New term. new furniture and new state

New term, new furniture and new state

What is that I can hear? Ah yes, the sound of silence as the schools have finally all gone back for the start of the new term.  No more squabbling over toy sharing, the electricity bill has dipped considerably without various electronic gadgets plugged in for charging and the water consumption has returned to normal now that toilet flushing has been reduced to a minimum.

My parents returned from their fortnight away in the north and reported surprisingly good weather for the time of year with only one wet day.  This was in complete contrast to last year’s trip when they were in danger of being washed away by flash flooding.  They returned home to a newly decorated lounge (courtesy of their wonderful daughter – that will be me then) and the new lounge furniture which I had managed to finally get Next to deliver.  It was four weeks late in arriving (sort of makes the word ‘Next’ a bit meaningless) although I did keep receiving calls and texts telling me it was ready to be delivered……on contacting the dispatch people it was apparent that only two out of the three items were available.  This went on and on until I told them that I had two days in which I could take delivery and there was no room for negotiation.  As if by magic the items were suddenly available.  Praise be, a miracle!

A couple of weekends ago we went to the MotoGP for the first time.  It was a totally different atmosphere to the F1 racing, and a shorter race, but the day was marvellous.  These bikers are a crazy bunch………the guy who qualified on pole position the previous day was riding around the track on Sunday morning when he managed to go tippy tumbles and land in the gravel.  He got up gingerly holding his left arm – as it happened, he had dislocated his left shoulder.  That would have smarted a little.  However, he was patched up, given a couple of aspirin and raced in the GP that afternoon, finishing second, having being overtaken on the last bend.  Perhaps the footballers should take heed of this and not have weeks away from kicking the pigs bladder around after they have tripped and broken a nail.

I am packed and ready to head off to Florida for a couple of weeks in the sunshine before winter sets in here.  I have not been to this state before so have been reading up on what there is to do.  Apparently there are thunderstorms every afternoon for a couple of hours so I guess an indoor spot to observe from is a sensible idea.  I contacted the travel company to enquire about upgrading their basic car hire insurance to automatically give me a second driver and a satnav.  Unbelievably I was quoted £462…….I don’t pay anywhere near this for a yearly policy on my car which includes business use and European cover.  After a few internet searches I have managed to hire a satnav for £50, arrange extra hire car cover for £50 and find out the hire car company will add an extra driver for around six dollars a day.  The villa we have hired does not come with a welcome food pack (unlike the James Villas properties we have previously used) so we will be looking out for a Wal-Mart en route from the airport to get some basics.  We are also making a saving on airport parking my using my brother’s drive and getting him to transport us to and from the terminal.  On this note, I reminded my younger sibling that I would be cashing in one of the airport trips he owes me……he appears to have early onset memory loss as apparently I have only dropped and/or collected him twice.  When I have time I will itemise each and every trip I have done for him, including arriving at 2 a.m. to collect him from home only to find he was still packing.