Oh That'll Be Nice And Warm...

Almost everytime that my husband or I have told people that we were going to Italy over the Christmas holiday period they say, "Oh that'll be nice and warm"... We do try to explain that the north of Italy where we will be staying (Milan) has much the same winter weather as the UK but they often remain unconvinced. Right now I can see out of the window a couple of pine trees with a very heavy covering of snow, I'm guessing that yesterday afternoon and evening we received around 10-15cm of snow.

Actually the day before we flew out my husband looked out of the window and said "look it's snowing!" Thankfully it was not heavy and did not settle, however we did get nervous and were prepared for the possibility that we might need to leave the evening before and stay near the airport overnight. Considering the chaos that the snow has caused in the past few days I am very glad that we flew out already last Wednesday or we might not have got here at all.

Washing

Just thought I would share a helpful hint:

When drying clothes indoors on a clothes horse, they will dry more quickly if turned every few hours, thereby exposing the more damp side to the air.

We are currently on holiday and staying with my parents-in-law and as predicted it hasn't taken long for us to need to do a couple of loads of laundry.

Saving Money While Travelling

I started writing this post on Friday and did something or other wrong and accidentally deleted the entire post as I was almost finished. Since I was typing single handed (baby in the other arm), I couldn't be bothered to re-type it all then, but now as my Precious Little Bundle (PLB) is sleeping, I will attempt it again.

On Thursday we sent off the passport application for PLB's first passport. We are planning on going to Italy from the end of December to beginning of January.

When I was last away in May, I started writing a list of ways to save money while travelling. As we almost exclusively stay with family or friends when away the list does not include anything about cheap accommodation. Below is my list of tips;

1. Book well in advance (we haven't this time as we needed to wait to see that everything was ok for PLB to travel first)


2. Fly budget airlines


3. Take own food for journey and drinks where possible (or buy drinks at the airport after security - it will be much cheaper than on the plane - "budget airlines" are anything but budget when it comes to the extras like refreshments! )


4. Take the long way around, i.e. take a bus to the airport rather than the high-speed train, take local transport rather than tourist routes or taxis


5. Allow extra time to avoid the need for taxis


6. If you do need a taxi take it only part of the journey if possible (for example into the city where you can get the airport bus/fast train etc. as taking a taxi all the way to the airport will almost always cost a lot more than a short taxi ride and even the fast airport train)


7. Check out how local holidays or strikes will affect your method of transport (learnt this the hard way last time we were in Italy and because we hadn't done #5 we had to resort to #6)


8. Plan economical excursions - and book ahead


9. Pack a picnic for days out (take plastic food bags with you or buy there)


10. Plan picnic menus with simple local foods - if you still want to enjoy a treat out you can buy ice cream or a local cake etc. - if you go into a cafe to do this you can give your feet a rest and sit in the shade/enjoy the warmth/air conditioning etc.


11. Compare prices


12. Use toilets where they are free i.e. in cafes (see #10), at airports and in some stations - when we went to Lake Como in May we took the local (slow stopping but cheap) train which stops right in the centre of the town and has a free toilet, so we made a couple of trips back there during the day as necessary


13. Travel off-peak/out of season - day-trip prices will often be cheaper and cafes and restaurants may have special offers etc.


14. Buy water and snacks etc. in supermarkets, not from street vendors as it may be up to 10 times cheaper at a supermarket


15. Budget for meals out (you are on holiday after all - #9 is not a set rule for every day)


16. Budget for postcards, stamps, gifts and souvenirs etc.


17. If staying with or meeting friends plan for gifts in advance (food and crafts from home will often be appreciated (as they are "exotic") and certainly cheaper than buying gifts at the last minute, also bring one or two extra small things for unexpected needs


18. Make a plan for laundry (if self-catering it might be worth paying extra for a washing machine), find the local laundrette (laundromat) etc. - This will save you bringing too much clothing and paying for more bags/excess luggage ("budget" airlines make their money on your bags), also this will save your sanity with small children that get through 4 outfits per day


19. Where possible, borrow or rent baby equipment at your destination rather than bringing more baggage (budget airlines again and also you will have more than enough to carry anyway


20. Buy disposable nappies (diapers) and wipes when on offer - this is a new one for me


21. When self-catering, buy less not more food to save waste


22. Take a couple of tasty treats to avoid temptation at the airport


23. Likewise, take some new/interesting reading material also to avoid temptation at the airport.

What are your tips for saving money while travelling?

Autumn

Today is one of those miserable, grey, drizzly autumn days, yesterday was too.


I haven't been outside since Sunday, I really should, but it is just so dreary, I even have an important errand to run (not that important really but should be done soon), that is to post 3 things and buy some stamps for the USA - I have bought European stamps for the birth announcements but I forgot to get ones for the US and I have several friends there that I will want to send announcements to.


I have been more than content the past couple of days to stay comfortable indoors and listen to the wind while knowing that there is nothing that is forcing me to go out there (work for example). But really tomorrow, rain or shine I will need to go out because I don't want this hanging over me once the baby arrives.


I have been saying for weeks that I was going to clean and re-fill the birdbath (well it is full now), I keep meaning to put cayenne pepper in the flower pots to keep the squirrels from digging up all my bulbs and primulas, - I really need to see if I can find the cover for them. For some reason just walking out of the flat and around the building seems like a lot of work, pregnancy hormones I guess!

What To Do....

...When this happens:

OK - This is a staged photo, but it has happened to me and my husband a number of times that we have spilled a large number of cotton buds (or toothpicks) on the floor. - Obviously once such things have been on the floor they are no longer fit for their original purpose, so the question is what to do with them other than throw them away?

Well what I do is I save them for cleaning, - you know all those fiddly places that you can't get at, I used to reach for a new toothpick or cotton bud, however I now have a bountiful supply for cleaning purposes.

My PC is Dead

Unfortunately my PC appears to be dead, I have managed to set up RNG's laptop online - several attempts plus a half hour on the phone to the broadband support but it now works thankfully! I am not used to using a laptop and get very frustrated by the mouse and keyboard so I will later on set up the manual keyboard and mouse with it. First however I will try to rescue various files from my pc if it will stay alive for long enough to put things on a memory stick - it keeps dying after a minute or two at most and then re-boots with the "blue screen of death" - except last time the blue screen only showed one line and the wording appeared to mean something like DEAD! I have previously a few months ago burnt all the photos onto disks -this was after a previous fright, so I am glad not to have lost all those.

I will hopefully in the next day or two do a blog over on my "baby blog" about setting up our tiny one-roomed home for a baby. So if you are interested, please check that out too.

The First Week at Home

My first full week at home has flown by, RNG had an unusual work schedule this week which meant that he was home during the morning till around 1pm 3 days, all day on Sunday and Wednesday and then working from 7.30am today, so we have had a lot of additional time together which has been nice. RNG has been busy working on a sermon that he will be preaching this Sabbath, so I have been able to get on with a few things around the place during the time he has been working.

All the baby washing and ironing has now been done but I still have quite a few sewing projects I need to work on - 3 absolutes before the baby is born and the others I hope to do too. The flat is beginning to look tidier and I am starting to get a bit of a routine which is good, I really hope to have a good routine going before the baby is born as I know that in the beginning it will be enough just to focus on the basics like feeding and changing baby, eating, sleeping, keeping up to date with the laundry and showering every day, so having a basic routine that incorporates those things (except baby-care) already now will hopefully help later on... We shall see!

This morning I have spent a lot of time deleting, filing and responding to emails so now I need to log off to do some more things around here especially as it is Friday and the Sabbath will be here before I know it.