For the curious

[desperance]

The book launch went okay last night, thanks for asking. Something on the order of fifteen people, which felt thin but not embarrassing; and they did buy books, yay. I think I knew them all, but we have established long since that I really have no audience beyond my friends, so hey.

Today is not going so well, but I'll survive it. I just wish I could get this book rolling; it seems to be all corners at the moment.

Going to go out in the lovely sun now. Today, the doctor; tomorrow the dentist. One little thing at a time.

I keep looking at things in the house and thinking "I wonder, does one take [item] with one, when one emigrates? Or replace as needed over there?" The items in question range from little tupperware spice-containers to desktop computers, and I find myself equally baffled every time. I've just no idea, what's sensible and what is stupid, to take or to leave behind. And then I get all anxious about culture-shock, and wonder what I shall do for lamb's kidneys and proper sausages and Marmite. (Actually, if I take a jar of Marmite it'll probably last me to the end of my days, for I never think to eat it; but, y'know. It's the principle of the thing.)

[EtA: one of my friends last night offered to adopt the boys, to save the hassle of moving them across the Atlantic. Oddly, they are almost the only thing it has never occurred to me to leave behind.]

Comments

[movingfinger]

On spices, run through Penzey's catalogue (they have a shop in Palo Alto); anything in there, leave behind. The outliers can be more difficult, and since you have foodie friends in the area you're moving to, you could post a list of specific Can-I-get-X queries for, particularly, either brands or Indian cuisine spices which, although there are Indian groceries around your new home, may rarer.

British groceries: yes you can get all kinds of things. I believe I saw Branston pickle at Mollie Stone's on the import shelf. There are also websites that cater to ex-pats.

In the last run-up before moving, you can weed your clothes, especially winter clothes, very, very aggressively. If you are planning to travel in winter, you'll want a winter coat as well as a rain coat or rain jacket (if you have one you like; otherwise, replace) and the trimmings including e.g. corduroy or wool trousers. Flannel shirts are good in the wet season.

If weight/volume becomes an issue, then I suggest that you skip packing books like classics (unless it's a good edition), because used books can be easily had cheaply. If you are merging libraries, you could consider leaving out duplicates, although I would not automatically weed British editions of books that had also been published in the US.

Periodicals: if there's an online or otherwise accessible archive, you can let go of back issues. They do take up a lot of room (says I, knowingly, having removed 15+ years of TLS and LRB from cellar awhile back).

Non-specialized cooking gear, flatware, dishes, et al---leave it. If you have a beloved tagine, favourite bowl, or something like that, of course you bring that.

Household linens, leave, high sentimental value excepted. Replaceable.

...gotta run.

[spaceoperadiva]

I'm probably no help with the sorting, having dragged a piano over large expanses of the American West with me.

But lamb's kidneys-- Surely these are available in the US? My dad used to try to make me eat them, but then again maybe my dad the sheepherder on the edge of the Reservation doesn't really count as regular US. Still, I wouldn't give up hope on that one.