It’s raining again today which puts me in an extra-good mood regarding our trip to Palm Springs.  Mom’s friend Brigitte lives there, so we’re going to stay with her and her husband Bob.  Apparently they live in a small town outside of Palm Springs, have a large pool, and said it’s currently 28 degrees C so bring bathing suits.  Fun!

Since Mojo died Nicky says whenever I’m away Ricky howls at night.  Ricky and I sleep together every night, so when I go away he has to sleep in his dog bed on the floor, and he gets mighty lonely.  Being a hound, he likes to tip his head back and let loose with some mournful cries.

Nicky said he just screams from downstairs for the dog to shut up.  I suggested it might be better to move the dog bed downstairs so Ricky doesn’t feel so lonely.  But I can’t cancel trips because the dog’s sad, as I know he has everything he needs, just not me.

And for my nerves it’s good to get away once in a while, as you know I’m never, ever alone in this house.  Luke’s mercifully left for Vancouver, and tomorrow he’s off to Thailand to spend five weeks with Jan.

I had bought some stuff for Jan and her family, and had asked Luke to take it.  He said he certainly wasn’t going to be packing anything much for me, and if it didn’t fit into carry-on he wasn’t taking it.  Then one day he and Jan were talking on Skype and Jan said make sure you bring lots of chocolate.  And soap.

As you’ll recall, I had taken 60 pounds of gifts when I went in November, most of which was chocolate.  Then when a friend of mine from the gym went to Thailand in February I sent chocolates for her to give to Jan.  So I assumed Luke would take gifts, but he said no.

Luckily, the Mrs. is able to motivate him better than I can, so once given the order he said to me, “Mom, you have to get me 25 boxes of chocolate.”  I went to Costco and got a whole bunch of their Belgian chocolate, and then went over to Home Sense for bars of soap made in Italy.

I’m not overly hopeful about it all though, as taking 60 pounds of chocolate to the tropics is harder than it sounds.  I did it successfully because I’m a Type A, so I made sure the suitcase was kept cool under any and all conditions.  IE in the Bangkok train station: “Run! Run! We have to get the air conditioned train.”

When I drove Luke to the airport he had tumbled out of bed, straight into the car.  Teeth unbrushed, greasy hair in a nest on the back of his head.  We put the suitcase in the trunk, and when he took it out at the airport I gave him one more pep talk about vigilance, but had a sinking feeling.

Never mind.  My problems are more immediate in that I have to imagine what 28 degrees C feels like and go through my wardrobe and pick the appropriate things.  Mom and I are both taking carry-on only, so I have to be mindful of the quantity on the way there.  If I happen to shop a bit, I’ll want a bit of room, won’t I?