we don't have any air conditioning, and only a couple of ceiling fans so initially we were EXTRMELY worried that all our guests would pass out from heat exhaustion- but as it turned out, we had a little evaporative cooler in the dining area turned up on high, all the shades drawn and fans on, a little kiddie wading pool and a gazebo out the back and enough shade to keep people relatively comfortable. People started arriving around 12.30pm, some stayed a short while and others came and stayed the entire afternoon. I think the last guest left around 1am. It was brilliant to see everyone, and it was great to celebrate an Aussie Christmas before heading off for a cold Christmas in the US of A!
In the week following the Christmas party we really just threw ourselves into preparing for our trip around our work shifts. We needed to buy a few last minute Christmas presents and get our clothes organised, and do some cleaning around the house- all of which we basically accomplished, I'm pleased to say. James' last shift was on the Friday afternoon and mine was that night- let's say I was there in body but not at all in mind! The next day we had to take the cats up to their boarding house in Blackwood, a lovely place with a gorgeous woman named Heather who I know will take good care of them while we are away (although James maintains that it would have been cheaper to buy new cats than to foot the boarding bill!!) They were pretty cross about the whole situation, but at least they're safe and together so I'm not terribly worried. By now I'm sure they will have forgotten about us anyway!!
Emily and Matt very kindly threw a bit of a going away barbeque on the Saturday afternoon for not only James and I but also for Lynn and Ryan who were heading across to Japan (and then on to the US as well) the same morning we were leaving. It was a lot of fun as it always is hanging out with everyone, and we definitely soaked up the warm weather while we were around to enjoy it!!
I headed to bed around 10.30pm that night (after not managing to get any sleep the entire day after work), slept til 3.30am when I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep! So I got up for a couple of hours and cleaned and tidied a bit more til I fell asleep again at 5.30am, and woke up again at 6.30!
(It is, by the way, bizarre to write about this as though it happened an eternity ago- it was only a couple of days back...)
To make a long story short, our flight to Sydney left at 9.25am on Sunday morning and after 2 more flights, a million security checks and a time difference of 13.5 hours we made it into Dulles Airport in Virginia at 9.30pm that same night!!! How strange...!! James' brother Ben and his mum Debbie collected us at the airport and we made it home by about 11pm. Neither James nor I managed to get much sleep on the plane even though we both took some (prescription) sleeping tablets- it's just small and awkward, you know, not conducive to getting comfy and bedding down for the night. But before going to bed that night I even managed to unpack my clothes and read for a while! Read on for news of our holiday...
James and I had our Christmas get together a couple of Saturday's ago, on the 9th of December. It was a brilliant day, but it was an absolute scorcher... it reached about 43 degrees, making it our hottest December day for half a century! Those familiar with our house will know that we don't have any air conditioning, and only a couple of ceiling fans so initially we were EXTRMELY worried that all our guests would pass out from heat exhaustion- but as it turned out, we had a little evaporative cooler in the dining area turned up on high, all the shades drawn and fans on, a little kiddie wading pool and a gazebo out the back and enough shade to keep people relatively comfortable. People started arriving around 12.30pm, some stayed a short while and others came and stayed the entire afternoon. I think the last guest left around 1am. It was brilliant to see everyone, and it was great to celebrate an Aussie Christmas before heading off for a cold Christmas in the US of A!
In the week following the Christmas party we really just threw ourselves into preparing for our trip around our work shifts. We needed to buy a few last minute Christmas presents and get our clothes organised, and do some cleaning around the house- all of which we basically accomplished, I'm pleased to say. James' last shift was on the Friday afternoon and mine was that night- let's say I was there in body but not at all in mind! The next day we had to take the cats up to their boarding house in Blackwood, a lovely place with a gorgeous woman named Heather who I know will take good care of them while we are away (although James maintains that it would have been cheaper to buy new cats than to foot the boarding bill!!) They were pretty cross about the whole situation, but at least they're safe and together so I'm not terribly worried. By now I'm sure they will have forgotten about us anyway!!
Emily and Matt very kindly threw a bit of a going away barbeque on the Saturday afternoon for not only James and I but also for Lynn and Ryan who were heading across to Japan (and then on to the US as well) the same morning we were leaving. It was a lot of fun as it always is hanging out with everyone, and we definitely soaked up the warm weather while we were around to enjoy it!!
I headed to bed around 10.30pm that night (after not managing to get any sleep the entire day after work), slept til 3.30am when I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep! So I got up for a couple of hours and cleaned and tidied a bit more til I fell asleep again at 5.30am, and woke up again at 6.30!
(It is, by the way, bizarre to write about this as though it happened an eternity ago- it was only a couple of days back...)
To make a long story short, our flight to Sydney left at 9.25am on Sunday morning and after 2 more flights, a million security checks and a time difference of 13.5 hours we made it into Dulles Airport in Virginia at 9.30pm that same night!!! How strange...!! James' brother Ben and his mum Debbie collected us at the airport and we made it home by about 11pm. Neither James nor I managed to get much sleep on the plane even though we both took some (prescription) sleeping tablets- it's just small and awkward, you know, not conducive to getting comfy and bedding down for the night. But before going to bed that night I even managed to unpack my clothes and read for a while! Read on for news of our holiday...
HOORAY... WE FINALLY MADE IT TO BALTIMORE!!
2 comments:
How cool, sounds like you are having heaps of fun. sorry I couldn't catch up with you before you left, will definately catch up when you get back.
Have a great time (yes it is very hot here!!!!). hope it snows for Christmas.
Luv Michelle
Hey chick.
We've just arrived safe in Virginia and glad to hear you made it too!
Lynn
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