At Long Last

Boy, was I happy to see this guy arrive! We now have everything we shipped except it seems some of my glass tools are missing. It's hard to remember what we packed as it was sooo long ago. I should be completing our insurance claim instead of working on this blog but guess what's more fun? George fixed the dresser so it's only the five pieces of glass that are broken. Wouldn't you know, it's the only box marked fragile and, of course, it looks like an elephant sat on it.

We are especially happy to have a comfy bed and are both sleeping better as a result. I've already started playing with my glass even though my kiln isn't fitted with the proper plug yet. Our next door neighbor, Spud, is an electrician who offered to fit it for me. Once we get air in our bike tires, they'll be ready to roll.

My knight in shining armour! Or would you believe bright tattoos?

As you can see, the truck is immense, kind of overkill
to deliver 7 items, but I wasn't complaining.

Arthur and Rose hang the blackout curtains we sent.

Happy New Year Again!

When we went to Tony and Pat's for dinner, we were in for a special treat, and I'm not even talking about the outstanding meal they served. One of their neighbors held a Lion Dance to celebrate the Chinese New Year and his daughter's upcoming wedding.

The troupe had a mix of ages and seemed like a family business.

The Lion Dance, dating back to 300 B.C., is performed to the accompaniment of a percussion band with at least three instruments, a cymbal, a drum and a gong. The movement is synchronized with the music and the lion moves like a feline. The lion movements and loud music are supposed to scare away evil spirits so good luck will follow.

The Lion rears up on its haunches to be rewarded its red envelope.

Payment to the group is made through "Choy Cheng", eating of the green. Usually it is paid with a special red envelope called hung bao. The Lion is fed the red envelope and the resulting dance of joy symbolizes the spread of prosperity.

The performers were tired and sweaty after a grueling performance;
the tail must constantly lift the head to create lifelike movements.

I hoping that some of the good luck will rub off between feeding the lion a red envelope and it being the year of the ox, a portent of economic stability. One can only hope!

Pat and Tony enjoyed the Lion Dance almost as much as we did.

We feasted on nibblies (appetizers here) before the Dance but our taste buds had no idea what was in store next. Normally, I'm not a calamari fan but their grilled marinated version was far better than the other ways I've tried it. The main was absolutely heavenly - grilled lamb tenderloin with a grilled tomato half, grilled eggplant, goat cheese and a pesto sauce accompanied by perfectly baked potatoes and asparagus, my favorite vegetable of all time. (And one I haven't eaten much of here at $20 per kilo!) George is still talking about this meal a week later. The only disappointment was the tropical carrot cake I made was too gingery because the crystalized ginger here is stronger than what we buy at home.

What a gorgeous setting for entertaining!

Pat looks so small next to George!

The conversation was also lively. We really enjoy Tony and Pat and were so happy to meet Liz and Ian, good friends of theirs. I especially was enthralled with Ian's stories of his recent backpacking trip through Africa. The evening flew by and I couldn't believe we got home at 1:30 a.m.

Our hosts made the evening seem effortless but we
know better! Now what are we going
to make for them? The bar is way too high!

Tony insisted that I needed to be in the group photo.
I really need to figure out how to use the timer!

Moving at a Snail's Pace

After six months, we finally received some of the things we shipped! Big excitement!

The ordeal has produced many disasters along the way, but thanks to the Fort Collins packers, at least most of it arrived unscathed. I had nightmares about this shipment. My most entertaining one had me greeting the truck in the driveway with great anticipation, only to find that instead of our belongings, they were unloading animals like a reverse Noah's ark. I told them that I was allergic to animals and that there was a mistake and they replied, "Lady, this is what the bill of lading says. They're yours now." and proceeded to try to get an elephant up our circular stairs.

Due to incompetence and a hurricane, our shipment missed scheduled ships, trains and trucks. As it was, they separated the goods and the rest is supposed to arrive tomorrow. (Of course, I had to call the driver myself twice to arrange this!) Ron Wilson Removals, the moving company in Sydney, has been extremely unhelpful. One of the last straws for me was when they were due a couple weeks ago. When I called to see what was happening, I was told, "I think it's still in Melbourne." They managed to get part of it on the train and this segment was supposed to be delivered last Wednesday at 1:00. My loyal friend, Sherri, was here to help and we waited and waited.

Sherri also fixed up the stereo and
rearranged furniture while we waited.

At 2:30, we saw a moving van come down the street so I called RWR in Sydney to find out what was happening. Of course, instead of following up themselves, they gave me the number in Perth to call myself. The dispatcher told me that they were on the highway and would be here in 10 minutes. I verified the address with him but obviously he didn't listen. An hour later, he called to say they were lost and didn't have any time on their mobile (cell phone) so had returned to the warehouse. It turns out they were looking for Charles Street in Perth instead of South Fremantle.

When they did arriveabout 4:30, they were very nice and it only took them about an hour to unload. They wanted me to sign off so they could leave and I pointed out they hadn't put our table back together as agreed. I couldn't believe it when he asked me if I had any tools. He looked at the table and said all he needed was a Phillips head screwdriver. Sherri corrected him because an Allen wrench was needed.

It really bugged her that it wasn't assembled so she
and Paul ended up doing their job for them.

Too bad we'll only be here six more months! We weren't going to ship anything back but if we can't get good money for a few items like the bed and our bikes, we may ship them back. At least the CO people have been apologetic and offered a return move at cost. If you ever contemplate an international move, talk to me first to avoid the pitfalls we've experienced. I will post some before and after photos once we're settled.