On Packing

The work week started off with a bang, unfortunately, with a few rush projects from people who can't seem to plan ahead, but by today things had calmed down again, for now, and I was able to spend some of the work day thinking about and starting my packing. 

(And I assure you, I appreciate the leisure to do so! One of the many benefits of working from home is not needing to "look busy" if there's nothing to work on. I recall reading books on Project Gutenberg, the last time I worked in an office and needed to fill time while sitting at the computer.)

I also appreciate that the extra time allows me to move around doing things but take frequent breaks. I'm not temperamentally suited to leave it to the last minute, but that would also be physically hard for me. My back has been bothering me lately, despite the prodigious amount of ibuprofen I take, and when I move around too much or bend over for more than a few minutes, it tends to remind me that this is Not A Good Thing. Frail human bodies!

So I started making piles and sorting through things, and it occurred to me that in a past life, I might have been one of those eccentric women who would bring an extra pack mule on a trip to carry her feather bed. Not that I have ever slept on one, but I can imagine the luxury of not leaving the bedding to chance on the road.

In this life, however, I am merely someone who breaks down everything she wants to pack into groups, according to whether I'm checking a bag or not, and what I want access to on the plane versus that which I want to carry with me on the plane (even if I am checking a bag) but don't need to get to, etcetera, etcetera.

What can I say. It's a method that works for me. When I lived in Massachusetts and drove to Syracuse to visit family, I had a separate list for driving, too. Though at least all that just had to fit into the car, not within luggage limitations. I don't travel light very well; I definitely prefer to just-in-case what I bring. But I do have to rein that in, for the sake of the suitcase.

I had stuff on the floor and turned around at one point to discover I had gained a helper.

Doesn't she look pleased with herself.

I got most of the Stuff sorted out, and tomorrow (or tomorrow night, if work is busy all day), I'll do the clothing. Yes, that's always last: my pack-planning tends to go in this order:

1. Knitting
2. Things (bath kit, on-plane entertainment and care, just all the stuff)
3. Clothing

What order do you go in?

As I Get Ready

I leave on Saturday, and while I haven't started the real work of packing, I brought the luggage upstairs this weekend. 

Someone is starting to have ... suspicions.

"I have a bad feeling about this stuff..."

She's not going to be too happy with me.

Meanwhile, would you look at this forecast?

The break from the humidity will be nice, but I haven't been that cool in months. How many layers can I cram into a carry-on?

Silly Shoes

I've been thinking about what shoes to wear when I'm traveling in, oh, gosh, nine days from now, specifically because my foot is still sore---it's definitely better, but it's still not fond of shoes, which is going to be awkward for the travel days at least. I was thinking about my black sneakers, and how if I loosen them, that will probably work...but I shouldn't count on one pair for the week, in case they rub on the foot in a spot that gets crabby about it.

Frail human bodies, you know?

I decided to check the local Bealls Outlet, and see what random solutions might be found there. And I found something that I think looks pretty silly, but seems to be decently comfortable.

Yes, furry-lined slip-on sneaker-shoes. The bit around the ankle even goes up if you want it to.

I think they look silly, but acceptably silly, and for $15 I'm going to give them a try. I may need to replace the elastic lacing so I can make it looser on the bad foot, but I'll wrap up in the ace bandage and experiment first. It has potential. 

The Beauty Is Still There

One of my Facebook memories this morning was a photo I posted eight years ago, of the beauty in tulips even as they were dying.

And I mean, come on, just look at that detail!

Nature is amazing. And it reminds me that, even when I'm not feeling perfect, I still am. And so are you, in case you also needed the reminder.

A Few Random Things

When I feel like blogging but I'm not sure what to write about, sometimes looking at the pictures I've taken recently reminds me of things.

This weekend was a get-stuff-done weekend for me, working on the to-do list ahead of my trip in two weeks. I got a fair bit done off the list, as well as a few things that weren't on the list but feel good, like organizing the linen closet (which, boy, did it need it).

Maggie was quite displeased that I got around to flattening some boxes that had come in recently. Where did the boxes go? 

Don't worry, she still has multiple boxes all over the place. Just not those boxes.

Speaking of herself, I had to laugh at this part of an article about hurricane prep. 

Yes, I have plenty of pictures of Maggie!

It wasn't all work, either: I read this book, The Mars House, over the weekend, and it was good! 

Strongly written and full of uncomfortable ideas, people grappling with how to do the best they can, and a few twists that really took me by surprise. If you like sci-fi, give it a look. 

This is a container of dirt.

Okay, but hear me out. I plant cat grass for Maggie regularly, so I buy a thing of potting soil every now and then. Last week, I went to plant a new pot of grass, and found the bag had lots of tiny flying bugs in it, yuck. (At least that answered the question of where the heck they were coming from, since I had been noticing them recently, just one at a time, but they like to fly directly into my face and it was, you'll forgive the pun, really bugging me.) I threw it out, bugs and all, and bought a new bag, and a container to seal it into, where, crucially, I can tell before I open it if the bug thing is happening.

The things I do for her highness.

I bought a new set of sheets, one of my old ones having finally worn right through in the middle, and at first I really laughed at the slogan on the tag. Live your adventure? On sheets?

But on second thought, yeah, that's about as adventurous as I get. Send me to bed.

Finally, someone's cat, doing a very Cat thing. I mean, it had to hang there long enough for the owner to get the picture! How?

Cats are not quite subject to things like the law of gravity, are they?

It's Movie Ratings Time!

It has been a hot minute since I last posted the movie ratings from the Boston Globe that amuse me so much. Well, almost two months! Here we go:

For some reason, the single curse is amusing me. Did they count? Or say after, it was only one, right?

Nice!

I guess it is, at that. As they go on to say:

That's specific! And also, ouch:

This is what the local paper had to say about the same movie. Four and a half stars versus two! 

Interesting.

Had you heard that?

Just very casual (but the good kind, as opposed to below). By the topic, I would have been interested in seeing this, but by the review, well:

Ouch.

Not the good kind of casual.

How nude is that, exactly?

Tennis, anyone?

In the name of love! They should have worked that into the tennis movie rating.

Oh, no, not glamping! 

Ha! But also no thank you.

Any of these on your list?

A Day in Maggie's Life

I'm still thinking about doing a day in the life or photo every hour post for myself, but in the meantime, I thought it would be funny to do one for Maggie's life! This is from yesterday (Thursday).

A few notes to start:
*Yes, it's mainly eating and sleeping, with some bathing time. She's a cat. This is what she does.
*Cats sleep a lot, and older cats even more. Maggie is 12, according to the paperwork that came with her when I adopted her, and that's not young for a cat.
*Yes, she does eat very frequently. It's partly because she's spoiled, and partly because she has a sensitive system and is prone to throwing up, so I prefer to give her smaller amounts more often.

6:30 AM: We get up: she knows what the sound of the alarm means and hassles me immediately for breakfast. She isn't impressed that I go to the bathroom first, but in short order, she's getting her wish. I will spare you a photo of the cat eating in a dimly lit room.

7:30 AM: Still on my lap, while I finish with the newspapers and my coffee. Though she's very ready for more food as soon as I get up!

After eating, she is generally ready to be tucked into a blanket, though it can be a production getting her in while maintaining the illusion that it's all her idea. Which blanket she wants varies, but recently she has been very fond of this grey blanket on the file cabinet in Mom's room, because of course. Why be on a bed or somewhere soft, really?

Cat, implied

As she often does, she came out when I was eating lunch. Her radar for me eating is very finely tuned!

"Anything good?"

After I ate, I fed her again, and she washed her face on the lanai, as she likes to do.

Then she did some dithering about where she wanted to go, but she finally ended up back where she had been.

Two hours later, there she was again, saying, hello, food? She finished off what was left in the bowl from last time.

Where did she go from there? She was in prime "come settle me" mode.

This time, she wanted to get in the blanket on the bed, but as Mom was taking a nap under it, I threw another one on the bed for Maggie. Which she grudgingly accepted.

If you've lost count, this was her fourth nap of the day. Nice life.

An hour later, around 3, out she came again. More food? Sure. Then the blanket? No: she was in full Goldilocks mode, and nothing was quite right. But when I went back to my desk to work, along she came a few minutes later. Mom?

Tried again, nope nope nope.

Maybe more food?

Nope.

I eventually picked her up and put her under the blanket on the couch. This doesn't always work, but it's worth a try. She lasted about 45 minutes and then:

She had to wait while I wrapped up a few things, and then she allowed as how she could eat the food I put down last time. So nice of her. Shortly thereafter:

And back under a blanket.

But an hour later, she came out on the lanai and settled down next to me, on her box.

There's just nothing like a box.

My eating dinner brought her to my side, as usual.

Once I was done and had fed her, I sat down and boom, insta-lap-cat.

Later on, she moved onto the footstool for a really energetic bath.

Showing off the belly fur.

And then back on the lap.

An hour later, back to the footstool

An early-to-bed night for me meant that after feeding her again, she was right there with me. 

I call this the sideways lap.

She doesn't spend the whole night in bed with me, but comes and goes. This morning, I woke up just before the alarm went off, and she was right there, in my face, ready to start the circus again. As we often say here, good thing she's cute!