May 20 2011
We leave ROG on June 15th. Ron will be closing down the program here and we will fly to Washington DC for Ron to wrap up with Treasury, to turn in his computer and some files. We will have a shipping company do our packing as we are not allowed to do our own packing, probably due to insurance regulations and maybe to ensure that we aren’t taking contraband into the US. We are not allowed to take any food items so I must give up my spices and what is left in the pantry. One of my tasks is to make sure we use up as much food that is in the freezer and panty as we can in this last month. Last night we had guests for dinner so I made a spinach ricotta pie and managed to finish off the kilo bag of spinach. I made my last month’s supply of granola and used up most of the nuts in the freezer. I am making progress.
Today I am going through the closets and taking out all the clothes that we will not need until next fall/winter and putting them in one of the guest rooms for shipping. I need to make two ‘piles’: one for air shipment and one for slow boat shipment. If we are ‘light’ we may get to ship everything air. It turns out to be cheaper if you don’t have a big shipment which we do not. We will have a lot less weight with consumables since we aren’t taking any food. We do still have lots on non food consumables like hand cream, soap, shampoo and the like. We also have added 11 carpets, five pieces of artwork, two small tables and two mafrahes to our load so we will be in suspense as to whether it all goes air or not. It would make life much simpler if it did as we plan to visit family and friends when we return and not knowing when a shipment will turn up makes planning more difficult.
For the past few weeks I have gone through bookshelves, drawers and closets to sort and toss out what we don’t want to ship. I am doing my best to avoid the overwhelming task of getting out of here and remaining stress-free. So far I feel good about the progress. We will also ship Ron’s ‘jeepi’ but that is done on our own and through a different shipping company.
At this point we do not know when the shipper will come. Treasury puts in a request to a logistics company in the US who then contacts the shipper who then contacts us to arrange a date.
May 21, 2011
Just when I thought I had seen it all in terms of bad driving in Georgia yesterday I was astounded to see someone going through an intersection against the light in reverse!!!!!!!! I also saw a man turning onto a major four lane city street with 5-6 year old child in his lap and the child was steering. OY! I have never gotten used to the way Georgians drive and doubt that I ever will.
I went to lunch with my friend Kirsten and her aunt who is visiting from the States. We sat outside at a café on a popular street and were interrupted four times by the same two boys who were begging. After the second time Kirsten said in a loud voice ‘ARA! ARA!’ which means no in Georgian. The older boy shot her a bird, walked off and was back in two minutes begging again. After four times approaching our table and every other table, Kirsten went and asked the manager to call the police. The boys scampered away.
May 25
Yesterday the shipping company reps came over to survey our shipment. This involves walking through the house showing them what is going and what stays. Our house is filled with embassy issued furniture and appliances which remain here. Our walls have many photos that will not be shipped, etc. We asked for a pack out date of June 8th or 9th. On June 10 the facilities maintenance folks from the embassy will come over to check out all the appliances and equipment to make sure they are working. On Monday the 13th we have our embassy inspection showing that all is in order, there is no damage to the house or contents and that we are leaving the place spic and span. Nino, our housekeeper is working hard to clean all the windows inside and out as well as the window iron grates and sills. In between we make trips to the embassy to get ‘checked out’. This is a 15 page document telling us what is required: fill out forwarding address, make a template for labels, turn in our radio (used for emergencies), pay any outstanding bills (we are exempt as Treasury pays all our bills), show that we have no books checked out that have not been returned. Well you get the picture. We decided to start early to avoid any problems getting home. Can you tell we are ready to come home?
Today I worked on the inventory of what we would be shipping, itemizing the items and assigning a value for insurance purposes. What a tedious task!
Our weather is grand: cool mornings and evenings and warm sunny days. This lifts my spirits. Tbilisi is blessed with lots of trees. Many streets are lined with large trees forming a canopy over the street or at least providing shade and greenery. It softens all the concrete that is here from the Soviet era.
We leave ROG on June 15th. Ron will be closing down the program here and we will fly to Washington DC for Ron to wrap up with Treasury, to turn in his computer and some files. We will have a shipping company do our packing as we are not allowed to do our own packing, probably due to insurance regulations and maybe to ensure that we aren’t taking contraband into the US. We are not allowed to take any food items so I must give up my spices and what is left in the pantry. One of my tasks is to make sure we use up as much food that is in the freezer and panty as we can in this last month. Last night we had guests for dinner so I made a spinach ricotta pie and managed to finish off the kilo bag of spinach. I made my last month’s supply of granola and used up most of the nuts in the freezer. I am making progress.
Today I am going through the closets and taking out all the clothes that we will not need until next fall/winter and putting them in one of the guest rooms for shipping. I need to make two ‘piles’: one for air shipment and one for slow boat shipment. If we are ‘light’ we may get to ship everything air. It turns out to be cheaper if you don’t have a big shipment which we do not. We will have a lot less weight with consumables since we aren’t taking any food. We do still have lots on non food consumables like hand cream, soap, shampoo and the like. We also have added 11 carpets, five pieces of artwork, two small tables and two mafrahes to our load so we will be in suspense as to whether it all goes air or not. It would make life much simpler if it did as we plan to visit family and friends when we return and not knowing when a shipment will turn up makes planning more difficult.
For the past few weeks I have gone through bookshelves, drawers and closets to sort and toss out what we don’t want to ship. I am doing my best to avoid the overwhelming task of getting out of here and remaining stress-free. So far I feel good about the progress. We will also ship Ron’s ‘jeepi’ but that is done on our own and through a different shipping company.
At this point we do not know when the shipper will come. Treasury puts in a request to a logistics company in the US who then contacts the shipper who then contacts us to arrange a date.
May 21, 2011
Just when I thought I had seen it all in terms of bad driving in Georgia yesterday I was astounded to see someone going through an intersection against the light in reverse!!!!!!!! I also saw a man turning onto a major four lane city street with 5-6 year old child in his lap and the child was steering. OY! I have never gotten used to the way Georgians drive and doubt that I ever will.
I went to lunch with my friend Kirsten and her aunt who is visiting from the States. We sat outside at a café on a popular street and were interrupted four times by the same two boys who were begging. After the second time Kirsten said in a loud voice ‘ARA! ARA!’ which means no in Georgian. The older boy shot her a bird, walked off and was back in two minutes begging again. After four times approaching our table and every other table, Kirsten went and asked the manager to call the police. The boys scampered away.
May 25
Yesterday the shipping company reps came over to survey our shipment. This involves walking through the house showing them what is going and what stays. Our house is filled with embassy issued furniture and appliances which remain here. Our walls have many photos that will not be shipped, etc. We asked for a pack out date of June 8th or 9th. On June 10 the facilities maintenance folks from the embassy will come over to check out all the appliances and equipment to make sure they are working. On Monday the 13th we have our embassy inspection showing that all is in order, there is no damage to the house or contents and that we are leaving the place spic and span. Nino, our housekeeper is working hard to clean all the windows inside and out as well as the window iron grates and sills. In between we make trips to the embassy to get ‘checked out’. This is a 15 page document telling us what is required: fill out forwarding address, make a template for labels, turn in our radio (used for emergencies), pay any outstanding bills (we are exempt as Treasury pays all our bills), show that we have no books checked out that have not been returned. Well you get the picture. We decided to start early to avoid any problems getting home. Can you tell we are ready to come home?
Today I worked on the inventory of what we would be shipping, itemizing the items and assigning a value for insurance purposes. What a tedious task!
Our weather is grand: cool mornings and evenings and warm sunny days. This lifts my spirits. Tbilisi is blessed with lots of trees. Many streets are lined with large trees forming a canopy over the street or at least providing shade and greenery. It softens all the concrete that is here from the Soviet era.
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