Summer Preparations

Summer is here - and boy don't I know it. And how do I plan to spend my well deserved holiday? Relaxing by the beach, letting the sun pigment my pale body, while listening to the beach boys on my Mp3?

Hell no! Relaxation is buh-buh-buh-oring!

My holiday will be dedicated to digging, knitting, studying and possibly some drinking!

The most exciting part of my summer will be the fact I'll be taking part in an archaeological dig in Hungate, York.

Hungate is a huge dig that proceeds a major development project that will start sometime after 2012. It's major finds have been a mid 19th - early 20th century communal toilet block (bet you never saw Indiana Jones interested in that sort of crap! ... sorry), 19th century mill and a Viking building - there is a promise to uncover a Roman cemetery. It shows how diverse in time this site is.

Another grand thing about this whole visit is that I will be able to stay three weeks with my Nan. She has promised me that I will be flocked by relatives.

I'm not looking forward to see my stomach after this - my Nan prescribes to breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. Not included snacks - and a bucket load of cadburys which is essential when going into town.

I can't wait to see her again - I really hope we will have to chance to really know each other. I want to know all about her life.

What I have needed to get ready for the trip and the dig:

*I booked flights with Etihad Airways to Manchester

*I booked my train to York with trainline.com a cheap 10 pounder direct train made me a happy little Vegemite!

*I needed some functional tops and where better to get them than threadless.com. Not only are these shirts comfortable, and full with wonder and quirkyiness - they are great for when I come back to Kuwait. They cover everything and allow me to keep some form of individuality. (Damn them for having a $10 sale the week AFTER I sent my order through!!)

*With functional tops, purchased I needed some functional pants. I got one pair of jeans and two pairs of cargos from Marks "thank god they have pants that fit me" Sparks.

*I needed some archaeological gear; steal toed boots, a trowl and gloves. I was feeling desperate after searching Kuwait for good quality boots! I thought I'd have to spend my first couple of days in York trying to find this gear - and not having a clue where to go.

Allison at Archtools.co.uk saved my life. I found her site on Saturday, thinking I had no chance of getting them next week I emailed her. Through a couple of emails and one phone call to the lovely lady - she has organised a quick delivery of

they should arrive before me! (Lets hope the shoes fit!!)

While I'm doing all that digging, I have to study as well. I'm 3 weeks in my Medieval Archaeology course. I'm hoping that the dig will contribute to my essay or give me more of an understanding of this period.

Another exciting aspect of this is that this will be my last module in my course. Hopefully by January I will have my certificate in Archaeology.

Lastly, York is one of Englands wool hubs. I will need it for...

This challenge is that I make 17 mascots for our Reception + Y1 classes before September 15. Trust me - it wasn't meant to be 17, but our class numbers went up... significantly!

Etsy is the place where I got all my patterns.

HandMadeAwards


Fuzzy Mittens


Amy Gaines


Now, you might have noticed the lack of Tristan in this whole thing. Disappointingly, we are being all adult, and even though we planned him to come along to the UK - we wont be able to afford both of us to go.

But he will be going to Bahrain while I'm away - and hopefully when I come back we'll be able to go somewhere more local.