The Rubber Chicken has arrived, safe and sound...

Woohoo! On Saturday we received our 7 boxes of personal belongings that we had packed and shipped from home in early July. Some of you will remember the struggle we had to get our goods from Lakefield to the shipping company in Miami to get it into the larger container of school supplies and personal effects of other new teachers destined for Academia Cotopaxi in Quito. After packing up 8 boxes, including my teaching tools (e.g. professional books, posters, rubber chicken, lycra tube, koosh balls, etc.), kitchen ware (e.g. muffin tin, garlic press, magic bullet, etc.), extra clothes, footwear, bedding for guests, etc. and delivering them to Purolator in mid-June, we got them back because they couldn't clear them through US customs. So, we then mailed two boxes to Miami with Canada Post (see all the stamps they needed to put on the boxes!!!), and my mother and I drove the other boxes across the border to UPS in Watertown with NO problem at all. We have now unpacked the boxes, made our home more comfortable, fixed up my classroom/office really nicely (picture to follow later) and I am ready to start school tomorrow (Sept. 3, i.e. no Labour Day long weekend here).