Time Flies...

Time flies when you're having fun... and I'm here to tell you that it also flies when you're NOT having fun!

I'm now down to 11 days until I move out of this house, and these last 49 days have honestly, been the hardest of my life! Sorting, tossing, packing, repacking, endless phone calls and hassles and worry and stress... And even though I know that I'm well and truly down to the final days at this point, I honestly don't feel that I've accomplished much - other than spinning my wheels, that is.
And then I found out yesterday, that I LOT of what I have accomplished has been in vain. Complete and utter vain.
My wheels have done been spun.

See, moving "internationally" - especially when you're short on $$'s - is no walk in the park. It's not like you can call a moving company to come pick up your shite "treasures" and move them from one location to the other... and you're basically all moved in but the unpackin'.
You know what I mean?

So instead, I've had yard sales, I've sold my stuff to friends, I've donated and sorted and pared stuff down to the bare minimum - and here at the end, I've actually been forcing stuff on friends - whilst using guilt and incredibly sad looks.

"Oh Lee-Ann, that 3 piece outdoor lounge setting would look just perfect on your patio!" When your husband builds it that is... Now am I right, or what? And besides, every time you look at it, you'll be reminded of all the good conversations and endless cuppas we shared together."

"Corry, oh honey, I want you to have some things that will remind you of me... so here's 18 and 1/2 pairs of shoes - and I'm sure that at your age, your feet will start shrinking soon! The purple Crocs will look just great with your green parrot t-shirt! Really!!"

So, I've managed to get my "what I'm taking" stuff down to 3 large-ish boxes and 3 smaller ones, as well as 3 large suitcases, and I gave up a LOT of important (to me, anyway) treasures and memories in the process. Okay, so the suitcases don't cost a thing when we fly, but the boxes were another story entirely. $224 per large 20 kilo box (20 kilograms = 44.092 452 437 pounds) So it was going to run me close to $850.+... just to ship those boxes through the post office.

Then last Thursday, the real estate agent came by with a little "courtesy" packet of "now that you've sold your home" info.
Outlining stuff like when to notify the utilities to shut off power, how to re-direct your mail, etc. And amongst all the stuff, was a little flyer about a local company that sells freight boxes for moving purposes.
Hmmm... freight boxes? Maybe those would be better than the flimsy, taped and re-taped old things I'm currently using?

So I looked them up on-line, just to get an idea of how much some good 'heavy-weight' boxes would actually cost me.
And found out something that had my heart sinking like a stone.

Not only do they sell boxes... but they ship as well. And for FAR less! 8 large boxes, shipped on a pallet (and probably on the same damn ship that Australia Post ships by) will cost me $550. That means that for $300 less, I can take MORE stuff than I actually have left (and not have to lug 3 large suitcases through the airport!) The best I can figure at this point is almost 3 large boxes more!

So you know what I did? I started calling up people and asking for my stuff back. I have to admit that I felt funny doing it, but it was killing me to know that I had given stuff away that meant something to me. Things that I well and truly treasured. Of course I didn't ask for the stuff I had sold, because a deal is a deal... right?

But those things like cast iron skillets and antique pie plates and silverware. Books and Cd's and DVDs and heaps of other stuff that had just been "given" away... Well butter my butt, and call me an Indian giver. Because if the shoe fits, sometimes ya just gotta wear it - you know?
And in actual fact, those purple Crocs probably would have looked like poop on Corry anyway...

So now on to the news that you've been waiting for...

I'll be home for good, on October 2nd!! Yeeeee Haw!!!!