Tidy Trailers

Tidy Trailers - they are the best! I checked out on line all sorts of ways to dispose of junk that could not be sold, donated or given to a relative.

For us, Tidy Trailers offered the best option. They deliver a trailer, leave it on your premises for 48 hours so it can be loaded with stuff. Then they come and pick it up. Their prices are very reasonable. They phone to say when they will arrive, provide instructions on how to load the trailer properly and come back and take everything away ... and you don't even have to be home for that part. We didn't need a big bin. I was able to stuff the trailer full of all kinds of things - I didn't realize we had that much crap.

Going .... Going .... We're Gone!

Today, we met with the Consulado General de Costa Rica in North Vancouver. He officially stamped and certified the five documents we need to take to our lawyer in Costa Rica - two birth certificates, two RCMP  reports of good conduct and one marriage certificate. Our lawyer will also need our passports and a letter from my pension source stating we meet the monthly financial pensionado requirements, but these do not have to be certified by the Canadian Costa Rican Consul. All the documents will be translated into Spanish in Costa Rica, and our lawyer will take care of that.

We'll also need to register with the Canadian Embassy in San Jose once we arrive.

Senor Arreaga-Valdes is so helpful and friendly. We chatted about life in Costa Rica and he said we can ask him questions any time and request his help if we need it. He is a real gentleman.

So, we are really on our way. I can now start booking our flights, hotels, etc. We'll be gone by the end of May, 2011. Even the stray cat who moved herself into our house about a year ago has found a new forever home with my niece in Toronto. Sometime in the next two months, Tuffy will be winging her way east. Genny, of course, will come with us.

We're so excited about this great adventure and a new chapter in our lives.

If I've Got Rid of So Much, How Come There's Still a Mess?

Here are some photos of smaller items that were sold on Saturday. My sister is visiting us and her friend took away two tables and I gave her an old chair that needs to have a proper seat put on it.

I've also put together a pile of art supplies that I'm not taking with us. A lady is coming to check them out later this week so I moved them all to the front vestibule to make it easier for her to see everything.

It's the clutter of stuff awaiting disposal that makes the house look so messy.

Tools Going to Fiji

Can you believe it? All our tools and related thingies (as I call them) are headed to Fiji.

I threw everything remotely connected to manly building activities in a big plastic bin, threw two tool chests on top of it and posted it on CraigsList. I stressed that everything had to be taken - no rooting through the bin and selecting some, discarding others, then offering me ten bucks.

The nice fellow who took it all comes from Fiji and is returning there with his family. He has been in Canada for 18 years and is fed up with the congestion of people and traffic in the Lower Mainland. Pollution is also a factor for him. We can relate to how he is feeling.

He has a big container that he's shipping to Fiji but it is only half full right now so adding tools is no problem. Apparently tools are rather expensive to buy there - I suppose because such things have to be imported.

Police Reports

Yippee! Two weeks ago we went and got our RCMP police reports - a requirement for pensionado status. It's painless and fast - fingerprinting, photo, pay the fee and the following week the reports arrive. That's assuming you haven't been naughty in your past and it has now caught up with you.

In the Lower Mainland of B.C., we use Commissionaires Canada and their office is in Surrey.

As far as Immigration in Costa Rica is concerned, these police reports have a life span of six months and no more so this is the document that you leave until the last. I then scanned our police reports, birth certificates and marriage certificate and e-mailed them to Antonio Arreaga-Valdes, the Consulado General de Costa Rica in North Vancouver. He is looking them over and if all seems okay, he'll prepare a letter that we need and we'll then bring the original documents to him for his stamp of approval.

Then I'll be heaving a big sigh of relief - because then I can make our airline reservations and we'll be on our way. The original approved documents come with us and we will give them to our Costa Rican lawyer when we arrive there.

So I'm hoping to hear soon that we can go and meet with the very helpful and charming Consulado General de Costa Rica.

One of the most sensible things we did during this process was to get ourselves a Costa Rican lawyer. We are using Romulo Pacheco. Originally I thought I could do all the process myself but I came to realize I could not - so don't waste your time trying to do this. 

Another Sale

Whew! The big oak desk went to a good home last week. A young couple bought their first home and wanted to move up from pressed sawdust furniture to real furniture that will last them a lifetime.

This solid oak desk was made in California and my husband bought it for his downtown office. It eventually moved home with us and I've been using it as my home office. Now my home office is the dining room table and various boxes and containers. No matter, it's only for a short time. Soon we will be in camping mode and eating off paper plates and using plastic utensils.

All part of the fun and excitement!

You Know You'll Never Wear It Down There

Here's a picture of three items of clothing that are not coming with us. It took me a while to admit that they will never be worn again by me. The bright blue dress is what I wore to my niece's wedding - it has a fabulous embroidered jacket that I might, just might, take with me. The jacket could be worn with a cami and straight legged black pants. It looks sort of tropical.

The red sequined dress was bought to wear to a New Year's Eve party many years ago. I just love the way it shimmers. I also have a pair of silver sequined shoes to go with it. The whole outfit is outrageous.

And the navy suit - my husband gave it to me for Christmas one year. It is beautifully made and tailored. It even has a gold chain stitched around the hem of the jacket to help it hang straight. I wore it and wore it and wore it - timeless. That's the suit I was wearing in Reno one year when I won a whack of moola on a slot machine that gave me a Royal Flush.

Costa Rica - Welcome to Paradise