the packing post, sort of: the usual nonsense and a message from beyond

I have been looking at the long-range weather reports for London, Paris, Munich, and the closer we get to departure (tomorrow tonight), the more it looks like we'll be going to a different part of the world than the one I started following on weather apps when I began mentally organizing the suitcase.

The black lace skirt is taking along the following friends: Ralph Lauren Collection black leather blazer with pick-stitched lapels (a find from the outlet a couple of years ago), black silk double-layer cami, and black cashmere "drape" cardigan. I may wind up going barefoot if I bring the whole group, but it does give me the switch ability I was seeking. last minute change - a beaded black silk tee will be left home, too heavy to carry when every possible ounce must be spared for shoes. 

2 pairs of lightweight black silk twill pants will be travelling with their pals, the Missoni black-&-white tank & cardigan and tank. In hunting around among the folded "goes with black" tops, I found the black J.Crew "lion-rampant-in-sequins" tee, which is old but like new, and the J.Crew black silk top with the beaded bow, also about that old. These pieces have requested a few nights out and I'm considering it. See, ya buy good, it lasts.

So much for swanning around restaurants. I had thought about bringing a pair of cords to Munich, but it looks like the daytime temperatures are going to require a hat and lightweight cotton cargo pants and tanks. --last minute change, jeans & vest. And another last minute update, rain hat and sweater !
We were trying to remember when we last spent a day, or at least an afternoon, snuggled up to a keg. update: still a blur. Prosit!

And for roaming around London and Paris - some pants and skirts of different weights and some blouses. Right now, the charts aren't showing me sweater weather, although I have that nagging feeling that I should err on the "just in case" side. last minute change, long sleeve tees and a few lightweight twinsets. And a lightweight wool coat.

Now this when it gets weird. Really weird. About 5 years ago, I dreamed that my (late) grandmother was telling me to hurry up and get to the store. She didn't say what store or why, but since she was notorious for running out of ingredients in the middle of baking something, I thought she might have been thinking about cinnamon or vanilla. After I got up and had coffee I checked, I had plenty of each. Also butter. So I made me some cinnamon toast, and while I was munching, my best shopping buddy ever phoned, and it turned out that neither of us had to go near the office that day. Off to Woodbury Common, and you can figure out the rest. Clarification: Woodbury Common is not the little mall near Flintstone Manor, it's north of NYC, almost in ski country, and it's a long long ride. When we got there, we noticed little arrows leading to a parking area we'd never used before, and trucks were being unloaded. Mm-hmm. We followed the men from the trucks into, I guess it was a service building of some kind. A cash desk was set up by the door. One of the things I came home with was a camel-y taupe-y wool trench coat, Ralph Lauren Black Label, silk lined, and there was truly a building full of them. A delivery must have shipped too late and missed the season. The price tags were blank, a hand-written sign on the rack said $25. You read that right, I did not drop any zeros. The coats were very long, but -- well, BSB took 2 and I took one. I put mine away, meaning to deal with the length later, and last week in the mad search for little black tops… The coat has been hemmed to respectable midi length, it's benefited from a good cleaning, and I plan to take it along. I think that the original problem with the coats was that they're fall/winter coat style and color, but spring coat weight. However, what with global warming and all, mine will work fine.

Good for Nana, the problem with messages from beyond is that the time zones are different wherever she might be, sometimes by years. But she does think of me, my fuchsia suede Chie Mihara sandals that I thought I'd left in Hawaii last winter turned up in a secret pocket of the suitcase. I didn't know there was a secret pocket -- obviously, it was a secret -- and after all the agony of hunting for shoes I knew I'd packed, I glued it shut so it won't be able to fool me again. And the shoes have "unsquashed" after spending a day and a night stuffed with tissue.

After all of that nonsense, I feel I have exhausted the topic of packing. Next post will be from London.

Afterthought: of course I don't spend all my time running to malls, the long ride back and forth was a great time to catch up with BSB and reminisce about our grandmothers. We decided that all they would have had in common was a strong fashion sense and an almost superstitious fear of sharing recipes.