A Packing Primer - Get the Steamer Trunk!

Want to know how much you can pack into your daily life without losing the whole suitcase, as it were?  Here's a peek into what I recently packed in -

Last time I blogged, I was in DC visiting family -

The boy wearing an Alabama Chanin t-shirt I made for him.

The thimble tattoo he gave me.

My father and I drove back to Hamilton together so he could help me do my roof, which took about a week.  It's two thirds done; he's coming back this month to help me finish it,  but at least we took care of the leak.  We were doing such a good job (seriously) that our neighbor asked if we might help them do theirs.  I am not going into the roofing business, but I appreciate the compliment.

Tarping the roof for the evening with my dad and friend.

The day after my father headed back to DC, we had our birthday dinner at our friends' house.  We both agree it is one of the best meals we've ever had.

 And two days later, we drove to Nova Scotia to close on our cottage.  Crazy!  Keep in mind, this is all during MeMadeMay!  It kind of helped since it focused my travel wardrobe around handmades. (Full post just on MeMadeMay and what I learned coming soon.)

Two essential elements of Nova Scotia:

Sheep at Lismore Farm -

And lobster (here in its ultimate expression - the lobster roll made by the ladyfriend) -

I also had an FO - the Fair Isle Skirt by Mary Jane Mucklestone.  It was part of a KAL (knit-along for you nonknitters) for Squam.  I really wanted to take this little sheepy home.

And then, we drove down to Portland, ME en route to Squam.  There was just enough time to have an amazing dinner at Eventide Oyster Co., buy some fabric at Z Fabrics, then pick up some Quince & Co. yarn at KnitWit, and find some local craft beer.  The server who brought out our food at Eventide said that we'd ordered really well and that she was excited for our dinner.  She was right!

And then the ladyfriend dropped me off at Squam for the Squam Spring Retreat...

Full post on Squam coming soon.

Working Around Baggage Fees

If you've read some of my other travel-related posts, you know I get my crank on about certain things, especially draconian baggage limits and fees (see posts involving Air Berlin).  However, here's a little tip for those of you who still like to check their bags but don't want to pay the fee.  On both my flights, which, of course, were overbooked and totally full, they begged people to surrender their roller bags to be checked, free of charge, to their final destination.  On one airline, Alaska Air, they even let those who volunteered board before the regular steerage class.

Yes, it's still carry-on size, but I bet you could bring a slightly larger one (you've seen the corporate types do it) and gamble on the opportunity to be a good citizen and gate check your bag.

There is an exception to the beauty of ridding yourself of your luggage this way, don't do it if you're flying into Toronto Pearson.  I'd rather fight for my overhead space than grow old waiting for the baggage to show up on the carousel.  There's only so much I can put up with.

Some Things I Learned From a Long Trip - Projects

When we go to Nova Scotia I always bring a number of projects along since I know I'll have hours of uninterrupted time and no pressing outside obligations to attend to.  These projects include crafts, of course, as well as writing and art projects as well.  Berlin was no different.  What was different was the amount of time we had - almost three times as much time.

However, Berlin was different in that we weren't in a rural environment, with few distractions.  We were in a city that not only had things we wanted to do and see but people we met and wanted to hang out with.  What has this taught me about packing projects?

Firstly, let me outline what I brought with me and their status:

1. Yarn and the incomplete Tourist Sweater - finished
2. Beginning of and yarn for the Soho Smocked Dress - finished
3. A crossstitch kit that I'm 3/4 of the way through - didn't touch
4. The Alabama Chanin dress I started at the workshop last year - made some serious progress
5. My collection of short stories - shopped around a little as well as submitted individual stories
6. Drafts of stories and novel - worked on a couple of shorts
7. Two university classes to design - started thinking about.

That should've been enough, no?  But it was clearly (yes, clearly) unreasonable for me to take a "no new craft materials for a year" pledge.  Besides going to Liberty of London where it would've taken some kind of twisted logic to leave without fabric, there were yarns that I haven't seen in Canada or the US (okay, maybe I wasn't looking for them either, but still), and when taking one of our guests to four different yarn shops (need to write reviews of them), it was too tempting.  In fact, I have a new saying, "If you leave a yarn shop without buying any yarn, a sheep somewhere cries."  (This applies to "cotton sheep" as well.)  I ended up buying four skeins of sock yarn (two to give as souvenirs to friends, one for a holiday present, and one for me), yarn for the Loop Entrelac Tank that I actually finished in Berlin but need to readjust the straps on, yarn for scarves for the ladyfriend and myself (also completed in Berlin), and yarn for the Carnaby skirt I plan to make.  I also (yes, there's more) had some Alabama Chanin fabric brought by a visitor so I could make a skirt and t-shirt that I badly needed.  I wear that skirt like a pair of jeans right now - all the time (photos will follow one day).

Some Things I Learned From a Long Trip - Baggage

Before I begin, let me say one thing - 2013 has felt like the year of packing poorly - and I have always been a pretty efficient and smart packer.  But this year, so far, has made me rethink that.

So, the first thing I have realized is that a) you'll always need something and b) you'll always have at least one item you don't wear.  How is that helpful?  Well, it's not, by itself; however, let's take this a bit further and use it to make a guideline.

(Stay with me here; there's a little background/digression coming, but I swear, it'll all come around to my point.)  As you know (if you don't, pretend), clothes are very important to me, and while in Berlin, I did have a bit of a crisis around my wardrobe and feeling like myself.  I won't go into too much detail except to say that my clothing and how I dress is an integral part of my identity (I have ideas for an article around this).  How can one pack for a trip longer than a week or two and maintain one's sense of self (I know, pretty intense) without carting, say, five suitcases?  (By the way, our extra suitcases cost us €50 each, which is already pretty expensive, but the person to whom I paid the fee told me that if we'd flown out on Saturday, the rate would've jumped to €150 each!  He went on to say that American Airlines made something like $8billion in excess baggage fees alone last year.)

Now this is a work in progress, but I have an upcoming 5-week trip to put it to the test.  What I think would work best for someone like me is to start with some key pieces, like a dress that always looks fantastic and that you can dress up/down and wear in multiple temperatures.  I would've had that with my Patagonia dress (the one of the traumatic day in Marrakesh), but I had jettisoned the hoody I wear it with when we were in the "lightening the load" frenzy before we flew to Berlin.  This time?  Dress and hoody.

These key pieces should be distinctive but malleable, and this is where I plan to do more experimenting.  For example, I almost never think about wearing a skirt over another dress to create a different look.  This technique has great potential and is quite versatile.  I tried a variation of it with a long white shirt over a fully pleated skirt, and it was pretty cool.  Also, the jeans that fit you perfectly should be packed.

A number of my friends had said to me, "You'll buy clothes in Berlin," and I've already discussed one of the issues with that.  Nonetheless, there is something to be said for not packing and getting basics like t-shirts, for example, where you land (if possible).  While there can be issues with that approach (spending money, buying things made in China, etc.), it can also save you the headache of the "lightening the load" frenzy one might be engaged in to avoid paying €150 for an extra suitcase.  To make this really work, I'd suggest donating whatever basics you've bought abroad to a charity (I doubt you want to pay €150 to bring some t-shirts home).  I did end up making a number of items including a t-shirt and a skirt, which I have yet to blog about.

Home Again, But Not Quite At Home

Amazingly we made it home despite the fact that we had four checked suitcases, which either weighed mere grams below the maximum or, as in one case, were a little "chunky;" a carry-on suitcase, which was overweight but forgiven by the kind desk agent; and ninety days exactly in the Schengen (a day more and we'd have been fined €1,000 and banned - yes banned! - from the area for three years; suffice to say, we did a lot of math to make sure we were within the limits).   Our flight was pretty painless and included a celebrity - Philip Seymour Hoffman.  He was wearing a NYRangers hat and had a pencil that stuck out diagonally in front of his ear from beneath the rim of his cap.  These are the kinds of things I remember - that and that he looked a bit, let's say ragged out.

When we left Berlin it was probably somewhere in the low 60s (Fahrenheit); when we landed in New York it was 90.  Now its rainy and 55 in Hamilton.  Guess we could say the weather is reminiscent of Berlin.  I could use a little more New York.

So we made it back to Hamilton, but the renovation on our house are not done.  So we've taken up residence in our friend's house (she has the space).  It's a little disorienting to be home but not home.  We're in our city, but not in our neighborhood and not with our stuff.  We're still living out of suitcases, which seem to be filled with inappropriate clothing (not warm enough, too nice, etc.).  We're only here for a little over a week now.  I'm not sure how I'm going to manage to pack for Nova Scotia.

Tomorrow - lessons learned on a long trip.

Jeans, Barbecue, & Poetry

Despite the travel trauma of getting there, we really enjoyed Nashville.  On our first full day in town, I made sure we headed to Imogene + Willie - I was going to plunk down some serious cash for a serious pair of jeans.

Imogene + Willie (in the photo)

It should be clear to anyone who has read this blog more than once that I not only think a lot about clothes but value the handmade and the local as well.  It's really important for me to be aware of where my clothes come from (and other things for that matter) and to be conscious of their production and quality.  Imogene + Willie is one of a small group of independent producers who make and source jeans as locally as possible.  The denim comes from North Carolina, they make the jeans regionally, and all design, fit development, pattern making, and finishing touches are done at their shop in Nashville, TN.  The jeans aren't cheap, but they're going to last (they'll take care of any repairs should I need them).  I bought the Imogene Rigid jeans - I can't wash them for six months but must wear them during that time to break them in.   I have them on right now!  I can finally button them without assistance, lying on the bed, or jumping up and down (you buy them a size down).

I'm in love.

Welcome to My Nightmare

File under "Misery Loves Company" - my flight to Nashville was scheduled to leave at 8:55am this morning but because of the ground crew strike, I'm still sitting here at Pearson Airport.  I believe in the right to strike although I haven't really investigated the causes of this one; it's actually Air Canada's response that was problematic.  They definitely did not have their shit together today.  Not only did information and instructions change ("Oh, you checked a bag?  They let you check a bag? Well, you have to go back out and get it, and then go through customs and security again."  Fast forward an hour and suddenly that wasn't necessary - "Fill out a form at the Air Canada counter when you land and they'll courier your bag to you." Great, just great.), but when they supposedly booked us on other flights, they didn't really book us; in fact, now we're scheduled on two different flights (both with connections, of course), and I could end up landing in Nashville after 9pm tonight.  If the ladyfriend hadn't said something to me after she'd checked in (on her second go-around through security & customs), I might not have a flight at all.  And all you can do is give me a couple of lousy food vouchers for $10?!  You can imagine that all of this, combined with a 5:45am alarm, does not make for a charming Claudia.

Where's Claudia?

 Sometimes the blog is a little like that running program you were really jazzed about and started earnestly.  But then you slowly kept finding yourself on the couch at 11pm with nary a shoe laced to run  because you got sucked up into whatever variation of a daily grind you participate in.  You find yourself thinking up blog posts (or dreaming about runs) that somehow never get written, and there's both hope and guilt in that.  For me, it's kind of like writing letters - I generally feel like the recipient knows the contents of my letter just because I've written it (which is problematic if I refer to the contents of a letter that's still sitting on my desk).  When I think of blog posts, sometimes I feel like they've already been communicated.  My mistake.

It isn't a lack of interest - not in the least.  It's just a lack of renewable energy.  I'm pretty pooped right now.  Yes, the fact that we've spent the past two days moving our studio (thankfully only across the hall in the same building), were up celebrating a friend's birthday til 5:10am (daylight savings time) last night, and then played a hockey game this afternoon (in which we unsurprisingly sucked) has definitely played a role in this.  But what has made it even harder to do more than just above minimum is the crazy amount of travel that has taken place over the last month and continues into this one.

Excuse or reason?  It doesn't really make any difference.  I'm just informing, but in February I was away for 10 days, and in March I will be away for a total of 11 days.  I'm not talking about April just yet.

The next few days will be "Retro Days" where I will actually post some of the blog posts I made up in my mind.  Let's just hope they still make sense.

Leftover 2010 or Preview of 2011?

The internet is down at my house so I can't upload the Shoe of the Week; however, I'm hoping that these first few days of January are not indicative of the shape of the rest of my year.

I thought maybe I'd escape the bug that my parents got while visiting us for the holidays, but as the photo illustrates, I got sick on our flight home.  Liss was quite impressed with how discreet I was - I turned off my overhead light and managed to...yes, puke...almost silently.  We were flying Executive class (whoo-hoo!), and I had to leave behind all the yummy stuff I'd consumed on the flight.  Not so executive.

I'd forgotten how violent throwing up is.  Thankfully, after two more "episodes" at home, I seemed to be done with it.  I figure that since I haven't gotten this kind of ill in awhile maybe it was my turn, and hopefully I'll get a pass on it for awhile.  Now we're just waiting to see if the ladyfriend gets it...