Snakes and Suitcases

One might say that the last day or so has been a little on the hectic side. I have been in and out of the local market picking up last minute necessities that I keep forgetting so often that I'm pretty sure all the cashiers recognize me on sight.  I made a 4 foot tall kite decoration for my cousin's wedding reception yesterday and the girls and I have sewn 6 backpacks with an order for 2 more plus a tutu, which the buyer has graciously allowed us to send after our trip.

The tent set-up and follow-up duct taping was a success and we should be at least moderately waterproof.  Last night I folded up the tent and took it back to it's storage spot in our laundry room when I happened to look up and find this guy coiled up in the top of the blinds. 

He was staring at me and looking very apprehensive that I would make him move from his cozy spot. He needn't have worried though. I wanted to be as far away from him as he wanted to be from me.  The kids thought it was Christmas in July, though.  I had to physically pull them back as they started to clamber unceremoniously up boxes trying to get a better view. I prefer adventures that don't involve snakes.
Little snake guy was later identified as a black ratsnake.  (Not to be confused with rattlesnake... thank goodness.) When my (awesome, wonderful, heroic) husband got home from work around 1 am, he had fun helping Snakey down into a bucket.  All was calm, and would have been unremarkable except that Jeff decided to stand there making baby voices at the snake-in-the-bucket.
"Oh, look at you, you cute wittle guy! Yes, you're so cute! Who's the cutest wittle sna-"
  Snakey did not appreciate being patronized, so he took one wild leap out of the bucket and landed right at my husband's feet. I wish so much that I could share the look on my husband's face with the world.  It is one I shall treasure forever.  A few minutes later our slithery friend was gently caught and released into the woods. I am a changed woman from this experience: I'm now a whole lot more careful where I tread in the laundry room.

.......

Today I made the first of our camping reservations.  We'll be staying in Kentucky right on a lake and I'm praying hard that the weather won't torment us with constant rain throughout our first week, as it is threatening to do.
Tomorrow will be a day of crazy packing, laundry, and cleaning, which can also be read as "torture."  On the bright side, the girls are going to put up a video of themselves describing what they think the adventure is going to be like.  They've been practicing voices trying to decide if they should record with a French accent or completely in opera.  Sigh.  This could be a very long 2 weeks in the car.

Looking forward to posting from the road!

-Adventure Mama