Another Indignity

The time is drawing short and there are only two days before we leave here, headed for Spain and our next Viking cruise.  We are getting things done.  I still have to lay in treats for Ashley and her husband, who live here when we are gone.  I did get all of my mail finished and sent.  I got my laundry folded, which almost never happens.  Walt has put a stop on the mail and the newspapers and harvested our pomegranates for Ashley and David.

I have been trying to get out to the nearby outlet mall to get a new bum bag and some clothes. 

Bum bag.  We used to call it a fanny pack until Peggy came here and told us that in Australia "fanny" is the term for "vulva," so Australians refer to it as a "bum bag."  We started calling it bum bag in case we should run into Australians some day.  But when I went to the luggage store today I reverted back in terminology to be understood and said I was looking for a fanny pack and the clerk told me they aren't permitted to call it a fanny pack any more.  Now it's a "hip hop" (though "fanny pack" seems to be prevalent all over the internet). 

I also found these fun synonyms on Wikipedia:

A fanny pack, belt pack, belly bag, buffalo pouch, hip sack, phanny pack, waist bag, waistpack, butt pack (US), waist wallet (Canada), hip pack (UK), belt bag (Philippines), bum bag (UK, Ireland, South America, Australia, New Zealand) or moon bag (South Africa), is a small fabric pouch usually secured with a zipper and worn by use of a strap around the hips or waist.

But anyway, I did get a new bum bag, which was a necessity.  I have one that I have used for years, but it is somewhere buried in the "50th anniversary clean up" boxes.  Besides, it was probably time for a new one anyway.

Then I went to the fat lady store to see if I could get some pants that aren't sweat pants, as that is about all I wear any more.  I did find some that I like and was so discouraged to discover that (a) the largest size on the rack fits just fine, but (b) I'm now too short for regular slacks.  Yes, the average size pant is perfect from the waist down to the knee, but when you get to the cuffs, they drag on the ground.  I found one pair in a short and those were fine, but they didn't have any other paints I could find in that large a size in a short length. Harumph.  Hell to get old! But at least I have one new pair of pants, and no energy to go looking in another store.  And I have a couple pairs of "good" pants that I wear for dress up and then the sweat pants.  I'll take the ones that show the least wear.

Then I have to choose among my many t-shirts and other shirts trying to figure out how dressy an ocean ship is compared to the casual river cruises we are used to.  Which political message do I want to wear throughout Europe?  Elephant conservation? Compassion kids? "I love 'Outlander'"? or just silly stuff?

I did clean out two drawers yesterday and found a ton of things I'd forgotten I had, and that was good.  I also freed up space, which was also very good.

Tomorrow is the 95th birthday of the venerable Arthur Sullivan (the other one) and we are happy to be sharing the day with him and lots of our Lamplighter friends.  I still have to do one more washing for my mother and get all of her pills for the next 3 weeks ready for her.  I've talked with the woman at Atria who has promised to look in on her every day to make sure she has taken her pills.  But things in the Mom Department are pretty much taken care of, thank goodness.  I'm almost but not quite starting to disengage for the time we are gone.

I still have to do all the computer stuff, setting up things on flash drives (so I have backups if the first one crashes) and remembering all the cords I need to bring and remember to check that I still have the plug that you need to convert wattage.  And I need to modify the look of this page to represent the "Mediterranean Odyssey" pages.

While I am doing all of this stuff, Walt is cleaning, vacuuming, mowing, washing, repairing, and all the things you do to take care of a house as well as making sure all our travel plans are in order and that we have the proper currency for the trip.  I'm on the computer and checking the recordings on the DVR for while we are gone, and watching Benghazi reporting.  I am a bad person.