Moving Already

It just doesn't seem that long ago since we were writing blogs about figuring out how to use the washer and dryer and dealing with waterfalls in the bathroom. Now I'm already writing about packing up to move away! Tomorrow the movers come to pack and load up our belongings. And even 18 months later, we are still dealing with frustrating household mishaps.

This week, Erin has already had adventures in defrosting the freezer, breaking the kitchen ceiling light fixture, and trying to use up the money on our chip cards with little success. And it's only Monday.

So, really the only thing left in the freezer by Saturday night were some salmon fillets (after Erin threw away almost everything else). Our freezer is only three drawers, not very big. Erin figured it couldn't take that long to defrost the thing, so she wrapped the salmon in paper and towels to insulate it as well as possible and stuck it in the fridge while she defrosted the freezer. After a couple hours, it looked as if the freezer shelves might not all defrost as fast as she had first imagined. About half the freezer had thawed in the first 30 minutes, but the last 1 1/2 shelves seemed pretty solidly frozen. The salmon would not last all night in the fridge. Since it was already 11 p.m., Erin decided to take action. A hairdryer melted the rest of the freezer shelves in about 15 minutes flat, and the salmon was saved. In fact, Erin enjoyed some of the salmon for dinner last night since, after all, there isn't much time left to enjoy it anyway!

Erin didn't really break the kitchen ceiling light fixture...it just stopped working. The kitchen light switch turns on the ceiling fixture and some lights under the cabinets. Everything was turned on and Erin left the kitchen for a while. Then Erin returned later to the kitchen to find only the lights under the cabinets on. Hmmm. It's highly unlikely that all four bulbs went out at the same time (especially since they are all bulbs that should last for 2 years). Still, Erin ventured out today to find light bulbs (easier said than done). The stores nearest our apartment were out of the specific kind she was looking for. Erin felt pretty certain that none of the bulbs were really burned out anyway, so she only went to one other place. Thankfully, they had the bulbs. A few minutes ago, Erin tested the new light bulb theory. Sure enough...no luck. The lights still don't work. This adds a positive point to moving out this week: Erin will not have to find someone to come fix the lights, be home waiting for them to come for an entire day, and e-mail back and forth to the landlord figuring out who he wants to use to fix this problem and who pays for it.

The chip cards are another story. Our bank cards have chips in them that we load with money, so we can use it like cash. Erin has had a hard time getting the cards to work in the machines she tried to use, and not many stores actually take payment by chip (at least not the stores Erin frequents). And now that she is busy organizing things and getting ready to leave, she doesn't really have all that much time to go shopping. Guess we will have the delight of dealing with the bank here in the Netherlands for some time after we are back living in the U.S.

We're sure the next few days will hold more fun and surprises. Unfortunately, after the movers come, Erin will no longer have her computer. So, sadly, this is the final post coming to you from the Netherlands. After all the moving craziness, we will have time to post more on our reflections of the last 18 months. Suffice it to say for now that our European Adventures have definitely changed us. We look forward to the next great adventure!