Boxes and boxes

We are FINALLY moved in. The moving truck from Canada came first. That shipment was like a time capsule from three years ago. Our life back in Fairfax perfectly preserved. Even the flyers on the fridge were folded neatly in a box as if they were precious documents. We purged and filled a storage locker and sent loads of things off to charities. What we kept completely filled our little apartment here. It took a week to finally get everything put away.

The first moving truck arrived!

Then the Singapore shipment arrived with 99 more boxes and our Balinese four 4 poster bed, dining set and coffee table. Possibly the largest furniture our movers had ever carried into an apartment.

The Singapore stuff was held for nearly three weeks at customs for inspection. This is the first time we've ever had a delay and apparently this is the "new normal." Just out of curiosity I looked at the contents of all the boxes they had chosen to inspect at customs to see if there was some reason for their selection. Each one contained "liquids" in the description on the manifest (perfume, body wash, cleaning supplies etc). You are allowed to bring these things in to the states but it seems that it may be a red flag for customs. Had I known this I would have thrown out those four boxes that were probably worth very little compared to the hassle and expense of three extra weeks of being in a serviced suite.

Boxes examined by US Border Protection

So all of this stuff now lives in our tiny apartment. We've been selling things on Craigslist and have even rented a second storage locker. I'm pretty sure this place is only temporary (perhaps a year, maybe two) so we aren't quite ready to get rid of EVERYTHING.

So our new hood is pretty great. We are so close to the beach, shops, restaurants and farmers markets. We had a great time with Joel's parents checking out all the amenities and now my Dad is here continuing the settling in time with us. Austen has only had one week of his entire life where he didn't have a grandparent staying with him and that week he had his Auntie Nan. It's going to seem pretty dull when all his favourite relatives go home. We are so lucky to have had all this help with him right now.

If you want more photos of Austen I'm only posting them Facebook and  Flickr in a "friends and family only" album of baby photos. Drop me a line if you need help logging in to be able to see that set.