The Adventure Begins

First of all never EVER EVER go anywhere requiring 3 different flights on 3 different airplanes!! I never will again! NOT that I planned it that way. No, the original plan was to fly from Halifax to Heathrow which required 1 stopover in Iceland. A LONG stopover mind you.

But since I came home to London I couldn't fly out of Halifax and had to add a Toronto to Halifax flight. Oh my. So much waiting time what with also taking Robert Q from London to Toronto. But I survived and have learned many lessons about what to do and what NOT to do on my next adventure.

 I decided early on just to "embrace" whatever came along and try to maintain a sense of humour. The fact that I am sitting here typing this is testament to the fact that I succeeded...sort of. Happily I enjoy many solitary pursuits - crossword puzzles, reading, sudoku, listening to music, journalling so was able to keep myself busy during all the down time. In fact, it's really the only time I've enjoyed those pursuits since I retired. (I am 101 days into retirement now, I just noticed my counter today!!)

Just about to land in Halifax and I noticed this weather front moving in just as the sun was setting.

I had a suitcase issue once I collected my bag in Halifax - one of the wheels was broken in half and left black marks on the floor as I dragged it around! Oh poo! I  couldn't imagine having to drag a suitcase throughout my travels so I was forced to purchase a new one - I didn't need that $150 did I? Do you suppose the airlines and conveniently located luggage stores at the airports are in cahoots???

Here I am repacking into the new suitcase which has four wheels instead of two and travels easily in any direction - a cut above my two-wheeler I must admit. 

Ok, I am all repacked and my suitcase is checked - I have about a two hour wait so I went to a pub and had a lovely bowl of soup and a salad along with a cold refreshing amber ale :) So far I'm happy!

My next flight leaves at 10:10pm. I've been on the road since 8am and I'm only in Halifax! :(

Well, now I'm in Iceland and have lost three more hours. The terminal and concourse at Iceland's airport has won many awards over the years with its unique shops and good food.

I had two meals while I waited at Iceland airport for my next flight to Heathrow - yes, I was there THAT long. And I actually managed to sleep for a couple of hours while lounging on a bench. The above was a veggie omelet with whole grain toast that I had for breakfast - plus freshly squeezed orange juice. It only came to 1.980 krona, not bad eh? Sounded cheap to me! Of course I had to check my mastercard bill for the transversion - $18.82 Cdn!!! Yikes!

Later I had a tuna sandwich and a container of raw veggies (TRIED to eat healthy!) and that came to $19.72 Canadian! Oh vell...one must eat!!

Did you know that the "toilets" are called "Snyrtingar" in the Icelandic language?  I think I might adopt that term - "excuse me, I have to go to the snyrtingar"!! Snort!!

I amused myself by exploring the concourse...many times! There were many people lounging about on benches trying to get a bit of sleep. The above is the shape of the island of Iceland made up of many of the items that are for sale in the many shops. Below are a few closeups of what they have for sale...

Yes, most Icelandic people are blonde...and beautiful...but not identical lol!

There hasn't been a polar bear in Iceland since one swam there in the l980's but let's not quibble.

However there are 45,000 horses at least in Iceland, many roaming freely.

Those colourful domes are made out of sand dollars...and of course there are the inevitable bottles of alcohol :)

Seabirds...

I'm guessing cinnamon buns but not sure about the other delicacy??

Iceland is home to MILLIONS of puffins...even LIVE ones!!

And of course what would Iceland be without its elven creatures?? I bought one just like the green fellow there in the middle - I thought he could hang out with us at Christmas!

 One of many artistic installations around the concourse.

 I really wish I could have seen more of the amazing landscape of Iceland besides that which I could see out of the windows!

More of the native artwork. 

Iceland airport is undergoing major construction so we were bused to our airplane. On the way I spotted the WOW airlines, which is a lower cost Icelandic airlines.

Then we were finally off - next stop Heathrow and the loss of another hour totalling a 5 hour time difference in all. I missed an entire night between Halifax and Iceland. Am I having fun yet?? Sorta :)

Dear Diary: its taking me longer than I thought to get re-oriented now that I'm home. I'm sure part of that is the head cold I'm suffering from. My sleep pattern is pretty much back to normal thanks to taking melatonin and calcium at bedtime. But I still feel kinda groggy and am having a hard time keeping myself awake til at least 10pm. A friend has wanted me to go hiking with her but I've had to say no. I need more recovery time. And I need to do some grooming - my hair needs cutting and I've totally given up shaving my legs recently...

Today will be devoted to losing a bunch of hair and then cleaning up after Luna and Lily. They are doing really well except for the fact that Luna won't leave Lily alone when she's in the litter box. I wonder how they will like the sound of the vacuum cleaner? So far today they've had their breakfast, chased each other around the one room they're allowed to be in about 1,000 times and are now having a nap. Tough life!

Kazi starts her new job today at "Garage".  She interviewed for a lower management position and she got it! I really hope it goes well as she needs to settle into a job for awhile so that she and Steve can get their own place.

Now I'm going to read some blogs, then read the Free Press then I'm going to get busy...maybe...YES!!

Finding a New Normal

Finding one's NEW NORMAL is no easy task. Even though I had lived alone with Kazi for years before meeting Michael I can't remember what that looked like. But what I can tell you is that not only am I transitioning from being part of a couple to being a single person I am also transitioning from having a "somewhat full" nest to a future "empty nest." And let's not forget that ever present upcoming momentous occasion in 145 days - RETIREMENT!  That's a lot to adjust to. Where to start?
The first step was to change bedrooms. I moved back up to my old single bed in my old single-person bedroom. Can I tell you I'm in love...with my bed? Is that weird?

I tell you I can hardly wait to retire...to bed, that is. Every day I come home from work and do the things I need to do. I've been rather absent from the blogging front over the past week due to events out of my control. And then our second semester began yesterday and my dining room table has been littered with a heaping pile of curriculum  documents, marking, IEPs and the like. But I have completed all I needed to - report cards, updated IEPs, a month-long unit covering the upcoming Winter Olympics so I am back to posting and reading your blogs once again.

But where was I...oh yes...so once I get home from work I feed the cat, iron my clothes, tonight I have to cut my hair, make dinner, spend some time on my computer, do up the dishes, feed the cat (YES, I KNOW I already said that but since we've discovered Friskies it's like she's doing a Benjamin Buttons thing and getting younger  by the day!!), make my lunch, try to do 1 or 2 little things around the house, ride my bike and toddle off to bed hopefully by 8pm! After my few ablutions I fluff up my pillows, pour a glass of red wine, light a candle, find my latest audio book on my iPad, perhaps have a bowl of air-popped popcorn, sigh with deep relief at getting horizontal on my died-and-gone-to-heaven memory foam topped mattress and just sink into the comfort and warmth - it's pure bliss.

Sometimes it feels a little strange to be in bed by 8pm but that's where I want to be. I just finished an excellent book by Scott Turow (I just love courtroom dramas) and now am being highly entertained by Michael Conelly (about another lawyer).  There's something so peaceful about being all tucked up in bed on a snowy bed while a lovely voice reads to you. And yes, I eventually fall asleep (AFTER blowing out the candle - no worries!) and have to find my place in the book again the next night but that's ok. I'm happy I can sleep well. Though there have been a couple of mornings when I've woken up to find that lovely voice is still reading away to me! The iPad people need to figure out some sort of sensor so that when I drift off the book will go to sleep too!

Is it 8:00 yet?

Pay Day and Sleep Deprivation

So I ended up depositing $$ from my formerly Sealed Pot to cover some forgotten expenses (against your advice as it turns out) but hope to replace it soon :(   Yes, woe is me. But I'd rather owe ME money than one of these guys...)

But it is kind of disheartening to take out in one fell swoop money that I'd been socking away over the past two months. But the bills must be paid.

I got into a bad habit while I was nursing my pinched nerve in January - I purchased quite a few books for my Kindle. Reading was basically all I could do while I was recovering (recovering at 90% of my usual paycheque I might add). So.......EARNING LESS - SPENDING MORE = NOT ENOUGH MONEY IN THE CHEQUING ACCOUNT WHEN THE PIPER NEEDS TO BE PAID!!

Lesson learned....I hope.  I should know better. I DO know better but I was feeling sorry for myself. Now I feel even sorrier.

Happily today was payday and included one week at 90% and one week at 100% pay. I have a whopping $257 (after bills are paid and $$ put into savings) for gas and groceries til Feb. 28th. Michael and Kazi will also contribute to these two categories so as long as nothing Murphyish happens (there I go just inviting disaster to happen!) we should be OK. Sigh.

The other piece of good news is that Monday is Family Day here in Ontario so we have a long weekend. Just what the doctor ordered. I have developed another bad habit - one that I can't seem to fix. Every morning I wake up around 4:30am after about 4-5 hours of sleep. I toss and turn til the clock reads 5am and then get up. I am arriving at school at 6am! I am so bloody exhausted! Today I came home from school around 3pm and took a nap til 6:45pm - and I am not a napper ordinarily. I take calcium before bedtime, drink a glass of warm milk, take melatonin to regulate my sleep patterns but to no avail. My alarm is set for 5:30am but it never  wakes me up - my whacky inner clock gets me up long before that. I have no problem falling asleep but I just can't STAY asleep.

Any advice?