Joanne comes to stay

Had a busy and fun visit from a girlfriend I met in Saudi. She's a kiwi too. Recently moved to Chicago from China.

                                       
                             Put a  little book on her bedside table to help her adjust to the local culture.

 At Winchell's Oyster House we got an order of fried pickles to go with our oyster and shrimp po-boy sandwiches.

Showed her our resident armadillo - who lives in a hole under the Crepe Myrtle trees.

I really need him gone....the digging for grubs he does leaves nice little holes all over the yard.

During her visit we stopped and walked through several parks, visited the Art Museum, several galleries,  took a tikitour around the garden district, central city, the beaches, bay and Fairhope. Took her to the Mardi Gras shop - second best after the museum which was closed for a private function.

Joanne had recently taken a five day "French Pastry" class up in Chicago (yes I am envious) where she made macarons...so I suggested she helped Leslie and I perfect our technique. We had a fun time cooking the chocolate ganache -delicious, and chocolate macarons, that were hopeless...I will forever blame the humidity!

Before we knew it the visit was over and I shifted gears and got to work in Rose's garage...anyone want an old Amelia Earhart suitecase??

Life's Little Punches

So moving is stressful right? Things do go wrong....it is Murphy's Law and no one is generally safe from it!
 In the big scheme of things my  little punches are silly and small, but little irritants none the less.


So to document for your entertainment I present : 


Part one -  Departing Alabama.


1. The woes of being or trying to be house renters: lack of homes to look at, lots of special requirements ie. mother-in-law suite, storage space, good school district, working fireplaces, short commute, small yard for easy maintenance, short driveway for easier snow removal etc....house # 1 was selected located on a waterway - nice!!  - but has lots of baggage , landlord didn't want the two fireplaces used ??? in that wintry climate are you kidding me - we want the ambiance plus the expensive electric heating bill, old old house built in 1840, renovated throughout except in kitchen - yuck!  and bathrooms -yuck yuck - one bathroom to be used by mother-in-law down stairs and the other upstairs shared by all including guests...(hey we are not used to that so stop rolling your eyes), front door located two feet from road, no fence for dog, no disposal in kitchen sink, nothing on the windows, and the list goes on. We send deposit, and sign on the dotted line thinking we were willing to put up with a few things to experience some charm and the good location and then are told that the 3rd garage for our storage is only for land lord use.  We need that storage, so back to step 1, fortunately we get our deposit back.  Another house is found, another town , a long commute, but plenty of space and more than 2 bathrooms....the dotted line has been signed, but a huge risk there as I haven't seen it and am promised that the arrangement for mom downstairs is fine!!  am waiting for the photos, We will see.


2. The computer catches a virus....and wipes away all our documents and 100's of photos (a good number of them are safe on CD,s but..the inconvenience makes me want to weep)


3. We get people who love the house but won't buy because a neighbouring tree has a branch leaning over our house.


4. Two of our TV server remotes decide they won't work anymore. You can order new ones for $30.00 each. no problem but...we move and stop the service in 5 weeks. 


5. I may have already mentioned this one in a past post, but it got worse....we live here four years and see zero snakes, the minute Frank leaves I see snakes everywhere. 


6. James borrows Rose's car for the first time, I am using mine to pick up a visitor from the airport and he needs to go to a violin lesson..he winds down the window to cool off the interior and the window gets stuck in the down position.  It hasn't rained in weeks and suddenly we are getting a rain storm every afternoon.  Now we have to find time for car repairs. 


7. I sneak away to the beach with a friend....get halfway there (30 mins) and realize my phone is sitting on the kitchen counter - what if I get a house showing call, so turn around and add an extra 1.5 hours to the trip....and never did get that house showing call. Did get the type of call that someone makes while filling out paperwork and asks for all our social security numbers and our last two old addresses. Do you know all those off the top of your head? 


8. Your bank here does not have a branch in MA.  


9. Your AL drivers license expires five weeks before you leave AL and will then need to apply for a MA license. 
Our little town of Daphne only renews the everyday license...mine is "special" and has a big FN on it for foreign national. I have to drive across the bay to a big central department and wait in line with half the population of Mobile!!  Today when I make attempt # 1 to get mine renewed I am spared the long wait as I don't even get past the first desk just inside the door. Desk # 1 is where they check the required paperwork of the incoming person... I do feel sorry for the poor girl ahead of me as she is turned away for not having the correct papers...next it is my turn...fingers crossed. Yes I have everything, but wait ... I get the  "your resident alien card (green card) is the old type, we don't take that, you have to come back with a new one."...but my DL expires next week...that's okay she says "you can drive for 60 days on an expired one in AL"  I am way too peed  to argue more and to even think it through, can I drive to MA through 7 0r 8 more states within that 60 days with an expired DL?? I think not. and will MA also require the "new" alien card, should I risk the drive?


I get back in my car and vent loudly! rush home to the internet to see the hoops I am going to have to jump through to get a new card and the 1st thing I see is this - 
"You should file a Green Card Renewal application if you are a Lawful Permanent Resident who has an older version Green Card. These cards have no expiration dates. Though you are not required by the USCIS to renew the older card versions, the USCIS strongly recommends you apply to renew your Green Card."   
I wonder why? oh yeah, there is a fee......$450.00!!!    
Thank You Sweet Home Alabama.






10. To register in school and to be able to select the all important courses required for a senior to graduate, you need an address, when you finally do get an address all the school counselors go on a six week holiday.


11. To get a MA High School diploma/graduate you need to take all the MA exams - James has already taken all the AL exams!


12. Your internet modem has a "failure"  and it is 3 days before it is solved. Resulting in your 3G phone wi-fi link not recognizing your home password and having to manually enter it each and every time you use it. 


and finally # 13. you walk down to the bay with the gate keys in your pocket, the first gate is wide open, but the second one is not. That is when you discover that you forgot to replace the keys taken off your keychain and put in the lockbox on the front door. You walk the long way around to the bay, sit awhile, enjoy the sunset and head towards home -around the long way again, getting dark suddenly  as a violent T & L storm has decided to pop up out of nowhere and lets loose. You get to the once wide open gate to find it now locked.


Departing Alabama to be continued....Packing, stopping all utilities, shipping, travel with a dog, four birds and two cars and don't forget  that I am doing all this times two by packing and moving my very frail mother-in-law too.


Good thing we have a few brick walls for me to bang my head on....I think I'll just go geocaching.






But I will throw in a bit of positive - after 2.5 years of braces, and finally reaching the end of the payment coupon book,  James gets his braces off 1 week before we pack out. Anyone who has gone through that knows that you pay one place for the whole treatment and if we you move you are out of luck...so finally a little break!


Watch for part two : Arriving in Massachusetts

Boston Museum of Art ~ Dale Chihuly

During a recent trip to Boston I met up with my good friend Cheryl, over lunch we had a wee catch up then headed over to view a Dale Chihuly exhibit....just incredible!!!

I have lots of "should-be-doings"

It's been awhile between posts,

while I haven't been blogging I have been getting a house ready to sell. We are moving from Daphne to Dartmouth, Massachusetts, that's about an hour south of Boston, the great cold north of New England.

 Most of the years we have lived in America has been spent in the South and I have always thought I would like the experience of another way of life in America. The North and New England has always interested me, so I am excited about the move.

Of course moving is not easy, it never is, there are going to be a lot issues, a lot of complications, and some culture shock to go along with the excitement.

The timing couldn't be worse for James, it is his senior year in high school...a lot of drama is involved with that....friends and academic courses, are concerns.
It has been less than a year since we relocated Franks mom here from her home of 40 years in North Carolina, we won't be leaving her here, so she is having to face yet another move.
Christopher only recently found a job after looking for too long and needs to stay,  now he has to move out and pay some real rent.

                                                                                          Some recent photos by me


I have been warned about the northerners, that they are not as friendly nor as laid back as those in the south. The pace of life is much more intense, and not a lot of room is made for new comers -  I have also been told that being a kiwi I would get along with all types, so there is a challenge there for me.

The next few months I will blog about the move, the adventure ahead!! which a dear friend said will sound like a reality show..and with bits here and there of other things....like some more Ireland.