New York Bound!!!

We are off to live in upstate NY. John will leave next weekend to start work there on November 3rd. I will stay here and work until Christmas. My sister comes for Christmas and when she leaves, this house will be rented and the permanent move will be made north. Wooo Hooo!!!

My first Dotee Doll

Here she is my first Dotee Doll - I named her - Chunky Ballerina!

Rainy Friday

It's a lovely cool and wet Friday. I am taking off work. John and I were going to go to NY for the weekend again but something came up and he needs to be in Richmond today. I took off anyway and I am going to make a 'to do' list and get started on our plans to move. The only thing standing in our way to move to NY now is that the offer will be too low. But on all accounts we think it will be a good one.

John's boss told him yesterday that the formal offer will be made on Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. He will start up there November 3rd. David and I and the menagerie will stay behind till at least after Christmas. I will continue working until then. I think we can manage to not murder each other. LOL. It will be a lot of work, but I am WOMAN and what more can I say. hehe. Poor John will be lodged in a motel for the next few months.

The best news so far is that I will not have to drive my car to NY. I was soooooooo worried about that. I found out yesterday that they will ship one car for us and guess whose car that will be. Me and Mine. wooohooo, one less worry!

Ok the second piece of news is that Zac's passport is finally in the mail and as soon as it arrives he will be booked and on his way. I had an official email from the passport office to say that everything is now sorted out (thanks to the intervention of one mother on a mission) and sorry for all the confusion and delay. Zac is excited and I am excited........we are all anxious!

There is so much to look forward to for us. Missy and her John will be here for Christmas, Zac too. Throwing in my job is starting to excite me too. I think i deserve to have some home time. Wow NY here we come. Will we like living with all that snow? Will John like going to an office every day. Will he like being in charge of an office of women, this will certainly be new for him! Lots of questions and lots to do.

Big move..

I am sitting here this morning, sipping my coffee and pondering our big move. Ivan my faithful morning companion is meowing by the door but it is not 5 yet and much too dangerous for him to be gallivanting outside. After all we do live in Fox Rest! LOL.
How does one collect so many 'things' in 5 years???? Yes that is how long I have been in the USA and I have such a lot of stuff that would need to be packed and some that would need to be given away too!
John may have to start his new job in the next few weeks! I will stay behind with David and the zoo until at least Christmas. My sister and her man are coming for Christmas and there is no way I will disrupt that trip!!! It will indeed be an Aussie Christmas in Virginia! So many questions and not many answers yet. Should we sell the house? Rent it out? Rent or buy in upstate NY with the way the economy is? It is such a volatile time and not a good one for selling or buying. Maybe we should rent at both ends for a bit. How does one rent with 4 dogs and a cat? LOL. Ahhhh the more I think, the more my head hurts. Johnny is so calm and rational, I am so glad about that.
I do feel sad about leaving the little piece of heaven that we have created here. Heaven to us anyway and hopefully it will be heaven to someone else soon.
Ahhh leaving my job and my lovely boss who has become my good friend is another heartache. Sigh.
The dolly is Charlotte and after I made her for my daughter and packed her up and shipped her to Australia, I looked at the photo that I had taken and realized that her wings were on upside down. hehehe. I guess she having some problems with her flying capabilities. Poor Charlotte. Gosh it is almost time to make Lou a birthday doll for this year and I only just got finished with last years doll! I fear I will be late again.....nother sigh.

Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

1 pound sweet Italian sausage or chorizo sausage
1 cup chopped onion
2 large garlic cloves, sliced
5 cups beef stock or canned broth
2 cups chopped tomatoes (about 3/4 pound)
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 large zucchini, sliced
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1 medium-sized red pepper, diced
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons fresh basil
2 tablespoons dried oregano

8 to 10 ounces dried or fresh cheese tortellini
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Sauté Italian sausage in heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat until cooked through. Slice sausages when cool. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from Dutch oven. Add onion and garlic to Dutch oven and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Return sausage to Dutch oven. Add stock, tomatoes, tomato sauce, zucchini, carrot, bell pepper, wine, basil and oregano. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Add tortellini to soup and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Off to Albany

We are off to Albany, NY tomorrow morning. John has had the offer of a promotion to there. We are going to drive up and check out the area. Much to think about it and decisions to be made! They say that fall is peaking up there now so I am packing the camera too! Such a long drive and only 3 days to do it!