[Moo] Happy + Sad News from Ii and Aine...

[Ellen Badgley]

Greetings to the populaces of Stierbach and Ponte Alto,

Many of you have heard our news already, but to make the announcement
official: Lord Ii has been posted by the Emperor to a far distant
land.  (To be specific-- Josh has been offered, and has accepted, a
posting at the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand!)  This is a three-year
position and will begin next February, according to what we currently
know.

We are both alternating between excitement and trepidation: this is an
exciting opportunity to see the rest of the world, but it means
leaving behind all of our dear friends and family for three years.  We
will definitely be back, and with some great stories to tell!  We also
do not plan to be strangers-- we will be in regular contact by email
and will be back in the US on home visits at least twice a year.
Please take this as an invitation to come visit us in Thailand!

When it comes to logistics: at this time we plan to engage a property
manager and rent out our house.  If you have friends or family that
are planning to rent, please keep us in mind-- as some of you know, we
have a great location in a kid-friendly neighborhood with a beautiful
lake out front and several acres of woods in the back.  (Okay, sales
pitch over.)

We also have a great need to get rid of quite a few things, as many of
our current possessions would be better off in a new home than shut up
in a box for three years.  In particular, we are planning to give away
a lot of our garb or donate it to the loaner closet (hey, it makes
room for more good Thai silk clothing!)  We also have LOTS of fabric
and craft supplies that we know many of you might have a use for.
We'll be having open houses between now and our departure date, so
feel free to stop by and see if there's anything you can use.

I've got one item right now that needs a new home: a Yakima Space
Cadet car-top carrier (an older model).  We've had it for a while and
never used it (inherited it from a friend) and it's in fine shape,
although it's been sitting in our backyard for a while.  If you're
interested, let us know-- we're asking $30 but all offers will be
considered.

That's all for now, but we will certainly send along more info once we
know more about our departure date and travel plans.

With much love,
Aine Sindradottir (Ellen Badgley) and Ii Saburou Katsumori (Joshua Badgley)