Suitcase Philosophy
Yesterday I admit I was kind of hoping for some great patriotic special music at church, but we didn’t have that because our new music minister has not started yet. We did have our patriotic brunch in Sunday School. I took sausages and muffins but did not actually eat, since Sunday is my usual fasting day.
We had a nice chat with Lina and Jade during the afternoon Zoom, but no grandgirls because the fireworks going off in their neighborhood had kept them up the night before and they were cranky.
Today I had some notes and cards to write, and then headed to the post office to mail them. From there I drove up to Hobby Lobby to buy the thread I needed plus a couple more cards. Two of my former students work at Hobby Lobby, and I’m very fond of them both, but I seem to have a real knack for going there when neither one is working. Today I lucked out. I saw that Katherine was manning a checkout lane so I happily waited in that line so I could say hello. She is also the young lady who took our prayer card photos and did such a good job. We are finally almost ready to send them out!
What was unsettling about my foray to Hobby Lobby was the aisles of fall and Christmas items already set up. Yikes! We have, like, a couple years of summer left here in Texas.
When I got home I did the top stitching on the border I’d sewn onto a dress the other day. Now the dress is wearable. I’m just not sure I’ll wear it outside the house:
It’s very bold. I couldn’t find matching fabric so I found some very bright coordinating fabric. One of these mornings I’ll put it on and decide how I feel about it.
I also baked a pan of cookies, worked on the address list, and even did a little reading.
Now on to the subject of suitcases. We are allowed to take three large suitcases each when we finally fly to Zambia. We don’t have three large suitcases each. So I’ve known for a while that I would need at least one more suitcase for myself, and I’ve been putting aside a little bit of money for it as I’ve been selling things. One of the two birthday gifts I received this year was some cash (from my sweet Aunt Ruthie) to spend on myself, so I decided the time had come to buy a suitcase. Thus began my internal dialog about the merits of various suitcases. Turns out, I have strong opinions.
I get regular promotional emails from a couple of different luggage companies. Their suitcases are shiny and sturdy and very expensive. But I am not very tempted by them for this reason:
The vast majority of them open up into two halves. The basic Amazon luggage we bought for last year’s trip to Zambia (exactly one year ago today!) was like this also. I bought it because it was affordable. But I soon learned its limitations. This type of suitcase takes up massive amounts of floor space. But in order to access anything, you have to open them all the way. I got so tired of opening and closing suitcases, having to keep the insides zipped at all times so stuff wouldn’t fall out, trying to find floor space for two large open suitcases, trying to remember which half of the suitcase things were in.
How I longed for my venerable road trip suitcase, which is over twenty years old and duct-taped together. It has one large compartment and a lid that lifts up. (There are pockets on the outside and inside of the lid.) I can set it on a suitcase stand or ottoman and access everything. I can put large items into it. With the two-half design, you are limited by the depth of the halves. If you wanted to transport something like a motorcycle helmet, you’d be out of luck. So I spent considerable time looking for a top-opening suitcase, and it arrived a few days ago.
This wouldn’t have been my first choice of color, but I was going for something that would be easy to spot in a sea of black luggage. It opens from the top:
The zipper around the middle is to expand it by two inches. I can’t imagine it being under the weight limit if it was expanded, though. It seems like a pretty sturdy case, and it is very large. Not large enough for my serger, sadly. We will have to round out our luggage count with a couple of sturdy plastic crates for the bulkier items. So anyway, I’m pretty happy with it. I’m hoping it lasts the rest of my life. What kind of suitcase do you prefer?
Joy Spark: Yesterday’s joy spark was a baby in church. She wasn’t really crying, just fussing, and her mother walked past us with the baby, taking her out of the sanctuary. The baby looked at me and I flashed her a big smile and she stopped fussing and smiled back. Later in the service, when I had to go to the ladies room (thanks to my diuretic), I saw the mother and baby sitting on the back row. I smiled at the baby again and she smiled back. So cute.
Today’s joy spark was finishing my little sewing project.
Parting Shot:
You may have noticed me wearing this red, white, and blue beaded necklace in photos I posted on the weekend. My mother made this for me when I was twelve years old, when she decided that my entire wardrobe would be red, white, and blue. We were on furlough, and she had learned this bead crochet technique, so she made a bunch of these necklaces for both of us. I also have two white ones. The red, white, and blue one has always been my favorite, though. She had to thread hundreds of beads onto the crochet thread in the exact right sequence in order for the spiral design to come out correctly. I’m glad it has held up all these years.