Last moving day

Diary

The sea shipment arrived today, the last stuff from America. Whatever is coming to the Netherlands is here now. We moved boxes all morning and half the afternoon. I hurt all over. I expected to be happy today, but something is wrong, and it's not my car mirror (see below).

This the last shipment from America. Whatever I need and don't have right now, it will have to fit in luggage in my next flight from the US (whenever that will be), find it here (unless it's electrical, or otherwise Euro-incompatible), or order from America which is certainly attractive in these days of cheap delivery services--but how to get them through Dutch customs? I have no idea, and the Netherlands' Customs website is no help. I have some Tiffany lamps, but no way to light them up. Oh well, no space to set them up in this apartment, anyway.

We spent most of the day unloading the truck, and dodging the traffic on my street, all of which had to squeeze, with just centimeters to spare on each side, between delivery trucks and cars including mine. Twice we saw drivers back up and try the squeeze again. Someone was going to lose something. You could just tell that some drivers were tempted to close their eyes, charge ahead, and simply hope for the best.

The good news is that I brought over just about the right amount of stuff. Not that you could tell from the picture at left. Too much or too little was the #1 risk in moving from 8 years in a large house to an apartment of small (and at the time of packing, unknown) size. I think that part went pretty well.
 

I brought some stupid things, like 5 reams of American (8.5" x 11") paper, when A4 serves perfectly well in my laser printer. Of course I didn't know A4 would fit in American file folders, so that was not a terrible decision. Well, it's not like the American paper will go bad before I move back; it's just one more thing to step over in the storage room, and one more sore muscle from box-hauling. The movers in Florida also packed a lot of stuff I just didn't think of being in the house, but I think I'll I stop there, on that subject.

Though I'm mostly glad to have brought what I brought, about some things I have very mixed feelings: I brought all the framed pictures, and they will certainly help with the apartment's sterile white-paint and -tile feel, but pictures I bought in Florida, even of Florida places, are not helping with my mood just now. The movers did what they are charged with doing, but this meant that the pictures ended up stacked in corners like so much firewood, all still bearing "NL" stickers that one April night I ran around the Florida house sticking on, to make sure each possession ended up in the right hemisphere. It was all so close together, just a short time ago, and now so, so scattered.
 

In compensation, I unpacked some happy surprises! Like the GLORIOUS quilt Mom made for me a couple of years back. It's perfect that it's here. I treasure it, it brightens my bed, it looks terrific, and it will keep me warm during long Dutch winter nights. For a bachelor, that makes for a very close second.
 

When the movers pulled away, it was all I could do to make myself each lunch, clean up and dress, and start downstairs to a few hours of work. Not in the best of moods, I crossed the street, pulled out the keys, reached for the door handle, and...

Anybody notice anything missing?
 

Whoop, there it is.
 

Perfect. Just perfect.