into the woods

everything is packed and accounted for! well, almost everything. the tent and tarp are at E's, and will get packed (and stuffed into whatever room is left in the car) tonight.

the two bins, rolling suitcase, and massage table are in the car already, because i needed to visualize how much space i have left. still to come: three foam rolls, one stack of foam tiles, one rolling cooler, two loaner pillows, and a partridge in a pear treeeeeeeeee!

i have clean clothes and a clean, freshly-made bed for my return. the car is clean and loaded with maps and CDs, the bill payments are scheduled, and i've written a love letter to hide under E's pillow tomorrow morning.

here's the remainder of my To-Do list:

Shower
Work on two clients
Get adjusted
Gas up car
Finish packing car
Transfer ID and debit card to money pouch
Hug Mom and cat goodbye
Pack tent, tarp, sandals, and all applicable chargers
Add tylenol to my bottle of Aleve
Dust/vacuum/change E's sheets/take out trash
SLEEP
Kiss my wife goodbye
DRIVE TO FEST!!!!

i'm already hyperventilating with excitement, and will probably have to take a benadryl to get to sleep tonight! the goal is to be on the road by 8am, depending on how much time i spend hugging E. neither of us are thrilled about spending 5 days apart. sigh.

here is a picture of Houdini, enjoying a morning sunbeam. please enjoy:

sick day

the bad: we've both been felled by a sinus infection. (there really is nothing more romantic than doing shots of Nyquil with the woman you love.)

the good: i did not get the cough.

 the good #2: according to E (who is a day or so ahead of me), it appears to have a fairly rapid progression - she's already feeling much better, which means tomorrow i should be feeling much better also.

the best: we are sick now, not two weeks from now while we're in the woods.

in the meantime, my fever and  i will sit here with our chicken soup, tea, and tissues, and watch mindless television until it's time for bed.

carry on...

prep

the solar Christmas lights are charging in the backyard (must find campsite with a tree that gets a reasonable amount of sunlight). the now-clean rubber duckies on garden stakes (to mark said campsite) are drying on the picnic table. i found my purple cafeteria tray and my blue mesh toiletries bag, and have purchased bandaids, pain relievers, and a 3-lb bag of trail mix.

i'm trying to take less stuff this year. we're camping out in the general population this time around, and while my early worker arrival time means i drive my stuff in, i still have to haul it a considerable distance. occasionally, there are large, two-wheeled carts available, which cut down on the number of trips, but i'm not going to count on snagging one. so...less stuff, and packed in a way that won't kill me to carry.  :o)

here's the rough plan:

Tent
Massage table
Rolling suitcase (with all-terrain wheels, lol) full of clothing and any other heavy things it will hold
Plastic Bin #1, containing bedding
Plastic Bin #2, containing campsite stuff (lights, ducks, toiletries, tarps)
Rolling cooler (snacks and beer)
Three double-bed-sized rolls of memory foam (bulky, but not heavy)
Hard foam floor tiles for under memory foam
Backpack with daily essentials and water bottle
Containers for bringing delicious magic water home
Sand chair for concert seating

it still seems like a lot...the trick will be not bringing extraneous items.

hmmm.

27 days to get it figured out....