A week to go

A week to go to our departure to our taster of life in Spain. The decorating is coming to an end, and the packing now needs to start. Linda has decided that we are going to have some posh new suitcases, though personally I’m not bothered, but I suppose they will get some use this year. I will not be going ‘home’ as often as her, only the odd return for birthdays etc, whereas Linda will be nipping back on a regular basis, grandkids. Most of these flights have already been booked, the wife being a bargain hunter, so the trips don’t put too much of a strain on the budget. We will taking some advice we got from people about our NIE numbers, we will be making quite a few copies and keeping the originals in a safe place, apparently replacements can be time consuming to get. We will need them to open bank accounts etc, and you never know, we might just find ‘that house’. We have some friends who have already made the leap and bought, it will be interesting to see their purchase, and find out how they are getting on with getting all the services sorted.

Packing for this trip is going to be a challenge, as it will mean taking most of our lives with us, all those things you wouldn’t normally take. There will be a few times when we will get ‘re supplied’ from home when people out, but hopefully not too much, we might have to take it all home again! We are taking the laptop this time, but have bought a smaller, lighter one. The photo albums are being condensed onto a digital photo frame, it saves choosing which ones to take. That seems to be about it on the technology front, apart from the phones, and Linda’s hair straightners. The clothes, I’ll probably just lay everything out on the bed, and then keep taking stuff away till it fits in the case and is under the weight limit, leaving room for that favourite shirt. The beach towels will be bought out there, that will save some weight, same for the toiletries, just enough to get by for the first couple of days. Anyone know if there is a Primark near Alicante? I could get away with taking less t-shirts.

We have now been ‘cut off’ by most people, the phone didn’t work this morning, and some people did try ringing and got number unavailable, which provided a bit of a laugh. It always rings at the end of ‘corrie’, not anymore. The furniture and T.V.  go on Saturday morning, other things keep disappearing at regular intervals. I went to cook some breakfast yesterday in the microwave, only to be confronted by a blank space in the utility room where it used to live. Things like this really bring it home to you, it’s really happening and the nerves are setting in. Life is also getting very busy; I’ve not even hade time to write that much either. Linda is finding it harder; she has never actually had to move before, having lived in this house since she left home. Well, back to it, I will hopefully get the chance to write a few more lines before we actually leave.