Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Making lists

I don't remember if I've mentioned it on my blog before or just on twitter, but my brother and sister-in-law are taking me on an Alaskan cruise this month! I fly to Vancouver (hello, Canada!) next Thursday evening and the ship departs on Friday. We'll be gone a whole week, with lots of fun excursions (including the world's longest zip line, a four-mile hike, a canoe trip, a horseback ride) and lots of time to kick back in a deck chair and watch the sea and land slide by. Also, whales.

Naturally, I'm trying my best to get everything ready well in advance. I've bought everything I need except a rainhat, which I plan to find tomorrow, and my carry-on bag is mostly packed already. I plan to pack my suitcase Tuesday night (I can't do it Wednesday night since I have to mow the lawn). I even bought a huge package of tissue paper so I can fold my cocktail dresses (for the formal dining evenings!) around sheets of it and minimize wrinkles.

But I keep thinking of things I have to do. So I've started making lists. My packing list even includes what I'll wear on the plane (jeans, blue striped shirt, green shoes, pearls, anklet). My to-do list includes important things like getting together with the woman who's coming in daily to take care of Jekyll, to give her a house key and make sure she knows where everything is, to trivial stuff like taking the trash out the morning I leave (it's not like I'm leaving for months; if I forget to take the trash out it won't be too nasty when I return).

The weekend after I return from Alaska, I'm turning right around and flying to Chicago for Worldcon too. So all the time I'm thinking about packing/preparing for Alaska, I'm also keeping the follow-up trip in mind.

And oddly enough, I've been reading up a storm. I can't settle to writing anything. I've read approximately 1,000 pages this week, maybe more, and I'm making inroads into my to-be-read shelves. I've read three books in the past few days that have been on the TBR shelf for literally years. And that's good, because after I buy a rainhat tomorrow I'm going to hit the bookstore.

9 comments:

Richard said...

Been reading a lot myself this last week: Germline, 7th Sigma, The Last Stormlord and something else I can't remember at the moment. I've *almost* got one layer of my TBR shelf cleared--and I've found a series that I want to bring on the cruise. :)

But I'm having trouble figuring out what clothes to bring. T says a sweater and a good waterproof jacket are important; apparently there's a lot of weather to deal with this time of year.

K.C. Shaw said...

Yeah, one of my coworkers used to live in Alaska and says it'll probably be windy, rainy, and cool (at least compared to what we're used to). If I can find a raincoat I like today too I'll bring it.

K.C. Shaw said...

Oh, gosh, you just reminded me I need to load up my ereader this weekend! *adds to list*

Diana said...

Alaska is beautiful. My mom went several years ago with her sisters. It's on my list of places to visit right after all the warm climate ones. :D

Have a great trip!

K.C. Shaw said...

I can't wait! I'm mostly packed now, and how I crammed all that stuff into one small suitcase astounds me.

Kelly Robinson said...

Wow, you're quite the jetsetter. I haven't taken a trip in ages. I'd be thrilled to go to Vonore at this point.

K.C. Shaw said...

Vonore is my next trip. Um, for the meth cook-off.

Caryn Caldwell said...

Wow! That sounds like so much fun! Hope you're having a wonderful time.

K.C. Shaw said...

I leave Thursday, but I'm already having fun packing. :)