We are 9 days away from take off, and it has definitely sunk in that we're really leaving. The house is cleaned and packed, soon our bags will be packed, too. We need to weigh them all, as we're trying to stay within Icelandair's 50 lbs. limit per suitcase (otherwise they charge $85 per bag). The list that we've been keeping for months is finally close to being done, although the next week will be very busy with tying up loose ends.

We've started the process of saying goodbye to our wonderful Seattle friends, and it's reminding me how lucky we are to have such a great network of people in our lives. Karen and Sasan threw a surprise birthday bbq for Steven last weekend, and Monday was the Wolkens' annual 4th of July bash. It's been great fun to celebrate with everyone, but I decidedly dislike the goodbye part. Had a lovely "last supper" with Chris and Toddy at the Old Town Alehouse last week, followed by gelato at d'Ambrosio. We will miss our friends (and Seattle) very much.

I took a vanilla lavender salt bath tonight in our old clawfoot tub, and realized that this may be the last time I do that for quite a while. I'm going to miss this house, too.

Some things that are still on the To-Do List:

• transfer more money into our UK bank account (yeah, lots!)
• finish the "house manual" for the renters
• pay full year of auto/homeowner's insurance
• decide what clothes and shoes to bring
• cancel all library holds
• wash the car
• finish packing up boxes for storage
• re-caulk the shower stall

There is more, but it's all rather dull. We're getting to the point where we just want to get on that plane and head out of town. Of course, it's not a straight shot to London; we are spending 4 days in... Reykjavik! More on that later, I need to go check my lists...