My blog posts have been a bit thin on the ground, but that doesn’t mean that not a lot is happening.

On the contrary we’ve been busy doing social activities (tearful farewells, mostly) as well as getting through all the chores that need to be done to make the move go smoothly.

The biggest upheaval will be the movers who are coming to collect up our worldly possessions, cram them into a metal container and whisk them off across the Atlantic on a big ship.

After they’ve been, there will be a period of us sitting round on packing crates with very little furniture, whatever we can carry in a suitcase and the clothes we’re standing in.

Well, that’s not entirely accurate as we shall be leaving behind a surprising amount of items we’re not taking with us. After Jennifer and Dott have left on 4 June it will be my job to dispose of these items in whatever means I see fit.

Some of it (well, a lot of it) is junk, and some of it I shall offer to friends and family. I will also try and sell the good stuff, and also use Freecycle to prevent items being sent to landfill.

Our activities over the next two weeks are:

• Continue to sort through our household items
• Clean bikes, boots and shoes
• Send plants to good home
• Take Dott to the vet for her fitness-to-travel letter
• Finishing touches to my visa application
• Stand back and watch the movers pack up our lives
• Travel to London for my visa interview
• Take Jennifer and Dott down to Heathrow
• Get Jennifer and Dott on the plane to LA
• Sort out the rest of the house

After the last item, there will be lots of other fiddly stuff for me to do, which I don’t want to contemplate just yet!