Getting Through Customs

I might have mentioned a time or three that the hubby is in Buenos Aires this week to get our container through customs. We suspected it would be a costly experience in terms of both time and money. And we were right. Day Four of the process has us hoping he'll be able to schedule a loading time for the truck to pick up the container today (Lord, please make it today!) from the customs warehouse/yard. If that happens, he'll be heading back tomorrow with the truck.

Had to load more minutes on my cell phone yesterday so I could call him but finally got through last evening. I guess there were two customs officials playing the "good cop/bad cop" routine, threatening to make life very difficult for us because of the small trailer we brought (a 4x8 that folds) and some new books (remember all those hymnals?), among other things. Even though the trailer isn't a vehicle they could have made like it was because it has wheels. And new items that are donated (as the hymnals had been) are supposed to be separated and held until additional paperwork arrives verifying their donated status.

But in the end they let it all through. PRAISE GOD!

Although I won't feel really good about it until the truck is on its way here. There's still a chance someone could step in and say, "But..." Not sure there won't be more expenses, too.

So what I'm sayin' is y'all keep on prayin'!!!

Pray about getting the container here AND being able to find able-bodied people to help us unload things once it arrives. The truck won't get here until really late Friday so the hubby is seeing if we can put the trucker up in a hotel for the night and then unload early Saturday morning. 'Cause I don't think the man with the forklift will be willing to come over at midnight on Friday. But he might early on Saturday.

After spending over three hours scrubbing wax and grime build-up off the floor in one of the bedrooms and having only a small one foot by four foot really clean area to show for my labor, I cried 'Uncle!' Or as my Ugandan friends would say, "It has defeated me!"

Talked to the hubby and he wants me to see if we can hire someone to do the floors. Someone with the right equipment! The only thing that worked for me was down on my hands and knees with little metal scrubby things. And the scrubbies kept disintegrating, leaving bits of metal everywhere. What the whole house needs is some serious floor cleaning machinery. So I called our co-worker and he's going to get right on it and line someone up. Yippee!!!

Yesterday a nice young man from the security company spent the day installing our new system. Since the home is older and of block construction, there was no way to run cable in the walls. But this guy was very careful and did a GREAT JOB putting the cables either up flush with the ceiling, along the tops of windows (so I can hide those with curtains), or just above the paneling in the kitchen (the kitchen has very, very tall ceilings and plastered walls but the previous owner put wood paneling up to about the five foot mark). He used a fancy glue gun to affix the cables to the walls. Hopefully he used really good glue so we don't have dangling cables in a few months.

After giving up on the floor, I worked on cleaning more of the kitchen cupboards and the window "sills" in the bedrooms. All the windows slide sideways, so there are no "sills" but more like what you have with sliding glass doors with all those grooves to clean around. I had to empty the bucket and get fresh water after each and every window! Nasty.

Saturday I'll have one, possibly two young ladies helping me clean. Yeah! They can get back in that corner cupboard in the kitchen that no amount of contorting on my part can reach. Hey, I'm proud of what I HAVE been able to do and am not gonna feel guilty for what I can't.

I was finishing the last window about the time the security guy finished his job at 4 p.m. so I called it a day, too. Walked home, stopping to buy a few things at the grocery store. Because this older back didn't appreciate all that time I spent on my hands and knees scrubbing, it did not allow me to walk very fast. So it took me almost an hour to walk back (but that includes the 10 minute shopping stop). I think the walking is good to work out those cleaning kinks.

In Spanish I'm working on my food vocabulary, in particular my fruits and vegies. I do so love my fruits and vegies! Am thinking we'll need to take some time next week and plant some tomatoes, peppers and other things at the house. Just missed the tomatoes the daughter was growing -- they came in strong the week after we left. Of course since it's only spring here, the 'maters aren't very tasty and we've only bought them once or twice because it's just too sad to eat mealy, tasteless...can't even call 'em tomatoes.

We did finally get our phone turned on at the house. Which is great timing, since the security company needed one before they could activate their system. Not sure if we'll have to get some kind of modem from the phone company in order to access our internet. If they don't have an office and we can only reach them by phone, how do you get a modem? Do they deliver it? Mail it? Guess we'll find out. Just not sure we'll have our internet up and running when we move in. But it shouldn't take too long to get connected. I hope!

Just seeing how God is putting everything in place is such a blessing.

Another blessing was participating in Linda's "I See What You're Saying" carnival. That was fun! I'm still working my way through the other videos, as well as trying to respond to everyone who commented on mine. I do love a party!