As my Staging event approaches, I hope to be able to write blog entries more frequently. These last few weeks have been more hectic than I would have believed, but I think I'm "over the hump" now. So I'll first update readers of this blog on my last three weeks, and then hopefully add new entries as things proceed.

I am now only 4 weeks from departure. So much still to do! It has been a busy few weeks. I can't tell you about it all, too much has happened. So here are some of the highlights:

First of all, I think there is an angel looking out for me. In mid-July, I went to see the dentist because I felt a small, slightly painful lump on just below my lower molar on the right side. I had had a root canal there a few years ago. Anyway, the dentist wanted me to go on penicillin and "wait and see" if it would go away. When I pointed out I didn't have the time to wait and see, he referred me to a specialist. Well. It is a darn good thing that that little bubble appeared when it did. It turned out I had a "failed root canal," with lots of infection, leading to oral surgery. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't exactly painful, either, what with Novocaine and all. The infection has been cleaned out, the cause of the problem removed, and healing is now proceeding. The endodontist tells me that all that's left to do is heal up. No problems on the horizon. What a blessing that this happened BEFORE I left for Morocco! Anyway, the surgery and the post-op healing have been just one more thing in my life, so I guess that's at least some excuse for why I'm behind in my blogging, no?

Then the week following the surgery, my mom arrived for a good long weekend of packing. We got my entire library packed (which was a VERY big job)! In addition, we packed up some of the kitchen stuff, and she spent at least an afternoon wrapping sweaters for storage in a cedar-enhanced storage bag. Thanks, Mom! We also got to spend some great time together just enjoying each other. Goes without saying that was the best part of the visit.

While she was here, I mentioned that I was going to sell my car, and named the price I was planning to ask. Mom has an elderly Toyota that is suffering from "salt cancer," that bane of Minnesota vehicles. A California car with less than 50K miles, no rust, with a price of only $2K, sounded too good to pass up. So she is buying my car! I'm happy to have one less thing to sell, but how to get it to Minnesota? After some consultation with my best friend Mark, who knows about cars, and who would be my number one choice in the world to Road Trip with, the decision was made. Mark and I will DRIVE THAT CAR TO MINNESOTA! Woo-hoo! Road Trip! I'm so thrilled! Mark and I had talked about "some day" doing a road trip through the midwest. Mark's especially interested in visiting Deadwood. I haven't seen Deadwood myself, since the '70s (hopefully it hasn't changed much since then), but I LOVE traveling the highways of South Dakota, and I'm so psyched I'll be able to show Mark some of my favorite roadside attractions. It's another world up there. Most importantly, I'll get some quality time with my sweetie and best friend in the world, and Mom will get her car.

Meanwhile, I finally found a storage space I can afford. After much research, I found a small business with owners who wrote me that, "We can certainly help with your storage needs... We usually only guarantee rates for one year but we would definitely extend that for someone volunteering for such a worthwhile cause!" The space is out in the desert town of Palm Desert. It turns out the desert cities are the best storage bargain in Southern California, but more to the point, the climate there is much better for storage than out here on the Coast, where mildew is always a problem. So, that deal is sealed. Things are coming together! I feel so blessed!

So now I just have the grind of packing ahead of me. Also I have to purchase insurance, for stuff left behind and the equipment such as my laptop that I'll be taking with me, and making my travel arrangements. While there's still a lot to be done, I do feel on track. I've even started packing the stuff I've been setting aside for the journey.

Stay tuned; it only gets more interesting from here on.