Giving it all away!

Well I seem to have made a reasonable start to all the clearing out and sorting! Today I have put a number of things onto Freecycle (fantastic concept!!) and already my 'too good to throw away' stuff is going to good homes.

In this climate of uncertainty it makes a lot of sense to recycle! A guy just came to pick up some of my jigsaws for his elderly parents and he was chuffed to bits - which made me chuffed to bits too!

Of course still have a mountain of stuff to go, but getting there!

Still not 100% sure of Flo's start date at Al Yasmina so that's a bit of a worry - but I remain optimistic for the 22nd (well flights are booked............!)

I went to Iknit London to 'have a look around' hmmn , ended up with 2 lots of sock yarn to add to the sock yarn I have already bought...............guess what..........I have never knitted a pair of socks!! Was drawn by the colours and the fact that one of them was the Harry Potter brand - although of course Harry was sold out and I had to settle for Dumbledore - honestly I despair at myself sometimes! The Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn is Fab-u-lous though! see below.......

Oh and also got a set of Denise needles from a friend ...............can't wait to use them! My Knitpicks ones are on the way do I really need more Knitting 'stuff' - YOU BET I DO!!!!

My Birthday next week and I am hoping the Knitting Fairy and the Philosophy Fairy will visit - hmmn I had best keep hoping!!

Packing the Stash!!

Well this has been quite a busy week again! Seem to be doing the whole 'two steps forward, one step back' again, but I think overall we are making progress.

Have one quote for removals and shipping which does not seem too bad! Sent all the documents to Al Yasmina school - again! - and 'should' have the place for Flo but not confirmed!

However have confirmed a trip out over half term and managed to get work to pay for it! So K and Flo will have a one way flight and me and Fred will go over to AD for the week and come back on the 23rd. Hopefully will be able to come out permanently a couple of weeks later.

SO...........today I have had a mega clear out in Fred's room and I am pleasantly surprised at how co-operative he was about the radical 'recycling' of toys and books. However I am in that position now where the spare room is full of labelled up bags and boxes which I now need to distribute to various people and charities! We have to start Flo's room tomorrow and that is going to be 100 times worse!

The most enjoyable bit was packing my stash in its posh plastic crates, which I bought especially! I managed to get my yarn into two boxes (quite big you understand!!) and my sewing and needlework into the other. Of course I have not even begun on the patterns and pattern books although to be frank I think I might have to leave some of them with my Mum and just take my favorites (which is still a considerable amount!)

So after all that I was feeling tired and dusty so had a bath with my Philosophy 'Field of Flowers' bath foam - although I hope I get some of the coffee and cream 'flavour' bath/shower gel for my birthday!!

Still have not taken a photo of Flo's finished cardigan - I am quite pleased with it although I did not have enough yarn left (I substituted) for the picot edging so had to double chain crochet the important bits instead - nevertheless I think it looks ok. Will take a photo tomorrow - its too dark now!

Laters........................

Louisa Harding Mariposa

So for my first UAE Knitters - Knit Along, I have bought the most gorgeous yarn in the sale at John Lewis Oxford Street.

Combine that with my new camera and I have been a bit of nerdy/knitty geek and taken some photos of it.......hope the colours come out well on the net!

Not sure if I will start it today thought as managed to slice my thumb with a piece of paper and its a bit too sore to knit.........disaster!!! May do crochet instead!! Seen some cute birds to crochet which I think I will use as Easter decorations - assuming we are out of a hotel by then - and indeed if Easter is generally acknowledged in AD? Oh I have so much to learn.... ha ha!

Marking stuff from the 'To Do' List!!

Well I have been working through the 'To Do' list! Actually I think its better now that I have written everything that needs to be done in a list - its like it has a home now other than floating around inside my head - and I can be making a start!

So I have sent the reams of paperwork to Al Yasmina for Flo's school place - but worryingly I have not heard anything back from them - so will phone tomorrow! I get the feeling that I have to follow every email up with a phone call!! House is finally up for rent - see below! So is feeling more and more real!

K has not heard from his new boss or new HR department about his start date, which is worrying but he will just have to do the thing he hates most in the world - pick up the phone and call a scary stranger who may just be able to help him (not a joke, he won't even ring for a delivery pizza unless he is on the point of starvation! - how he manages to pull off a reasonably intellectual job is beyond me!).

My move has finally been confirmed with my Firm - now just the negotiations over the housing allowance! As they don't actually give any housing allowance in the UAE at the moment that could be challenging, but in my role as Head of HR for the Middle East, I think this particular change of policy is first on my list!! However, the thought of 4 of use in a one bedroomed apartment (what we will get for the the amount of housing we have been given by K's firm) is not particularly attractive at the moment! I must chill it will be sorted soon!

Anyway on to more important things in my next post..................

All Systems Go Go Go!

So - K's security clearance has come through - so we are green for go! Now I am truly scared! I think its going to be a move out by the end of Feb for him, and we will follow on as soon as I get the schools sorted. I think my move is fairly safe - but will hear for certain about that on Monday I hope!

So I have now started a 'to do' excel spreadsheet which is getting bigger by the moment.

Schools are the first thing on the list and then it all crashes along from there.

Of course whilst I should be sorting stuff out I am still wanting to finish the cardigan for Flo - went to get the ribbon today for the ties, but of course could not make my mind up on the design so ended up buying two lots of quite expensive V Rouleaux ribbon!!!

Crinkle Cardi for Flo

So I am on the last sleeve thankfully!

Hoping to finish this before I go back to work on Wednesday and then sew up during the weekend. Need to get the ribbon - may take a trip to John Lewis in my lunch hour - and yes that is a New Year Resolution - take at least two lunch hours each week, rather than no lunch hours ever and get the the exhaustion stage I was at before the Christmas break!

Ok so I think its finally happening........

So after lots of time and frustration, I think the move is actually going to happen.
Waiting for the Visa stuff to get sorted and also for my husbands security clearance to come through. I will hopefully transfer with my current firm which will make life a bit easier I hope - an oasis of what I know, amongst the ocean of the unknown! (or maybe that should be the desert of the unknown!)

Things worrying me:

1. Housing - we are getting a terrible housing allowance from ADAC and so I hope that my firm will be able to cough up some more or we will be in a one bed-roomed flat and that would be a nightmare! That’s before we even start the search. I have my heart set on Al Raha Gardens and I am not sure that’s going to be possible from a cost and an availability point of view - however as is always the case with me I am making huge assumptions!

2. Schooling - I think Al Yasmina have a space for Florence in Yr 7 which will be good but not sure about Fred - so that’s worrying!

3. Work! - can’t really afford to have a month off as DH will not earn enough to keep us going so I am going to have to go straight to work. I have been working myself to exhaustion in London and I understand the Middle East operation from an HR point of view is in a bit of a mess and will require some major input from me. Again the huge assumptions are coming out here

4. The kids - although I am sure they will be fine and at the end of the day we are doing this in part for their futures………..so I must stop worrying about it!

5. DH - he seems to be having some second thoughts - although to be fair he has signed his contract so as long as the security check comes back ok then its pretty much a done deal!

6. Last and by no means least…………sorting stuff out here. I just want to get on with it now!

Anyway in this blog I will try and put together something around how we are getting along (or not) with the move and then hopefully I can look back on this challenging period with some sort of fondness………..hmmn well that’s the plan!

Anyway to remind me of what I am moving away from…….this is my bleak road in South East London on a cold January day!!