"Anything to declare?"

Heh.



This is the 2010 suitcase-layer-of-yarn: yarn for several toys (Loopers, the sockyarn Dangercrafts monster, a crocheted pony, crocheted mice, the "TV guy" from the Mochimochi book, the pencil from the Mochimochi book (to be made in worsted, rather than in fingering, yarn), a couple pairs of socks, a pair of fingerless mitts. And my Bag of Eyes, and the books with the patterns underneath it.

Yes, I can still zip the suitcase, and yes, it does not exceed the weight limit. (I THINK. At least, I can still lift it easily, which I could not if it did).

I have the yarn for the Miss Marple shawl in my carry-on, and I'm going to gather up the oddments for Thermal (which includes winding off the last couple hanks) and carry them in there, too. If there seems to be extra room I may move a ball or two of sockyarn into the bag where I put the stuff for Thermal, just to give a bit more room.

Oh, I know - this is probably excessive, even for a break of three weeks, and there is both a yarn shop and a hobby store in the town where my parents live. But still, I like lining up the projects and knowing I have pretty much everything I need for them.

I didn't pack as lightly as originally intended on the clothes-front; my mom called me to warn me that it was going to be below freezing for at least the first five days or so that I was going to be up there, so I added in an extra sweater and a pair of dressy slacks (in case it's just too cold to wear a dress to church). And I put in a longer, heavier-weight dress than I originally planned, so it's a pretty full suitcase, but if worse comes to worse in January, I can send some of the turtlenecks and stuff back to myself UPS or something.

It occurs to me that in many respects, I still have the "child's" view of the Christmas holidays. I get a long break, time to play. The last couple weeks of the semester are a gradual shedding of responsibilities, culminating with my hanging my academic robe and hood back up in the closet after graduation - another semester over. And now I can relax. I won't even have to cook, other than if I want to, for the coming weeks. Or do grocery shopping or the agonizing planning-ahead of menus and making sure I have all the components for what I want to eat so I don't wind up running out in a panic to the Green Spray at 6:30 some evening. I don't even really have to drive anywhere, unless I particularly want to go some place. I can really, in some ways, revert to being a Kid on Break - watch cartoons, do crafts, bake cookies.

It's a very welcome thing. I think it would get tiring after a while never to have responsibilities, but it's nice to be able to set them aside for a while and relax.