Some of you may have noticed that I have been a touch quieter on here than normal recently
and could even be thinking yourselves lucky that I have been
.
Well the reason is that I am moving house very, very soon and whilst I am used to moving house - I won't say how many times I have moved but it is well over 20-30 times now and I should be used to it, it is the first time that I have moved house internationally and despite my bad back and me being in a wheelchair when out of the house nowadays (sadly the physio has said he recons that this is probably permanent but I intend to prove him wrong there; what my right leg has to say about this remains to be seen), I am the one who is having to organise everything and get everything ready for the movers.
It is also the first time I have movers pack for me which is a touch daunting because I don't work with a 'this box was in this room' approach but more a 'what is in that box' approach. Mind you that said, it is the first time I have used a removal company. To make life even more fun, not everything we own is going and obviously we have to keep some stuff behind for us to live with whilst all our stuff is on a ship somewhere for 3 months.
Combine all of that with the fact that we are moving to a country which I think has one of the strictest importation/quarantine laws in the world and well, I'm spending rather a lot of time cleaning things and almost as much time asking the removal company about the customs declaration form and exactly what little things like "Do your unaccompanied effects contain any of the following goods, subject to animal quarantine laws, or wildlife export and import laws? ....
feathers...."
Errr... well in my sleepy haze of overdoing it, not enough sleep and too much morphine I was left wondering about the little things such as feather pillows, duck down sleeping bags (6 of), duck down quilts (more than I actually need I think at 5) and a down filled jacket... which then led me on to the wonderings of if feathers are included and I have to answer yes to this question, then list every item, what about anything woollen?
I'm so glad there is someone sensible at the end of the email address who is a) used to this and b) realises that I am too tired and not thinking correctly!
However.... and this is a big however, everything that has wood in it and I do mean everything, ornaments, picture frames, stools, the only bookcase we are taking, my coffee tables, my wooden spatulas, etc all need listing and keeping aside because they will need inspecting and then there is a section for stuff made from other natural products such as cane, bamboo, plant material. So whilst my seagrass and seagrass stools are allowed to be imported, they have to be listed and inspected. So that is another list to create, and even my cane banneton has to go on this list! Ahhhhhh
Time to fly,
well actually that date is set for less than 3 weeks time. Shipping of our stuff happens next week... and where, well we are officially moving to Canberra, Australia for 3-4 years.
I hope it all goes well.
