Jul 11, 2014

Have bag (s), will travel, by Sue MacKay.

For the last six weeks we (DB and I) have been living in two places every week. While we've returned to our own home for anything from two to four nights a week, we've also been in Nelson housesitting while DB oversees a business for friends who went to Europe. Throw in two trips to Christchurch and one weekend in Blenheim for me with my writing group during this time and I  started to feel confused.

By about week four I'd wake during the night and have to lie there wondering where I was and where the bathroom might be. But I wasn't as confused as my girlfriend we stayed with in Christchurch. She went sleep walking and found herself in our bedroom. And she's only been in one house all month.

By week six I was ready to spend seven straight days and nights back in my own place.


Of course there was a plus side to this. We caught up with many friends as Nelson used to be our home city. I love how easy it is to pick with people I haven't seen for a long while and have a great time catching up. We ate out most nights (the hips aren't so grateful) which is something we rarely do living in the Sounds. I could've cooked meals for these people but didn't like to make a mess in someone else's kitchen. That was my excuse anyway and it worked.

I had time to shop - as in clothes and shoes and a new lap top. Oh, and make up and books. I'm probably going to be banned from any place with a shop in it for a long time to come. and the coffee. Oh boy, did I make the most of coffee vendors. To the point I was on first name terms at one Nelson coffee cart.

We got to go for our walks in new territory. There are a lot of walking tracks in and around Nelson, and not all of them are as hilly or rugged as where we live.

So all in all, it was fun, and I'll have to convince our friends to go away again next year. I am a bit of a homebody though recently have decided I've been shut away down here too long and need to be out amongst it.

The lap top and I are taking time to get along, but hey, it's got new technology and I'm still used to working in the dim dark ages. If only it didn't lose nearly a chapter of work I might be more inclined to be friendly. The fact that I made a major blue doesn't let it off the hook.

Do you like moving around a lot, or are you a total home body?

14 comments:

  1. It all sounds like a lot of fun to me, Sue! :-) All of that catching up with old friends, shopping for the "essentials" and just being in a different scene can really recharge my batteries. Mind you, I find it impossible to work under such conditions, so that mind prove a challenge for me.

    So put me as a tick in the Loves Moving Around box…and in the Homebody box when I'm working. ;-)

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    1. Yeah, Michelle, work suffered over that time. I was on a deadline and had to really focus to get it done. Didn't help that one of those trips to Christchurch was because a close friend died. But hey, life's about challenges.

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    2. Oh, Sue, I'm so sorry you lost a close friend! How awful. Sending you a trailer load of hugs and condolences.

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    3. Thanks, Michelle. Things like this are a reminder to love the ones we're with.

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  2. I like the *idea* of moving about and travelling but I'm a total home body. Always so grateful to get back home after a trip. Good luck with the new laptop. New technology is so much fun, but so testing at the same time.

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    1. Yvonne, I am a home body most of the time - just like to break out of the mould occasionally. I think I'm a techno idiot, but it's another challenge.

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  3. Sound fun, but at the same time by 6 weeks I would be driven absolutely nuts. I'm well and try a homebody.
    No matter how much I'm used to the adaptation phase, I can never get used to the learning period with new laptops. In terms of it looking a chapter of hard work, make sure Autosave has been switched on and if it already is, I recommend checking how frequently it saves.

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  4. Lyn, I think most of us are homebodies. It is our secure place, and where we can be ourselves And yes, auto save was on , it was all about me saving old work over new, instead of new over old. but it wasn't as easy to see compared to what I was used to. Oh well. Grr.

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  5. I'm another homebody, but I do enjoy holidays away occasionally. I absolutely loved travelling around New Zealand's North Island a few years ago and was very sorry to leave it. The campervan felt like home after a couple of weeks.

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  6. Claire, I can understand how the campervan would feel like a small home. You're not packing up your belongings every time you move to a new location.

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  7. That's sounds like such a lovely time, Sue. I love walks!!

    I'm the opposite of a homebody. If I spend too much time in one place I go crazy. I love travelling and changing the scene a lot. Just been away to Lamington National Park for four nights but am already keen for a new adventure.

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    1. Cool, Jennifer. You must be hard to keep up with at times. :)

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  8. I think I have a foot in each camp, Sue! I love being home with everything comfortable and familiar but I also love getting away to see new places and meet new people. I think a bit of time away from out usual comfort zone makes us appreciate home that much more.

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  9. Yes, Sharon, I think I'm probably a bit like you, though last week I was definitely ready to be a home body for ever. But then I thin that would mean no more travel and I love tripping all over the place.

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