Not much going on this past week. I’ve been mostly working on my living trust, which I had prepared for me by the online legal service Trust&Will at the advice of my financial advisor. For a little over $400, they feed in my information into boilerplates for a will, living trust, advanced healthcare directive, and power of attorney. The paperwork arrived yesterday and now I have to deal with notary, witnesses, and funding the trust. Funding the trust is becoming quite a complicated issue for me which probably wouldn’t have been the case if I had taken this to a lawyer instead.
The other work which has been taking up my time is preparing for my trip next week to Ireland. It’s hard to believe all the details one has to deal with in preparation for a trip abroad.
Preparing the dog sitter with a list of Aggie’s schedule, her meds, her special needs has taken some time. The sitter is coming over tomorrow to go over things and has requested cotton not synthetic sheets for the bed, space in the refrigerator, and wants to know if I have a down comforter or if he should bring his. He’ll be ferrying Aggie around in my car so he wants a trial run. The dog sit has been a matter of concern for me because since Aggie does not use the backyard as her bathroom, in addition to her longer walks, she has to go up to the street a few extra times a day, just down the street to some greenery a few times a day. I feel as if I should offer to pay a little more for this extra work.
Based upon a comment in last week’s KTK from someone who contracted Covid while in Ireland, I did a little research and found out that Americans traveling abroad can get Paxlovid to take along with them. Apparently, In Ireland you have to be over 75 or immunocompromised to be eligible. So I emailed my pdoc and she has sent in an order for me which should be ready today. She also sent me a list of which medications I am currently taking which would interfere with the paxlovid. All I can say is I hope I don’t need it!
Which brings up the challenge of traveling with multiple medications. For starters, I read the Ireland requests a letter from your doctor detailing all the meds you are on. I have never heard of that before.
Since I am currently on six medications and bringing along some Ambien — as well as the paxlovid — I was considering using a pill organizer in lieu of taking along 8 script bottles but the directions are to bring in original packaging so I’ll just have to figure on that extra annoyance and space in my carry on. My doc suggests bringing extra meds along, always carrying a few days worth with you when you are out and about, and leaving your meds in the room’s safe. There is a room safe in the hotel we are staying at in the beginning and end of the trip, but I’m not sure about the Airbnb’s. They shouldn’t be a problem, however, as there won’t be anyone coming into the room to clean and the only one with the access will be the owner.
Then of course there is the question of what I should bring in terms of clothing.
May is the last month of spring in Ireland, and is considered a good time to visit because the weather is more stable than other months, and the days are long and sunny. In May, temperatures typically range from 50–59°F (10–15°C), and it's one of the driest months, with an average of 1.96 inches (50 mm) of rainfall in Dublin. The days are also longer, with the sun rising around 5:17 AM and setting around 9:26 PM in the middle of the month.
I’m going to travel light and bundle up for the plane, layering a camisole, long sleeve shirt, sweater and light coat. Packing cubes in my carry on will hold three pairs of trousers, five shirts, a rainjacket, hooded sweatshirt, socks, underwear, and pjs. Toiletries, 2 pairs of walking shoes, an umbrella, will also fit in the bag. My additional under the seat bag will be for my headphones, eye pillow, kindle, and scripts. Small cross body purse will store my glasses, wallet, passport, kleenex, pen and mini notebook.
Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share a virtual kitchen table with other readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by to talk about music, your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper…. Newcomers may notice that many who post in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table and hope to make some new friends as well.