Transplantation Time: No time for resting

The Fourth of July was, in a sense, Independence Day for us in another way -- it was our first full day living in Burbank after a move that seemed to take forever.

And even though we're out of the High Desert, we're still setting up the house.

On the Fourth of July our neighbors invited us to celebrate with them and with many of the other neighbors. Indeed, things have changed here -- the increase in home values has attracted a lot more professional and creative people to the area.




It's a good thing they all didn't walk across the alley and see my version of The Grapes of Wrath. Just how much accumulated junk could I loan into an old pick-up truck? This was the last load. Three times we rented U-Haul trucks -- the other six or seven trips were in the Ford Ranger.

This evening, July 23, we're moving David from the house we rented two doors down. Now that we've made most of the repairs and fixed up a room for him, we can all now begin the cramped life -- three people in a one-bedroom house on a 25-foot lot with an office-turned-bedroom out back for the soon-to-be 17-year-old.

We'll have a yard sale in two weeks and then give up the other house completely. There's no doubt we'll have to rent a storage unit, but I swear it'll be a small one. Yes, on the last morning of the last trip ("morning" means we were there all night packing), I finally decided to shed my "pack rat" mentality and start throwing things away. In an hour I filled 10 or 12 large trash bags with stuff I once thought was vital to my future.

Liberation! But it'll take a lot of time to go through the mountains of boxes that did make it "down the hill."

And about the time we finish with the yard sale, I may start packing for the next overseas assignment. It's not confirmed yet, but they've asked me if I'm interested. I would be working with the media in a very, very small country to help them prepare for upcoming national election. I'll give you some clues in a later. For now, look for a small country that provides you with the key ingredient in tapioca pudding and that borders only one other country.

Let the guessing begin.