I knew this was going to happen!! Day 4 and I'm already lagging behind - although, technically it is still the 14th somewhere in the world, isn't it??!!! I think the more sensible option would be to tweak my words - let's do a blog-almost-every-day for the next 40 - should never forget to write in loopholes!! This way, I won't be drowning in guilt if I ever miss a day - which, of course, I never ever will!!
We are rapidly(!) checking things off our to-do list - Ajey being home on weekends certainly throws things in a higher gear!! We're concentrating right now on sorting out our air shipment - the absolute essentials we will need once we land in Peoria, which we cannot carry with us. Blankets and comforters - all that we can spare, TV and DVD player, clothes, a few kitchen things - space is limited, so we have to make careful choices!!
And in all our previous moves, we have flown out the day after our shipment left. Not so in China - customs officials need Ajey's passport for a week after we have packed - so including the days of packing, we will need to be here in this house, without any of our things, for at least 10 days!! We had blithely assumed that the landlord would give us his furniture for those days - just like he had when we moved in - only to find out that he had sold all the furniture from this house, and we were scrambling for a Plan B!!
So now we had to plan for 4 sets - the air shipment, our suitcases, the all-encompassing sea shipment - and then, the stuff we'll need to use here, which would be then discarded when we leave. Hmmm. What do I own that I can leave behind without too many qualms??!! Well, there's our old patio set for one - we've had it for ages, and the outdoors has not been too kind to the table or the chairs. That could double as our living and dining room furniture!! And mattresses - we have at least 3 that have reached end-of-life!! So perfect - that's all settled then!!
Meanwhile, for our air shipment, Ajey had a brilliant idea - why not take our itty bitty dinette set with 4 chairs - other than the glass table top, it dismantles completely, and it would be perfect for our temporary apartment in Peoria!! So, there's a project for the morning then - dismantling the chairs and the table. But to be honest, even dismantled, the set is actually quite large - we'll have to make a judgement call on the day of packing - will it really go on the air shipment or not!!
The other big chore we got done today - sorting out our loose change!! We have a green pottery jug, and all our loose change goes in there - and we do dip into it quite often - coins for the bus, or to buy bread from Yumway. But still, 3 years makes for a lot of coins - and Ajey made Manasi an offer - sort out the coins, count them, and she could then have all that money to spend on snacks in Yumway!! She readily agreed to that - although about halfway through, she counted out 20 rmb, and said that was all she was needed, and could she now go?? Doesn't work that way, Manasi - you only get the money if you finish all the coins!! And it ended up being quite a lot - almost 100 rmb - and this is only what was in the jar - I still have to turn out all my pockets and purses!!
So that's it for this one - I'm going to have to hustle to put out the next one!! Do hope that I can keep up - fingers crossed!!
We are rapidly(!) checking things off our to-do list - Ajey being home on weekends certainly throws things in a higher gear!! We're concentrating right now on sorting out our air shipment - the absolute essentials we will need once we land in Peoria, which we cannot carry with us. Blankets and comforters - all that we can spare, TV and DVD player, clothes, a few kitchen things - space is limited, so we have to make careful choices!!
And in all our previous moves, we have flown out the day after our shipment left. Not so in China - customs officials need Ajey's passport for a week after we have packed - so including the days of packing, we will need to be here in this house, without any of our things, for at least 10 days!! We had blithely assumed that the landlord would give us his furniture for those days - just like he had when we moved in - only to find out that he had sold all the furniture from this house, and we were scrambling for a Plan B!!
So now we had to plan for 4 sets - the air shipment, our suitcases, the all-encompassing sea shipment - and then, the stuff we'll need to use here, which would be then discarded when we leave. Hmmm. What do I own that I can leave behind without too many qualms??!! Well, there's our old patio set for one - we've had it for ages, and the outdoors has not been too kind to the table or the chairs. That could double as our living and dining room furniture!! And mattresses - we have at least 3 that have reached end-of-life!! So perfect - that's all settled then!!
Meanwhile, for our air shipment, Ajey had a brilliant idea - why not take our itty bitty dinette set with 4 chairs - other than the glass table top, it dismantles completely, and it would be perfect for our temporary apartment in Peoria!! So, there's a project for the morning then - dismantling the chairs and the table. But to be honest, even dismantled, the set is actually quite large - we'll have to make a judgement call on the day of packing - will it really go on the air shipment or not!!
The other big chore we got done today - sorting out our loose change!! We have a green pottery jug, and all our loose change goes in there - and we do dip into it quite often - coins for the bus, or to buy bread from Yumway. But still, 3 years makes for a lot of coins - and Ajey made Manasi an offer - sort out the coins, count them, and she could then have all that money to spend on snacks in Yumway!! She readily agreed to that - although about halfway through, she counted out 20 rmb, and said that was all she was needed, and could she now go?? Doesn't work that way, Manasi - you only get the money if you finish all the coins!! And it ended up being quite a lot - almost 100 rmb - and this is only what was in the jar - I still have to turn out all my pockets and purses!!
So that's it for this one - I'm going to have to hustle to put out the next one!! Do hope that I can keep up - fingers crossed!!
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ReplyDeleteWow! I beg you'll are happy going back home Gauri! This blog is a kinda check list for us too - overwhelming ha! How much prep we have to do. Good Luck to you all!! Fun times begin :-)
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