Friday, February 28, 2020

Yesses and nos from our move back to the US

Blah, blah, blah! :) 

1.     No, you cannot stay in the same hotel as when you arrived in Stuttgart with your 3 cats, now you can only have 2 cats in the hotel. Weeellll, you could ask for an exception to policy over in this other building and they might say yes to the same 3 cats as before. You will have to go to that other building and talk to some other people to get a letter signed by the commander. Good luck with that.
Stuttgart hotel on the way out
2.     No, you cannot pick up your rental car because the building is closed, even though the website says it was supposed to be open. We don’t care that you did a lot of research in order to find the correct vehicle (van for your move) at a location and time that works. You can surely rent another vehicle at a different location that is open now, and you will pay more than double the original reservation rate because this is last minute. It is NOT the fault of the rental company that the location closed early.
Got new pads for the insides of the cat carriers, and someone went in voluntarily!
3.     Yes, you can take one of your cats in the airplane cabin with you. No, you cannot pay the fee for the cats ahead of time, you can only do that at the airport immediately before the flight. It doesn’t matter that the cats have to be in their cages more than 3 hours before the 6 hour flight because of this payment rule. No, you cannot pay for all 3 cats in the same airport location. You can pay for the 2 going in the cargo hold in one spot, then you can go somewhere else in the airport to pay for the one in the cabin with you. Then you can bring that receipt back to the cargo section. What, you want this to be convenient?
4.     YES, you can sell BOTH your cars QUICKLY for a fair asking price by placing them on the lemon lot for a $30 fee- you've got the spot on the lemon lot for 2 weeks. NOOOO, you cannot put the second car in the first car’s spot after the first car sells within 48 hours. You have to pay a second $30 fee. Ha ha. At least your cars sold quickly and without problems. Be grateful and don’t complain.
5.     No, the new dentist’s office cannot open the thumb drive with your dental records from Germany. Yes, it was a clever idea but our computers are not compatible. Bring us your x-rays by e-mail or get new x-rays.
6.     NOOOOO, your new vehicle will not be ready as promised, even though you ordered it way ahead of time from Germany. You are just going to have to drive a rental car for weeks on end. Weeeellllll, we can look around for an old car to loan you for a week, then you are on your own. Weeeeellllll, maybe you can keep the old loaner for a bit longer during the delay. OOOOOPS, your new car did not have all the features and benefits that you thought you ordered. 
I approve of this windowsill at Hanscom, MA
7.     NO, we cannot tell you when your furniture will arrive. It is irrelevant that your furniture has been in the port of Baltimore for over a week, we still cannot tell you when you will get it. Your mandatory delivery date is 2 months after everything was picked up. We realize you have been living in an empty house, but you will get your stuff when you get it, with very little advance notice. Just sit tight (on the floor).
We like to wrestle, all the better if it leaves lots of dark hair on the light carpet
8.     Yes, your SIM card from the US will work the minute you land in Boston – YAY!
9.     Yes, your ATM card and credit card will work so you can buy food and cat litter – YAY!

10.  Yes, the military hotel in Massachusetts can accommodate all 3 cats just like they did when you moved away in 2015 – YAY! See windowsill photo above & another in the post from 2015 (linked in previous sentence).

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Wildlife around here

This post is written by Sidney and Ida, the cats of Brownville, NY! Well, we made it over ok from Germany. Please don’t ever make us get into a plane again! Sebastian did ok, too, but he went to cat heaven before Christmas. We miss him - he was 19 years old, so it’s ok.
There are lots of new and unusual pawprints in the snow around our house. We didn’t get too much snow in Germany and definitely not so many wild animals (besides us). A couple of weeks ago, this guy/gal was hanging out next to our shed. 


I went hoarse (again)- this is Sidney- after chittering at this bunch in the neighbor’s yard! I laughed as they chased the crows, squirrels and jays near the feeders and around the trees! Then I laughed as they ran up the slight hill behind our house, and then back down the hill to rejoin their friends.



Next, here is someone walking along our closed garage door:


Human grandpa says it’s a fisher. Then, the herd was back, and this time they crossed the street, but nobody knows why. We have at least 4 huge blue jays, several active squirrels, and other smaller birds that hang around. 


I miss the huge windows in Germany (this is Ida). I used to be able to look straight out into the back yard from the bed where we lived before here. I don’t look out the windows so much any more, but I LOOOOOOVE rolling around on these wall to wall shag carpets! What’s up with that? They have to vacuum all the time – ha ha. I also like the fireplace, even though it’s gas. Nice and cozy.
me playing with a stuffed mouse from Dubuque! good thing our most important cat toys were on the plane with us!