On packing for a trip

 Lots of questions today! 

First, Lexi and Muprhy have a babysitter to keep them company. I'm afraid I'm going to come home to find them with many new bad habits! But that's OK. They will get short walks, so they won't be totally wild when I return. I HOPE! 

How will DH cope? I'm not sure, but one thing -- he will NOT be climbing the mountain. He is doing his thing for the days I'll be in high altitude. It wasn't even up for discussion! 

The portable office? Well, the only reason I bring it is for blogging. My penmanship sucks - I can't even read my writing, and it's physically painful for me to write for long periods. I can write neatly for two words, then I get bored, and the rest is illegible. I don't want to leave the memories behind, and it allows me to share the adventure daily or almost daily. It most certainly won't be at any set time, and I may be very sporadic in writing a blog post. It's all going to depend on Wi-Fi. If I have it, great; if I don't, then I'll write when I can. 

But it's a great question - and quite frankly, I don't think I'd enjoy my vacation if I didn't write about it! That's so weird. It's all the other deadlines and emails that I'm delighted to leave behind. 

Actually, that's an interesting question. I've been on many adventures, and I've blogged while on every single one of them! That's what makes me happy, and then after, I can go back and read about my vacation because we quickly forget what we did each day! 

If you look along the right-hand side of my blog and scroll down, you'll see Tour Atlantic, Tour Arctic, Tour Pacific, Tour du Canada, and Camino for some of them. I didn't tag each blog post, but it'll get you in the right spot! 

Speaking of packing, I'm almost done. Just down to some small things that I'm remembering, like nail clippers and a few pages of Sudoku in case I get bored. 

The two backpacks combined weigh just under 20 lbs, which is amazing when you consider what's in them! In the largr one, there are two pair of mitts/gloves - one being ski mitts, a sleeping bag liner, a saraong, long underwear (top and bottom), two pairs of pants, including a heavier wind pant, threee collapsible water bottles, a pair of sandals (not my Tevas, but my Keens which are bigger), two jackets - a rain jacket and a winter coat. Socks, underwear, and two shirts. I'm probably missing something. So only clothes are in that bag. I managed to get a complimentary set of hiking poles, so I don't need to take those, which means we don't need to check our luggage. BONUS!!!

Two backpacks are ready!

I took off my Camino shell, but the badge is still on, and I added my little Canadian flag keychain. 

The small bag has everything else - meds, snacks, toiletries, etc. It's not quite full and that's OK. Thankfully, we won't need to be carrying everything all the time, but we will be moving somewhat frequently. I can put one backpack on the front and the other on the back, and my waist pouch. DH thinks I'm a geek, and I'm good with that! 

However, I was being smart the other day and packed all my non-clothing items in small zippered bags to keep them separate.. Then I re-read the information, and plastic bags are BANNED in many African countries. Not just a slap on the wrist ban, but fines and possible jail! And they check at border crossings. Yikes! I had better not tempt fate, so I had to find mesh bags and repack everything. Thankfully, I had enough mesh bags to make that work. 

Repacking to avoid jail time! 

We would never consider such drastic measures in North America. Someone might whine! I say slap a fine on the situation and move on! We are soft in North America -- way too soft! If I've done anything else wrong, I'm going to have to plead total ignorance, and hopefully they forgive me! 

So I'm good! Despite all the paperwork we've done for this trip, yesterday was consumed with more paperwork. I did NOTHING for my trip to Spain, but this trip? Oh boy --- more visas or visa applications, and then we get the visa when we arrive. So all that paperwork had to be printed and packed. Payment for this and payment for that -- it's all a money grab for tourists when they enter the various countries. 

Then I had fun with the bank as I needed to transfer some money. Well, I'm not good with passwords and two-step authentication, but after a frustrating time, I made it happen. It was mostly my fault, but still -- what a total hassle. I KNOW -- it's for our safety and security, but what a process. At least the next time, it'll be much easier! 

I went to Atmosphere earlier in the day and scooped TWO pairs of pants, one I'll take with me, the other can stay behind. But I'm going to exchange or return the Patagonia pants. They were just not the right style for this trip, and I found them too short. I should have just started out at Atmosphere. No worries -- all is good! 

Since I won't be able to post pictures - well, not easily, here's something you might be interested in. This is the map of the hike up the mountain. Each of those dots represents the camp we'll stay in each night. We start in Moshi. Look at those elevations! Yikes, and it could be as cold as minus 25 °C at the top. I can hardly wait! 

A map of the hike up Mount Kilimanjaro

And for the geek in me, this is the same area, but from the Geocaching website. It's not on the same scale, and the dots represent geocaches, and there's one right at the top. Not a real cache, but what they call a virtual cache. Yes --- I'm determined even if I have to crawl the last 200 yards. OK -- I'll be sensible and do what I can. 

The same area from the geocaching website

Since geocaching takes cell phone power and I'm trying to be very careful since I won't be able to recharge, except from my power bank, I'm not sure how it'll all work out. I might do a bit more research and print off a few requirements before I leave, and then I can complete the caches when I have Wi-Fi again. Most of the caches are earth caches and highlight various unusual scientific formations, etc. Sounds fun!!!

On my errands yesterday, I spotted this car. OK -- what the heck is that? Even the sides were covered. 

A "clown" car?

A number of my embroidery group had these small appliqué scissors, and well, I needed them as well. I found them at the local fabric store. Renewing my membership was worth the amount saved on the ticket price. I also saw beautiful green linen, so I bought lots to make an outfit for the wedding. It's not quite the right green for the "color scheme" of the wedding. Well, I can't help that! It's been approved - probably because I'm the crazy mother of the bride! Are there mothers of the bridezillas? That wouldn't be me! 

Mini applique scissors

Here are the crazy dog pictures of the day. It was not hot by any means, but when Murphy found a sprinkler, she stood in front of it for a while, had a little drink, and then decided to plop right down and get the full effect! 

MOM - we need a shower like this at home!

Meanwhile, Lexi is sunbathing in the backyard. And I caught her sleeping in her bed this morning. Seriously? She needed the blankets washed? 

Sunbathing

I did not get to my real work until 4 PM yesterday. I also didn't have the opportunity to go for a walk, but I searched through the house enough that I put on a lot of kilometers. I couldn't find my toque, so I borrowed one from DH. The fourth assignment is ready to go. I just need one quick proof before I send it, and then I have all day to work on the final one. I'll do what I can until I run out of time! But I should be good. 

However, there are three paperwork things that I would really like to accomplish before I go. And YES -- none of them just popped on my desk, they have been there for weeks! I should know better, but I don't! 

If you are interested in the Colour My World class, I hope to send the information email by tomorrow. There's no action to be taken at this time; you'll have one month to decide whether to sign up. 

Colour My World quilt

If you are potentially interested, send me an email TODAY and I'll get the information to you. 

If you are interested in the jacket class, you'll find information about the class in the Thimbles and Things newsletter, which will be released on August 19th. So get on their distribution list. 

And that's it for today! Lots to do -- lots to write, and it's all going to be OK. The packing is done! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!