Fragile

We're pretty much all moved into our HK apartment now. I mean sure, there's still some "decorating" to do but the boxes are all gone. We've found a home for almost everything and if we haven't, it's been stored (read: chucked in the maid's room where it's out of sight) until we find the right space. I took a couple quick snaps of the boxes when they first got here and after reviewing the state of our well-traveled items, I was rather elated at the low percentage of casualties we suffered. I think we only lost about 3 plates. Not bad considering it looked like they had played football with our china set all the way over to HK!! For your amusement, I've added some visuals:

Can you see the black container that we couldn't find a lid for? Our solution = a few bin liners, some cardboard and a bunch of duct tape. We = hobos. No wonder these people thought they could throw our stuff around.

I love how all our worldly possessions, everything we owned in the world, fit snugly into one third of our living room area. To be fair, I came to North Carolina with naught but a lap top and a fistful of cash, so I've accumulated (hoarders beware!).

A close up of one of our porcelain filled boxes.

From this angle you can really get the idea of what a miracle it was we didn't just have a boxful of shards.

The first casualty.

The second casualty was ME!! 

At this point I decided to concentrate on what I was doing and got lost in the whole "Christmas morning" feel of opening my wrapped parcels to reveal much beloved and long lost items. My heart still hurts when I think of the one box they failed to deliver. Yes. We did lose a whole box. Now I have several lids to which there are no pots. The saddest part is that the pots were wedding gifts from my sisters-in-law. It's hard for me to even mention it now. It has taken me months (and about 200 pep talks) to get over it, and the mystery items I will never see again. Obviously, the only thing I really cared about were the pots. They were all I could think about when waiting for the shipment to arrive because I love to cook and we love to eat, let's face it, pots are a kitchen essential. Not to mention, I get very sentimentally attached to stuff. I have offered up at least 20 of our other boxes (mostly full of books) that I would gladly hurl off a ship into the ocean if you would just give me that ONE box with my pots. On my last trip back to the States, I swallowed my sadness and went shopping for new pots ( gotta LOVE Home Goods)  but I still have the lids to the old ones. I will have to let them go soon. If only from fear of what becomes of a "hoarder"...