A week of changes

Today is Friday. (You'll probably read this on Monday but I'm typing it up on Friday) It's only been four days but it feels like a month. On Tuesday, I was offered an opportunity that was far too good to refuse. I was offered a new job in Vicenza, Italy. It pays a bit less but it's ITALY. As in, the place I've studied my entire adult life. As in the land of the Romans and the place that birthed the Renaissance. Not only that, I will be pretty much between Verona and Venice! ... Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. Yes, please! Where do I sign up? Of course, now that I've taken the super crazy off the cliff plunge, I realize how much I have to do (on top of finishing my course for Grad school!) I'm having an estate sale on labor day weekend which means figuring out what I want to keep and what the heck I can live without before then. I'm putting all the "keep" stuff in the guest room and every thing else will go. Every thing. It's going to be hard but I need to clear house....and I'm selling the shepherd's hut. Yes, it is my most prized possession (outside of my grandma's engagement ring) but I can't justify keeping it in storage without use for 18 months when, already, it's a bit too small. I need something slightly bigger so when I invite people to come with me to events, they also have crash space that I can share. Basically, I need something that has something bigger than a twin bed. I'll worry about that when I get back. I'll be overseas for 18 months. Of course, I'm taking the animals. They are my greatest worry in the move. I'm trying to get Abby to lose a pound (she needs to anyway) so I can take her in the cabin and put Jasper in the crate. Jasper will be fine in a box in the checked luggage - he's a cat. Cats are practically agoraphobia. The smaller, more closed in the box they are, the happier they seam to be. Abigail? If I'm not right there with her, she will be terrified. This is the dog that gets so scared of dragons on TV, she hiccups. Seriously. I'd rather have her in the cabin and Jazz in the hold. There are a couple of international carriers that don't have weight limits and have fairly lax rules on soft sided carriers. I'm hoping that they'll let Abby on, no problems. And then there are the EU pet rules. Abby and Jazz are getting microchipped on Tuesday as well as getting all their vaccinations done. I've also contacted Friendship Animal Hospital in DC about getting all the paperwork done as soon as possible. I want to be able to step off the plane, hand over their paperwork and my own, and just get a car....after retrieving my bags, of course. I also will have to actually learn Italian rather than just having it yelled at me by Great Aunts or my Mom when she was learning Italian. Since it's a Romance language, I don't think I'll have much of an issue. I still have Latin in my head somewhere and I yell at co-workers all the time in Spanish.... After a couple months, I'm sure I'll be fine. :-) The company is helping a bit with moving expenses and is paying for the airfare to get over there. Also, I will go through an orientation and find a house or apartment to rent through the housing office for all of us silly Americans. Really, the biggest thing is getting everything packed that I want to take and sell everything else. And yes, ladies, that means I will be selling some of the fabric. :-)