September 27^th - Today was an interesting day as we spent the day fine tuning our packing.  I’d been through a less rigorous attempt last week but today it dawned on me that if I didn’t actually pack everything I’d be doing it the night before leaving.   That may still happen but I’ve at least proved that I can get everything for a 6-8 month trip in two bags, one carry on and one checked bag, and still meet the weight restrictions.  Besides it’s not like we’re going somewhere that will punish you for the entire time you’re away if you forget some object, Madrid after all is around 6 million people.   Deb is basically setup in the same manner as me, except of course being smaller she can put her entire closet in two bags.  We’ve been dealing with a building tension around getting everything done prior to leaving, but the beauty of such a trip is that once you have dealt with the absolute essentials everything else is basically elective.  My biggest concern has been related to our cat Mapie, she was pretty nearly feral when we undertook trying to reclaim her and has made wonderful progress in her socialization.  I don’t want to leave her without somebody in the house to take care of her, so my lovely niece the goddess Elizabeth has consented to live in our house while we’re away.   Elizabeth is also a big sister to a young woman, Karina, who has recently graduated from high school and will live in the house as well; bottom line Mapie will have a contingent of servants to see to her needs.  It’s D minus 4 and counting till we leave.