Packing, Driving and Maid Service PLEASE!

 Sorry I've been MIA for a while, been struggling with depression and body issues.  Part of the depression I managed to winkle out the why of, I'm going to miss my volunteer "job" like crazy.  I love working at the library, love being around the people, books and it gives shape to my day.  Here, I have around 2 hours max with TH before he leaves for work at 5 pm.  Then alone again until he gets up the next day.  There will be something to keep me busy however, more about that later.

Monday night I packed the last of the boxes and suitcases for the trip home.  Finished up on the last few cleaning chores, didn't get to the vacuuming however.  Oh, well when I get home it will need a good cleaning, and it had only been a week since the last hoovering.

Tuesday morning I ate breakfast, packed my bento for snacking on for the drive to Henderson, Nevada, washed up the dishes, put the stacks of items into George and headed out.  And promptly made an error on the freeway, didnt get over into a far enough left lane and ended up being forced off that particular interstate.  So, Martha (the GPS wife) attempted to lead me back on the right path, only for me to mistake her interchange instructions and was again off course.  Finally taking pity on me, and as the freeways filled up, she switched to surface streets and driving became less of an act of bravery and faith and more do-able for me.

Five very l-o-n-g hours later I pulled into the hotel parking lot, after a few misses with off ramps and wrong turns...sigh.  Between heavy traffic, an exhausted driver, and unfamiliar streets it was a crap shoot on how long I would make Martha "recalculate" before arriving at the casino/hotel.  They had valet parking which I took full advantage of, pulled out my overnight bag, and checked in.  Within 10 minutes of checking in, I was fast asleep, and was out for around an hour.

Funnily enough, I had to walk past masses of slot machines, and other games to get to the restaurant and coffee shop and never felt the least twinge about wanting to give it a go.  Mainly because all of the people playing them didnt look the least bit happy, and if I'm going to toss money out, it's damned well going to give me some enjoyment, like a book or a movie or a new big fish game. 

Had a great dinner of gluten free pasta, a nice salad, a glass of white wine, and after watching a bit of tv was out like a light again.  Morning found me back into George with a new location for Martha to direct me to.  Of course you know I got off on the wrong track, but the good thing was, I had forgotten to fill up the tank so the route Martha took me on was lousy with petrol stations.  With Georges tank filled I finally got my shit together and managed to get out of town an off toward Provo Utah.

TH's best friend since elementary school days wanted to drive to Alaska with his son, and he didnt have anything he felt he could trust. And! It got George to Alaska, because the drive to Provo proved that I am done done done with long distance driving at around hour 4.  I will happily sit for 10 or more hours in the passenger seat, but behind the wheel my attention span is remarkably short.

After a nice visit with the long time friend and his wife, he jumped in George and took off, the wife took me to the Salt Lake airport for the last leg of the trip home.

And I arrived home to be greeted by this.....

The entire house looks like this.  The last time he ran the vacuum was December!  The dishes were cleaned up at least.  I have been cleaning and tossing of junk, trash,  been putting stuff away and after a few days of this, the house still looks like a junk heap.  This mess is going to take me a while to win against.

Maybe I should play this song for him daily after I return to Alaska?