20th May 2008

My camera broke yesterday. It had been working fine and then it just wasn't. I charged the battery and took out the memory card but no change. The lens is stuck out now and you can here the mechanics inside whirring away when you press the on or off button. I have emailed Casino (its an Exilim Z1000) but as it is just over the year old don't hold out much hope.
Its really quite annoying. I wanted to take some pictures of the house as we went along and pop them up here - so everyone could see how it was coming along. It also means I will need a new camera, as I am sure there will be lots of things to take pictures off in Australia. Up to this point I had been very happy with the camera. Bit of a pain.
Been organising getting Power of Attorney for the sale of the house today. We might not need it as we already have a solicitor and we can FedEx stuff back and forward but it will be a good back up for when the house does sell. Just need to appoint a family member who can sign our life away on our behalf. I think selling the house is the best option, I think I would just be worrying about it all the time if it was rented. We have done so much work on it and I would hate for someone to ruin it. I guess if they buy it then they can change it all. But at least its all ready to move into, nearly new bathroom, brand new kitchen and boiler, all the rooms painted and the garden looking good. Someone will be lucky!
We got the go ahead for the shipping of our furniture today - so just need to decide when we are going to do that and then get the firm around to pack it all into a big container and cart it off. We are not allowed to pack it ourselves due to custom regulations - which I am actually quite glad about. I am continuing to sort my clothes and things out. There are really four categories. 1) Things I really don't want and to be taken to the Charity Shop. 2) Things that I do want, but not right now, these will be shipped. 3) Things I will take with me on the plane. So that's mainly work clothes and a few casual bits to get going with. 4) Stuff that I will wear for my remainder of time here and then jettison before I go. Which will mean that I will be wearing scabby gear for the last couple of weeks here.
It will be good when we get the kitchen finished because most of the stuff currently lying around our bedroom is from the kitchen. So when all that goes back in then we can get our bedroom back, instead of sleeping in the spare room. Even if it is only for a couple of weeks.