Practically Speaking

by sonomasojourn

Oh boy. Packing for three months in Sonoma should be easy. But it isn’t.

For all intents and purposes, packing began last October, before I left for Singapore. I thought I was organized and efficient and pretty much done with my packing before I headed out; I would come home from Singapore and just add a few things to the piles I’d left in my bedroom and voila! I’m done packing!

So SO wrong.

From early December until yesterday, there were piles of clothes on my bed, on the wicker chest in my room, on the floor of my bedroom. My bathroom was consumed by all sizes of bottles: shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, hand cream, foot cream, antioxidant cream, creamy facial cleanser, eye serum, vitamins, prescriptions, perfume. Office supplies, greeting cards, iron-on transfers, ephemera to scan were scattered throughout my office. What about shoes, cameras, power cords for the MacBook, iPad mini, iPhone5, Dell computer, Kindle? Do I take the two boxes of hair color I have in the bottom drawer, even though I’m quite sure I could buy hair color in Sonoma?

How many black pants do I bring? I need tennis clothes, workout clothes, casual clothes (as in really casual) as opposed to casual clothes (when you’re going to dinner and you shouldn’t be wearing sweatpants, which qualify as casual clothes, even though the sweatpants are from Chico’s and look quite nice, actually, even though they are sweatpants). Do I need boots? I know the weather in Sonoma is likely to be nicer than the weather in Boston during the time I’m away, but if there’s no snow on the ground I’m happy wearing flipflops year-round. Ask people from California, however, and boots are worn from September through the end of June, when the cold weather ends. So how many boots do I bring? I’ll let you know — I forget how many I ended up throwing into the box ‘just in case’.

Then there’s Smokey.

I pack up the bicycle basket Steph and Lisa gave her to ride around Nantucket in. She loves the basket, at least on Nantucket. Hopefully she’ll love it in Sonoma, too. I bought a litter box and litter and food the last time I was in Sonoma (on my way home from Singapore in December), so I didn’t have to ship that. Still have to get a scratching post for her; will do that locally. Gave her a ‘tranquilizing’ treat this Saturday, Sunday, yesterday, and today (travel day); hopefully she is enjoying her flight underneath the seat in front of me. No food or water this morning before departure; I know she was confused because we have such a routine: when she hears me get up in the morning and go into the bathroom, she comes running up the stairs and waits until I’m done. Then she runs down the stairs and waits for me at the feeding station; that’s when she gets her wet food and her dry food — but not today. Whaaaaaaat????!

The Final Count:
I mailed out three priority mail boxes through the post office; eight boxes (small and large) via UPS; another box through the post office; and I am traveling with three checked bags. In addition, I ordered a printer to be delivered to Sonoma, as well as Unjury (my favorite protein drink). I hope all of these boxes and cartons don’t arrive at the same time … my landord/lady might abort my stay before I even unpack for fear of homesteading in the cottage.

Shipping costs were crazy high; I’m sure there’s a more economical way to do so. I’m also thinking I might have overpacked.

I’ll let you know.