Forgive me - unashamedly sentimental.....

Sorry about the lack of posts this week, as you read on, you will see why......

But first, the randomly drawn winners of the Polkadoodles Picknix CD are

Susan - Sue Brailey

and

Beth Anne in PA

Congrats to you both, email me with your address and I will get them in the mail to you

So back to the lack of posts - here's why..........................and this was just the first few boxes......

and.................all the boxes in the second photo are filled with craft stuff!......

So the shipping company was due Wednesday afternoon, they called at 5 PM to say they were still in Gainseville, a two hour + drive away. We cancelled dinner with friends and waited, and waited....and waited. They turned up at 9.30 and were merrily loading boxes until midnight. I made them a pot of very strong coffee, well, after all that careful packing, I didn't want to see my stuff going off the road as the driver fell asleep...

Friday,  the cleaning service was booked. A 7 AM call from the cleaner. 'I'm sick' she said 'I'll come on Saturday instead, you don't want me there when I'm sick'

Well frankly I would have welcomed her in if she had bubonic plague, but did wonder how, if she was so sick today, she could confidently say she would be there the next day, so I cancelled, rolled up my sleeves and set to work ....

I would have some cards to show you, but I lost them in the chaos. Now they are found, and my camera has disappeared. Sigh. This was going to be so organised

We leave tomorrow morning, documents all signed for the house, and the sale should complete next week. So I have a few people to thank, certainly in no order of priority, they are all equally important:

Firstly to 'the girls' from my Thursday craft group, which has been a huge and enjoyable part of my life here in Florida. Everyone knew that Thursdays were sacrosanct and off I would go, with the car loaded with everything but the kitchen sink, and there I would stay, all day, and often until late into the evening as well. We made cards, shared ideas, learnt from each other, shared supplies, laughed and talked. Frequent visits to Dunkin Donuts were always on the agenda. I always looked forward to Thursdays, and I will miss you all terribly. Thank you all for everything

Then there are all the dear friends we have made here in Heritage Pines, too numerous to mention, but you know who you are - dear friends who faithfully picked us up at the airport every single time we came over, and drove us back down when we left - even if it was at some ungodly hour, friends who were always at home when I fancied a chat, friends who are rather nifty Canasta partners - leading to some very competitive evenings of men V. women, friends who invited us into their homes for delicious meals, whole crowds of friends at Wednesday Happy Hours. Thank you all for your hospitality and friendship

At risk of sounding ridiculously sentimental, lastly, I want to say thank you America. Thank you to all you warm and welcoming people, for making our time here such an enriching experience and so much fun. We will be back, of course we will, but this is the end of this particular chapter in our lives, we can't say 'see you in a couple of months', but thank heavens for the web, skype, and stuff like Words with Friends! So there have been a few tears shed over the past few days, sniff.....

But then there is Blogging - I'll be back next week, no doubt moaning like mad about how cold I am............

Bye for now x