Projecting into the future...Not a worthwhile undertaking...A year ago, my first jittery video...

This is the second odd sparse tree that we've seen around the island.

The fact that we're leaving here in a month has been running through my head since I wrote it in yesterday's post, over and over again.

When we see these blue bags on the banana trees we know this is a banana farm. They don't use pesticides instead using these blue bags to keep the insects off the bananas. The first time we saw the blue bags was the day we arrived in Belize, many moons ago.

The preparations for leaving, the packing, dropping off the rental car, the possible overweight luggage and the other annoyances of departure keep flooding my brain.

The steep stairways with railings are placed throughout the island to allow pedestrians to get "up" to the next street.

I tell myself to stop thinking of this. Let me revel in our remaining time in Madeira with the same peace and ease we've both enjoyed during the past month and a half since we arrived.

It's interesting to see plants and trees we've never seen in other countries.

As hard as I try, the thoughts continue to waft around my head. Projecting into the future is not always a good thing. Planning for the future is. That, we have covered.

The low lying clouds always create an attractive scene.

Whenever I feel a bit of angst, I immediately start thinking of what I can do to relieve the uncomfortable sensation. Today, I keep asking myself, "What is this really about?" As I write this now ("they" say writing is therapeutic) I realize it has something to do with the packing, more than anything else. My overweight luggage. That's it.

Lately, its been cloudy several days a week which we don't mind when the scenery remains beautiful in any weather.

The solution is clear. This week, in an effort to avoid procrastinating, I hereby promise myself to go upstairs and start making a new pile to be donated to a charity in Madeira. I still have items that remain, unused, unnecessary. Why do I hesitate to let them go?

Lovely.

When we picked up our box of "stuff" at customs in Funchal weeks ago, it contained replacement clothing items for me; two pairs of jeans (one to be cut into capri length, another to be cut into shorts), three long skirts (can be worn to dinner in the somewhat dressy dining rooms on the two upcoming cruises), three plain tee shirts and one pair of comfy white leather Keds to replace the worn out pair I now wear everyday.

The decorations in the streets was in preparation of an upcoming annual "beach party."

Not only do I have to cut off the extra material on the jeans to lighten the load but, I also have to dispose of items to compensate for the added weight of the new items. Also, I must rid myself of the items that are responsible for the fact that my luggage was still overweight.

When we saw these decorations we thought it was for an upcoming wedding. With the language barrier, it wasn't as simple as asking.

This morning, while dressing I looked in the closet of my "dressing room" (an extra bedroom in the house) seeing many items that need to go. The sooner I do this, the more chance I'll have of ridding myself of these annoying thoughts.

Only one neighborhood was decorated. We assumed it was a private celebration.

Generally, I'm not a procrastinator. If there's a task to be done, I do it. I rationalize that these past weeks have been very busy booking vacation homes into the future which has basically taken most of the day when we aren't writing here or out exploring.

Brilliant color as still some flowers continue to bloom.

We've yet to find a vacation home in New Zealand and must continue the search. We'll be there in a mere 18 months. The problem appears as a result of high prices and to our surprise, the number of property manager's that don't reply to inquiries, something we've never experienced in the past.

These two tasks on hand, both of which are daunting to me, must be accomplished soon to free my thoughts which will ultimately add to my ability to enjoy our remaining time on this lovely island.

An appealing entrance to a house in our neighborhood.

OK. The world has seen my commitment, in writing, of the intent to accomplish these two tasks within a week. With a plan in mind, I find myself on the road to "mental freedom" looking forward to reporting back that these tasks are accomplished, the sooner the better.

Now I have to hang today's load of laundry outdoors, do some chopping and dicing for dinner, and hopefully run upstairs and make the first pile of items for which I'm willing to say "goodbye."After that, both of us will be back online searching for a home in New Zealand.

Stay tuned...

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Photo from one year ago today, June 30, 2013:

This video was from the church bells ringing from the church bell tower across the way from us while we lived in Boveglio, Italy. (Having no video taking experience to speak of, it was jittery). It rang the longest on Saturday evenings at 6:00 pm in preparation for Saturday mass. For details from that day, please click here.