And then she gave away the dead pansies....

Over the years I have had some infamous yard sales. There was the one where I sold just enough stuff to buy a new TV. (I believe that was $327 to be exact) Then the one in Belmont before we moved into our first purchased home was remembered for me selling the flowers right out of the front flower beds. But I think this one has to be in the record books too.

Someone said you can't have a yard sale on Memorial Day weekend. What were they thinking? We had our largest crowd yet!

From 7:15 to 10:57 the driveway was packed! Mom and Dad thankfully helped haul, hustle, and negotiate the sale of just about everything that had made it's way onto a list or into a pile. Now it might be awkward tonight sitting in the living room with no lamps or a rug, but the satisfaction of knowing we have made a huge dent in the gobs of stuff is wonderful!

Of course, the climax is when you sell the pond out of your yard. Three fish included! I really am wondering how we are going to do this. How do you move a 8 ft. dinghy that has been settling for years in the front bed. It has about 100 lbs of gravel in it too!

Who said you can't find treasures at a yard sale?

No not the puppy - she's mom's new baby. Isabelle has however found several items that she thought she really needed out of the yard sale pile. Or, from the neighbors' yard! I think the boys next door were still playing with the dodge ball - oops! The pail however has been the biggest success. It kept her entertained most of the morning, watching it rock back and forth on the hardwood floors. Her bark seemed to make it go on and on and on.....

Orchestra Season Ends

After a year of Saturdays, Sarah's final concert was Monday night. She has really enjoyed performing at Armstrong and we hope to find her a similar program in Hong Kong. This is her ensemble group.

Black Rain, Concrete and Fog OH MY!

I experienced my first true rain storm in Hong Kong last night. Hong Kong is known for very powerful rainstorms. So powerful they have very descriptive names like Red Rain and Black Rain. The locals tell me when the Black Rain comes – and it will I have been assured - that everyone stays home and huddles in their flats (apartment for those of you from Alabama). When I asked are you kidding me? Surely it can’t be that bad that it needs a name like “Black Rain”. Evidently it rains so hard that it washes away the hill sides and floods the streets of downtown. To protect many of the hillsides in Hong Kong the government has covered them in expansive amounts of concrete. Nothing like a little concrete to highlight the natural flora and fauna! All modes of public transportation come to a halt and Taxi drives raise their rates over 500% to get you home safely. The term “Black” is meant to be ominous and we should take it very serious!
So I am not real sure what time it was but it was very dark. I was woken to the loud crash and bright light of a tremendous thunderstorm. Seeing this from the 27th floor of my flat was quite the sight and each time lightening would strike it would light up the interior of my bedroom like an old flash bulb going off. Of course in my sleep deprived haze it did not occur to me to get out the camera. But this image is what I awoke to. The water in the harbor was very calm and there was this eerie fog hugging the mountains of Hong Kong Island in the distance. The calm after the storm I guess. On a clear day – very few here in East Asia because of the pollution from 7 million people living within 100 square miles (I am sure somehow this is George Bushe’s fault) - you can see Hong Kong island and the tall buildings from where our Flat is in Discovery Bay. Today was one of those days although accentuated by the fog. Beautiful and eerie at the same time. Oh the joys of living in paradise!

The Book of Lists

1. I feel like I am preparing a new version of this all time favorite classic of non-sense. Every day I am preparing a new "list." When moving over seas, it is important to stay organized and on task. Thus, the importance of the list. However, now I need a list of lists! There are:

things to do before the last day of work

things to tell my replacement at work

things I should blog about

medical visits, immunizations and records

clothes to buy

people to see

"CRAP" to sell

"More CRAP" to buy

and it goes on. Fortunately, I got through an important list today. The list, "what to ship to Hong Kong" was months in the making. It was in my head, on paper, on another sheet of paper (lost the first one), on yet another sheet of paper (Second one went to HK with Tom), spread all over my dining room, inventoried in detail in my journal, written on the bill of lading, and filed with the shipping company's insurance. Now that one list has become a check mark on yet another LIST!

Licensed to Travel

Had to be home to sign for a Fed Ex package today. It was our Visas!
Now visas are a tricky thing.
First Tom applied for his. It required a letter of sponsorship from SCAD (to prove he had a job over there), passport numbers, passport pictures, copies of our banking history (to prove we could afford to live there) and who knows what else. Next we had to wait until we were in the "window" (you can not apply too soon or too late). Sarah, Madison, and I all needed to basically go through the same steps. This time Tom is our sponsor, but all the other hoops had to be repeated. And voila!, four weeks later we receive these little stickers to put in our passports.
While I am on my third passport in the last twenty three years (each one gets a little more hideous), this is my first visa. I hope that our girls are getting as excited as we are.