Moving

The movers are coming starting Feb 14. We were finally able to find some movers after the first ones we talked to said our stuff could not be shipped to the Caymans! After some research by the movers they all finally discovered that household goods can be shipped to the Caymans, for a steep price. After being packed our stuff will go by truck to Dubai where it may sit for a while as the port in Dubai is extremely busy. Then by ship to Miami and then on to another ship to the Caymans.
We are very busy getting ready for the move. It is our first with kids which makes it more complicated. It will also probably take our shipment more than 10 weeks to get there so we have to be sure we have all the essentials with us when we fly. Much of the furniture in our house belongs to the company so we will have some furniture, bed, futon and wardrobes, until we leave. Most houses in the Caymans, whether you rent or buy, come fully furnished so we don't need to bring much furniture. Voltage in the Caymans is 110V and our power here is 220V so we have to dump many of our electrical items.
All this means we have lots of stuff we are selling. Emma has a little shop set up in the downstairs living room for people to browse through when they come over. The items all have price tags! We only need to advertise the big items and the rest seem to follow. When people see our fliers on the local for sale bulletin boards they know we are moving and must have other items for sale also. We have received calls from strangers asking if we had air conditioners for sale: we do not. When someone comes over to look at an item we have for sale, as they walk through the house they try to buy everything else they see. "Is the bookshelf for sale? Are the plants for sale? Is the satellite receiver box for sale?"
Emma is doing a great job of getting all this organized and keeping the four categories of items for sale, items belonging to the firm, items for the movers to pack and items we will bring with us on the plane all separated. Being stuck on the sofa with my broken foot,(now stuck on the futon as the sofa has been sold), I have not been able to help as much. The kids are handling all the chaos very well. Alex did cry the other day as someone carried out the small coffee table from the downstairs living room, which he is very rarely allowed to go in. He stood at the door repeating "bye bye table" and waving as it was carried out, put in their car, and driven away.
Alex's vocabulary and grammar is improving quickly. His new favorite word is "need". "I need to go to the beach", "I need the car", and his favorite "I need the milk"! Ellie is doing her best to keep up and imitates everything he says. We now have to be careful when driving with Alex in the car. The Omanis as very nice and friendly but the moment the get into a car they become rude. They have no concept of rules of the road or the common customs of driving. I have heard that it takes an average of six times before people pass the driving test here. It also seems like every third car on the road is a student driver car. In spite of all this, Omanis are still horribly frustrating drivers. Any comment we make in the car out of frustration at what has just happened on the road, Alex immediately starts to repeat. We have to start watching what we say when Alex is around!
Our exact departure date is still not set as it depends how my foot comes along. Our tentative plan is to leave on March 1.