Packing Up

There’s been a flurry of activity at the house this week. Now that we have our departure date set, we’ve been scrambling to get everything organized, and to get all of our US utilities and services canceled. It’s actually kind of mind-boggling how many monthly services we have to shut off: trash, home phone, cable, internet, Netflix, XM Radio, cell phone, the local dairy… It’s a lot to keep track of. The whole experience has made me painfully aware of one thing: I hate automated customer service phone centers. They’re absolutely infuriating. Speaking to a computer instead of a real person makes me nuts. I especially hate it when the computer makes you choose what you’re calling about from a menu of choices, none of which usually exactly match what you want to talk about. The very first option on one of those computerized dealies should be: press one to speak to a real person.


Anyhow. End rant.

So, I’m spending the day talking to computerized voices on the phone, making lists of items to take in the trip, and working my way through endless loads of laundry. It’s simultaneously boring, exciting, and nerve wracking. (Laundry is never fun, but I’m totally psyched to leave for the trip. It’s nerve-wracking, because I’m completely paranoid that I’m going to forget something essential, like my laptop.)

Speaking of trip plans, Matt had an absolutely genius idea for our first week in the UK. Our Maryport house won’t be ready for us to move in until March 15. So instead of living uncomfortably in a single hotel room for a week, Matt had the brilliant idea to rent a vacation house for that eight day stretch. It’s actually cheaper than a week in a hotel, and will give us *tons* more room. (Why didn’t I think of that?)

The vacation rental is a two room house with a full kitchen and laundry facilities. It’s nothing fancy, but really a great place for us to transition to UK life. The hotel room would have been tough, since Matt and I would have to keep the lights low, tv off, and our voices down to a whisper after Frankie went to sleep in the early evening. Plus, with all of us having jetlag, our sleeping schedules will likely be sort of odd for the first few days. I’d hate to wake up in the middle of the night in a hotel room, unable to do anything except for lie quietly in bed trying not to disturb anyone. The vacation house will give us all a bit more independence.

The house is in a town called Broughton Moor. It’s walking distance to a small grocery store and a pub, but not much else. It will probably take a week or so for us to get my car, so Frankie and I will be spending a lot of time indoors for those first few days. There is a nice fenced backyard for Frankie to play in, though, so hopefully we won’t go too stir crazy.

Now that's all settled, all we have to worry about is packing up and figuring out how to transport ourselves and seven suitcases to the Denver airport. (!)