6 posts tagged “unpacking”
Oh, what a beautiful morning...
Due to past experiences, I have a dread when it comes to crossing the
border from Canada into the US as well as crossing from the US into
Canada. There is no way to predict whether you are going to be pulled
over and have your car dismantled and your girlie things gone through
or simply be grunted at with a wave of the hand as you hold out your
passport.
I have painfully detailed the last time we crossed over and I had to pee in a bag while we waited several hours to get into Washington. I have not mentioned the time we were driving into Vancouver and caught a border guard who just didn't find it plausible that a "retired" library worker and an adolescent residential treatment facility counselor "on leave" could afford a BMW and have an extended vacation in Vancouver. Her words exactly were, "and how do people like you afford a car like this?" Coming from the south, I found this to be extremely rude and I laughed it off without an answer. The husband, hopped up on pain killers (we went to the states to get some medical care for his Achilles tendon injury) just stared at her blankly and said, "Excuse me?"
Yeah, we got pulled over.
The
car wasn't searched but we had to go in and explain why we were there
and how long we were staying. We also had to give personal financial
information that the husband was not pleased to hand over until I
finally just said to him, "Will you tell her what she wants to know so
she doesn't think we are running guns and drugs?"
The border guard said, "Honestly...you are not helping yourself."
She was obviously perturbed. So much that she didn't even want to allow us back into the country.
I
told her that all of our belongings were in our hotel room in Vancouver
- we really needed to get back in to get those things. Especially the
cat.
"YOU BROUGHT YOUR CAT ON VACATION?"
"Well, yeah. She only weighs 7lbs-"
"This does not sound like you two are on vacation, this sounds like you are moving here!"
(at that point we were just tourists)
"People
vacation with their dogs all the time. Besides, we had nowhere to leave
her. All of my friends are either allergic, have dogs or do not like
cats." I countered. "It's not like she is a puma or a leopard. She is a
tiny little girl and she has all her papers. Which just happen to be
with her at our hotel." Now I was getting perturbed.
When our
finances were out in the open she begrudgingly put a stamp in our
passports that said we could enjoy Canada for 30 more days, then we
would have to leave...or else.
Oh, what a beautiful day...
Yesterday
we went down to Washington to check on our storage unit and to pick up
as many boxes as we could of things we will need right away when we
move into our new place in Kitsilano at the beginning of June.
The
day was bright and blue and beautiful. The drive to the border was
quick and uneventful. The crossing into the US was so easy it was too
easy. The wait time was about 20 minutes. Our border guard looked at
his watch as we pulled up.
"Where you from?"
The husband: "Vancouver."
"Where you going?"
The husband: "Blaine and Bellingham."
"Have a great day."
The husband: "Yeah, you too!"
We
got to the storage unit and grabbed our things without any fanfare. I
made a list to show at the border along with our "goods to follow list".
We
drove to Bellis Fair Mall so I could check out Kohl's Department store. I
actually found TWO pairs of jeans that I liked enough to buy. Finding
clothes for me is such a hassle, I'm as round as I am short, so this
was a huge joy inducing score.
We went to the husband’s favorite
store - Fred Meyer. The husband got his plain Doritos and some frozen
pizzas (he has a special backpack that keeps things frozen for up to 12
hours or some such). I bought a coffee bean grinder.
By this
time I was getting suspicious. Too many good things were happening too
easily for me. The finding of two pairs of pants alone made the day
worthy of a journal note. But did I also mention they were a smaller size than I am accustomed to purchasing???
Something BAAAAAD was going to happen at the Canadian border. I just knew it.
We head out to the border and I start to feel queasy.
We
were behind a slow moving big rig and we couldn't see the line in front
of it. It pulled over and revealed a totally empty border crossing.
No cars. Desolation. The place looked closed.
We pulled up to the first booth. The woman looked sour. My stomach rumbled.
"Where you headin' "
"Vancouver." Says the husband.
"Where you been?"
"Our storage unit and Fred Meyer."
The husband explains we are buying a place in Vancouver and we wanted to get a few things before the movers brought the big stuff.
"When do you plan on getting the rest of your stuff?"
"Early to mid June." Says the husband.
"I hope." I add.
We
passed her our official papers and the list. We were expecting that we
would have to go in the office with our official papers and list and
make things more official.
She scanned the items on the list. "Two
boxes of sheets and curtains. Two boxes of kitchenware...Green
suitcase...Yeah, Ok. Have a nice day."
THAT WAS IT? HAVE A NICE DAY?
I got a beautiful feeling...
When
we got back to our place and unloaded the car I immediately started
going through the boxes. I haven't seen this stuff for almost three
years! The first one I opened was full of kitchen items. I grabbed a
newspaper wrapped lump and slowly unraveled it. In my hands was one of
my favorite coffee mugs: a XXXX XXXXXX Xxx Xxxx mug!
A mug I had bought
in the mid 80's when I worked at a gift shop called The Quapaw Gallery
in what is now the stage area of Juanita's Cantina Ballroom. A mug with
a one liner that summed up my life in Little Rock, Arkansas. Looking at
this mug now made me throw back my head and laugh loudly like I was
drunk and watching Hannah and Her Sisters.
Every thing's going my way...
Show us what's on your mind.
More of the same.
I opened a box yesterday labeled: VINTAGE HATS.
No books or
lasagna pan found, but I did find my fez...and my Russian winter hat,
and an old mink scrap from a WW2 era coat that belonged to my mother. Yes, the styrofoam bowler hat was in that box too!
I used to wear hats a lot. That was the best part of 80's fashion - the comeback of women in hats. Of course, I mean HATS, not baseball caps or those dippy sun-visor things.
I also opened my box labeled: TOYS and GAMES.
It
truly was Christmas in July! Look, I got a scary old doll with a
rotting velvet dress from 1922 and a porcelain harlequin! Dawn dolls
and Rosebuds and a bunch of Barbie clothes my father sewed long before
I was even born!!!
As far as the games go, I have 3 - Scrabble, Ouija, and a funny kid's game from the 70's called OOPS!
Before we left Arkansas, my mother gave me the rest of my childhood possessions (the ones she didn't give away to the less fortunate, obviously). In that box was a ceramic teddy bear. Nothing says, "cuddle me" like a ceramic teddy bear...Anyway, this was something my dad had made for me. For awhile he was big into hobbies like painting on velvet, ceramics, macrame...then much like me, he woke up one day and it was as if he never did those things. So we had a few pieces of his ceramics around the house. I know you have seen the ceramic bust of the Polynesian girl with the flower behind her ear, we had that too. I have seen them in thrift stores from here to NYC. You might even have one in your family closet somewhere.
So, I was unwrapping this ceramic teddy bear yesterday and sort of remembering odd, somewhat creative, things my dad would do and sort of laughing about it. He might have been an artist if he would have let himself go in that direction. OR maybe not.
I grew up with this crazy looking thing in my bedroom. The eyes are sky blue discs with harsh black pupils, everything else is brown. Even the tongue is brown, a lighter shade of brown, but brown. He also has wisps at the corner of each eye that make him look like Edward G. Robinson dolled up to play Asian. I turned the bear over to see my favorite part - on one foot the letters J N K are etched into the plaster. The other foot has a similar etching: M O N A. Even etched with an orange stick in plaster, my father's handwriting is unmistakable.
Oh, how I loved the garage sale. Back in the old days I would spend a few Saturdays or Sundays a month going to garage and estate sales where I acquired some of my most, to this day, treasured possessions.
A pink faux alligator handbag.
Handmade pottery made by amateur potters.
A styro-foam bowler hat.
But my most prized find was the Corning-ware Lasagna pan I got for 2 dollars at the same sale I got that styro-foam bowler. I loved that pan and I used it for more than just lasagna.
Well, I guess it is gone forever...lost somewhere between Arkansas and Washington state nearly 3 years ago when we packed all our stuff and moved it. I can only blame Bekins so much, because the guy was ticking the numbers off the list as they unloaded the boxes and arranged them in the unit. I should have been more aware and watchful. I should have double checked the boxes, but when they were all crammed into the storage unit, I didn't really feel like dragging them all back out and putting them back again.
Not only am I missing that beloved pan, but I am also missing my everyday glassware and plates. We have been eating off of bone china and drinking out of crystal goblets. I guess I would be more dismayed if the china and crystal were missing - but I was looking forward to drinking iced tea out of my favorite jelly glass...
What else is missing? Bathroom and bedding items, kitchen items that included all my skillets (except my mama's old cast iron) and covered bake ware, vintage ceramics and such. I am going to guess that there are 3 boxes of my favorite things out there in Bekinland somewhere.
I still have about 20 boxes to go through, none of them are marked KITCHEN or BEDROOM. What is left is mainly books, cd's and art supplies. It is possible that I packed up my lasagna dish with a few canvases then wrapped it all in a bed skirt before sticking it in a box and marking it ART ROOM, but I think I would remember doing that.
So, a lesson learned for the next time we move across country.
If all goes as planned, the long wait for my couch, dining table and cow skull collection will end TOMORROW!
We meet the movers at the storage unit, they load our stuff, they take it across the border, we show a list of things we are bringing in to customs and then the stuff is brought to our new home.
That is how I want it to go. Smoooothly.
We chose a company from Aldergrove called Allard Moving Systems LTD.
I will give a full critique on their work when this is all over.
I hope all goes well. (fingers crossed)
We are in our new home. Lawn furniture in the living room, boxes for tables, internet and cable...Gee, it's almost like we are in rural Arkansas...
The cat seems to LOVE her new surroundings. So much so that I can't let her out onto the patio without a harness and leash or am pushing through yellow jacket infested shrubs to get her out of the neighbour's patio. The complex is lush with ferns and foliage and she just wants to get in that jungle and hunt! She hasn't seen a bird smaller than a seagull or rolled on mulch for nearly 3 years. I'm a little afraid that she will wander away and I will lose her.
She doesn't like that harness and leash. She hisses at me when I come near her with it.
She has never been a screen climber, but the first day here I walked into the bedroom and there she was; hanging on the window screen like one of those stuffed and suction cupped Garfields. She just wants out there so bad!
