We're counting the days now - 19 days till we leave, and a hundred things to do!
We've resorted to having a huge dry-erase board above my desk where we've got everything we need to do listed. It's our attempt at looking organized!
Today we started sorting out clothes, packing away what we won't need until we get to Singapore. If we have space left we'll airfreight it to save having to drag around another suitcase. Our dining room looks like a Goodwill Store! Along with the dining room table, we've got a trestle table loaded with dishes, games, bedding, and all sorts of bits and pieces we think we're going to need during the first month or so. It's not a pretty site as you walk in our front door. After they pick that up on Thursday, we can start using the space for the "shipping" items - things we think we won't need until after we've been there one month! In the meanwhile, each room looks like it's been ransacked, after each person has gone through it and "claimed their stuff"!
Tomorrow we have to take the dogs to the vets to get the International Health Certificate completed and signed so I can send it to Austin to be stamped by the USDA. They then send it back to me, then the dogs have to go back to the vet for a tick & tape treatment, where I should get a letter saying that they are free of parasites! ……..and I'm paying HOW MUCH for a Pet Relocation Service to move our pets?????
Rory's coming with me to take the dogs to the vet. Last time I tried to take handle both myself it was a disaster! They both leapt out the van before I had a good hold on their leashes. Buster bolted, towards the main road. So I dragged Frisco in, practically kicking him all the way to the door since he'd figured out where he was and had no intentions of entering the door! I just pushed him in and threw his leash in after him, turned around and ran after Buster! The stupid dog just ignored me totally and went on, nose to the ground, on his sniffing trail through the flower bed and shrubbery with me, digging my way though, following behind! Eventually I caught up with him and could just about have pulled an ear off him. He wouldn't come with me, and let out a huge yelp when I pulled him! I dragged him all the way inside where I found Frisco rolling around on his back, making himself at home. NEVER again!
I posted an entry on an Expat forum today and got an instant reply! A Canadian lady, with two girls, Max & Syd's ages, and another on the way! They live only about 1 mile away from us, en-route to the Botanical Gardens. We emailed back and forth quite a bit throughout the day. It seems she is quite a celebrity in Canada - make-up and hair-artist for celebrities, magazines, shows, TV, etc. She sounds really friendly and down-to-earth, and it will be good for the girls to have friends their age to socialize with when we get there. They attend the same school that we hope Syd and Max will get into - we should hear about that this coming week. It's amazing how something as simple as a friendly email can make the world of difference!
The vet visit went well. Buster performed well - cried like a baby, and didn't even get a shot, only an examination! I'm relieved to be able to cross that off my to-do list.
This afternoon we went with the Ely's, after a visit to Culvers for lunch, for a drive around Grapevine in search of Bluebonnets. We found NONE, not one! Well, we found a wonderful patch, the only problem was that it was behind barbed-wire fencing in the TXU power plant property! We did find some great parks that were very well hidden. We'd driven by the one a couple of times but had no idea it extended so far back. It had beautiful azalea bushes, with shady maple trees and an incredible pond and stream set-up with kio fish - exactly what Rory would like to do in the back yard. How ironic that we find it just two week before we leave! Since we hadn't found any Bluebonnets, we took some pictures of the kids in the gardens.
