Summer Time!

Well, it's not really summer time since it's nearing the end of October (can you belive it's already October 27?!?) but the weather in Amsterdam the last two days could fool you! It has been cloudless, sunny, and around 70 degrees. That calculation is in Farenheit since it still takes too long for Erin to convert to/from Celsius.

Of course, last week it was in the 50's during the day and it rained for four days straight so we finally went on the dreaded shopping trip Saturday to buy coats. (By last Saturday the shipping company still could not tell us when our shipment, including our coats, might be delivered.) We once firmly believed Texas was the only place where weather could change so drastically without a moment's notice. After this past week in Amsterdam, we feel Texas is not alone in unusual weather phenomena.

Just in time for the summer weather, our shipment arrived! The coats and sweaters we so desperately longed for a week ago are sitting unworn and unappreciated in our closets. We will be sure to appreciate all those winter clothes if the weather becomes more seasonable! As the Dutch quickly point out, "It's nice weather today, but tomorrow it will be cold/rainy/windy/dark."

Bright and early Wednesday morning, the movers arrived with our container of goods. This is, we think, the first time anyone has arrived on time, even early, for an appointment. The company told us our shipment would come between 8 and 9, and when John was leaving for work at 7:55 he looked out the window to see the container already sitting in the street! By 9:30 the movers had carried all the boxes up and unloaded everything onto every available table, countertop, and piece of floor existing in our apartment. The only damaged item was our particle board computer desk, so we'll be off to IKEA once again next weekend. Oh, and our filing cabinet is MIA. We were never sure if it fit in the container to make the trip over here but we never heard otherwise. We are currently trying to locate this item. If anyone reading theblog has seen our four-drawer wooden filing cabinet hand-stained by John himself, please let us know.

Erin spent all of Wednesday trying to find places for all our "new" items. After living so long in a relatively empty apartment, things seem a bit crowded now, but we know we will get used to our homey apartment soon. Just looking at all our books on the bookshelf, seeing our own pictures decorating the walls and table, using familiar cooking items in the kitchen, and listening to our own music rather than Dutch radio is putting a smile on our faces. Speaking of music, John is already playing piano again on the electric keyboard we bought before moving. It's not quite like the grand piano at home, but the piano sound is surprisingly realistic.

As a side note, Erin interviewed with the church today to be part of the counseling ministry and got the job...or the volunteer position to be more precise. She should be seeing clients in a few weeks.

Also, no news on the ring, but there are a lot of people praying for us to find it and many people have told us stories of lost rings that took several months to turn up so we've not given up hope completely yet.