Happy Anniversary

Bill and I hit 12 years today.

Elisabeth and Frank gave us this card. I'm afraid it is probably true.

I'm Free!

They say the two best days at a job are the day you get the job and the day you quit the job. Actually, I think the saying is about boats, but it must be true for both. I'm so glad to be done with work because frankly, my ability to focus has been rapidly deteriorating. Yesterday, I accidentally sent my team lead an email intended for Bill. Luckily it just said, "I bought panther stamps."

As frustrating as D*ll is, I'm thankful for the eight months I spent there. (Hey, I worked eight months. In a row.) The commute was a breeze. I worked with some great folks. And I got to eat free, gourmet food every day (when I imagined I worked at Google). I'm looking forward to seeing my Dublin friends, but I will miss Linda mucho.

For the next 72 hours I will be Garage Sale Queen. Watch for reports. It is going to be amazing.

House for Sale

We finally put the house on the market. As of tomorrow it will have been listed for one week. So far we've had, oh, zero showings. I'm more annoyed about this than anything. People, we cleaned our house. We have clear surfaces and 400 less magazines. The office floor is fully navigable. We are making up the bed. I feel like I am living in a monastery. At least come look!

I put a candle in the shower thinking it would evoke relaxing bubble baths in the mind of the weary house shopper. Bill accidentally knocked it into the tub while showering and narrowly
escaped serious injury. Well, I guess he wasn't in real danger, but there was broken glass and nakedness and that is never a good combination.

Our new tub does look cool. Thanks, Bob and co.!

It's real

My work permit application has finally been submitted, so I made the plane reservations today. I haven't made many one-way reservations, and this is definitely my first for overseas travel. We leave October 5. We still have a ton of stuff to do with the house. Hopefully someone will want to view it soon.

V. Busy Day

Today is a hive of activity at the homestead. Luke was trimming trees as I left for work this morning. Bob is starting on the tub replacement project. Our new laptop will be delivered. Tob is preparing for her road trip to Indiana. Kevin is maybe finding a moment or two to chill (probably not). Bill is monitoring all these goings-on while doing some repairs himself. Whew. I'm relaxing at the office.

Car Insurance

Getting car insurance in Ireland looked to be painful if not impossible. Most Irish insurers require the insured to have at least a provisional license, something I wouldn't have for awhile. Also, it is really, really expensive. I found some hints on how to reduce the cost, and one said it could reduce the yearly cost by 900 euros! What would the cost still be?

However, after some more research I found Geico. They will insure international drivers, and at very reasonable rates. I had to guess on a car to get a ballpark figure, but for a "reasonable" vehicle the third-party insurance will be only ~ $450. Not bad at all. One more thing off the research list.

So now it begins...

We have so much to do in the next couple months: fixing things around the house, packing up stuff for storage, packing other stuff for shipping, having a huge garage sale, selling the house and cars, preparing the paperwork... Gawww!

We should rename our dog Toblerone "Papillon" (or perhaps Morris) as she's developed a taste and talent for escaping our backyard. We were gone a lot in July, so I guess she was looking for us. We bought some 12" square pavers last night and put them behind the fence. We'll see if it thwarts her attempts, but she's very crafty.