More Preparations

So, since this preparing for this trip coincides with the Holiday Season I have tried to be super-organized. I had set November 30th as my deadline to have all of my Christmas shopping done and wrapped, and all decorations in place. Well, pretty close. As of today, the tree is up and the lights are on it - decorations can go up piecemeal. At the same time, I have been compiling lists of things needed to bring to Panama. I have been creating EXCEL sheets to keep things straight and, so far, knock on wood, things are staying fairly organized. I have co-opted the two spare rooms upstairs as staging areas as follows:

Staging East: stuff for Panama

Staging West: stuff for Christmas

Fortunately, tomorrow is my Mom's birthday and gifts for her and for my sisters will be distributed then, freeing up space and reducing some of the chaos. I wanted to load the car tonight but it is raining heavily and I don't feel like messing up all the stuff I busted my butt wrapping.

In the upcoming days I will try to educate myself about the flora and fauna of Panama, especially the stuff that is venomous, dangerous or annoying. I will dutifully share this knowledge with you. Just in case.