And I Thought Alaska Was Expensive

After arriving in Brisbane yesterday, we had a VERY busy day and by the end of it, we were tired puppies.  However, we sacrificed and went to the local grocery store.  Here are some price comparisons (keep in mind this is AUS $$ so you have to take these prices times ~ 1.09 to get the US price):

Bottled Water 24 pack of 600ml bottles - $10

1 Hass Avocado - $2.48

1 pkg 2 rolls (short) paper towels - $3.50

1 – 24 pk diet coke (12 oz) - $16

1 pound chicken breasts - $10.50

6 oz Philly cream cheese - $4

8 oz Jarlsberg cheese - $7.40

We may have to change some of our eating habits!

BTW – the tax rate here looks to be 10%.

On a different note, I tested the temporary washer and dryer.  The washer is a 5.5kg washer.  Translation:  one load equaled one each: bath towel, wash cloth, hand towel, floor mat.  No more.  This will take a lot of time to do laundry.  Lucky I’m on a leave of absence. 

Estate Planning

For years we have bantered about the fact we need to do estate planning.  The conversation generally went something like:

“We should do something.”

“You’re right. We should do something.”

And then we would do something ELSE, forgetting about estate planning until the next time one of us thought of it. 

Now, because of the move overseas, we finally did our estate planning.  We completed it.  It is done and we don’t ever have to revisit it again unless we choose to.  And, of course, I will choose to.  We forgot to put any clauses in about pets owned at the time of our demise.  (I know – I know – HOW could I, who has ALWAYS considered her dogs the equivalent of children, have forgotten future pets!!!  I blame the move and additional stress of the last few weeks.)

As with any endeavor that involves planning, this one was a learning experience. Of course the one thing I learned that I actually remember is depending on how you structure things, the federal government could get a lot of money.  We avoided that structure.

Another part of this exercise was to complete our Medical Directive to Physicians.  This generated the most discussion between Robert and myself.   This is the document which states what we want to have done with regards to life support and added something to the effect of – we really really mean it. 

Those are tough conversations to have.  And, once you make the decision, the proper thing to do is to let your family know your wishes but even our lawyer said she has never talked to her family.  In today’s busy world, who wants to take the family together time (such as Christmas, Easter, etc,) to discuss death – even as it is a part of life.  Our family generally doesn’t.

Robert keeps telling me he will go before me.  I keep telling him if he dares to leave me like that, I am cremating him, putting him in a box and gluing the box to the dash of the car.  (Hopefully no one will mistake it for an ashtray.)

Something to think about...

When living in Houston during 2004-2006, we were very lucky to find both a yard service and a cleaning service that were absolutely top notch and took very good care of us.  Of course when we moved back to Houston, we called the same companies.  Luckily, they were still in business and once again agreed to help us out.

I talked to the lawn service owner the other day and she voluntarily assured me they were going to watch the house and make sure there were no problems and thanked us profusely for our business.  She even told me she would take pictures if I wanted them to letting us know the yard was still in good shape. What great people.

Yesterday, I saw our house helper for the last time (well - until we move back).  We have become friends over the years and I have heard about her kids growing up, how she met her husband, what her life was like before coming to America, we celebrated when she became a citizen, etc. She always took care of Squirt and cried with me when we lost him. Before I left to run errands, she was in tears and thanked me for everything. I will miss our chats and our friendship.

What has stuck with me though is a comment she made about always treating her as a an equal.  How else would I treat her?  It bothers me to know there are still people in this country that don't treat others as equals.  That's very sad and shows how far we still have to go.

I am very thankful for the people that have worked in and around our homes over the last 15 years and will miss interacting with our current friends regularly. They have giving us time back in our lives which  has allowed us to do other things when not at the office.

PS - To the internet service person I yelled at this morning - I apologize for yelling at you. Please don't think it was because I was not treating you as an equal.  I have no problem yelling at anyone.

New Discovery

When not working, I am MUCH more interested in spending time on my home computer.  I went to the hotel last night and left it here at the house.  I think I had some withdrawals from it since I couldn't check my email, etc.  Maybe this will pass when I get an iPhone in Brisbane.

Last packing day and they are here already.  We filled 7 containers for the ocean shipment which is a very important number.  That translates into we can buy 3 container worth of new stuff overseas to bring back.  :)  Our air shipment, which covered a good portion of the floor in the bedroom, weighed 170lbs (30 lbs shy of what we could have taken) and fit into 3 boxes.  Our suitcases will weigh more when we fly over. 

The piano just came down the stairs in a controlled fashion.  We are never taking it up a set of stairs again.  While that doesn't help this crew any, the next crew will be happier. 

Down to the final house cleaning (Thursday), carpet cleaning (Friday) and bug spraying (Saturday).

Day 2

Packing continues.  The move crew is much more lively today.  I am not sure why unless they see the light at the end of the "stein" tunnel.  Most of the steins are packed now...well...except the ones in the master closet on the highest possible shelf.

Robert is giving me the time update in 15 minute increments.  It is just like pacing only different. 

We believe all of the export paperwork is complete.  There was the TSA form, the Australian import forms and the some other form I don't remember the name of.  That was last night's work.

We also completed the seller's disclosure statement for our house.  All that is left is the carpet cleaning, the bug spraying and the regular house cleaning.  (Not that we have dust or anything...)

Here We Go!

The packers arrived this morning.  I have only made approximately 27 changes in what we are taking and what stays.  Robert is pacing like a worried momma bear watching out for her bear cubs.  Back and forth...back and forth...  I am making notes of our experience (what to do, what not to do and what buttons to push) as Robert wants to publish a document for the next several families to move to Australia.

This pack and load has been completely different from any other move we have made to date.  All other times, the master bedroom was the last to go meaning we could stay in the house as long as possible.  This time, it was the first to get packed as the rule is - ocean and air first - rest of it later in the week.  I'm not exactly sure why except maybe that way we can't panic and put more stuff in the "go over" than we originally planned. (Besides - I fooled them and made my changes before they got the boxes sealed.)  I AM SO HAPPY we went ahead and made hotel reservations for this week.   I MAY have been a little cranky to have to sleep on the floor. 

Packing for a crated ocean shipment with limited space is also different than an in country move with the company.  Every available nook and cranny, every drawer, every cubby is filled with something.  There is none of this one item per box business this time around. 

At this rate, unless they bring a smaller crew tomorrow, it will take at max 1.5 days to finish. 

Count Down...

OK - It's time to get seriously busy.  Movers show up sometime Monday (I just realized I don't know when) to start packing and guess what... I am starting to second guess what we need to take and what we need to leave.  I KNEW this was going to happen.

How do I solve this dilemma? 

I goof off reading Facebook posts and writing here. 

On the upside, we sold the SUV last night.  The only thing we have left to get rid of is the piano.  Unfortunately, I don't think that is going to happen and it will go into storage.  We have learned something though...next time it comes out of storage...it stays on the FIRST floor.  NO taking it upstairs.


We did find out the house we requested has been successfully leased for us.  SO we do know what we are moving into and have an idea our stuff will fit.  :)

Things are moving along!

Sold my Camaro.  I know it is in good loving hands.

Dropped off the ATV and trailer.  I know they are in good loving hands.

Sold the washer and dryer.

Only the SUV and the piano left for sale.

Now down to what stays in Houston and what goes with us.  I have split the kitchen goods into 2 areas...I have no doubt I will need something I put in storage.  I have also found some stuff I forgot we owned.  :P

Wednesday the inventory needs to be turned in.  It will be interesting to see how close the inventory matches what the moving company does.

Inventory, Inventory, Invenory...

Down to the final sorting.  I have everything captured in a document mostly split between Ocean, Air, Storage, Carry, and about 5 other tabs.  It won't be long now!  Just have to be finished by Wednesday!!!

It takes 5 nights

Traveling West to East apparently takes 5 nights to get back into a "normal" sleep pattern for people my age.  Last night was the first decent sleep since we returned.  I'm good to go and ready to work on the house.

Speaking of houses, once again, we bought high and looks like we will be selling low.  Oh well...can't do anything about that.  I am tired to using our stock management rules for houses.  We need to get one of these things right.  :P

I sure many of you have been waiting for a baby ducky update...We have 2 broods right now.  One mama w/ 9 babies and I saw a new brood this morning freshly hatched and scurrying around.  I am pretty sure the new mama is one that came to eat in our drive last year as a chick.  She has 15 lovely little chicks.  They are SO cute. Of course, I didn't have the camera.  Will see if I can get a snap tomorrow.

BTW - our visa has been approved.  We are good to live in Australia for the next 4 years.  We passed the Cultural Assessment yesterday (I call it the mental exam).  The only paperwork left is for our company to approve our medical tests.  I had to have a chest x-ray yesterday for TB.  The tech asked me how long had it been since I had a chest x-ray.  I went with "never".  Should have clearance by the end of the week.

Who would have thought...

As I go through papers and drawers, inventorying items, getting ready for the packers, who would have thought it would be so hard to decide what you can live without for 2-4 years.  Granted, some of it is easy,  For instance, I know I don't need ANY of the books in the library.  I have plenty of electronic books to read but will I need that coat?  Do I need my heavy hiking boots?  How many wine glasses should we take?  Do I really need 3 same sized casserole dishes?  I haven't used more than 1 at a time since I got married.  Do I really need every financial paper I've collected for the past 25 years? 

We did buy new (smaller) computer desks and an area rug this weekend.  Also made the call to put the monster 5 burner gas grill into storage and buy a small 2 burner grill to take with us. 
 
I am just about out of decisions for the day... Luckily, there are only so may days left before we have to turn the inventory in and then it will be a done deal...

AH...Shopping

I am testing the "no international transaction fee" credit card VERY thoroughly this week.  Food, mass transit cards, oh yes...appliances.

We had to purchase a fridge, washer, dryer, freezer and of course a wine cooler for the new town home.  (Yes - the wine cooler was required.)  It all went well as far as I know but hands down the toughest decision was the washer/dryer.  They sell them by kilogram capacity. 

The manager was exceptionally nice and spent well over an hour with me helping me spend Robert's money.  But I was stumped on the kg decision.  The appliances appear SO small here.  Always before, I would open the lid and look in and say - yep, it looks big enough.  Here, I had to know how many wet kilos did my king size bedding take up.  (The answer is apparently 8 but I went 8.5 just to be sure.)  And, me being the "black and white - no shades of gray - if you have 8 on this side you have to have 8 on that side" person that I am, have a devil of a time understanding that a dryer only needs to be 6 kg when the washer needs to be 8.5.  (Something to do with wet/dry.)  Still not entirely sure, I went with the 8kg dryer.  It was pretty funny. . . at one point the manager asked me how many pounds we purchased in the states.  I said we don't - we just do big. 

The dryer has a condenser.  That means it recovers the water and I can use it for watering my plants which we won't have because we won't have a yard.  Luckily, we should be able to connect it to the sink and have it drain automatically.

Space is at a premium and these are stacked units.  SO that means I will need a step stool every time I do the laundry.  (Must go update the inventory.)

Time to go walk around the mall and see if there is anything else I need to use that card on...  :)

City Life - First Impressions

While I have lived in big cities before, I have never "lived" in a city.  I have always been on the edge - pretty much suburbia.  The last few days in the Central Business District of Brisbane has been interesting. 

I never pictured a downtown area in the US with many non-business people.  Of course, I have also never spent a lot of time in big city "downtowns".  Here, the CBD is lively with families and shoppers from when the stores open until closing time at 5 pm or so.  It reminds me of going to a festival that only occurs on a weekend and happens to be in a downtown precinct.  Or maybe a better description is just the local US mall only outdoors. It is even busier on the weekends and as the day grows long (especially on the weekends), the more eclectic the outfits. 

This last weekend was Palm Sunday.  There were several areas for kids to meet and greet not only the EB (Easter Bunny) but other spring time (I guess - fall time here) characters.  There were balloon animal creators, story tellers and several street performers.  There was a flea market in one of the plazas, a rally for nuclear disarmament and of course the regular South Bank craft vendors. And it continues this week. Street performers from jazz bands to tap dancers are all up an down the Queen Street area and a rally / fund raiser for autistic children yesterday.

Today was appliance shopping day and I haven't been able to spend much time in the area.  I guess I'll head downstairs to sit in one of the cafes, have a glass of wine and read a book. Well - after I check out the new part of the mall that just opened. :)

 I could get used to this. 

New Home???

Not finalized yet, but this is the one we chose! Three bedroom, 2 1/4 bath, one living, area/dining area combined.  It will be cozy!

NOPE - You can never have enough pictures of cute Koalas!

Can everyone spot him?  He actually ran across the ground in front of us.  They can move right along when they want to!