Greetings to All... I am in count down mode now... for all practical purposes we are one week away from leaving. The weather this week has really put a damper on last minute appointments and errands. I had scheduled a dentist appointment for Tuesday and a mammogram for Wednesday.... all cancelled due to the nasty ice. So I am trying to reschedule to fill only one day next week to be in Dallas. I need the rest of the time to pull together a years’ worth of our possessions and be ready to leave here on Friday afternoon.
The packers and movers arrived here on Tuesday morning to gather up my assessment of what I absolutely will need for the next year. We are allowed 2 air cartons which are each 5' x 4' x 3'. Can you get a visual of that size?... scared me too!!! Our breakfast table is 10 ft long, (I know.. a little big for a breakfast table, but I have a big family.)...so I used it to give me a visual of how NOT big that carton is. Back to the question ...how do you decide what you will need in the next year? Jennifer has kindly explained to me if I did not need it in a year, I probably should get rid of it!!! It is sometimes not a question of need, but rather of want... and want in terms of making life easier and less complicated... I am sure you know what I mean. So... I decided to take a subset of what I thought would useful to bring from home rather than purchase once I get settled.
Luckily I had an 8 place setting of white cafe style dishes. I had retired them when we moved into this house, opting for a much larger set of 20. I did not want to have to always use paper plates when we had family dinners. So the dishes I saved are going to China. Just a side bar… all the kids are coming to China and we are going to be short a few place settings. And I can’t say I saw paper plates in China… We will make it work!
The one thing going for sure… the Keurig coffee maker!!! We love love love our coffee maker. Anyone coming for a visit must bring K-cups for us. We saw no K-cups in the stores we visited. Of course the K-cups are just one of many things I will be asking for when you come for a visit. I am sure by the time we begin to have visitors; we will discover several things we are craving from our home land!!
Taking some Caphalon… and a couple of essential pieces of enameled cast iron… and my fav knives! I’m taking a few other kitchen essentials.. measuring devices of varying sizes, serving bowls, and bake ware… all carefully selected for mixed duty in China. I was not going to take silverware and last night, as I tossed and turned, with an inventory rolling in my mind… I thought… I must take silverware… the locals …they all use chopsticks!!! What if I get there and cannot find silverware or it is so expensive I regret this decision?! So I am adding silverware to my take pile on the table. Losing that sleep has been all worth it… one less thing to worry about once I get there!
I have to reduce the number of clothes we take also… so I must strategically determine what to take for all seasons… so the closet is divided… take and leave sections. It will be like a shopping trip when I get home… cross your fingers that my classics will still be in style when we return. I think Michael is going to be fine… polos and Dockers are always in style!
Slowly but surely this will all fall into place and we will be fine… once the packers are gone with our belongings… anything we find we should have sent… it either goes in the luggage with us or get shipped separately or maybe we just did not need it that bad in the first place.
I live in varying stages of excitement and fear! Going into the unknown and unfamiliar is scary. When I allow myself to stop and really think about what is happening to us...I can not sort out whether I am happy about the opportunity, which I am, or terribly sad at leaving my wonderful family and our home...It is all so confusing!
This all reminds me of a Bible Study from a few studies back, ‘Satisfied… At Last!’ by Kay Harms. It taught that we should look to our Lord to supply us with our needs… we seek too many things from our worldly influences. We learned from Philippians 4:19 – And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. I know that we will be fine and all will be well with us….We have a powerful hand that will guide us through…
The packers and movers arrived here on Tuesday morning to gather up my assessment of what I absolutely will need for the next year. We are allowed 2 air cartons which are each 5' x 4' x 3'. Can you get a visual of that size?... scared me too!!! Our breakfast table is 10 ft long, (I know.. a little big for a breakfast table, but I have a big family.)...so I used it to give me a visual of how NOT big that carton is. Back to the question ...how do you decide what you will need in the next year? Jennifer has kindly explained to me if I did not need it in a year, I probably should get rid of it!!! It is sometimes not a question of need, but rather of want... and want in terms of making life easier and less complicated... I am sure you know what I mean. So... I decided to take a subset of what I thought would useful to bring from home rather than purchase once I get settled.
Luckily I had an 8 place setting of white cafe style dishes. I had retired them when we moved into this house, opting for a much larger set of 20. I did not want to have to always use paper plates when we had family dinners. So the dishes I saved are going to China. Just a side bar… all the kids are coming to China and we are going to be short a few place settings. And I can’t say I saw paper plates in China… We will make it work!
The one thing going for sure… the Keurig coffee maker!!! We love love love our coffee maker. Anyone coming for a visit must bring K-cups for us. We saw no K-cups in the stores we visited. Of course the K-cups are just one of many things I will be asking for when you come for a visit. I am sure by the time we begin to have visitors; we will discover several things we are craving from our home land!!
Taking some Caphalon… and a couple of essential pieces of enameled cast iron… and my fav knives! I’m taking a few other kitchen essentials.. measuring devices of varying sizes, serving bowls, and bake ware… all carefully selected for mixed duty in China. I was not going to take silverware and last night, as I tossed and turned, with an inventory rolling in my mind… I thought… I must take silverware… the locals …they all use chopsticks!!! What if I get there and cannot find silverware or it is so expensive I regret this decision?! So I am adding silverware to my take pile on the table. Losing that sleep has been all worth it… one less thing to worry about once I get there!
I have to reduce the number of clothes we take also… so I must strategically determine what to take for all seasons… so the closet is divided… take and leave sections. It will be like a shopping trip when I get home… cross your fingers that my classics will still be in style when we return. I think Michael is going to be fine… polos and Dockers are always in style!
Slowly but surely this will all fall into place and we will be fine… once the packers are gone with our belongings… anything we find we should have sent… it either goes in the luggage with us or get shipped separately or maybe we just did not need it that bad in the first place.
I live in varying stages of excitement and fear! Going into the unknown and unfamiliar is scary. When I allow myself to stop and really think about what is happening to us...I can not sort out whether I am happy about the opportunity, which I am, or terribly sad at leaving my wonderful family and our home...It is all so confusing!
This all reminds me of a Bible Study from a few studies back, ‘Satisfied… At Last!’ by Kay Harms. It taught that we should look to our Lord to supply us with our needs… we seek too many things from our worldly influences. We learned from Philippians 4:19 – And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. I know that we will be fine and all will be well with us….We have a powerful hand that will guide us through…
Hi Kay, this is Val from the title company. So glad to hear you are a woman of faith. Funny how 2 like spirits can connect. I look forward to following your blog. Blessings to you and your family.
ReplyDelete