Saturday

I haven't been sleeping well. Partly, I think due to not being on the go so much, which used to allow me to instantly fall asleep due to a daily dose of exhaustion and partly to the fact that I have a window in my room that is at the perfect angle to gauge the time of night and gain a weather report. I shut the curtains, which doesn't seal out light, but stopped the mental calculations of time and precipitation. I slept until 9:30am, which is unheard of for me. And the fact that on weekends, I can do that now, is a blessing!

I need to run an errands today. This will take make longer to get ready to go, than it will to go, do, and return. Such is the life of small town England.

And today I will do my first Hoover. One doesn't vacuum here, they hoover.

I will also read, again, how to do laundry. The single unit washer and dryer has me perplexed. I can get the clothes washed and then dried, but the 3+ hours it takes to do a load from start to finish is driving me nuts. Yes, it might only use a gallon of water, but I feel like I've drained Hoover dam or have a wind generator my name on it for the electricity it has taken to do the load.The problem is, the instructions for the machine are good and seem fairly automatic, but the "this may not be your model, seems to come in to play more than it actually telling me how to use this model.

My errands netted me the most PERFECT wicker valise for my travel brochures and maps. It was probably once a picnic basket of some sort. So quaint and so perfect for storing up info on all the places I want to visit whilst here in the UK.

The Pope is coming to visit the UK this week. I'll be in Scotland whilst he's in England and he'll be in Scotland after I return. There are all kinds of groups going to see him and the Church is making it very easy to do so. I would have loved to have participated in one of the pilgrimages. Sad face.