Friday, May 11, 2018

packing

Catherine, my darling daughter, has been working on the best way to pack for this trip to the UK. I've done a lot of  travelling, but I've never bothered about having to take everything on board the plane with me. I've always tried to pack light, but not take much to stow above or below the seat. I carry with me a handbag that has everything I need on the plane, and let the baggage crew take care of the rest. However, Catherine has other ideas. She came with me to buy a new suitcase that is supposed to hold everything I'll need for the two weeks I'll be there. (She's staying an extra week to visit cousins in Scotland--I saw them last year.) But her suitcase is the same size as mine. Hmmm. I always knew she was smarter than me.
My way of packing my big suitcase (for my husband and myself together) is to use two pillowcases. One for him, and the other--a different colour--for me. Inside the pillow cases, I have plastic bags to pack shoes, and net laundry bags for underwear and for cosmetics.
Catherine wants cubes. So I went with her and got what she recommended. They're a pretty blue, all matching, with labels on them saying "shoes" or "underwear" and so on. Bigger ones for sweaters and pants. Solid plastic ones for shoes or dirty laundry. I have to wonder what the difference is, besides the pretty blue plastic. I'll use them all, of course, but I still plan to put it all in a pillowcase. Just for the sake of tradition, I guess. I'm not going with my husband this time, so the colour of the pillowcase won't matter.
How do you pack?

on the road again

Well, not exactly the road. But traveling again. This time, no travel agents! (Why would I ever use one of them again? I'm not that stupid.) Nope, this time my dear daughter made all the arrangements. So, in just 12 more sleeps, she and I will board a plane for the UK. I guess we have to change planes in Calgary before we'll actually be doing that. Then we'll be in London for six sleeps and head off for North Wales. There, supposedly, I'm to go hiking. Well, I think I'll be strolling in the villages while she goes hiking. Once upon a time, not so very long ago, I would have enjoyed the hikes. Now pushing eighty, I'm not so keen anymore. I've been studying the Welsh language, though, and I hope to have some opportunities to see how well I've progressed in that area.
I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out.