Hot, hot, hot

Not much sleep or clear thinking happening this week thanks to Melbourne's rather horrid heatwave. I've never been a summer person, much preferring more cooler climates and I find the majority of people espousing the virtues of hot weather and those with the luxury of air conditioned workplaces, bedroooms and homes. things I do not have. I've been taking refuge in various public spaces since finishing the contract data entry job, today's 'office' is the State Library of Victoria. It's a great space,  I like it a lot and bought Chris a membership for Christmas.

You can read some tips on coping with hot weather in a crappy rental property from the Green Renters community here.

The other things I've been doing is organising bits and pieces for our move to Germany in July. We are taking Mr Pablo the cat with us so I've been exploring the realities of transporting a 17 year old cat from one side of the world to the other. It's a fairly convoluted process with trips to a quarantine approved vet, rabies injections, a special carrier and lots of paper work. We could do it ourselves for about $600 or use the services of  a pet transport company. I've spoken to three companies and a couple of excellent travel vets, as well as friends who have moved kitties and we've decided to go with the use of a company. They pick Mr Pablo up from our home, care for him overnight, do all the paperwork and medicals and ensure he is comfortable on the plane in the appropriate carrier, supervised during stopover in the middle east and arrives safely in Berlin. The quotes for this range from $1500-$3500 depending on who you choose to go with.

                             

As well as this I've been gradually organising decluttering and selling off possessions. It feels like a strange thing to do. I've so much vintage and retro materials, souvenirs, knick-knacks and things of that ilk. It hasn't been too difficult to get rid of clothing (especially as most of it doesn't fit anyway) and I decided to easiest way to get rid of possessions is to invite a big group of people over who are into similar stuff and give them first pick. Any money made will go towards moving Mr P. You spend so long collecting things to make your home reflect your personality and interests but in the end, it really is just stuff. I will be keeping my favourites, but the rest is off to other people's homes (hopefully).

I've also been working on project work (not very successfully in the heat) and counting down the hours to the cooler weather!