OK so it's been a long time....

Cannot believe how long it is since I updated my blog.  I will do a catch up in bullet points I think.

• We held an 'at home' on the 21st September.  It was amazing to see who came.  Some very special people apart from family and good friends.  Debbie and Richard and their son drove up from Peterborough to see us and the lovely Italian cleaning lady from the Teachers' Centre came with her husband.  It was wonderful to see everyone and to know who cared.

• On the 22nd September, my little car - Poppy- departed in Sheila's capable hands.  She brought us a lovely pie from her shop too :-)

• Left Manchester for San Diego on 3rd October. Sarah and Carl came to see us off.  It was the hardest goodbye I have ever done.  Tearful to say the least but I am SO grateful that she came.

• Flew business class with British airways. It was a kind of a treat for us and it was a great experience.

• Got to San Diego late.  Lined up for immigration.  We were pulled out of the line (minorly scary) and seated outside a small room and beside the line of people coming into the states.  We got some interesting looks I have to say! In the small room we had our fingerprints taken - twice as they didn't do it properly the first time.  

• Eventually got a hire car and drove to our hotel in San Diego for a well earned rest.  The hotel was great. We were the only idiots in the rooftop pool though because despite it being really warm outside, the water was not heated and it was really cold!

• On the 7th October we drove to Temecula!

Tougher and tougher

We went for a lovely meal with friends (a Chinese takeaway).  Karen has been my close friend since I met her at college despite there being over 10 years difference in our ages.  She has always supported me through thick and thin.  She allowed us all to stay with her family between houses, she drove me for my chemotherapy treatments even though she was still breastfeeding her firstborn, she helped my eldest daughter deal with the death of my mother (I was in the States).  I've never had a friend like that and it was a tough good bye.  First time I have really felt loss at our emigration.
Then yesterday, I had a lovely day in York with another close friend.  I was given a silver charm of a coffee cup to remind me of all the times we had had a cuppa together.  So, so grateful for these amazing people.  Really hope that I find good friends in the USA and also that I keep my present friends from afar.

Off went the van.....

Well all the furniture has now gone!  It feels very strange.  The two guys who packed everything were amazing.  Really professional.  I would totally recommend PSS - well assuming it all gets to the States ok!  They loaded everything onto the container in the pouring rain.  The weather really could not have been worse!

Everything was packed and labelled and had a number on it.  There were 141 boxes in all.  Astonishingly well packed too!

Now this really did impress.....two men carrying the piano out of the house, down the steps and into the container!  Amazing

Luckily, the box was the right size - I measured it last year so it was a bit of a tense moment I have to say...

The container was sealed

Here's the container being filled

And here it is leaving us for Leeds.  It went by road to Leeds and then is going to Tamesport in London (well Kent) by train and there it will wait for the Stuttgart Express container ship.  We are able to track the ship to some extent but it wont be in Tamesport until 4th October as it's on its way from Halifax Nova Scotia.

So there we go......our home packed away until we buy a house in the US!

Hither and thither

Well, it's been a hectic few days I have to say.  The shippers arrived to pack the furniture.  Just two of them!  It was a bit nerve-wracking really.  Not sure what to do.  Showed the foreman what needed packing (pretty much everything!) and then hung about for a bit.  Eventually we felt in the way so we left and went back to our apartment.  Took them some fish and chips for their lunch.  They had made a good start - never seen so much brown paper in my life!!

It's very odd to see our stuff wrapped up.  Everything is being labelled though.  They really seem very good but I suppose the proof is in the safe arrival of it all.  They were at the house until 6.00pm and then arrived at 8.00 the following morning.

The weather couldn't really have been worse - astonishing amount of rainfall and cold with it.  Really hoping that the rain eases up when they take the stuff out of the house.

This morning, we popped up and took their lunch orders.  Just getting back to the apartment when Virgin rang to say they were collecting the Virgin boxes in 10 minutes!!  No warning of this, so....back up the hill we went and met the man there and gave him the boxes back.  Then back down to the apartment for a bit of a chill and catch up.........phew!

Oh my!

Well yesterday we had our Open House before we leave.  It was simply lovely with so many good wishes and lovely comments written.  And a couple of really thoughtful presents. Will be keeping the cards and putting them up in our new house in San Diego.  Just to remind me, these are the people who came.

Anne and Colin
Susan and her partner
Helen and her partner (JP)
Robert and Sheila
Jane and James with Hugo and Harry
Juliette, Darren, Emilie and Oliver
Sue R
Sue T
Mandy, Craig and Kelly
Toni and Pasqualle - such a lovely surprise!!
Debbi, Richard and Ben - travelled miles!
Gwen, Emma, Gary and his girlfriend - another shock!
Sarah and Carl - such a help and we actually managed to get something to eat when they arrived.
It was a very moving evening.  We have stacks of food left and bottles and bottles of wine (including one champagne) which is quite hard really as lots of people brought wine but we can't take it with us so will have to drink some and give quite a lot away.

it was a simply lovely evening and I for one felt very blessed to have had so many lovely people in my life.  Goodness me I shall miss them.  And WHY didn't I take photos??

A very British trip

Well, we have had nearly three days in the Lake District.  We stayed at The Pheasant Inn in Bassenthwaite.  It was simply lovely.  We had a room overlooking the front of the hotel and it
 was really peaceful.

We really didn't do much except walk, drive and relax which was just what I needed!  We had tea, with a teapot and a strainer and homemade shortbread. The inn itself was very cottagy and very British so it was a nice 'goodbye' visit really.  The scenery is stunning and although the weather wasn't brilliant it made for some good pictures!

We went to Wastwater which is easily the most brooding and dramatic of the lakes.  It was excellent.  Mind you, now we are home and have to get everything ready for the Open House tomorrow.  I can feel my stress levels rising as I type.

Tick, tick, tick.......

Realised in bed last night that we only have one more week in this house!!
Spent yesterday afternoon at A & E because the leg of the desk dropped onto my ankle and needed to check that it wasn't broken - thank goodness it not!  Never been so relieved.  However two hours was quite boring although the nurse practitioner was just lovely.

Have now sorted out the cancelling of the car insurance and a letter about my no claims bonus, we have booked our 'flu jabs for the day after the shippers have been.  We have also just booked a company to come and deep clean the cooker - £89!!!  Good grief!

So the diary is getting really full.  We maybe need to emigrate for a rest!