Cold

Not that kind of cold; the cough and sneeze kind. It partly explains the lack of update; right now, I'm waiting for the boys to fall asleep, so that I can. Things still progress in the meantime; I have disentangled us from some of our UK life, and been advised to set up an offshore bank account, which kind of made me go 'eek'.

And the very nice people who are buying our house came to visit and do some measuring today; they are very excited about the whole thing (their whole thing, that is; not ours), and keen to get on with it. Somewhere in the chain is a pregnant person, who is due in May, so must be moved by then. It's looking like it may all come together.

Oh, and we bought a laptop, so that everything on this computer can be made portable in time for the flight. We're beginning to crystallise our thoughts on April 1st now; soon we'll have to make it a firm commitment.

It's happening...

More steps

Tentatively, it's all coming together. The Work Permit applications are in; and tomorrow, Zoë has to go for her medical, so we know that everything has been received and is being processed. The medical will lengthen the process a little, but we're still on course.

We've started to wind things up; tomorrow, I will spend the day at home making all manner of phone calls, and sending emails galore to try to unentangle us from our UK lives, and try to put some small things in place at the other end. On that note, I'm still no nearer to a work-related trip to Canada; I spent the whole of last week in the company of Canadians, and enjoyed it thoroughly; I would be helpful to them over there, and it would benefit me as well, but there is politics involved, and it's an Italian company; I'm saying no more.

And the big news is - we may have sold the house. No more details at this stage; it's way too early, but we're quietly confident. I got the news standing outside the Star Bar in Edinburgh - one of our old haunts, revisited for old time's sake wth University friends. I had a blast (and Aberdeen beat Hibs, which practically never happens), and as I tick things off my list ("things I must do before leaving the country"), I realise that I'm more and more ready.

Come on, let's go...

Now it gets scary

Today has been spent interviewing removal firms. Zoë's day, that is - my day has been spent going back to work. There is so much to take into account when moving our belongings - so much so that it's beginning to seem like a serious option just to sell everything and buy new in Canada. OK, so there are too many items of sentimental value for that - and all those books - but having done one pass at thinning out stuff, we're clearly going to have to take much more of a scorched earth policy to things. One oddity - not so odd when you think about it, I suppose - since 2001 and the Foot and Mouth outbreak, Canada has looked very unfavourably on anyone importing soil. Well, I thought, that won't affect us. And it won't - as long as we wash bicycle tyres, and clean any outdoor shoes thoroughly - it really will be that detailed, apparently.

Yikes.