About 19 hours to go

Got a little sidelined today by an awful headache but seem to have recovered. Let's hope it was just stress and not the Malaraone, I guess we'll find out tomorrow!

Since we don't have a bed in the guest room at the moment, I've been using a big chair outside our bedroom for "staging." Apparently Saffy decided that she was going to Africa with me because yesterday morning I found her curled up amongst my other travel goodies. She would probably find a pack of lions and run off to live with them! Best I leave her at home to keep Rich company.

This morning was my last shift at Starbucks until March - crazy! We came in to find a greeting on the back wall written in chalk marker. "Bye Kate! Have fun in Africa. Love, Starbucks Fam." I have to give a big shout out to everyone at my Starbucks and the others in the area. Without their support and understanding, this trip wouldn't be possible - especially at such late notice. I will miss the antics but promise to bring home lots of good African coffee to share!

Now that the meds have worked their magic and I'm back on my feet after my headache, I'm trying to finish packing. My attempts at packing light have failed, but I'm going to go ahead and blame that on the donations we're bringing for Peace House. I'm sure I will find that I brought WAY too much "stuff" but it's a full month and I tend to over think all the possible things I could need. Rich's love of survivalist shows doesn't help that at all. We are certainly prepared for just about everything. Maybe not zombie attack. But most everything else.

First flight leaves at 3:25ish tomorrow. Knowing that security will be a nightmare, we plan to arrive quite early. The sooner I can check my massive suitcase, the better! I actually love the time spent waiting in airports. It's like the calm before the storm. It's a bit of happy limbo, caught between the chaos of getting ready and the adventure ahead. It's a good time to just take a deep breath and reflect.

I have no idea where or when I'll have power and internet but I will try to update as often possible with stories and photos. And just for my own peace of mind...yes, I have a degree in English but all bets are off when blogging! Please forgive typos, misspellings, and sentences I end a preposition with. Oops, like that. If I over think the blog, I never finish the blog. So like Virginia Woolf, I shall employ stream of consciousness.

Goodbye for now, I will see you all from the other side of the globe!