Sunday, August 23, 2009

It's That Time of Year Again

. . . when expats' thoughts turn to shopping lists and packing two tons of Very Important Stuff into too-small bags and asking themselves how seriously over-weight WILL those suitcases be?

I sent The Spouse back to Moscow today with

*A fencing helmet, protective clothing, and a chest protector
*Items purchased from Ann Taylor and Victoria's Secret for a friend of ours (she bought them, we're just delivering)
*School supplies . . . sooooo much cheaper at Target than at World of Books in Moscow. Not to mention sooooo much calmer shopping in July instead of The Day Before School Starts.
*A cardboard cat scratching box. It's a clever thing that one of our evil cats actually uses, sparing our fine IKEA furniture.

His bags totaled something like 48 or 61 pounds. It seemed to change. But the Nice Lady at Check-In didn't say "boo" about it. Hurray.

I will be packing the following later this week:
*Two rubber spatulas. Mine died.
*A ginormous Zip-lock bag filled with Splenda packets.
*Some sort of little video recording camera type doo-hicky-gadget for a friend.
*A year's supply (I hope) of my Preferred Brand and Flavor of Lady Products. Maybe this menopause thing will start to work in my favor for once, and I'll get to stop importing these.
*Cough medicine. Extra strength. It's not that the Russians don't make cough medicine. I just wasn't terribly impressed. Didn't like what the Brits sold me last winter either. I wanna be silent as the tomb.
* Industrial-sized bottle of Febreeze. See earlier "cat-astrophe" blog entries.

Yet to be purchased: appropriate measuring cups. Like what Ina Garten uses. Not those dumb collapsible ones that seem to be all the rage these days. Does anyone actually use these things? I could see a college student-type buying a set once. But I can't imagine anyone ever buying these a second time. Aren't they going to wear out instantly? I already balked at the $30 price tag for the nice stainless steel ones. But it isn't like I never cook, right?

Oh, and today, I acquired a Ganesh pendant. He's the Lord of Obstacles and a Patron of Letters. Seemed like just the thing for me.

Departure: Thursday. We arrive in Moscow on Friday.

This event is coming up shortly upon our return. See anyone you recognize?

12 comments:

JuliaDeVillers said...

Have a wonderful trip! And look forward to hearing more of your adventures....

valentina said...

Glad Da got off well. Hope Skittles is really truly better. Please stock up on that migraine stuff now that we have finally figured out how to get it down her little gullet.

Baboo should be excited about the new fencing gear!

I had a great time with MC in Col as I did with all of you R-Ss last night.


I am sorry that you are going so soon. It seems soon, but alas school is just around the corner.

I brought some catnip back from MC's so the cats are good and stoned now.

Now I'm going out for dinner with Paul and Billie to celebrate the new house. They are actually moved in and living there!

Hooray for that. WE all know the American trauma is not marriage or divorce but is moving...

May your return to Moscow go well. I'll see you on FB, the Beet or email. Thank the universe for email or at least all those geeky nerds who thought it up for us! Kisses you and my girls. xxxxxoooov

Tina in CT said...

You pack light. I'm used to my living room being turned into a warehouse full of "stuff", cardboard boxes bought at the UPS Store and luggage.

When Tamara goes, each suitcase or box is right to the limit.

Enjoy your last few days and have a safe trip back.

Andrea said...

You can't wait to get back, right? Especially now that you really truly are famous! Last year an interview on TV, now being exhibited at MMOA!!!
I brought back 100 kgs last week - well, the three of us did. But now I don't have to go shopping here till Christmas except for groceries. See you soon.

Miss Kim said...

Great post.... it could be turned into a book-- "What Expats Can't Live Without"! For me, after almost 15 years abroad, there isn't too much that I really must put in my suitcase anymore. One thing I always stuff in at the last minute are Ziplock bags- every size.
I also bought 4 sets of beautiful measuring cups and spoons- pink ones in aid of breast cancer research. Love em!

Love your blog... keep it going :)
Kim (in Albania)

MoscowMom said...

I keep wanting to go to that exhibit! It sounds really interesting! How cool that you're in it :-) I might actually just take my 10th graders and figure out how to make it tie in to class... Maybe an essay or oral presentation on their lives as foreigners in the other countries they visit (many of them have second homes elsewhere and spend significant periods of time themselves as "expats").

Tina in CT said...

What did I miss? You're in an exhibit in Moscow? What is the exhibit and what do you have in it? Will it still be there when I'm in Moscow for Xmas?

The Flip Side. . .Or Maybe Not said...

How cool! (re exhibit)

turan_dot said...

will you put the event on expat.ru?

The Expatresse said...

I can't believe it is not already there . . . I haven't looked at the site for a while.

Tina in CT said...

As I write this, you and the girls are probably arriving on the flight that gets in around 10:00 from JFK. Hope your trip was smooth and that you got some shut eye on the flight over from the US.

Happy unpacking later today.

Your cats will be very happy to have you back and hope they have been better behaved than earlier in the summer.

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