Only Twelve Days To Go

Whenever someone asks " how long will you be gone" I always seem to reply, six weeks. Well, today I check the calender and it's actually seven weeks and two days. That's the longest uninterrupted stretch away from my home ever. That's even longer than my offspring who spent five weeks in China and five weeks in Thailand once. Our other California boy is currently in Indonesia chasing the waves. And Steve usually spends five weeks in Greece every year with his Mom, but for me, never more than two weeks. I tend to miss my bed after a week.

The list of things to do before we leave grows longer by the day, there are houseplants to board, there are bills to prepay for two months, there are decisions to be made what I need to take, what I can and cannot live without.

Since there are three separate countries involved with different climates the clothes have to be planned really well. The main trip is to Greece where we will do some touring around, a week in Germany for me and a one week cruise to Turkey and the Greek Islands. We are only allowed one suitcase apiece but I am going to try for a third one for shoes and jackets and stuff. Hopefully Olympic Airlines will oblige us. If not I guess we will have to pay extra, it's tough to get seven weeks of stuff in two suitcases.

First and foremost on my list of necessities if my pillow. I learned from our trip to Cuba that not all pillows are created equal and for me a good nights sleep depends on it. So I'm squishing this nice big feather pillow into the suitcase, no matter what.

The next important thing on my list is this little travel chair. It weighs in just under three pounds, Steve can carry it easily and it will make my life so much more comfortable if we have to wait in lines anywhere. I have a problem standing for any length of time and I'm told that getting back on a cruise ship at the end of the day entails lineups.

This is what it looks like all folded up and it has a neat carry strap that Steve can just sling over his shoulder. What that man won't do for me...

And then of course, the absolutely most important stuff, the wool. A knitter can never go anywhere without yarn so this is some of the stuff I'm bringing, together with a couple of projects that have already been started. I left it kind of late to order from KnitPicks but they obligingly put a rush on it and it arrived today.


Then there are the mundane things like can I get Sensodyne toothpaste in Athens, well maybe not so I'd better pack it, and so it goes. Before you know it, there is a whole pile of stuff with nowhere to put it. The presents too take space, my MIL always has a little wish list, things I know she can get there but I guess when it's from us they are better!

The laptop needs to go in for cleanup, I bought a 4 GB usb drive for photo storage, both camera's are ready to go and today I'm going out in search of The Lonely Planet books for both Germany and Greece and get one of our cellphones unlocked so we can get a local SIM card in Greece. Gotta be prepared, as the offspring would say...

While all this is happening my best friend is in Montreal at the bedside of her 93 year old father, who is very ill, may or may not survive and all I can do is send prayers her way and hope for the best. She was with me every step of the way when my Mom was hospitalized this past April and now I can't do that for her. It breaks my heart.