It is with a heavy heart that I must tell all his other adoring fans that Raffiel “Raffi” Bernini Menard* crossed the rainbow bridge two weeks ago on Monday, June 16th. He was 19 years and one month old, which is 93 years old in human years. It was a long, full, adventurous, and snuggly life and I couldn’t have asked for more!

When I booked my flight to Burlington in anticipation of Jumping into Tiny House Design-Build Cert 2025, I snagged the least expensive flight I could find that fit the schedule. That meant signing up for a ticket that included a personal item, but no carry-on luggage. I knew that was going to be a feat considering that I was packing for two-weeks… in Vermont… in winter! I just can’t seem to help travel hacking my own systems. I’ve learned a lot and it serves me well. It might not serve you. That’s fine, of course. But since I’ve benefitted from checking out other people’s packing lists (especially when it comes to building capsule wardrobes), I’ve decided to share my packing-in-a-personal-item strategies here in case they’re helpful for anyone else.