A Post-Travel debriefing

Not the worst way to pack!  Found this gem on etsy.com, but it has already been sold...

The best time to evaluate the success of your packing plan is the day after you return; theoretically you're not exhausted (ahem...) and you can still remember what choices and decisions you made on your trip.

My results were very mixed on this trip:

• I did NOT pack enough underwear.  Don't ask me how this happened, but let's just say that it was really handy that I was visiting relatives. I've gotten so accustomed to assuming that my normal suitcase stash will be complete, that I didn't actually pull out my pajamas and undergarments and check them...
• Two pair of black pants were perfect - one was cotton twill (which I wore for all of the yard work) and one pair was silk, which I wore for more social occasions.
• The weather got much warmer than I had expected, so I didn't much need my cardigan, but because I had tee shirts, I was fine.
• I really need to dump out my toiletries kit every now and then - I was travelling with two toothbrushes, and enough hair conditioner for a family of five.  Neither of these are big deals, but it's a bad habit to get into - not checking what I'm carrying is a slippery slope that leads to a suitcase full of unexamined silliness.

Other travel observations:

• Leggings are not pants.  They never were, and they never will be.  Not even when you're travelling.
• One should not go directly from cleaning the garage to catching a plane. One should not even dress in such a way that this misunderstanding could take place.
• One large tote bag will be much easier to manage than three or four smaller handbags.  I saw some heroic jugging acts than might have been avoided...
• If your suitcase is too big to put in an overhead bin,just accept it, check it, and get on with your life.  Haggling with the airline staff is not elegant, and you're not going to win.
• It's a really REALLY bad idea to fly wearing sandals.  It's often quite cold, and going through a security checkpoint in your bare feet is just icky.
• Similarly, wearing all of your heaviest jewelry when you fly is ill-conceived, unless you can whip off all of that jewelry very quickly.
• I am never so happy as when I am on an airplane...

Normal blogging service will resume soon!

I mention below in a reply to a comment, but I should make this a special note - what unusual color combination(s) would you like me to play with?  I'm interested in pink and orange, orange and red... what else?