Update

Made the move to WordPress. Very nice import function for our blogspot.com posts and full access to all functions behind the firewall.

So, a funny thing happened right after the last post. A truck showed up in front of our building and on this functional truck was a shipping container. Amazingly enough, it was OUR shipping container! The movers took about four hours to get all our stuff through the window with their elevator contraption. They brought a more substantial one this time and it lifted our stuff without complaint. They spent another 3 hours after lunch helping us unpack. This was very good, because we weren’t left with tons of boxes and packing material to dispose of (a problem some of our expat friends have had). Sebastian was very helpful, even putting Sarah’s new bed together.

We are finally living in our apartment! Amazing! Of course, we have no internet access there yet. I have never seen so many wireless networks show up, but they are all locked! The routers seem to come that way here. We have the router for our service, we just need to have the service activated. But first the France Telecom guy needs to “verify” the lines
(whatever). Well, he did that yesterday and the lights on the router seem to indicate that the service is “on”. Now I just need to dig up the piece of paper with our (hopefully) password on it. Like I said, the router is locked from the factory. I can’t even access my own wireless network!

We are also often in the dark. Not because we lack internet access and can’t communicate. I mean literally in the dark. See, when you buy a new house or rent an apartment in the US, you usually have installed light fixtures and lamps. In France, they like to leave you with wires sticking out of the wall. And of course, our lamps don’t like the 220 volt power supply over here. So, we are using two cheapo lamps from Auchan (pronounced oh-shaun) and looking for nice but inexpensive (a rare combo here, let me tell y’all) wall sconces.

Last night was spent entertaining Carlos & Ana and their kids who just arrived in Paris on Monday! We hope their adventure won’t be as “adventurous” as ours was! Sarah and Javi and the twins had fun building forts, chasing the cats and having screaming contests. What is it with girls & screaming? The adults drank some wine and ate chocolate and traded horror stories about the “Expat” experience.

Flumpy spent the night in the stairwell that goes to our back door. She snuck out while the FT guy was checking the lines, or taking a pee, or whatever he was doing back there. I figured she was just in deep hiding after having four kids chase her around. But she never fails to sleep with us, so I knew something was wrong. I had to move the washer & dryer out of the way to open the door. They were already askew, but the FT guy was a lot skinnier (like all Parisians) than me. I could hear a distant meowing down the stairs. Flumpy eventually found her way up, looking a little gray (not too clean back there). Not cobwebs, but a nice even gray. Maybe Flossy will clean her up.

And then puke all over the new furniture.