Where has the time gone?

What a crazy 2012 I have had so far.

In January we sold our villa a day before we actually meant to allow viewings.  Two couples wanted urgent viewings and the first couple to walk through the door promptly put in an offer.  Things sped up after that and suddenly we had 2 weeks to find a new villa to rent.  We were fortunate enough to find a spacious villa at a reasonable price and then the real madness started.

I am very particular about packing and moving any of my art collections, books, art supplies, tools, furniture and antiques.  So I ended up moving it all myself in my little car, over a 3 week period.  Every morning I would load the car, drop the girls at school and unpack at the new villa.  Then it was back for another full load, drop and unload, then rush to school to pick them up again.  And did I mention that my new villa has 3 floors?  Well, that plus the roof terrace makes 4 sets of stairs to climb with heavy boxes.  But I did it and we finally moved the last pieces of bulky furniture… and then a huge sandstorm hit the area and I realised just how sandy a new villa becomes with improperly sealed window frames in the desert.  Much DIY ensued then and our black marble stairs now stay black even during the fiercest sandstorms!

The only sad thing about leaving the old villa, is that we had to leave behind the growth chart we marked for each girl on the door frame leading to the study, and the beautiful flame tree that we planted for our wedding anniversary two years ago.

Life moves along, whether you like it or not.  So, finally, the art collection is hanging on the walls.  The furniture is mostly arranged to our liking and life can go on as normal.

So, apologies for the LONG delay in posting and watch this space!