And it's confirmed!

The house is ours!! I'm so excited.

Andrew will be in Chicago tomorrow morning and we begin our drive to California.

Description of Our Home

From Andrew: It is at the top of a ridge, e blocks from Adam and Glenn's place, it has a good size yard and a pool.  Adam said they just voted today on it.  3 bed room, 2 bath, have not been inside, but from where it sits, the views of the valley from the second floor should be breathtaking.

Our New Home in Pretoria (Hopefully)

I guess it's not totally for sure yet. But this apparently is the house they have identified for us! Okay, so I have to say, I am excited now. The pictures are a little blurry because Andrew took them with his cell phone. But you get the idea!

Phase I Complete

Now that the bulk of the stuff going to South Africa is gone, I can see a bit more clearly what's left. As much as I hate splitting up all of our stuff, it's a relief that it's gone. After all, most of it is just stuff...at least that's what I keep telling myself!

The movers coming to get all the things going into storage in LA are on their way now. I thinkI  have more boxes marked for drop off at Jeff and Kim's in Claremont than is necessary, but it's too late to reconsider now without driving myself completely insane. :-)

The big concern is the 250 pounds we're allowed for the air shipment tomorrow. I think I'm going to be very, very close. So I'm trying to minimize things going in the car just in case I have to pull a few things out and put them in the car. We can mail any leftover items through the diplomatic pouch...which we are planning to do for two boxes of Andrew's books that I know will take me over the 250 pound limit.

Anyway...we're getting there!

Let the Moves Begin

Waiting for the first of three movers right now. I can't believe the day is here. It's a bit unsettling as all of our stuff gets divided and separated. The international sea shipment is today for the bulk of the stuff going to South Africa. I have changed my mind so many times about what is going and what is not, I can't even remember what we are taking! Ultimately, I tried to simplify and reduce the amount we're taking--sticking to necessities whenever possible...with the exception of small picture frames of family and friends and some decorative stuff. After all, it does have to feel like home there!

Anyway. That's all for now.

Schedule Update

Andrew is back in South Africa and comes back to Chicago on September 24. His flight arrives in the morning...and I will be picking him up and then we begin the drive to California!

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone and I still have tons of packing to do. So I have to get back to work, but here are the new dates:

• Sept 21--movers come to pick up all goods getting shipped by sea to Pretoria
• Sept 22--movers come to pick up all goods going to storage in LA
• Sept 23--movers come to pick up all goods getting shipped by air to Pretoria

Anyway...I'm going to be busy over the next two weeks! Wish me luck.

Punk is in California

Punk is now making his home in Hemet. As you can see, he's settling in pretty well. He was a trooper on the flight, too.