New Bags and Other Sources of Procrastination

I've bought two new pieces of luggage for my journey to Italy. All my old luggage is completely destroyed except for the indestructable LL Bean bag. That being what it is, I, of course, bought two more bags from LL Bean.

Medium Adventure Duffle in Arctic Blue

Extra Large Adventure Duffle in Antique Plum

I already have one body bag...err...extra large duffle in the Plum color from LL Bean but, seeing as I'm moving to Italy and it's $100 up to 50 lbs for a second check in bag...I'm bringing a second check in bag.   The medium adventure duffle is for my carry on in addition to Abigail.  I double and triple checked the rules - Abigail counts as one and I can bring another carry on.  Since the color Arctic Blue is being discontinued, it's on sale.  Also, it's honestly not a bad color and looks like it will go rather lovely with the antique plums.   Everything that is on sale on the website gets an extra 20% off until the 30th if you use the code LL Bean gives you in their top banner.   Basically, the medium duffle ends up costing about $40.  Considering how hard it is to destroy an LL Bean bag, that $40 will go a LONG way.  

Seriously, LL Bean bags are pretty much indestructible.  Most bags, I look at them funny, and they fall apart.  I've had ripped seams, ripped handles, and broken zippers after only one or two uses from most bags and luggage.   My purple body bag from LL bean?  I've had it since the last century, I think.  It has survived Egypt, Ireland (both times!), Las Vegas (all three times!), England, France (taking it on the Paris Subway was fun...), and many other adventures.  It does not break.  It's still in good shape.   Considering they are only $80 for the extra large, that's well worth the price.   

So why am I posting this?  I'm avoiding grad school work....  :-)  Yes, I'm moving to Europe while still doing Grad School online.  This will be fun!   *headdesk*

Traveling with Animals

My greatest worry about moving to Venice hasn't been the moving of stuff but of my furry family members, Abigail and Jasper.

Jasper in the Carrier

Abigail looking confused

Jasper, I'm sure, will be fine in a box surrounded by boxes in the hold of the plane. He's a brat like that. Abigail, however...not so much. Abigail is terrified of loud noises.

 Let me explain: While I was at Pennsic, my Mom took care of Abby. Of course, my parents are huge Game of Thrones fans. Being huge Game of Thrones fans, they were watching the new episodes while I was at Pennsic. Quickly, Mom discovered that Abigail is *terrified* of dragons. The second the dragons came on, she would tuck her head into Mom's elbow and shake. It got so bad, according to Mom, Abigail started to hiccup! Have you ever heard of a dog being so terrified of something on TV that they started to hiccup?!? So yes, Abigail is terrified of dragons. Personally, I believe it's an understandable fear. I mean, to a baby dragon, Abigail is a roast your own chicken nugget.

 Anyway, here I am about to take Abigail on board a mechanical dragon. I finally got my flight information sorted and I'm allowed to take her on the plane, in cabin. (She fits into one of the soft sided sherpa carriers easily). I will be with her the entire time because I honestly don't think it would be kind to put her in the cargo hold. ...Then there is Jasper. Putting a cat in a box surrounded by boxes may be cruel only in the sense of putting a kid in a candy store and saying you can't have anything other than the jelly beans. It's not terrifying.

 However, United is now telling me that they won't allow pets in the cargo hold to Venice. Umm...what? I was not told this at any point when I started calling up and asking 20 million questions to make sure that, when I booked, myself and my fur family members could all move to Italy easily. Sure, Abby is fine in cabin but they only allow 1 animal per a person. .... I've emailed United to see if there is anything they can do to get Jasper to Venice with me rather than forcing me to book a separate booking with another agency just for him. (The guy on the phone said that British Airways and KLM will do it. I don't think he understood the problem. I want my animals on the same flights I'm on, darn it!) Luckily, there is time to get this sorted. Not much, but I'm hoping and praying that Jazz will be my checked baggage while I carry Abigail on board with me.

Since I'm carrying Abigail onboard, I've been getting her used to the soft sided carrier. She's okay with it - she'll sniff it and let me put her in it. However, she finds it a bit embarrassing. She'll make dramatic sighs while in it and only do half hearted barks at people she sees while inside the carrier. It's all very teenager angst-y and hilarious.

I took Jasper in the carrier today because I had to take them to get microchipped. If anyone is worried about getting their animals microchipped, don't be. According to Abigail's wagging tail, it doesn't hurt in the least. Jasper was far more upset about everything - but he also had to get his rabies vaccination so I think that didn't help at all. He whined, profusely, from the backseat on the way over to the vet. Not a peep out of him on the way back. The vet thinks that the shot scared him straight. Lol! He was fine when I let him out of the carrier when we got home. Correction: He was fine when we got home. Even still in the carrier, the second he saw where we were, he because to whine again. He was not pleased that I waited until we were inside to let him out of the carrier. However, he did demand pets almost immediately so, clearly, not traumatized.

Hopefully, I can get the Jasper situation resolved quickly so I can move both my furballs to Italy with me. Next on the list, selling the stuff! Anyone who needs fabric, you need to come to Greenbelt, MD labor day weekend.

A week of changes

Today is Friday. (You'll probably read this on Monday but I'm typing it up on Friday) It's only been four days but it feels like a month. On Tuesday, I was offered an opportunity that was far too good to refuse. I was offered a new job in Vicenza, Italy. It pays a bit less but it's ITALY. As in, the place I've studied my entire adult life. As in the land of the Romans and the place that birthed the Renaissance. Not only that, I will be pretty much between Verona and Venice! ... Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. Yes, please! Where do I sign up? Of course, now that I've taken the super crazy off the cliff plunge, I realize how much I have to do (on top of finishing my course for Grad school!) I'm having an estate sale on labor day weekend which means figuring out what I want to keep and what the heck I can live without before then. I'm putting all the "keep" stuff in the guest room and every thing else will go. Every thing. It's going to be hard but I need to clear house....and I'm selling the shepherd's hut. Yes, it is my most prized possession (outside of my grandma's engagement ring) but I can't justify keeping it in storage without use for 18 months when, already, it's a bit too small. I need something slightly bigger so when I invite people to come with me to events, they also have crash space that I can share. Basically, I need something that has something bigger than a twin bed. I'll worry about that when I get back. I'll be overseas for 18 months. Of course, I'm taking the animals. They are my greatest worry in the move. I'm trying to get Abby to lose a pound (she needs to anyway) so I can take her in the cabin and put Jasper in the crate. Jasper will be fine in a box in the checked luggage - he's a cat. Cats are practically agoraphobia. The smaller, more closed in the box they are, the happier they seam to be. Abigail? If I'm not right there with her, she will be terrified. This is the dog that gets so scared of dragons on TV, she hiccups. Seriously. I'd rather have her in the cabin and Jazz in the hold. There are a couple of international carriers that don't have weight limits and have fairly lax rules on soft sided carriers. I'm hoping that they'll let Abby on, no problems. And then there are the EU pet rules. Abby and Jazz are getting microchipped on Tuesday as well as getting all their vaccinations done. I've also contacted Friendship Animal Hospital in DC about getting all the paperwork done as soon as possible. I want to be able to step off the plane, hand over their paperwork and my own, and just get a car....after retrieving my bags, of course. I also will have to actually learn Italian rather than just having it yelled at me by Great Aunts or my Mom when she was learning Italian. Since it's a Romance language, I don't think I'll have much of an issue. I still have Latin in my head somewhere and I yell at co-workers all the time in Spanish.... After a couple months, I'm sure I'll be fine. :-) The company is helping a bit with moving expenses and is paying for the airfare to get over there. Also, I will go through an orientation and find a house or apartment to rent through the housing office for all of us silly Americans. Really, the biggest thing is getting everything packed that I want to take and sell everything else. And yes, ladies, that means I will be selling some of the fabric. :-)