Sometimes–like this morning–I panic, thinking of all the people I’m leaving behind. I want to go hang out in the woods with my friends. I want to spend take advantage of every long summer day by drinking in the garden with good companions. At times like this, it’s best to remember the adventure that’s upcoming. Stay tuned for your first installment of Packing: The Neverending Story.
Have you ever thought what you would take with you to a desert island? That’s one of the thoughts that fill my odd moments now. What, among all my possessions, are we going to pack into four fifty-pound suitcases and two carry-ons to start our new life in Scotland? It’s reminiscent of emigres making their way to America or eastern families joining wagon trains to the west. I”m picturing our own ancestors, generations ago, making their way across the ocean in the other direction.
Items we’re definitely bringing:
3-man Coleman tent
Sleeping bags (2)
Kindles (2)
Laptops (1.5–the jury is still out on whether the eePC counts.)
iPods (2)
Cameras (2)
Hiking boots
My very favouritest brown leather ankle boots
Alarm clock
Calligraphy pen
1 Ren Faire outfit (1 kirtle, favourite black leather half bodice). You never know when you’re going to need to blend in in the fourteenth century. I really could have used this outfit when I was studying abroad in Germany. True story. We started practising Orff’s Carmina Burana for chorale and surprise! it turns out my entire university town (village) was going to be taken over by a ren faire for a week. With all the cobblestones and the Bavarian village look going on (it was, in fact, a village in Bavaria), the effect was much more realistic than I’m used to seeing in the states.
Sun hat(s). My collection is vast (see this post), but tragically, they will not all be travelling with us. Any sun hat that doesn’t pack easily is a serious nuisance on a plane–I speak with the tragic voice of experience.
Wool coat–good for damp Scottish winters.
Christmas stockings made by NTS’s family, in case we don’t make it home for Christmas. *sniffle*
Items we’re leaving:
My sewing machine. I really missed it the last time I was in Europe, though and that was only for six months–I may have to see about picking up an inexpensive one. What if we unexpectedly need costumes? What if we want to hang curtains?
Wool cloak. I can’t help feeling that this would be extremely useful. We shall see.
So that’s it for today’s installment of freaking out/jumping up and down in excitement/freaking out again. Next up: What ever happened to those convention pictures?
FarOuterHebrides 