Preparation for Travel

This is how I know when I am emotionally ready to take a trip: I start packing my books. "What should I take? How many books? What kind of books? What kind of reading will appeal to me??" 

I have collected a few cheap ( and you know, when I say 'cheap', I mean cheap) paperbacks that I can discard after reading. Often at the last minute, I start swapping books in and out of my bags. This one. No, this one. 

Second, I begin thinking about handwork. I always take something to work on: knitting, crocheting, sewing, embroidery, something. If it is a car trip, I often bring knitting because I can knit as a passenger and it doesn't make me throw up. All other activities make me carsick. This time, I think I will bring 4-inch squares for a quilt. Tea Leaves, it is called. (see photo)  

Third, I worry about what clothes to bring. Donald told me that I was required to replace that green fleece jacket that I wear all the time. I know that I wore it all over Florence a year and a half ago. I think I wore it in Alaska five years ago. I have no idea how old it is, but he says it is beginning to show its age and it's embarrassing to be seen with me wearing it. So. I ordered a new jacket - two, actually, because I wasn't sure which size. Neither fit correctly - one was too small, the next size up was too large. Oh well. I packed them up and sent them back. 

I bought a jacket at R.E.I., brought it home, wore it around the house for about 20 minutes, and took it back. I just didn't like it. Finally, I took a good look at the old green fleece jacket. I don't see what the problem is. After a lot of fussing, I am taking my favorite jacket.  

The clothes to be packed have been hanging from a hook on my bedroom door for four days. Each night, I look at the weather and swap out one or two items. So far, it has been warm, cold, wet, dry. I will just have to Be Prepared. 

Once we are in transit, we begin to play the "What did we forget?" game. We know that we can plan for weeks, make packing lists over and over, but there is always something important that gets left behind. My goal is to always have passports and flight information at a minimum. Stay tuned: What will we forget this time??