Category Archives: Getting Ready

Before Leaving on Trip

I’m hitting the road Jack…

But I do “want to come back for more”!

FINALLY!  Saturday March 7 2015 is my expected date to leave.  Hopefully I will be packed up and ready to fly between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m..  I Have a luncheon date in St. Louis with a very special hunk of a man! (And his wife).  And when I say hunk, I mean hunk!  He is my beloved nephew Eric, first born son of my late brother.  Eric is as special as he is big.    When I get there I’ll take a picture of this late middle aged nephew of mine and show you just how handsome he is.  Maybe just being handsome runs in the family.  Eric has a heart for the Lord and his spirit is gentle.  In my eyes he is a gentle giant in so many ways.  I look forward to visiting with both Eric and his wife.

Between flight take-off in my little Silver Fox (yes, my car has a name too, as well as Soul) I have about 10 more days of preparation I’d like to do.  So I must zoom it all in three days and still make sure I have time to go and say my farewells to two more beautiful men, my precious grandsons ages three and seven.  I think the farewells will be the most difficult part of the “getting ready to go” aspect of my journey.  Then one son, one daughter-in-law and my precious husband of 42 years I must bid goodbye.  And that is the sum total of my family living in Wisconsin.

I’ll try to post another update on Saturday night when I reach my destination of Rolla, Missouri.  Must sign off as I actually need to accomplish a few thousand things today.

The Wardrobe!

So I say I’m going to travel light!!!!!  For all who know me you probably already know that that is an improbable feat.  But I try.  So last Sunday (a week ago) I decided that I might as well go through my summer closet (here in Wisconsin two closets are a must) and pick out some outfits to mix and match for the warmer weather I am hoping to encounter.  Warmer weather seems like a dream about now when temperatures are plunging below zero.  Now that I do not know exactly when I can leave, due to surgery and recovery time, it makes it difficult to gauge exactly what and how much I’ll be needing.  Maybe it will already be warmer weather when I leave and then again maybe it won’t.  So…do I need to plan for winter clothes and summer clothes?  How many outfits will I really need for 16 weeks?

So, I tried on everything just to make certain it still fit; mixed and matched, sorted and resorted,  added and subtracted, put in some winter clothing, took some out, added more, and then decided I needed more summer outfits.  By the time I finished I had enough to last a year. One shirt for each pair of pants, then over blouse or jacket to go with two or three outfits, shoes for all occasions (all two styles I own), and another pair of pants (just in case).  All said and done I will have no room in my car except for my clothes.

So I have decided I will allow myself to choose half of what I currently have sorted on the spare bed (except for the underwear).  Since my hair is so short I’ll just leave my comb and brush and home.  That will help save some space.  Maybe I should take a picture of what the spare bedroom looks like right now before I do the culling.  Then again…maybe I won’t.  After all, I need to save my dignity!

Maybe it’s a good thing I couldn’t leave on time.  I still need more time for packing!

What is the first thing to do?

When looking ahead to plan a trip that will eventually escalate into three to four months what is the first thing to do?  Well for me it was thinking.  And after all the thinking and planning I look back and wonder if that was the  first thing I should have done.  Perhaps if I hadn’t started thinking about it I wouldn’t be in the predicament I am in.  Predicament???  Well, let’s put it this way, because of my grandiose thinking I have put myself in a pickle, so to speak, of information overload.

As we know, when a woman is planning a trip there is always SHOPPING to do!  So I did.  My first purchase, being a photographer, was to purchase a new (non-professional) camera.  Decided I needed something compact and small and easy to handle.  My pro-cameras are heavy and to be honest with you I am tired of how heavy they are.  So, my compact little RED camera became my newest addition to my family.  My cameras are a bit like children.  Can’t live with them and can’t live with out them, temperamental at times and often misbehave.  The first misbehavior part was the fact that my old tried and true MAC would not accept the new updated technology of little MISSY RED!  Yes, my camera has a name…So…I had to get a new computer.  A laptop this time so I could take it with me.  I made one great huge mistake however.  I bought a PC instead of a MAC.  What a nightmare!  After using a MAC for so many years I was lost as a goose.  A PC is like a foreign country where I don’t speak the language.  So, lots to learn.  Then had to have a new program (Lite-room) to handle my new technologically advance camera card.  So, lots to learn.  After taking two long long classes I finally downloaded something free that does the job and is a lot easier to use.  Hey, don’t laugh!  I was used to Photoshop on the MAC and I learned that.  Perhaps it is just that my brain is a bit older now.

Then I ended up with a different phone and oh my goodness…that is like holding a little brain in t he palm of your hand.  I know why it is called a smart phone.  It is smarter than I could ever be.  But…I’m learning.  And then, THE BLOG.  What a nightmare!  Something else new to learn and learn and learn and re-learn.  And I am still learning.  So I hope you bear with me as I learn as I go.  And I won’t even mention the new GPS I must master. (OK you techies out there, quit snickering!)

 

Months Ahead

Wow! If I only knew months ago how much it would take to get ready for the planning of a four month adventure I might have started sooner.