Packing...and Re-packing

I've packed my suitcase a total of 15 times now. Just to be clear, this is all by design - call them 'test-packs', if you will. That's when you throw in some stuff with the thought that you are going to need it on your trip. A few days later when you open your suitcase to add some more stuff you're going to need, you see the stuff you already need, then decide that maybe you don't really need it after all because now there is no room. I think that's where the term 'pack-rat' comes from. I knew one carry-on was going to be a challenge!

The challenge is the weather. I don't like to be cold. I HATE being cold. London and Dublin are predicted to be the low 60's this week - and this is during the daytime, people! Ok, maybe not bad for traveling, but by contrast, Italy is in the upper 80's, and Tunisia, a scorching 95! I feel test-pack #16 coming on...maybe a pair of jeans after all...

Kimmie was nice enough to let me borrow some skirts. She went to Europe last year, including Italy where she said, "Only tourists wear shorts. Everyone else wears skirts." Ok, well it can be pretty hot in Italy, so maybe a skirt would be a good thing. Plus, I have to wear something more fancy for the dinners on the cruise - a two for one! Not being a big skirt fan, I decided to do a 'test-wear' for the day. Well, suffice it to say, I'm still not a skirt fan, at least not for every day casual wear. Although I got compliments from Karen's daughter Sierra, (who told me to "pack it!"), It's just not my thing. So count those two out. But the reversible organza-ish one, now that looks promising! And so it's been packed in my suitcase...until today. Realizing that although it's reversible and is essentially two outfits, I didn't want to have to wear the same top with it each time. So instead, I found a black skirt for which I can wear the many shirts I already had packed, and viola! 5 or more outfits, easily!

So with that decision made (again), I've closed the suitcase for now. I'm sure I'll rethink it all again when the clothes I have in the wash are ready...