update

Would you believe I have a minute to post???
Actually, I am at a stand still, and waiting to hear from Tim on some issues. He's gone in to the office to check on a few things.

Here's the news so far: our flights have been arranged - could possibly be changing - but for now we expect to leave out of Raleigh on the 15th of April. Raleigh to Dulles, then to Tokyo, then to Naha Airport. This airport is right on the beach and, from the pictures I have seen, will be a beautiful first look at our new tropical home! We hope to be packing up and leaving by the end of March in order to travel through the south and see family and friends one more time.



Are we ready to go though? The short answer is: nearly. My multicolored easel display is helping tremendously in keeping us on track as far as getting rid of stuff, deciding and organizing the three separate shipments of goods we are being allowed. Each shipment or final destination has its own color marker to list the different items - example: pink is regular shipment (I call it the slow boat), red for express (35 days is express??), and blue marker denotes non-temporary storage (this is actually not permanent, believe it or not, this means the military would rather pay to store most of our household goods than ship them to the island, instead they issue out furniture - including brand new mattresses). So I have listed in blue marker such items as our couches, coffee and end tables, tv cabinet, dressers and night stands. There are also separate marker colors for donate, sell, store with family, and undecided.


Keep in mind when we moved here to VA a year ago, our shipment was weighed at 9200 lbs. Our weight allowance for this move is 200 lbs per person for express, including 400 lbs of professional gear (Tim); 2750 lbs for the slow boat; and 6850 for the non-temporary storage. The next step in the process is a list paper posted on the door of each room with columns (color coded, of course) for each intended final destination, including when each shipment will be packed out and when it is expected to arrive in Okinawa. Chas and I were talking last night and decided when he and Simon get their blank list, they will be responsible for listing what they think they will need in each shipment. Then we looked at how to weigh the items on the bathroom scale, with themselves as a 'tare' weight, and adding them all up to determine if they are withing their weight allowance. Unschooling strikes again!
Something else that has come to our attention is the mild weather in Okinawa. We'll not be needing our winter and fall clothes once we leave, but I haven't bought the spring and summer clothes yet! Tim tells me that April and May are the rainy season, and since we'll be living in a temporary living facility (efficiency or kichenette type hotel) without a car for a while, should be an interesting start to our adventure.



So Tim has just called and I need to go rearrange the schedule for the week. More later!