OK, here's the deal. It has been raining for two days. The cool-season grasses are taking over my yard. I also cut my three neighbors to the east, the Lutheran Cemetery, the old St. Michaels Cemetery, (which is huge compared to the Lutheran); my across the street neighbors X 2, one has no lawnmower the other is being treated for cancer in Arizona. All told, I probably cut about fifteen acres. I have two days to do them ALL before I leave. WILL I GET IT DONE?! AND, the weed whacking?! The standing joke at the Lutheran Cemetery is that someone, many years ago, long before I got here, decided to plant sticker bushes around one of the main groups of flag poles. The only time anyone can get near the bushes to cut the grass is when it's cold outside and the mowerperson is wearing a heavy coat, otherwise the bushes are left to themselves. Today, the grass got mowed under the bushes! Now I'm not saying what Jesse Jackson said prophetically several years ago: "Stay out of the Bush's." That is another set of Bush's!
We have decided to really cut our suitcases down to size. Instead of the HUGE ones, we are both taking a medium sized case. I have one carry all that actually is sort of cool, I found it on Amazon. It is a cross strapped, single strap bag, with a waist belt. Kinda like a large purse with a belt. Maybe a purse is not the right manly word to use, but it's the only one I can come up with. It is small enough to fit under my seat and large enough to carry all of my junk: iPad, camera, drugs, chargers, batteries and a vest/warmer/coat. It may even be able to hold my computer if I so choose to take it. What this does is eliminate the large suitcases that take up a lot of room on the bus. We have two buses of which both are full. They have limited storage underneath, so we're told. There will be times that we will be forced to wear the same clothes for days—We will have to be careful to not spill our vino or spaghetti on our shirts/sweaters. I have to hand it to Lavon, she is really packing small. I don't want to sound sexist, but you know how women pack! If you're limited to 60 total inches and 52 pounds for one suitcase, that doesn't leave much room for bringing back stuff from your travels.
I did find out that I can take my cell phone. I have a global iPhone and Verizon provides European service. Its only 3G in Europe, and the data cost is much more expensive, but I don't plan to use my phone except to message the family with an occasional picture. If you want me to text you while we're there, let me know now via email or text, if you have my phone number. I won't give it over this blog. I did find out from all of our hotels that they offer WiFi. So I should be able to publish this blog every night. That is my plan.
Speaking of chargers. I did find a power converter on Amazon that converts 220v to 110v. In order to charge anything, voltage conversion has to be done first. You can't just plug your iPhone into a socket in Europe, otherwise your iPhone will go iBoom. I also purchased a 7800ma battery that can keep our iPad's going for 12 hours of additional time. I plan to play a bunch of Podcast's that I have stored on my iPad, most are religious in context. We may also get a few movies to watch. It appears that the choice of movies on the planes are pretty ugly.
We're still worried about credit cards. I hear both stories: European merchants won't take anything but a pin-chip/credit card. The banks all say they're debit cards work just fine. We plan to get a roll of €uro's in Kansas City before we board, which should be enough for our one meal per day. Hey, If we can't use our cards, that is the Europeans loss! And our gain!
Tomorrow: The grass report.
