Let the Packing Begin!

We've been packing things up little by little for the last several months, but honestly, Scoob has been doing most of it. I finally feel like I made a dent in the packing that I've needed to do. Today, Scoob helped me take my mini-grandfather clock down from the wall. I dusted it (oh my god, the dust!) and packed it up while Scoob wrestled with the massive nail we had pounded into the wall to support it. The nail nearly won. We broke two hammers on it and Scoob finally got it out of the wall with pliers.

Of course, now we've realized we're out of spackle/putty, so I'll stop at Lowe's on my way home from work Monday to get some (and a replacement hammer). I also got a bunch of books (where do they keep coming from?!) and odds and ends packed up. I feel good, if hot and sweaty.

Now I'm washing sleeping bags for next week. I'll be making the annual August trip to Idaho with my dad, step-mom and sister in a week and either sis or I (or both) will probably end up sleeping on the floor, so I figured I had better wash the bags since they've been stowed away in the garage since our last camping trip a couple years ago.

I wasn't sure if I had enough vacation time left, but it turns out I have just over 2 full weeks of paid time off left, which should be just enough—1 week for Idaho, and 1  week to drive out to North Carolina. I'm actually pretty excited I can make the trip this year. I'll get to see dad, step-mom, and sister again, and I'll get to see mom one more time (she lives near where I'll be meeting up with the others), and I'll get to visit my dad's parents and siblings again before we leave. I don't know what next August will look like for travel, so I'm very glad I get to go this year.

Last weekend Scoob and I went to REI and I bought a rooftop cargo carrier for Roo. Since I'm all but 100% convinced we'll be driving Roo to North Carolina, I thought a rooftop cargo box would help make the drive more comfortable by getting some things up onto the roof so we're not just jammed into the car with the cats. Then, I thought, we'll I might as well get it now so we can use for the Idaho trip. And there you go. We'll probably use it again for camping or whatever, so I don't really feel like it's a moving expense, thought it will help with the moving.