I am getting ready for my big trip. I haven't made any firm plans yet but I am burning my bridges by telling everyone that I am going at the end of January.

I have a lot to do before I go. Christmas is only a fortnight away. This year it will be very low key as neither of the boys will be here on Christmas day. Krista and Greg and their families will have our Christmas Tree celebrations next Saturday. My wider family will have our usual casual celebrations on Christmas day.

The van still needs work done on it. I am waiting for a new fan so that the air conditioner will work again. It will need a service early in the new year and maybe new tyres - certainly a new spare tyre.

I don't expect to go much off the beaten track on this trip so I am not particularly worried that I have everything I could possibly need. I will stock up to a certain extent to make life simple but I am not going overboard as there will be shops everywhere I travel.