Random Objects

As the daughter of a naval captain, I'm no stranger to packing up and moving on. Every few years, I'd go through my possessions and separate them into piles for packing, my suitcase, and to give away. Moving to Australia (on our own dime) was rather different, but as we had very little time to get organised, I had a lot of help - and offers of storage space from family. Thanks, family!

It's funny, the things you take with you, the things that you know will make your new place feel like home. Here are a few of the odds and ends that, for one reason or another, made the trek down under.

Cat-Duck and friend. Cat-Duck was a birthday present from my roommate who insisted I had everything. I figured I'd need something ridiculous to unpack.

The only books I brought with me (minus two novels I've since given away).

On top is the "Julie" book that's been everywhere with me, and on the bottom, my university writer's guide and Canadian Press Stylebook. I was sure I'd need those in my new role as sales & marketing coordinator, and I have used them many times! In the middle are devotionals and my Bible, followed by two of my favourite novels, The Birth House and The Law of Dreams (a gift from my sister).

Davey and the First Christmas

My family reads this every Christmas Eve, and it wouldn't be the holidays without it. A couple years ago, when my Mom realised we all had our own houses and hers would be in Italy and her daughters' in Canada, she looked EVERYWHERE for more copies of the book, but there was only one to be had on eBay, and it seems to have gone out of copyright. So she carefully took the original book apart and had it colour-photocopied, pop-ups and all, and assembled one for each family. The book has been a tradition since my Mom and her three siblings were small, so it means a lot to me.

Pudding Squared

When Jody and I were dating we spent three months working together in South Africa. I was a bit homesick - it was the first time I'd left Canada in five years. At the mall one day, he saw this adorable moose with its fuzzy ears and scarf. I named it Pudding, because it was the colour of chocolate mousse (ha ha) and dessert in South Africa is known as pudding. When I left Johannesburg three weeks ahead of Jody, Pudding was stuffed into my carry-on, which was so full, the airline check-in host asked to see what was inside. (This was in late August of 2006, just as airport security was starting to allow carry-ons again, in the wake of the liquid explosive terrorist plot.) She didn't quite know what to say to a 20-something with a stuffie in her bag.

One of two Batiks bought in a South African market.

We brought them over flat and I had the fabric mounted on wood frames in Sydney. I've bought or framed art on every anniversary we've spent in Australia (that's three!).

KitchenAid grater, jewelled pie server, and "Small Mashy."

The last time I left a grater in storage it rusted, and the weight was negligible, so we packed the KitchenAid one in our air freight, along with the other items in the photo. The pie server - I'm not sure why we brought it, except it was a wedding gift (as was the grater) so it was new and it's always nice to have something pretty to serve guests with. Unfortunately it is underused. We brought Jody's good knives too but left the block behind. "Small Mashy" is the best potato masher ever, and has already survived two roommate purges. But that is a story for another time.