Life is Good!

Here at the luxury doghouse/cat condo, my 5 little foster kittens have returned to their rightful foster mom (she back from one week of vacation), so it is quiet and calm here once again. I can now focus all my attention on the Muirfield neighborhood BBQ this afternoon, lining up a Haz-Mat crew to clean the bathroom where the kitties stayed (or else declaring it our next hazardous waste Superfund site!), dog-walking next week, and, yes, PACKING for Italy!

Remember I said I was going to "pack light"? Well, check me in a couple of days, and we'll see how that's going....

My guest bedroom is designated as "Italy central", and all the vigorous planning and packing and mumbling to myself is going on in there. I'm trying to keep two ideas in my head as I pack:

1) we'll have a washer and dryer -- I can keep my clothes clean! A novel idea, and a complete luxury for a (typically) budget traveler. Somehow, this should translate into bringing fewer clothes.
2) they have stores in Italy that sell stuff -- as Nada says, "You don't have to pack as if you're going to a third-world country. There are stores in Italy that sell what you need!" Again, somehow, this should translate into bringing less stuff.

Rio will be staying with his breeders in SC while I am away. This, for him, is summer vacation at summer camp, and he loves being there! His birth momma (age 15!) is still with Ken and Margaret, and Rio loves to be reunited with her, as well as all the other whippets and dogs at their kennel. I'll take him down Wednesday night. It will be a sad goodbye, but he is in excellent hands with family who loves him.

So now I've posted somthing to the blog. Can I just go to Italy now, and tell you all about it later? This, from Stanage, on Sunday afternoon....