Where the Heart Is

Today's Ten on Tuesday topic is a good one, in my opinion, and though a lot of the postings have had similar content, I like knowing that there are other people who feel like I do when I'm away from home!

10 Things You Miss About Your Own House When You Go Away

1.  The kitties and Dug.  Sometimes, Dug can come with us, depending where we are going, but then I still miss my kitkats!

2.  My house!  I really love my house and the garden.  It makes me happy just to see it.

3.  Unsweetened, and/or non-diet drinks.  Usually when we are visiting people, it's family, and we are the only ones who - on the occasions we do have pop/soda - drink non-diet versions, and drink our iced tea unsweetened.  This shouldn't be as big a deal as it is, but if I am in charge of this post, this is something I miss!

4.  Water from my own tap.  We actually drink the water from our tap, to the shock and dismay of others we know.  So far, we are still kicking.  And it doesn't taste the same anywhere else.

5.  Tea.  I like my own tea, made my own way.   Depending on the where/when/how, it's a pain to pack and take along my own kettle, etc.

6.  My clothes and shoes.  I think Lorraine mentioned this also (as well as all the lipsticks!).  Yes, I try to pack light, and it's never been a problem, but it's nice to wear X if you don't feel like wearing Y.

7.  The noise level.  Though we live in the city, our neighborhood is quieter than you'd expect.  I do not like total quiet, nor do I like loud noise when I'm trying to sleep (especially loud music).  Plus, wherever I've lived, I've always been able to hear trains, and that is a comforting sound to me.

8.  My neighborhood.  Everything I enjoy or need is within walking distance.  I hate it when I'm someplace where no one is walking around, or even worse where there are no sidewalks!  And I don't enjoy having to drive no matter where you are going to go.  Plus, my neighborhood is very pretty.

9.  My own pillow.  If I can easily take it with me, I will, but most of the time, I am at the mercy of foreign pillows.  I like a firm pillow, so when I have a feather one or some soft thing, it's difficult for me to be comfortable in bed.

10.  Time to myself.  As I mentioned above, a lot of the time when we are away from home, we are visiting someone, and there are not a lot of opportunities to be left to your own devices.

A lot of others said they missed their wifi/computers, etc.  I don't miss that if I'm gone for a weekend or so, but I would have missed it on a longer trip, like when we went to Ireland last fall.  So though it's not in my top ten, it is something I'd include if I took more trips that were longer than a couple of days.

Having said all of the above, I can be packed and ready to go in ten minutes, if anyone wants to bankroll me ... :-)