We got official notice that our sea shipment has arrived in the U.S. and has cleared customs. YEAH! We know that U.S. customs has reviewed the boxes and we did not receive notification that anything has been removed. The big question is, did Chinese customs take anything out besides the liquor? We'll find out tomorrow when we get the delivery. In addition to some furniture, we're supposed to receive approximately 200 boxes. After weeks of living on the bare minimum, we will finally be reunited with the contents of our kitchen, closets and the rest of the house. It's been a long journey to get to where we are but, its close to completion. I'm convinced that Jose (the contractor) and his gang of merry men, really just want to move into our garage and stay there. The punch list items are slowing diminishing but it's still there. The lawn still hasn't been mowed, the litter is being cleaned up and garage door is down. Finally, we can get rid of all those animals that keep using the garage as a cave for the past six weeks. Oh, I really mean insects which are not so small. Some are large enough to pick up a small car on their backs to go back to their hiding spots.
The other day, I ran head on into a very large and UGLY cricket. I screamed, I'm sure it screamed as it took off for a dark corner in the garage while I ran the other way back to the laundry room and slammed the door shut. I'm not used to the "wild life" that insists on squatting around the house. I'm from New York where the only animals I had to worry about were rats and roaches. I'm in a whole new realm when it comes to the suburbs. I have to listen to the cicadas, watch the yellow jackets insist on building a nest in the eaves of my roof line and watch the deers as they stampede through the back yard. I even saw a coyote in my back yard the other day. What is this the Wild West?Matthew has become quite adept at identifying the smells along Long Ridge Road. At any given time, you'll hear him scream "skunk" from the back seat and sure enough, about two miles later, you'll find the carcass of the skunk and some other freshly killed animal. Sad, but it's the reality of living with the animals in the area. It's not uncommon for me to find a raccoon that has met an untimely demise at the bottom of my driveway. While living in China, we really didn't see any dead animals on the roads since, they're usually skewered and simmering in some kind of broth ready to be sold as dinner. We're adjusting to life back in the States where insects and animals are not part of the daily menu offerings.
Stay tuned for the updates on the status of our delivery. I'm truly looking forward to finishing up this part of our move. I'll get to hand out eviction notices to the little squatters and focus on looking for a job. My status as a "kept woman" will come to a screeching halt once I am able to procure a paying position.
