I have new clothes!

     I was lucky! Toni brought me a change of clothes! I'm bigger than she is so it's not like we can share clothes. She actually wore one of my shirts over her own layers. She also wore one of my denim skirts over her bottoms. Because I'm bigger my clothes were not bursting over her clothes. The fact that we reunited was a miracle as well. She didn't know what happened to me. Then she heard people were being "picked up" and "moved out" on the spot. She got herself ready in case she got "picked up" as well. She layered her clothes then put on a change of my clothes to "polish it up". She was ready to sell my clothes first if she had to.  Glad I found her first! 

Me: "Toni, isn't that my shirt?"

Toni: "uh, yeah. 

Me: "Toni, is that my skirt?

Toni: "okay. Yes it is."

Me: "Did you gain weight? Are you pregnant?"

Toni: "shhh. Shut up!. I'm wearing layers. Your clothes fit over mine easily."

Me: (surprised and insulted) "I see." "So I can have my clothes now, right?" 

Toni: (grumpily, agitated). "Yeah. Here ya go." She takes off my shirt and throws it to me. She takes off my skirt and tosses it at me. 

Me: (happy, ecstatic) "Thank you." 

Toni: "You want your socks, too?." (She flings them at me. 

Me: (surprised!) "Give 'em up now." (Doing dance of joy)

Toni: "before you say anything, here's your scarf, too!." And she rolled it in a ball and threw it at me. 

Me:  I scowled at her when she did that. However it was short lived. "Thanks!." I told her. 

     I'm so happy to have an extra pair of clothes!  A shirt, a skirt, a scarf and a pair of socks. Toni was actually happy to un-layer as well. It's warm, right now, here in camp. She said it was still freezing back home. She said she couldn't believe it when her group was told they were actually going to a warm place. Back home we've been in a deep freeze so long "warm" is actually "hot" to us. 

My Roommate, Toni

     When I finally saw my old roommate, Toni, I was very happy. Finally a familiar face. Of course she also happened to show up with some people from the neighborhood. Apparently, she was rounded up, in house, with the rest of the neighbors. However, she was prepared. She had tied to HER barrel bags and bags of personal belongings. She also had her backpack filled with personal emergency items, and a combo cane/chair! 

     What surprised me most was what she was wearing. Layers upon layers of clothes. She reminded me of Anne Frank arriving at the Secret Annex and un-layering her clothes. Seven panties!, shorts, leggings, pants! And still she had space for her long johns. For her top she had three t-shirts, three tees, two blouses, a thick pullover sweater, a sweater with a hoodie and her overcoat. Let's talk socks! She had on more socks than I ever thought possible. One of them is mine! Shoes! Regular closed shoes with galoshes over them! Perfect for this weather either way! All this layering on of clothes left her backpack free for other things. I'll leave that for another session. 

     Thank goodness she brought extra bags! That's another story. 

My Clothes

I have only told you of the clothes I was wearing when I was evacuated. I never told you of the change of clothes in my backpack, or the change clothes at the store. Well, let me tell you now...

In my backpack I always tried to keep a change of clothes in case of an incident away from home; an evacuation, a pull out, a shelter in place at work, etc... So I tried to put in clothes that would work for me in everyday life; top, bottom, bra and panties, bathing suit, socks.

Originally I was thinking of shorts for bottoms, but then I thought, what if its cold? What if I have to go to work? What then? That made me think of the BIG PICTURE. I may still have to work in an emergency. It may be cold during the emergency. I want the clothes to be practical and modern. No out of date clothes. Oh, good luck with that. The first change of clothes had me putting in clothes I was ready to donate to Goodwill Industries or the Red Cross. When I took a good look, I realized I didn't want to be caught dead in outdated clothes anymore. Also, seeing as my work has a solid colored shirt and navy pants for a uniform, I decided to forgo the polka dotted shirt and red pants (thank goodness). Instead I went with a solid color polo shirt to match my work, and navy blue pants legging.

Underwear is easier. I put in a sports bra and two-dark, cotton brief panties. Socks, a pair is nice; two is better. I added a two piece bathing suit, just in case for bathing. You never know where you'll be bathing. That's what I had in my backpack, tightly folded up and placed in a plastic bag.

At the store, I ended up picking up another set of clothes; 2 tops, 1 bottom, 1 underwear, and 2 socks. When I picked my clothes from my closet I was able to mix and match. At this store I wasn't able to do that. I asked for a clothing item of a certain size and color, they gave me the size, not the color. So that combination does not match in itself. They do mix and match well with my other clothes though.

At the store they gave me a yellow tunic and grey shorts. After all is said and done, I still get shorts. Oh---kay. Black socks. They gave me men's black socks. Not a problem really. I feel sorry for the man with pink women's socks. I might be tempted to trade with him... For a price...