It's all just....stuff.

A friend asked me the other day what I brought with me from the States.  He meant in terms of luggage, but it had me thinking about not only what I brought, but what I left behind.

When I first decided to move overseas, I had to decide what would stay and what would go.  Should I put some of my things in storage or downsize to only what could travel on the plane with me?  I checked into shipping some items overseas, but it seemed pricey at the time, about $600-700.  In retrospect, when I consider all that I bought to get my things over on the plane, it probably would have cost less to ship it.  I thought about keeping a few treasured items in a storage unit, but did not want to be burdened with a monthly storage fee and was not certain when and if I would be returning to the Portland area.  I thought of asking friends or family to be pseudo-storage units for me, but everyone already had a full house.  I also had this idea of wanting to live a much simpler life, having less "stuff" to weigh me down.  Less American, really.  In the end, I decided to gift, sell, recycle, donate, or toss 98% of everything I owned.

In the process of preparing for the move, I took care of the most important things - I updated my Advance Directives, including a Living Will and Power of Attorney for finances and health care, and a will for my estate.  I had all of those documents made up prior to having my spine surgeries, but my marital and financial situation had changed since then, so it was time to put my affairs in order once again.  I have always been a fan of Advance Directives, even for young people, as you never know when your time will come.  Having worked for many years in nursing facilities, end-of-life preparations were not at all foreign to me.  I think it is important, no matter your age, how big your estate is, or whether or not you have children, to tell your family your wishes rather than burden them with guessing what you would have wanted.  My brother Marty agreed to be the Executor of my (very, very tiny) estate and Power of Attorney for financial decisions.  My good friend Jeanne, a former ICU nurse and one who knows all that is required to keep a person alive, became my Power of Attorney for health care, should I not be able to make decisions for myself.  And, my niece Megan, also a nurse, became my back-up decision maker for health care and the one who will make decisions regarding my pets, should something happen to me.  I certainly appreciate their willingness to help.

Rather than adding a bunch of "treasures" or keepsakes to my will and finding a place to store them, I decided to send them on their way sooner rather than later.  I am not too certain how happy my nieces, nephews, and good friends were to have inherited my keepsakes, but I felt good about gifting them as reminders of how much I care about them (the family and friends, not the keepsakes).

My niece Megan received my maternal grandmother's china and crystal I have been lugging around from house to house for years.  I loved the china especially, a very simple white Noritake pattern with a silver ring around the center.  However, I didn't see myself being much of an entertainer in the future, even if I returned to the US, so off it went.  Now she will have the opportunity to use it for her future family's holiday dinners.  Judy, my best friend for over 30 years, received an antique window frame with floral drawings in each pane that she had admired for many years.  Thanks to UPS' terrific job of packing and shipping it, it arrived in San Francisco undamaged.  One of my great-nephews received the plastic orange and black spotted dog pull toy I had played with as a toddler at my great-grandparents' house in Montana.  It was at least 45 years old, likely much older.  My other great-nephew received my beloved Zippo the Chimp from the Howdy Doody Show, sans 1 ear and with his overalls carefully safety pinned together many years ago.  My great niece received my "dollies" from childhood with clothes handmade by my grandmother and all of my costume jewelry.  The strangest gift went to a friend I met through Instagram, Lisa in West Virginia.  She seemed quite chuffed (a term commonly used here in the UK) to receive the quills from the African Crested Porcupines I studied at university.

In the last month or two before leaving, I sold as much furniture and other household items as I could via the websites Craigslist and ebay.  I can barely remember what or who I sold them all to.  Many sales required meeting people all over the Portland area, as I tried not to have too many strangers out to the house.  Of the people who did come out, there were many who were lovely and quite a few who were just plain strange.  If you have ever sold anything on Craigslist, you will be familiar with the joy of dealing with people who change their minds and don't have the courtesy to call or email.  How hard can it be, in this day and age, to send a quick text or leave a voice mail?  One gal came out to buy a chest of drawers and couldn't fit it in her car.  She said she would run to her father's house and borrow his SUV and be back in an hour.  She never came back.  Ever.  Another guy couldn't fit a vintage chest in his car, so he helped me put it in the Prius, as I offered to deliver it to him.  The day I was supposed to deliver it, he was nowhere to be found.  Finally, after leaving several messages, he emailed to say he didn't want it anymore.  I ended up practically killing myself, trying to get it back out of my car by myself.  Though it was a great deal of work to place ads, answer emails, and set up times to meet (or in many cases, not meet), I did meet some terrific people who I know are now enjoying my things.

I would have loved to ship my Prius to Ireland and the cost of shipping it wasn't as high as I thought it would be.  The estimate I received was for $1,000-$2,000, depending on the amount of insurance included.  However, insuring a left hand drive automobile in a right hand drive country would be difficult (few insurance companies will do it) and expensive.  And, driving a car with the steering wheel on the opposite side could be hazardous, especially when trying to pass on the small roads of Ireland.  In the end, I decided it would be better to sell it as well.

Several items ended up at Goodwill that could have sold for a bit of cash, but I couldn't find a buyer in time.  Every time I drove into the Safeway parking lot where the Goodwill truck was located, the worker was already climbing out of his truck with receipts in hand.  I must have delivered 10 car fulls of items to Goodwill by the time I left.  The only item I have slight regret in not keeping was a wicker desk and chair my Mom and I found at an antique store in Colorado.  It was in no way in perfect condition, but it had a rounded design to fit in a corner and had been painted a lovely blue colour to match a rug it sat on.  None of my family wanted it, so in the end, I likely made someone's day when they found a beautiful blue wicker desk at Goodwill.

Thankfully, my niece Megan came the weekend before I left to help me finish cleaning my rental house and pack.  She was a lifesaver.  Especially considering I fell 2 days before I left and broke a bone in my right wrist, making it nearly impossible to move it.  (Note to self: Do not place a clear plastic chair mat, meant to be placed on a rug to allow an office chair to roll easier, onto a linoleum floor and then walk across it quickly.  It is a disaster waiting to happen.)

A picture of me taking a picture of me,
attempting to get all of my luggage onto the elevator.

Back to the original question, what did I bring with me?  A total of 3 giant size suitcases, a super large duffel bag with wheels (best $14.99 ever spent at Walmart), a smaller carry on and a briefcase on wheels.  I flew 1st class, a treat to myself, as I knew I would be exhausted.  It also allowed me to bring extra luggage at no cost and heavier.  I was allowed 3 suitcases, each up to 70 lbs versus the 50 lbs allowed in economy class.  I did pay $200 on the United website to take the 4th bag, but I would have been smarter to pay for it at the airport.  Depending on who was at the check-in desk, it might have slipped through at no charge.  In all of those bags were clothes for all seasons, the majority being waterproof since I was arriving in winter and in Ireland, my beloved farm boots, all the pet paraphernalia, various household items, and a small number of keepsakes to remind me of my previous life.

Everything I now own, all on 2 luggage trolleys.

I was completely exhausted before I even walked onto the airplane on the 13th of February.  I had loaded all the bags into the rental car the night before.  All I had to load in the very early morning were the pets in their travel crates.  I never did go to bed the night before the trip, as I still had business affairs to attend to.  I left for the airport at 4:30 am and dropped the pets off at United Cargo at 5:30 a.m.  I then headed to the rental car return, as I had been driving a rental car since selling my Prius.  At the rental car return, I found the nicest fellow at Enterprise who helped me load everything onto luggage trollies and get it to the airport ticket counter.  Once I arrived in Dublin, I had to load all the luggage onto trolleys again, find my way to the rental car counter (not a short distance, I might add) to pick up a mini-van (or people mover, as they are known in Ireland) to get us to our cottage in southern Ireland.  It was 23 hours, from my door in Canby, Oregon, to our new door in Castletownroche, County Cork, Ireland.  I knew, with all that was involved in moving my life overseas, my health would be completely wrecked and it was.  It took almost 3 weeks for me to recover.  Thankfully, the pets recovered much quicker.  Here they are below, after arriving at our new home, looking no worse for wear.

Riley on the doorstep of our cottage in Ireland

Liv and Bell looking just fine by the evening after we arrived in Ireland.