Thanks everyone for looking and the wonderful comments!
I promise, I didn't start out thinking I would have this large of a stash! In our last house, DH had closed in 1/4 of the garage as a sewing room for me. After the kids left home & I got into quilting, I sort of spread out into their bedrooms too. I had fabric all over the house. Ended up that too often, it was just easier to buy what I needed than it was to find what I had. Sometimes I just forgot that I already had some pieces. I had a few surprises when I was packing to move to this house!
We have always planned to retire away from the humidity of the upper Texas Gulf Coast so are taking this opportunity to sell our house. The plan is for DH to retire shortly after we return.
In the 2 years we'll be in KSA, we'll be able to earn/save as much as we could have in 5 or 6 years. That's not to mention what affect it will have for his retirement. He is eligible & ready to retire now but can't afford it. All in all, this is an opportunity we can't pass up. It just works better for our long-term plans.
DH has already told me that in the house we build when we get back, the 2 car garage will be my sewing room! It will be very similar to what I have now. The shelving is stand alone, so it will move with us. I will just have room for more friends to sew together! I'm sure I'll have to make room for a large closet to store Christmas decorations, maybe add a powder room or enlarge the pantry or utility room, but I'll be looking for a floorplan that makes those adjustments minimal.
I won't be replacing my quilter because I've discovered that I enjoy the piecing process much more than I do the quilting process. I have several friends who have quilters & are very skilled with them. I've set aside the money I got from selling my quilter & will draw from it to pay for their quilting services.
My retreat friends & I consider ourselves sisters of choice. In our years together, we've shared a lot. We all met on the internet (except for my birth sister). We share messages every day. Moving won't cause me to lose them. They are family.
This move is something DH & I are both excited about. We're looking forward to doing some traveling in that part of the world. Shoot, Greece will be a trip for a long weekend while we're there! Sure can't do that here!
We'll be living in a western style compound that has shopping, food markets, restaurants, beauty salons, a library & a gym. There may be other things, but that's all I know about right now.
I'm hoping that I'll have the opportunity to teach some of the other expatriates the joys of quilting, or at least sewing during our stay.
The company won't allow us to drive, but we're very ok with that! A driver will pick us up & take us wherever we want to go. Translation: we will have an escort to keep us out of unsafe areas! We don't have to learn their driving rules.
We don't have to try to read a map & figure out where we are & how do we get to where we want to be! I don't see this as anything but a win-win! Wish I would have had this option when DH was working in Sicily!
The worst part of this whole thing is how much we will miss our family. Our grandson will grow so much in this time. But when we get back, he'll be at a good age for us to spend lots of retirement time with him! If we're able to Skype, we'll still be able to see each other, and of course, we'll visit home a couple of times.
Thanks again for all your nice comments & your concerns. We'll be fine & I'll still be online here most days. I'll post pictures so I can share my adventures.