Friday Jan 4

After a quick breakfast we got right back to opening. The movers came (just 2 this time) and started putting the beds together and picking up the papers. They wanted to leave, and come back for the boxes, but Bob insisted they unpack. So the one guy started opening boxes wherever they sat, and dumping the contents onto bed or floor. The other guy was better; he’d put books on shelves and things. Bob wasn’t happy so called TMO and they had the mover’s boss call them. They slowed down some after that, but it was still a mess. They were just finishing up when the quality control guy came by. He walked through with Bob and apologized for the few goofs, and said they weren’t allowed to put things away. So papers signed and away they went, leaving piles of books, clothes, toys, etc all over the house. It was 3pm and we were hungry, so Bob went up to Cheveley to see what was there. The pub close enough to walk to is closed for the week, but there is a little general store next to the post office. He bought some ham, bread, Pringles and a coke. The ham was fresh and fatty and very good; the bread was heavenly. Each slice was as big as two regular slices, the crust was thin and crispy, and the center was light but chewy. Having learned the hard way that English bread doesn’t have preservatives, I put the leftovers in the fridge.

The rest of the day was spent looking and sorting.

We found the vacuum cleaner, which was wanted because the house had pet hair all over, plus the dirt and dust from the boxes. I plugged it into the transformer, turned it on, and it went wizzzzzz, slience. Tried again, same result. After checking things over we discovered that the vacuum requires 12 amps, and the transformer only gives 10. We’d blown both fuses in the transformer.

Bob had called twice before about our van that we’d shipped over, and was told that is would be here on the 5^th. Trying to decide what to do on Saturday, we called one more time to see if we’d be able to pick up the van. Oh, they say, the ship comes in on the 5^th. They might not unload it until the following Thursday, and then it’s 24 hours before we can pick it up. So there’s another expectation shot down.