T minus 3 weeks

Well, departure date is drawing closer at an alarming rate.  I am now starting to think about "time" as a limited resource which should be nurtured and saved, wherever possible.

The packers arrive early next week, and we need to have all of our "7 week survival kit" packed, or at least out of the reach of the "pack everything" packers, by then.  Clothes are the easy ones, it's things like iPods, chargers, phones, books, electronic books, cameras, batteries, paperwork, alarm clocks, sand toys, li-lo, driving license, etc etc etc that cause the issues.

There are still a few big jobs to do at home too, which doesn't help - I really must get around to plumbing in the hot water in the utility room (I plumbed both taps into the cold somehow-or-other). Other jobs which make this weeks top 10 include: Draining the two lawnmowers of fuel so that they work again in 3 years, fitting brakes to a friends car, shaving 1/2" off Charlotte's bedroom door, fitting a door handle to Charlotte's door, getting birth certificates stamped at the UAE embassy, signing my shotgun over to a friend, backing up the iMac, avoiding booking anymore "leaving doo's" (we love them, but just can't fit anymore in!), etc etc.  You get the impression.

Meanwhile, the repetitive questions are still coming thick and fast from anyone that I haven't seen for a few days/weeks.  They nearly always happen in this order:

1. "When are you going"?
2. "Are you exciting?"
3. "Have you got your house sorted yet?"
4. "Have you got your kids school sorted yet?"

These questions rarely vary, and in fact the first two are pretty much a given as soon as I even spot someone I haven't seen for a few days (they forget the answers you give then instantly, so will ask you again the following day.  The next time we move, I will make sure we move on a more memorable day so that people cannot forget - Christmas day for example).  Walking around the office is now becoming a hazardous activity.

However, that said, I am still managing to keep my patience (I can almost hear Rach gasp with shock) and have not yet biten anyones head off for asking a perfectly innocent, albiet unimaginative, set of questions.

Right now, back to the grind stone for a little which longer for me, before we start to reap the rewards in a few weeks....