Before You Go;
There are multitudes of tasks that need your attention before you are
off on your vacation. Some take a generous amount of time while
others can be handled at the last minute.
Let's start with the tedious chores first, make sure you are going to
have enough medication for the time you are going to be gone. Our
meds come in the mail so we must leave at least 4 days to allow
them to arrive. While you are thinking about pills you might ask
your Dr. to prescribe sleeping pills for the trip and air sick or sea sick
pills if you are flying or going on a cruise. This is also a good time to
mention any other problems you might have such as constipation.
Next make sure you stop your paper and mail, I keep those notes in
my computer so they are handy and all I need to do is change the
date. It is important to know whether your mailman wants notice a
day early or not. Ours likes to have the extra day so she can sort our
mail out before she has to carry it to the house and back to the post
office. You also need to specify whether you want the old papers
delivered when you return or just start the paper on the date you
return. Remember to stop the milk delivery, the cleaners, the
Schwann Man and anyone else that makes deliveries.
A really nice thing to do is to make an agenda with confirmation
numbers, motel numbers, cell phone numbers, dates when and
where you will be. I email one to each family member and print out a
few more; one for the house sitter, the dog kennel, my mother-in-law
who enjoys following us from her room in the nursing home, and one
for the supervisor of the nursing home in case she might fall. Save
one to carry with you on your trip, you will find it comes in handy
when checking in to have the reservation number or the telephone
number of the person you are going to visit and you need to call
because you have been delayed.
Have you ever used a house sitter? They are wonderful. They
usually leave your house cleaner than you left it. Be careful to warn
them what you want them to eat and what you don't. You don't want
to come home to the meat loaf you had planned to warm up is now
gone. We had a girl that drank all the humming bird nectar. She
thought it was Kool-Aid! Yuck! You should have the house sitter
come over and go through a dry run, show them how to run the TV,
the hot tub, dishwasher and how much to feed the dog and cat.
If you are reluctant to have someone in your house for the entire time
you are gone, maybe you would rather have someone come in once
in a while and check on things. Make sure they know how to disarm
your alarm system or they may not ever come back!
After you have taken care of everything and you are ready to leave,
close the curtains, lock the doors, water the plants, set timers on a
lamp, clean out the refrigerator, give the house a walk through.
On the way out the door don't forget your passport if you need it, a
soda for the road and a phone book to call who knows. Now go and
have a wonderful time, you deserve it.
TIPS to travel
Remember last month I ask for tips? I got one from Martha who
found the bathtubs at Chillicothe really slick. She bought a roll of
rubberized mesh that you use to line shelves and cut it to fit the bath.
Viola! Thank you, it is comforting to know someone is reading my
articles.
I have a tip for you too. Carry a night light to motels, it is a great way
to find the bathroom at night, and saves electricity; no more noisy
bath fans running all night.
jjjaner
