Q & A (as of Oct 19)

How did the Move Go?

  Aaarrrgghhhh!

           

 On August 31, our containers were moved to the house in Te Horo Beach.  We had two containers that were jam packed full.  Think a semi-trailer moving van.  They brought in about ten people to heft the stuff across two stories and eight room.  Our job was to direct traffic, telling them where to take the boxes or furniture.  It took an exhausting and mind numbing six hours.  They unpacked some things for us, like the furniture and art, although I told them to leave the boxes alone.  They placed the furniture and got the rugs down, and that was helpful.  But now we have to work through the boxes and figure out where everything goes.  I am giving it three months.  I just cannot do this eight hours a day. 

            We moved a lot of stuff.  Our plan was this—we move what we can, most of it is furniture we bought at IKEA or from Wayfair.   When we leave New Zealand, we just leave everything but the antique furniture behind.  And honestly, it was the right thing to do.  Why?  Because stuff is expensive here.  I talked this over with the moving supervisor before we were packed up in the U.S. and he basically said, bring everything you can because it will cost a lot of money to replace it.  He was right.  Not only is it expensive, the options are very limited.  

            I did not bring all of our bookshelves and or smaller cabinets figuring I could buy them here.  Wrong.  There are two main furniture stores and no IKEA or Wayfair or Overstock or any other option you can think of that saves you money.  The furniture is generally manufactured here, which is great until you look at the prices.  I left behind our overstuffed recliners.  A standard recliner here runs around $2200 NZD, or around $1300.  Books shelves can cost upwards of $1500 NZD, sometimes more.  Even antique dressers can run into the hundreds of dollars depending on the wood.  You might find less expensive items, but you get what you pay for.  

            Electronics are just crazy expensive.  I could not bring my small appliances because of the difference in electrical outlets and power.  Wow, they have been expensive to replace.  I paid nearly $400 for a food processor, and it is not even a very good one.  But I brought the rest of my kitchen.  I brought it all—cookbooks, pots, pans, dishes, you name it.  It was worth it to have my tools with me.  

            The things we brought that we now realize we do not need?  For one, winter clothes.  They do not have four seasons here.  My snow boots and down parkas were not required (unless we go to the South Island where they have winter).  Also, any kind of more formal clothes—for Matt things like suits and ties are completely unnecessary.  I have no need for fancy dresses.  But alas, we brought all of these things.  I am now packing up boxes with clothes we will never use and storing them away.  

       What about the cats?  How did they take the move?  

            While our stuff was moved into the house on August 31, we decided we needed to get some bit of order in it before we brought the cats.  Cats do not like change and so far they took a plane ride from Maryland to a stop over at a boarding place in L.A. for quarantine, then another plane to another quarantine facility in New Zealand then to the house in Wellington.  Now we are moving them again.  I was worried most about Boo.  She is 17 and has been a trooper but still, it is hard.  She spent most of her time on Wellington in a little kitty tent.  She never seemed quite comfortable.  

            So on September 2, we made the final move out of Wellington with the rest of our stuff and two cats on board.  

            JoJo is a howler.  He will cry and cry and cry when he is in a car.  I had to listen to him for the whole hour.  Boo is usually quiet but he got her going and she started crying, albeit not continuously, until we arrived.  

            I let them out in the main bedroom and closed the door.  Our furniture was in the room as were boxes full of our stuff.  Boo seemed downright overjoyed.  She sniffed everything and trotted from the bed to the dresser to my slippers.  She seemed to say, “Yes, yes, this is our house!  This is our stuff!”  I have never seen a cat so visibly happy.  She jumped on the bed with the energy of a kitten.  She rubbed on everything.  This is mine.  This is mine.  This is mine.  She has been trotting around, tail up, ever since.  She just knew this was home.  (I can relate.  I feel so much better when I am around my stuff.)

            JoJo, on the other hand, has been completely freaked out by it all.  He just cannot take the constant opening of boxes, tearing of tape and paper, and the noise, noise, noise! He is very curious, but the sensations and the exploration just seem to overwhelm him so that I often find him tucked into a corner or hiding under a piece of furniture. He seems lost as if he does not know what to do with himself.  I keep reassuring him that we will get the boxes emptied soon.  

           How has it been going since?

            It has been six weeks , we have been unpacking boxes, arranging things, sorting and storing and just generally trying to get settled.  It is exhausting.  I am so over this but we are still not done.  Matt is working and there is only so much time in the day for me. Unpacking and putting things away grows old quick.  We figured it would take a long time but boy, this is getting ridiculous.  I do not want to be looking at unpacked boxes six months from now.  Honestly, I’ve got nowhere to put them.  There is no storage here.  We are creating it.  

            We have to deal lots of broken stuff. I have been working on the insurance claim.  We are also trying to deal with getting services in order.  Nothing seems easy here.  

The cats have adjusted fairly well. We are still opening boxes and moving things around and JoJo hates that part. But there are plenty of places for him to sleep and get into trouble so He is good. Boo does not like that it is cold so we find her sleeping under the heaters a lot.

So what about the house?

We have a lemon tree. I love being able to pick lemons.

The yard is really quite wonderful. Whoever lived here before did a lot. There are lavender bushes that are a good six feet high. I have never seen lavender grow like this.

We have a great view of the ocean and sunsets.

There is nowhere near enough storage or space so we are turning the garage into what would be a basement in a U.S. house. I am putting together a gym, a crafting area, a gardening area and a tool area. I’d say we are getting close to settled.