Well, before I could pack I needed some plastic bags. I went to the bank and the post office and No Frills and got some cash, mailed a couple of essential things, bought a couple of essential things., came home and tackled a three-month backlog of essential papers beside my desk top computer, actually put them into file folders for easy reference. All this because I have to pack the bag that's being picked up, emptying it first because I didn't take all the staff out of it when I was notified of the cancellation/postponement of the cruise. Now I start again. In the meantime, I have checked the temperatures of the ports of call. They range from the 30s (Celsius) in French Polynesia to 10 degrees in Hobart, Tasmania. Layers! Layers is the answer.

I keep coming across the hidden blessings of procrastination. I was able to toss or shred or save to write on the other side of papers that I'd kept too long to be useful or relevant. Just think how much higher they would have piled up if I weren't going away.

Now what I have to do is pack on paper. I make a list of the clothes I need and the clothes I want and the clothes that will cover for the clothes I don't take. You know the standard advice for packing: pack and then remove half the clothes you've packed; take money from the bank and then get twice as much.

It's been a long day and my battery is running low - on me and on my computer. And we're springing forward tonight. No turning back.