Packing

 I gave away my big suitcase thinking I’d probably not travel again and now I have this wonderful opportunity.  I go down cellar to dig through the closet to see what I had for travel gear not sure how mouse eaten anything would be. I knew there was a garment bag, but that wasn’t something to use for this trip.

That small under the stairs closet is full of bags, back packs, and eww, lots of mouse droppings. It’s a squeeze to get in there and smells musty. I keep waiting for a critter to jump out at me or some creepy crawly to get in my hair. I move the pile of back packs expecting any second for something to lunge at my face. Yes, two suitcases besides the garment bag are in the back and under other things. It’s not easy to get to them. I tug and pull while a couple things pushed to the side fall against me, but I do it. The cases are dragged to the bottom of the stairs. I hedge hop them up three steps at a time. They are heavy and with my bad knees, especially so. Darn, I am getting weak in my old age.

I want to clean the bags and let them air out for a few days before packing. Putting  the smaller one on the spare bed, I open it. No wonder it was so heavy, there’s another inside! That one is empty except for some aromatic grasses I must have placed inside when putting them away. The grasses no longer have a scent, but neither bag smells. The herbs must have worked.

I put the big case on the bed and open it. Oh, my gosh, my old pink camera bag! I’d wondered what happened to that and thought I must have gotten rid of it.

I am pleased as I now have plenty of room for clothes. I’ll probably spray the bags later with Lysol disinfectant and let them lie open a couple days before starting the actual packing. I’m sure Freyja, my cat, will have fun exploring.