Procrastination

The movers are coming tomorrow, and not just for the survey - for the real thing: all my belongings in cardboard; newly empty rooms in the house; final decisions made of what I need now and at my first post; borrowing Tim's toothbrush and wearing the same socks for the next six days (I might need to rethink that last bit). Also, I have to do a dry run on my luggage packing to make sure it all fits in the suitcases that will go on the plane. The rest will go in my UAB (unaccompanied air baggage - NOT, as Tim notes - the University of Alabama - Birmingham!) or my HHE (household effects - the stuff I won't see until post). But you may notice that instead of doing these fun, fun tasks - I'm here at the kitchen table writing this instead.

To back up a bit: the trip to California was great. I got to see four of five siblings, my dad and my step-mother, not to mention my second home-town of Sonoma. Saying goodbye to Pops in the driveway left me a crying mess. My sister Eden took me to the bus-station sized Charles M. Schulz (yes, of Peanuts fame) airport in Santa Rosa, and sent me on my way with a baggie of homemade cookies and a snapshot of the two of us with the larger-than life-sized Lucy statue.  I took one last big breath of warm California air and got into the little plane for Seattle. My flight was ten minutes early in landing and my bag hit the carousel as I walked off the plane - all was moving smoothly.

And then I got to my truck in the off-site parking area and got screwed.
No, really, there was a massive screw stuck into the tread of my left front tire and the tire was flattened down to the rim. Tim, coincidentally, had a flat while I was away, too, but his was discovered while driving on 405. (Could this have something to do with the ongoing feud that has recently heated up with our neighbor over her free-range chicken? Hmmmm....) Fortunately I've kept up with AAA and they had me back on the road in less than an hour.

My new in-cabin cat carrier arrived while I was away. It will be Dodger's little personal RV for our flight on Saturday. It's sized to fit under the seat, and technically, Dodger does fit inside it. And by "fit" I mean as my foot fits in my sock, but with some creative tail placement, I think he'll be okay. I've been putting cat nip and treats inside the carrier and leaving it on the living room floor in an effort to make it seem comforting, familiar and inviting to him for when The Day comes. Yeah, it's not working so well.

I'm also torturing myself with the "last-time" blues: Last time Tim and I watch "Amazing Race" on the couch together on Sunday evening; last time I prune my roses; last time I watch the fog drift in past my kitchen-window; last time I ... oh, knock it off and go pack your stuff!