LAST MINUTE VISITORS

Yesterday afternoon Toms brother arrived from Texas. We haven’t seen him in six years! It’s so nice to have him here. Toms older brother came over too and we had Pizza and sat around catching up on the past.

My gown did not arrive yet and I’m getting a little antsy. The order status tells me it is in transit. Hopefully it will arrive next week. Then another week at the tailor and we are getting really lose to departure…. It will all work out just fine (I keep telling myself)

Another dinner with the family tonight. I think we are going to continue this for the week Toms brother is here. I love my family and I’m looking forward to spending time with the German part of my family. We had very little opportunity to be together. We missed a lot of birthdays, weddings and other important celebrations with the German side.

Ok, got to attend the food in the oven.

FINAL DOCTORS APPOINTMENTS

Today I had my last dental appointment, got my permanent crown installed and picked up our dental records on CD. She even gave me a prescription for an antibiotics and pain meds just in case my tooth with the temporary crown decides to act up while on the ship. I was instructed several months ago to have the tooth extracted and an implant put in. That’s a total of $4500 to $5000…. for one implant! In Germany, I can have the extraction and two implants for less. So I let it slide and hope it will last a few more month. Tom is already done with his dental visits. He should be good to go for a while.

Friday I have one more appointment and then I’m all up to speed. I like the fact that they copy your medical records to CD. No more dragging around big medical record folders!

Tomorrow Toms brother arrives from TX. He will be here for a week. That will be a lot of fun!

NO MORE PROCRATINATING

No more excuses – no more important things that take priority (like surfing the net for useless information, TV time, hahahaaa blogging)

I will still keep you in the loop, but for now there are more important things to do.

1.      Clear the house from all items that need to go to storage

2.      Bring all useless stuff to the dump

3.      Pack suitcases

4.      Bring items to their rightful owners or new owners

5.      Make a big fire and burn paperwork

I probably forgot to list several important things. The brain is not working too well right now. Seem like mental overload….I’m glad that one of our daughters is moving into our home; this way she can take care of the things that slip my mind right now.

SHORTENED TIME...........

Hi, it's me, Tom. This is my first official post and my first time blogging.

I never thought that I would see this day..........27 days until the boat...uh......ship sails.......where has the time gone. Soon I'll be sitting on a Baltic beach wondering "what the heck am I doing here." I used to do that at the start of every ski season at the top of the mountain as I looked down at that tiny spec at the bottom which was the lodge capable of holding five thousand people......"what the heck am I doing here?" After that first run I was alright and I'm sure after that first dip in the Baltic, things will be the same (or so I hope).

I am sure that my wife and the kids (all of drinking age) will help me through the initial stages of living in a foreign land...........guten Morgen..........wie geht's..........wo sind die toiletten...........you know, the formalities. I have been told that there is a tradition of roaming about to meet the neighbors and to introduce ourselves (they have already been warned that we are coming) and in doing so, breaking the ice with a shot of what-ever liquor is on hand. So............I don't think we will feel much pain or maybe a lot.

Winter needs to go as I still have painting, cables to put in the ground and caulking to do on the house......AND PACK! (Do they have professional packers that would come in and pack everything for you?) Once I get on the boat.....ship......I'll be ok...........it's just the getting there that is going to do me in.

NEW CELL PHONES

Today we got new cell phones. We are told that they will work pretty much anywhere we find a Wi-Fi connection. They say that we don’t even have to change the SIM card once we get to Germany since Metro PCS uses T-Mobil/Telecom towers and that is a German provider. I can’t wait to see if they are right. We chose Metro PCS because there are no contracts and you can stop the service any time you like. To all the techies out there – do you have any experience with international connections without adding an international plan or new SIM card? The phones we got are LG optimus F6, 4G.

It will be interesting to find out. I told the staff I would call them and let them know if it really works.

For the rest of the day I went shopping with my daughter while Tom made Banana Bread at home. It is so nice and soft, and juicy.

EASTER SUNDAY

This might be the last BIG family gathering for a while. We will all gather at the family home, but I don't have to do any of the cooking :) Since I only have industrial size pots left our place is still the best location and the house served us very well for large gatherings in the past. It will be very different planning meals for two. I already find myself cooking meals for about 3 days instead of 1. Oh well, leftovers are always welcome.

After yesterday’s icy surprise it looks like spring again but I stepped outside and it is still really cold.

Tom printed the luggage tags last night and we have a final head count of the pick-up-team. Everybody has to have entry passes or the port authority will not let anybody to the pier.

30 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 723 hours 43414 minutes 2604897 seconds

The House is getting empty, walls are bare, closets and drawers are empty and suitcases cover the floor.

I decided to ship one box with winter gear by mail. None of it is really heavy, but it’s bulky and will take up a lot of space in the suitcases.

The house has not been sold as of yet. We had only a few nibbles, but no bites. Either way, we are leaving. The good thing is, we can sleep in our beds until the very last night. Meanwhile one of our daughters with her family will move in and maintain our home. Another daughter will be equipped with a power of attorney to conduct business on our behalf.

Last Saturday the weather was beautiful. It was warm and sunny. For the first time this year and we decided to open the garage sale. We had traffic all day! It was fantastic!

I found some moving boxes on www.freecycle.org to pack and transport more to the storage unit.

This morning, 04/16/14, I woke up and we had a solid cover of ice outside. It had rained last night and it all froze over. Not funny at all.  

GLITCH

Oh noooo!! My gowns arrived today - both in the same color. That is horrible!!!

I tried them on and they fit well and look glamorous but the identical color is unacceptable.

Now we’ll find out how good their customer service and the desire for customer satisfaction is.

I’m bummed right now. I already emailed the company and hope they don’t give me a lot of grief since the correct color is clearly stated on the invoice. 

I’ll keep you posted .

AN EERIE FEELING

Yesterday we went shopping for Toms suits. We found some really nice ones and he surprisingly found and fell in love with 2 pairs of shoes. That is rare for him because he has a rather unusual size. Let me tell you, he looks really handsome all dressed up.

I won’t tell you too much – you’ll see it soon J. My gowns are in transit from the People’s Republic of East China! They have some very fast seamstresses there. I did not expect this shipment so fast.  

The house is getting very empty. Today the dining table was picked up and is now replaced with a 6’ folding table. Before you know it we will be sitting on borrowed folding chairs.  

I have one suitcase already packed and I continue sorting through/out more “stuff”. Today we did inventory of Toms closet. We have another huge pile of clothes for donation. 

I wanted to reheat some leftover spaghetti for dinner when I realized that I don’t have a frying pan anymore…. Oh well, it’s all manageable.

CRUNCH TIME

DEPARTURE is only 

44 days
1063 hours
63838 minutes
3830275 seconds away!


We still have so much to do and it seems overwhelming. Sometimes I don't know where to start and progress seems to too slow. 24 hours a day are not enough. Tom is now home all day and can nibble away on his and my to-do list. Help is always hard to come by especially when it is about making decisions on very personal belongings. I'm not very attached to material goods; Tom on the other hand has a hard time letting go of "stuff".

I'm starting to get a little worried about the timing but I have to stay positive that it will all get done. Stress levels are high and the fact that I lost about 3 weeks due to some nasty respiratory bug didn't help matters.

Meanwhile our new camera has arrived and we will be able to provide wonderful photos from all the destinations on our list. We decided on a Nikon - D5200 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR Lens. So far we really like the test photos we've taken.

Our tickets for the transatlantic crossing with Cunard are secured and my evening gowns for the formal nights on board are on order. Suitcases are also ready to be packed and our wardrobe has been reduced to the absolute minimum.

The storage unit is slowly filling with important paperwork and a lifetime of pictures. Last weekend we emptied the attic - what an accomplishment. It's amazing what you find after 15 years. Now it's time to gather tools and see how many Phillips screwdrivers and speed squares, ratchets and hammers we accumulated. That should be interesting, LOL. Hopefully the snow and ice melts fast so that we can approach the garage. That thought is pretty daunting.

Today is another landmark day for me. I am officially retired now and have a lot more time to push forward.