Out of the House at Last!

Sorry about the lack of posts for the last few days. I just haven't had the time or energy! Despite the fact that we moved most of our stuff last Saturday, our life has still been a zoo as we continue with preparations for getting out of our townhouse and returning to Burkina.

Building our shipping crate (about 4’x 3’x2’) took a lot longer than I’d planned, partly because I had to include internal dividers to prevent the heavier stuff (like our 90 lb mattress-in-a-box) from crushing lighter things (like our printer and the crank lanterns) in case the crate got turned the wrong way. Since this is not something I do all the time, I ended up measuring everything two or three times to make sure all dimensions were correct before I started cutting. At the price of lumber these days, a mistake can be costly!

In the meantime, Kathy was packing our baggage, trying to arrange things in the various bags and suitcases in such a way as to maximize our 23 kg/bag weight limit. And more than once we had to make serious decisions about what to take and what to leave behind (or get Josh to bring at Christmas-time).

Then there was the cleaning. Gotta leave the place clean and in good shape for the next tenants, right?

Last night, we were up to 3 o’clock in the morning before calling it quits. Then it was up again early this morning so that we could get everything out of the house and at least into the garage, where things could be finalized, before the carpet cleaners arrived.

It’s amazing how much time all this little stuff takes up, trying to sort through odds and ends, deciding what to keep and what to throw out, whether to take it with us or leave it here, etc. Then there was garbage and recycling to look after. But finally, by mid-afternoon today, we were done. Our friends, the Goulbournes, lent us their van to transport the shipping crate and baggage to Toronto, where it will be stored at our church there until we fly out next week.

Tomorrow is our anniversary, so we’re spending a couple of days getting some R&R before we take off for Burkina. And boy, do we need it! Tonight, we could hardly make it through supper. Both of us were practically falling asleep over our meals! I'm having a hard time concentrating and staying awake long enough to write this post. Kathy is already fast asleep.

We’re looking forward to sleeping in for a couple of days. This is actually the first time we’ve done this, taking a short break after the rush of packing up and before heading off to Africa. Normally, we work like crazy right up until the last minute, and then get on the plane, arriving in Burkina totally exhausted and ready to succumb to the first disease that realizes our bodies are run down and ripe for takeover. Not fun at all.

We’ve appreciated several wonderful friends who invited us for supper or dessert over this past week. Thank you Ted & Norma, Jason & Jaylene, and Jennifer & Don. Thanks also to Scott for a pound of Starbucks beans to take back to Burkina with us!

I’m going to be off-line for the next few days, but hope to post an entry or two next week before we get on the plane, so stay tuned!