We have a new accessory in our home. It is a very unattractive tub sitting at the top of the stairs, officially designated the trip tub. It's there to collect all the odds and ends we need to take on the trip and don't want to forget about in the last minute shuffle. Sort of like expectant moms pack a hospital bag, I suppose. So far the tub contains only my things. Of course it's much too early for Dwain to think about packing. That exercise will be reserved for the weekend prior to departure. So what's in the tub? All the electrical plugs for all the devices, camera, extra camera memory cards, sound canceling earphones (hmmm, wonder if I can sleep in these), the Kindle (Google it), the computer, and the list goes on. I'll have the tub full before I even start adding clothes--oh my gosh! I've also been practicing with this blog. I loaded some photos onto the computer attempting to insert them into a post only to discover the computer needed a Java applet to do so. That meant I had to call in a geek friend to help since the computer OS is Linux about which I know less than nothing. Success! The applet is loaded now but I still have to figure out how to embed photos into the post and not just in the album associated with the post. I'm sure glad I've started this process early. Maybe by trip time I'll have it down. But back to the trip tub. It continues to catch items on a pretty regular basis--even those things I use daily, like the computer--come and go from the tub. So while the new accoutrement isn't very attractive it's a matter of function over form. The trip tub won't be around for long.