Good Friday, Getting Ready to Go

Easter weekend brings with it many good things...the family service at St. Comgall's this morning followed by brunch of sandwiches, sausages, and sweets for the children; a sunny day and tonight a full moon; the conclusion to the BBC series Lark Rise to Candleford, in which we'll find out if Dorcas Lane and Sir Timothy will ever get together or not; a plan to make one more batch of homemade sausage rolls; our last week of relative relaxation before really packing in earnest next week for our departure at the end of the month.

I picked up a few more books for our summer bedtime reading at the used bookstore this morning. We've already got Swallows and Amazons and The Wheel on the School tucked away, now we've added Treasure Island, Gulliver's Travels, and Little House on the Prairie to the stack. Tom Sawyer was supposed to be for this summer but we got started on it already. Last night I read the chapter where Tom and Huck witness the doctor's murder in the graveyard at midnight; it was a little intense - Reed listened with wide eyes, clutching the blanket up to his nose - but as far as I know he didn't have any nightmares afterwards. I explained to Reed my own trick when I had been reading something that turned out to be scary - read something else before turning out the light. I think the antidote to scary Mark Twain was the Far Side.

The backpacks are out of the closet and mine is halfway full. I've got Reed's things mostly set aside, ready to put in the bag as soon as Walt is done using it for the gym, and Walt, as usual, is procrastinating packing until the last moment. He has been helping with the removals of unnecessary possessions to the charity shops, though. I read a travel book by Dervla Murphy last year called Full Tilt, which chronicled her bicycle trip from Dublin to Delhi in the early 60s. She made a list of what she carried with her and it was fascinating to me to see how little a person could travel with. Dervla Murphy is an amazing woman and I can't compare, but I am getting better at traveling light. For this portion of the trip, packing into a backpack and my leather satchel I have:

Three nice skirts
One short sleeve black t-shirt
One fuchsia tank top
One short sleeve embroidered eyelet cotton blouse
One long sleeve white linen blouse
Two pairs linen trousers (tan, geranium)
Espadrille type sandals

One pair of jeans
Two short sleeved t-shirts (black and brown)
Two long sleeved blouses (both brown)
One green fleece pullover
One white cotton cardigan
One casual mini skirt
Two cotton tank tops
Birkenstock sandals
Hiking boots

One pair of work jeans
One pair khaki shorts
Two work t-shirts
One long-sleeved work shirt
One brown wool cardigan for work
Black leather Birkenstocks, Teva sandals

6 pairs of cotton socks
12 pairs of cotton undies
6 cotton bras
1 pair of pajamas

Basic toiletries and first aid
Glasses and contacts, handkerchiefs, towel, and washcloth
Alarm clock and booklight
4 books
Raincoat
Purse w/ notebook and wallet
Computer, camera, digital recorder, CD player, CDs
French book
And last but not least, tucked away, all of the teeth which Reed has lost while we've been here, except for the one he lost playing outside. Don't tell him that I'm the tooth fairy, please.