Our Stuff Arrives!

Finding a place for everything...

It only took 11 weeks, but our shipment from the US finally arrives (I say "only" with some sarcasm, since our stuff sat in our hometown warehouse for five weeks for no good reason...but that's another story).  Interestingly, other than my quilting stuff, I missed our dishes the most.  I don't know why...it's not like I love cooking & having dinner parties.  Maybe I was getting tired of our two plates, three forks, and one drinking glass?  Though that was it's own fun, too.  And take out containers - we always celebrated when we got a plastic bowl.  They were only good for about three times in the microwave - then they would start to dissolve.  Who knows how much BPA we ate?  

Since I found a good price for a roast at the Japan Costco, I decided to make a real "home cooked" meal since my kitchen stuff arrived.  Because of the differences in electricity I didn't bring my slow cooker to Tokyo.  That's the only way I've ever cooked roast beef, so I had to check with my mother and look online to find recipes on cooking a roast in the oven.  I started by searing the vegetables and beef on high....just like the recipe said.  Then I deglazed the pan with wine....just like the recipe said.  Fire!  Fire!  I immediately shut off the gas, yell for Steve, and look for a lid to smother the flames, but it's out before Steve & the lid are available.  The good news is that the sprinkler system over the stove did not go off, nor did I cause the apartment building to evacuate!  I was even able to use the liquid still in the pan on the roast (which ended up coming out okay, but not as good as in the slow cooker).  It happened so quick, I couldn't tell what caused the fire - there was hot oil in the pan with the wine, and I'm pretty sure the flames were orange, not blue.  Either way, maybe we should just stick to going out to eat for dinner...

Awesome handy man!

The king size bed arrives with the shipment, which I bought at an Ikea in the US (right after dropping Steve off at the airport for his move to Tokyo).  It's difficult to find a king size bed in Japan, and very expensive when you do find them, so we just had it brought over with our container.  Ikea Japan doesn't even sell king size beds.  Steve is becoming an expert on putting together furniture!  And no more air mattress!



Speaking of beds, Tahoe is happy to finally have her fluffy dog bed!

So comfy!

Tie-Dye just wants to escape from all  the chaos.

Hiding under the kitchen table

Hiding under the side table

Also very important - the wine arrives safely! 


And I finally have a quilting studio again.

Home, sweet home!