Have I ever worked this hard in one day?

Probably not. I only have 3 days until I leave for my little trip to Dubai. Since I have been working full time in the shop we realised this morning that I haven't had a second to do all the things that need to be done before I leave. So today Dan worked in the shop and I spent the morning buying things that I needed for the trip - suntan lotion, a sun hat, sun glasses, after sun lotion and so on. Then this afternoon I planted out the entire vegetable garden, a job which last year took me two weeks. The problem is that I should have done it a few weeks back, but because I've been working in the shop I just haven't had time. And if I left it till I got back it would be too late to get a good crop. So today I worked my little (!?!?!) butt off in the garden. I dug, weeded, seeded. I planted in 5 varieties of potato (not an easy job in land made of clay). I sowed seeds for 5 varieties of lettuce, 2 varieties of radish, spinach, beetroot, onions, spring onions, sunflowers, and lots more. My hands are raw from cuts and scrapes, and encrusted in seemingly irremovable dirt! No, not a pretty site.

But I am very excited about my trip. Today in Dubai it was 38 C in the shade (!!!!!!!!!) so I am a little worried about what I have let myself in for. I will be leaving from Dublin airport at 7.30pm on Tuesday evening, flying throughout the night, stopping at Paris, and arriving in Dubai at 8am (their time) on Wednesday morning (5am our time). Hopefully I will get some sleep on the night. Our friend is picking me up from the airport and showing me around their villa, then going off to work and leaving me to unwind and relax. My plan is to relax a lot! I will not get a tan because it is far too hot for me to come out of the shade, but that's ok.

If I have access to a computer I will post a blog post or two whilst I am away. Oooohhhh, I'm so excited! But right now, I need to have a bath, eat, and sort through the bin bag of 'summer clothes' (ahem, we don't actually use them in this country so my range is very small) that Dan just got out of the loft for me.