Boxes in the Mail - Part Two

Yesterday was a very nice day, mail-wise. I am expecting something from amazon.com - a Christmas present for Mel, so I was not surprised that we had a notice in our mailbox that there was a box to pick up. I was surprised to discover that I had forgotten (forgotten!!!!) that two other people said they were sending us something. Sheeesh. Short term memory loss. Ha!

I took the slip of paper and went to stand in line. There was a guy standing there, probably in his late 20's or early 30's and I really wasn't sure if he was in line or not. I mean, he wasn't actually touching the person in front of him, nor was he actually standing close to that woman, but had at least 2 feet of room in-between. I asked him if he was last. Yes, he was last. I stood behind him. The older man at the counter finished his business and the next woman stepped over in front of the window, the gal behind her slid over beside her at the counter and the guy didn't move. However, one of the women sitting on one of the two stools at the table got up and stood behind the gal and in front of the guy. She was not taking chances that I was going to take her place! :)

Lyuda was there in the back office. Lyuda is the woman in charge of the whole operation at our little post office. She came out, said something to the older woman who was paying her bills, something about her pension it sounded like, glanced at me, nodded her head and smiled, then disappeared back into her office. She came back and motioned me to the counter, in-between the gal and the woman who had stood up.

Lyuda handed me two sheets of paper, both about 5x6 inches square and told me I had two (emphasis on the TWO) boxes at the post office in the center of the city that we needed to pick up. I smiled and said, "Thank you!" and we left.

Two boxes? Oh, that's right - I was notified that amazon.com had shipped my order in two separate shipments. But amazon.com orders are always picked up at my little local post office, so these must be something else....

Oh yes!!! How could I forget! I was getting boxes from my sister and Olya! Both had written to ask me/tell me about wanting to send something. Duh!

Mel and I continued on our way to the store, bought the groceries that we needed, brought them home and then he took off for the city center post office.

About half an hour or 45 minutes later he called me. "TWO boxes you said? You told me there were TWO boxes? Ha! I'm coming home in a taxi, meet me outside in about 8 minutes and make sure the door is open."

Boy did that arouse my curiosity. :) :) :) I took off my inside-only shoes, put on my outside-only shoes, grabbed a light jacket and went outside to wait. About 5 minutes later he pulled up in the taxi. The taxi driver got out, opened the trunk and there were 4 (four) boxes!

Mel would have been able to carry they all in except that the smallest one was heavy and kept slipping off the others and he couldn't see around it while he was walking. Not knowing for sure what was in it, he didn't want it to fall and possibly have something break inside.

So, I carried up the lightest one and he carried up the rest.

And then it got all Christmas-y here in the living room. :) Cheyenne jumped up on boxes and sniffed them real good, approved our opening of them and then inspected the contents very carefully.

I opened the first two boxes from my sister, Heidie, first because I knew what was in them and I was really curious to see them in real life and not just photos in emails (see Part One for photo). The other two - well, I had an idea of what might possibly be in the heavy one, so I opened it, wondering for sure as to what it would be. Olya had written and asked for suggestions and I sent her a list of things we cannot buy here, but would be nice to have especially this time of year. Ta Da!!! Powdered Sugar!!! (Christmas cookies here we come! Frosted, cut-out in different shapes that I love to make every year!!!) Brown sugar!! Shredded coconut!!! Yum yum - I love coconut. Construction paper (I had just been wishing 24 hours earlier that I had some for the craft project we are doing in Sunday School). Colored pencils. Oh hear a happy sigh!

I let Mel open the last box, from Grace Presbyterian Church in Yorba Linda, CA. They had also written and Mel had sent them a response. I had read the response, but it totally slipped my mind in all that has been going on recently. That is nice - forgetting things like this at this time of year - because then it really is a surprise. Peanut butter - lots of peanut butter. And 3 wrapped presents that look a lot, and feel a lot like books. Oh - we will wait till Christmas to open them, but I am already itching to see what they are! Now, the peanut butter we can buy here - sometimes - but it is really expensive when we do find it. I don't make things like peanut butter cookies with it, but use it sparingly. So, now at this holiday season I plan to make peanut butter cookies!!! With M&M's in some of them. Oh - and there was also molasses, which I've already put away in the kitchen - also an item that we cannot buy here, so molasses cookies are also on the menu for the holiday season.

Happy sighs. I look forward to having people over. Gals to help me make cookies. The English class to help us eat them. Making cookies to take to Sunday School and church. And so forth and so on.

Wow. This is FUN!

(Somehow I never dreamed before coming to Ukraine, that opening a box and finding brown sugar, powdered sugar and peanut butter in it would make me ecstatic. My, how life has changed! hahahahahahahah)