An unlike-the-weather… summary

Where were we up to? Blimey, has it really been a whole week? I must have been occupied.

In theory we will have left the island in two weeks’ time. As in: we are scheduled to depart on the 24th. But watch this space…

1. We sorted out the Wi-fi connection problem by moving the booster next door, where the window has not been replaced by a super-insulating one like the one in the office. Job done. Going like the clappers (and data allowance fast running out)
2. The new laptop arrived only for Mr L to realise that he had not ordered what he thought. That one has been sold on and another one ordered. The new one was signed for as delivered several days ago but has yet to be seen.
3. My OU Registration is now formalised, I have a new email address and full access to the appropriate parts of the OU’s website. I am a student once more.
4. Much time has been spent on scaring myself to death by looking at course materials and assignment questions far too soon.
5. Although I will not receive my course mailing until I arrive at Kippford, I have discovered that it is all accessible by download.Hurrah, I can keep up as we travel down country.
6. I installed an app on my phone: OU Anywhere. It’s nifty. However it does nothing at all without another app with which to read the eBooks that it gives access to and so…
7. I installed another app. It seems that the Kindle Reader is not sufficient.
8. A third app, Microsoft’s OneNote also made it onto my phone and I have been busy setting up a notebook structure for my studies and populating it with resource material
9. The OU email address is now furnished by Google. I have discovered that my GoogleMail app lets me have more than one account connected. This is making life simple.
10. The OU mail address gives me access to cheap and free software packages, so some time has been spent in sorting out licences and downloads. I now have Roboform Anywhere, which is going to be useful indeed.
11. I still need to sort out an Office licence.
12. The OU Google account also provides Google Apps and cloud storage.
13. I have a new, OU-provided,  blog (more on this later) THIS LINK may work, if you have interest.
14. I have engaged with Podcasts this week for the first time in my life, thereby causing the addition to my phone of a fourth app. I appear to be acquiring a great deal of Radio 4 material via said Podcasts! At some point in the near future I shall need to learn how to use that phone properly.
15. I sent a text message today!
16. On Friday, we went to town as foot passengers on the ferry with Nell. She was not impressed. It was her first time and everything was scary.
17. One jab and one passport issue later, we went home. The ferry was still scary. The passport was wrong.
18. Nell needs a replacement passport.
19. While in town we sorted out some bank business and mailed off the paperwork for getting the cash to pay for Hank. That will be a weight off our minds once the transactions are concluded.
20. I set up our mail redirection yesterday to begin on the 26th.
21. Mr L hit me with a bombshell before I was properly awake this morning. He has been watching the weather forecast and thinks that we may need to leave earlier than scheduled. As early as this coming Saturday, in fact. So today has been a hectic round of busy, busy, busy. I am trying not to panic but it is not easy to keep the rising tide under control.
22. Mr L spent time checking the RV over today, applying anti-rust coat here and there and tackling several little jobs. He found that the A/C system is leaking coolant. Well, we won’t be needing that for a long time, so I do not intend to fret.
23. A survey of the RV’s lockers and under-bed storage has furnished me with a count of the number of storage boxes that we can carry. I have been collecting the right number and array of sizes together and emptying them in readiness. One 64 litre box is reserved for my knitting and what does not go in cannot come with.

Tomorrow, I pack.

Monday, I pack

Tuesday, I pack….

Whatever it takes, such that when the boss says that we need to go, we just up and we go. The whole trip south is such a house of cards that we cannot afford to be delayed even slightly in setting out. If it should look as though the weather may be stormy around the time that we are booked, we’ll re-book for a better day and simply leave when the weather dictates. We can readily fill in time on the big island until our Northlink booking.

There is much to do and more to think about and many lists to be made and ticked off. I’m not worrying. Should I be unable to fit it all in and we end up leaving minus a few crucial items, we’ll just buy what we need when we need it. As Mr L sensibly said today: this is meant to be a learning experience. We do not have to get it all correct the first time. Nobody dies.