Moving Day April 27th, violent storm; strong wind, lashing rain.  Not the right day to move. Extra cellophane packing to try to preserve the most important things from the wet, but for the two block trek from apartment to truck, umbrellas were all there were.......then the cleaning lady called with a migraine. Maybe the horrors of the day mirror the wrench of leaving Kobe, beautiful, wonderful Kobe.

Calls from really old friends, like friends over the whole 34 years, made the moving day nicer, and a good friend held my hand via e-mail through the whole thing.  Plus there will be champagne tonight!

If I'd known then what I know now.......I really need to make the booklet, "Leaving Japan for Dummies" just in case there might be anyone as clueless as I was then. So much basic information NOT in the CHIC list or other lists for those making an international move..... knowing the questions to ask is a lot of it, too.

In Blog 7, there was the question, "Anybody putting down bets on how many boxes I will have?" And the answer is ....62. Yep, 34 years in 62 boxes. 42 packed by me and 20 packed by the movers.

                                    There is no Lid on the Sea installment is packed, so here is something from The Haunting of L. by Howard Norman: "I had arrived in Churchill, Manitoba . . . located on the western shore of Hudson's Bay at the mouth of the Churchill River. In summer white Beluga whales abound. Churchill's residents maintain a frontier spirit, in a town where Eskimos and Cree Indians thrive at the outskirts, and best understand the beautiful starkness of the surrounding tundra and sea. The occasional polar bear saunters past the Post Office. . . .  Petchey said, 'My point is, Churchill's a place where you've got to get truly acquainted with yourself. Be your own best friend. See how deep your well runs. Are you resourceful, I'm talking about.'"<***>

          --This sort of thing is for the movers to pack; friends advised doing it myself....but there was not enough energy in the universe to manage. I hear the crinkle of paper as I write this.

           --Need to know what things cost, like this price on the back of my Chinese scroll bought in Peking when it still was Peking...now what was the Chinese renminbi rate in 1978?