It's a Date!

This weekend seemed to fly by. We had a yard sale in order to try to sell off some of the remaining items that we are not planning on brining to Panama. We also are one step closer to having an official date for moving to Panama, which also seems to make the days go by that much faster.

Friday was spent preparing for the yard sale. My five month old niece helped supervise. The picture below is not her, but this was pretty much what she did the entire time. She wanted to be talked to and seemed very curious as to what we were doing. I can honestly say that her patience and good mood helped get us prepared for Saturday.

And luckily, my niece was not in this kind of a mood...

But even if she was, she is only five months old and she was strapped in a stroller with two of her toys to entertain her when I was unable to talk to her. Who could blame her for wanting to roll around on the carpet over watching us?

On a more serious note, we felt like we had a lot of decent things for sale and most of it was larger house items. Included was a full length mirror, several bookshelves, two couches, end tables, a lawnmower and other items. My mother in law was very kind and made cookies and small loafs of banana bread to sell. As one might expect, there was no issue selling the baked goods!

Astonishingly enough, we were able to sell almost all of the items. I hope that everyone enjoys their new treasures as most of the items are less than 3 years old and are all in pretty good condition. This experience has helped show what things you really treasure.  Obviously this stuff was not valued as much as items that cannot be replaced as easily like my pictures. Big box furniture is a dime a dozen and very replaceable.

The next step in our process will to be to sell the cars. Unlike the house that is easy to sell from afar (thanks to the internet), the cars need to be sold soon, very soon. No word on the house being sold yet. There have been people looking at the house on a regular basis, which keeps our attitudes positive.

We are planning on bringing our two dogs and our box turtle down to Panama. The logistics of this all have to happen within certain deadlines which make it hard to really want to buy airline tickets unless we know for sure we can leave with the animals. As of right now, we are planning on being in Panama by next Thursday (February 5). 

It might seem kind of random, but for us it really is not. Bringing an animal down requires a very rigorous process, the first of which involved Robert taking both of the dogs to get a wellness check done by their veterinarian. The wellness check has to be done within 10 days of the dogs entering the country. This 10 day deadline makes getting a plane ticket brings a lot of anxiety. 

The dogs look healthy, right? 

I love this dog but she is not a fan of photos

It sounds simple enough to be able to get a plane ticket, but the reality is that there is more than that.  The dogs' vaccination records need to be sent to specific USDA offices around the country, the closest one being in Albuquerque, New Mexico. That office is temporarily closed so we sent the documents to Salt Lake City, Utah. Once we get those documents back, they have to be certified by the Panamanian Consulate in Washington D.C. and sent back to us. All of this has to be within the 10 days of the wellness check. What if the paperwork is not mailed back in time?

In order to expedite the process, we decided to overnight the documents to Salt Lake City and provide a pre-addressed envelope that will enable them to overnight it back to us. The total cost just for Salt Lake city for about 6 pages of paper was over $100. Yes, we love our pets and if this does not show it, I am not sure what will. 

Some may be wondering what happened in order to get such a sudden date. Wasn't Robert working on his hours for the powerchute? He was, but as the part was getting worked on for the powerchute, the part was ordered incorrectly. It would have been another three weeks to get the part shipped and then probably another two weeks after that to have it worked on and then about another month to finish his hours. 

It is prime season in Panama right now for our business and we thought it would be more economical to start working down there now and have Robert come stateside when the business starts to slow down a bit. Robert will complete his training when it is low season (or slow for tourism). I will likely stay in Panama and help with the business where I can and take care of the dogs. 

Robert and I are planning on having one more yard sale this weekend for some smaller items before we decide to donate everything we are not planning on taking. The time from now until next week will be cherished as I continue to say goodbye to many friends that I care about. 

Interestingly enough, Panama does not have a mailing system like we do in the United States. In fact, they really do not have a mail system. From my understanding, you go to a local supermarket in order to pay your utility bills. We got a P.O. Box down in Panama. All of the mail goes through Miami, Florida and then gets shipped to our mailbox. If you are reading this and wondering why your card says Miami, now you know. We are moving to Panama the country, not Panama City in Florida. 

I will keep everyone updated on how the move goes. We will have internet down there so we will be able to keep up the blog and stay connected with loved ones. For now, I will enjoy each moment I can with them before most communication will be electronic. The next nine days will go by very fast. I will try to do at least one more post prior to leaving. This experience has taught me so much already about myself and about my family. I've laughed, I've cried, and have taken time for reflection. I cannot wait to see the lessons that the future has yet to hold.