Car: One of the first things we did in April was sell our 2015 VW Convertible. It had pretty low mileage, about 45,000, and was in great condition. We used Carvana and the process was super easy. The only downside was that we had to drive it to Salem, which is a 3.5 hour drive one way from where we live. The used car market is so wild right now that we sold it for about $5000 less than we bought it for in 2015. We were so impressed with the convenience of Carvana that we are strongly considering using them again for the sale of our 2021 Rav4 Hybrid.

International Shipping: After several virtual home tours with international shippers, we now have 6-7 quotes that we need to sift through. Picking an international shipper has been one of the most stressful processes so far. The bids vary hugely and there is a lot of fine print to read through. We hope to make a decision in the next week or so and set a date for the property we are keeping to start the trek to Portugal.

Andrew’s Retirement: Andrew gave notice mid April, and his last day will be 5/8. We have both been anticipating leaving our 911 careers for quite awhile and after much debate we came to the realization that him toiling through the end of May was an unnecessary burden. We can’t wait to shed that stress and settle into a new chapter of our lives. Having two people work on finalizing our move will be a serious bonus.

Family Visit: Michelle’s sister Nora visited for a week and a half this month. She loves thrift shops and antiques so the Novotny girls spent an afternoon checking out stores like Picker’s Paradise and the Main Antique Mall in Medford. Nora found some salt and pepper shakers to add to her collection and some car memorabilia to spice up her husband’s new shop. We focused on visiting and trying to relax amidst all of the household chaos.

House: We put our house on the market while Nora was here. We had a couple of small chores to do in advance. Anyone who has been to our house has seen the gallery size collection of photos that used to hang in our hallway. We removed the photos and had quite a few holes to patch. We also added some decorative bark near the front door under our Japanese Maple (“some” being not the best descriptor – 7 bags to be exact, we nearly ran out of room for 3 people and the bark in the Rav4). Next was the never-ending cleaning to get the house picture perfect and show ready. Our house went on the market on 4/21 and the viewings began. The cats had the toughest time as they were crated in the garage for every showing. Fortunately they are young and resilient and don’t hold a grudge. The dogs got to go on many extra walks and car rides. We are hoping for a quick sale, the thought of house showings going on for weeks or months is a true nightmare.

Decluttering: We got rid of more stuff that we do not intend to bring with us. This ranged from selling our KitchenAid and all the attachments to our friend Laurel who is already baking up a storm, to donating books, clothing, shoes, and miscellaneous items to Goodwill. We gifted our cinephile friend Tom most of our DVDs. He also got a cider/beer making kit that we purchased together years ago. Nora was gifted small electronics like a brand new coffee grinder, a heating pad, some of Michelle’s many cookbooks and aprons and a piece of luggage to put her second hand items in.

Patience: We are still doing our best to patiently await word of our D7 visa status. This may not happen until late May or even June, so we are trying not to stress about that as we make all of the other arrangements needed for our international move.