Frazzled.

I can just imagine Tigger rolling his eyes in a post about the chaos in our home.  The holiday was a bit dull without his input.  Returning seemed to trigger a dam-burst of 'stuff that needed doing'.

Mr T would have had at least one post devoted to Mr B getting him a new motorbike.  The old one has not gone yet and I suspect (or Mr T would have suspected) that there is an emotional good-bye that can't be faced so it still occupies a space in the now very crowded garage until Mr B has completed the transfer of his affections to the new machine.  F however is aware that Mr B is an inveterate hoarder and NEVER willingly lets go of anything that has gone beyond its useful life.  

Pressure will be brought to bear.

Purchase of land in NZ is now 'done and dusted'.

Allotment harvesting peaked on return from holiday.  Two of the 6 beds have now been tucked up for the winter under a deep layer of straw, a further one has been cleared of bean fences and part dug to remove bindweed roots, then will be buried in a thick layer of FYM (translates as farm yard manure for those  who haven't yet encountered Northsider Dave).  The remaining three have winter veg in them: parsnips, celeriac, leeks, kale, turnips, winter radishes, and mustard greens, chard (silverbeet in my language), and Jerusalem artichokes.  After the first frost, the yacon will need digging and storing.  Between now and then the NZ spinach and the tomatillos will come to an end (their bounty having been stored by then in F's freezer - in Mr T's very crowded garage), and the greenhouse will have been cleared except for the 9 big pots keeping spring bulbs safe from the predations of squirrels.

The grass needs cutting - a prolonged mild autumn has the greensward growing at an accelerated rate.

At home F has devoted non-work time to clearing a summer worth of pernicious weeds from various 'ornamental' garden spaces and applying plenty of mulch.  Birds and hedgehog(s) get fed daily, and a 'tidy-up' stain that is about 5 years overdue has been applied to an assortment of wooden fence panels.  That job is a bit like the Forth Bridge - the painting seems to be ongoing.  (However, I understand they have resolved that problem as regards the Forth Bridge, so maybe the redundant bridge painters could make a start on the rest of our fences.)

What's the rush?  Onset of winter?  Not with the weather we have been experiencing, so what is her problem?  (Try to imagine Mr T asking "What is your problem woman? Enjoy this nice weather. Let's take a nap on the lawn, let's watch that grass grow.")  

Mr T however did know the answer.  He was supervising from the end of my desk the day the phone call was received.  He listened in on the conversation.  He reviewed the report I had to prepare after an analysis of the subject under discussion.  "Singapore huh?" he asked.  "Just a short placement this time" I replied. "You won't have to move house again."  

"When?" he asked.  "Well how long is a piece of string?" was my answer to that.  "Mr B too?"  "No just me. You and Dad will be together here at home like you and I were together when we lived in Greece."

Mr T "Will you miss me?"......

I miss you every day Mr T.

That was a few months ago and the 'when' has turned out (middle of this week, shortly after the return from holiday) to be 16 October.  I probably could (or should) have been given more notice in order to arrange flights (no seats now available on direct flights that arrive in the day before work starts... that's a whole other grizzle) but HR were enjoying their holidays and couldn't (or wouldn't) give their attention to it during August or September.

"You could fly with Vietnam Air via Ho Chi Minh City?" said the travel agent helpfully (or perhaps hopefully).

Could I indeed?  Possibly I would choose that option if I were permitted to actually visit said city for a few days, but the reality is that I would only see the inside of an airport during a middle of the night stopover. 

And don't think for a second this is some cushy business class number. According to the 'company approved travel agent', Business Class is so expensive booked at such short notice that the ticket prices fall outside the 'company approved travel policy'! 

Economy seats do not come with access to luxurious business class lounges.  Floors, corridors, and cheap plastic chairs between flights will be the order of the day (or night).

Flights options are via - Zurich, Istanbul, Doha, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, or Hong Kong.  Eenie Meenie Miny Mo....which would you expect to have the most comfortable floors and plastic chairs?