Trip planning

   Every time I leave home for an overnight stay, it is a production.  First, the laundry has to be done.  Let's face it.  My laundry is never caught up.  I am not my mother's daughter in that respect. After the clothes are clean comes the difficult decision of what wardrobe will be needed .  This process can take quite a while depending on the length of the stay.  Only once I have erred on the side of under packing.  The sister trip to the Galapagos for three weeks found me wanting another couple of tee shirts and a least one more pair of shorts.  Now I know: back to taking more than I can possibly wear.
   Once the contents of the suitcase have been determined, the house needs to be cleaned.  Since I have two canine friends, they have their own live in sitter.   I cannot in all good conscious leave a messy house for the dog sitter. I don't really have much to clean but I manage to turn it into a long drawn out affair.  Of course, sitting down every thirty minutes or so to do something completely unrelated to the task at hand, does add to the time line.
   I have spent the evening getting ready to head out of town for five days.  I am exhausted before I even leave.  Everything seems to be relatively under control.  Tomorrow will tell.  It is two weeks before I leave for Europe.  At least I have the sense to start getting ready now. I have a feeling that the house may look like a tornado hit it before I have my one lone suitcase sorted out.  It will be interesting to see how much can fit in the expandable case.  The shoes maybe the problem.