Plan? What’s A Plan?

Tweety

Pati, Les, and Tweety arrived at our home a little after 7 a.m. to begin Les’ day.  A little breakfast first and off the two guys went.

New place to explore and a breach for freedom has been on Tweety’s mind.  The harness she wears doubles as a “luggage handle” when she gets a bit over anxious and tries to bolt out the open front door.

Walks around the yard, with the restraint of the leash, is a bit not to her liking.  She smells all the neighborhood dogs that roam free and wants to meet them.  At her home she has a fenced in back yard where she has total freedom to go out the door and explore what transpired since her last trip out.  Now she is tethered and not used to it.

While Joe and Les were at Coldiron yesterday going through the Orientation and getting outfitted with a new phone for Les, Pati and I went over some the things of what to expect when we begin the loading process.  Not actually doing it but talking about it was enough to make Pati’s eyes glaze over.  She and I are alike in this manner.  I’d rather be seeing and doing the actual stuff rather than just hearing about it and imagining what I’m to do.

The plan was, when the guys got back, we were going straight to Coldiron to get the trucks checked out and loaded then head back home and leave the next morning.  Well…..the trucks were not yet in the yard and were promised to be there by the end of the day.

Pati and I went through all of the suitcases and bags she brought along for the two weeks.  I sent her an email about what to pack.  Like me, she figured that bringing everything was the best plan of action.  I began sorting out clothes and getting them situated.  Shirt and pants for Les, then a blouse and pants for Pati, then do it all over again.  I lent her a packing pouch I normally use to keep our clothes in so they don’t all fall to the bottom of the suitcase once it is standing.  Got them both three sets of clothes packed up, plus an additional four sets to be stored in a Space Bag with the air vacuumed out and stored in a large plastic storage bin.  When they run out of clothes in the suitcase there is a back up. Underwear and socks were placed around the clothing for easy access.

Going through her “bathroom” stuff, as she calls it, I drug out our shower bag and emptied it and put her stuff in it.  We had not used the shower bag for a long time and now it would come in handy for Pati.  Transferring her stuff into a more sturdy and compact bag with lots of pockets for stuff was my intent.  These items will be taking a beating, fall from a height of five feet and be jammed into a small space with the door pressing hard against it.  Protection from this bad treatment is necessary and a tote bag would not do much good.

While we were going through Pati’s clothes to pack I found she only had 3 pairs of jeans to wear for the next two weeks.  Shocked?  Yes I was shocked and dismayed.  She has made sure that Les has had proper clothing but has neglected herself in the process.  We made a trip to Wal-Mart and I made her spend a couple hours in a fitting room trying on pants and pajamas.  I was serious, there was no way she was going out with us and not be equipped as everyone else was.  She deserves to be properly attired and cared for!!

By the time the packing of their stuff was done, shopping trip over, it was getting toward 6 p.m.  Our  neighbor came over with the laptop we purchased from him for $150 for Pati to keep track of her bank account and emails.  Their computer at home died a couple weeks back.  It was more selfish on my part than any act of generosity.  When she and Les are out on the road while I’m home she has to be able to keep up with my blog. 🙂

Tweety, waiting patiently

We were all hungry and it was after 8:30 p.m. Joe wanted to go to Olive Garden for dinner.  Pati has never been to one and we figured it was about time to begin her “education” as she puts it.

Dinner around a table, some place new, and conversation flowed.  Laughter was plenty as was the food.  I’m looking forward to getting her out  into the world and having new experiences.

When we got home, I was a bit worried about Tweety bolting out the front door in the dark.  Opening the door carefully…no dog.  What happened?  Where did she go?  I got in and turned a light on.  There she was, tucked in a crate at the front door patiently awaiting for all of us to return.  So cute.  These three are in for the time of their lives.  The little dog will have so much “bye bye” time that she’ll be ruined by the time they go home.  Pati will be going places and seeing things, eating at places she has only heard of.  Les will get to play with the “big toys” he’s excited about.

Leaving this morning for Coldiron to begin the inspection and hook up process then getting on the road and heading to Hickory Hills, Illinois…where ever that is.  Well, we will be after I give the food that will spoil to our neighbor (the computer guy), get the dishwasher going, empty the trash can, and get the rest of our stuff loaded.

The adventure will get on the way today.