Packing It In

The title of this post is literally what I'll be doing for the next 9 nights and 10 days... in Italy. There are so many things to do and see and we leave tomorrow! Things are better with my kitty, too, which is so relieving and I won't have to freak out the whole time we're gone. Snowball is improving day by day, she's now eating on her own (a great sign) and they removed her catheter and say she's looking physically better. I know that cat loves to eat as much as I do, and you know I feel bad when I'm not hungry. So does she. But now that she's chowing down, I have a good feeling about her progress. Normally, when at home with me, she likes to scarf down her food as fast as possible and makes slurping and snorting noises until the bowl is empty. Seriously, the kitty loves to grub.

Snowball is still on frequent insulin doses but her levels have maintained since Sunday and I'm hoping she'll get to be rid of the feeding tube soon. When I talked to the folks at the vet today, they said she raises her head whenever you call her name and she's receiving lots of love and attention from everyone there since they've all grown a little fond of her.

My mom and my step-dad are my heroes... they are driving from Texas to Alabama early next week to pick up both my cats and bring them home where they'll care for them until Mike and I return in August. What lifesavers! And I'm grateful to my cousin and her husband that they were able to keep Snowball and July for so long.

Today's crisis is a much simpler one than this past doozy of a weekend. I had to take my mound of clothes and pack them into my single, one and only suitcase. I like to overpack because you never know what life might throw at ya that you need to be prepared for. We are visiting four different cities and the weather is supposed to be mid-70s while we're there. But after 9 months in Scotland, where the weather changes every two seconds five minutes, you learn to be ready for anything. Like hail in May.

So I had to go from this...

...into this...

...which I did, but would it close?

 

One very questionable zipping situation later, and my bags are packed and I'm ready to go!

There's not a spare millimeter left in the dang thing. But I do plan on getting a little shopping in while we're in Italy. That's when it comes in handy to have a husband that doesn't pack quite as much as you do, and that puts an extra empty bag in his luggage "just in case." Turns out "just in case" applies to me a lot.

We've got our maps, our itinerary, our list of common phrases in Italian, magazines and snacks for the plane, fully charged laptop (mine is finally home from the tech doc, good as new!), i-pod, phones and camera... Yup, I think I'm ready to take on Italia.

I made chicken and vegetables in black bean sauce for dinner, then we took a break from packing and watched TV for awhile and had a Twinkie. Remember those things? I hadn't had one in years, but a guy at Mike's office paid £20 to get them sent over to the UK. I guess he wanted to see what the fuss was all about!

Now we just need a few more prayers that Snowball keeps getting better, that mom and step-dad have a safe trip and that Mike and I survive ours without mishap. Like I said... we're packing it all in.

Could you expect any less from us?

Ciao!