Tied in Knots

Paperwork Nightmares

Paperwork is the bane of the Foreign Service life, it is however a necessary evil, and as such is the subject of this week’s FS Weekly Blog Roundup. Becky at Small Bits is hosting this week so make sure to click over on Friday to read about all the paperwork that goes hand in hand with living the FS life.

I am very, very lucky in that my husband, the employee, has control freak tendencies when it comes to paperwork so I rarely have to deal with it at all. He does it all for us. Just one more reason I love him.

Right now we are dealing with two ongoing paperwork issues. One issue concerns Dakota, and the other one concerns our pets. To be fair only one of those paperwork issues is State generated but both are beyond belief frustrating.

Let's start with the animals. Due to all sorts of things going wrong our animals ended up being left behind at my mother's house last summer. I am one of those people who is never really truly happy without her fur kids, so number one priority this summer is getting the cat and possibly the puppy* to post. The problem is the animals are in Texas, and due to heat issues they can't fly as accompanied baggage or cargo this time of year, it’s simply too hot. No problem! We'll take the cat in-cabin as a carryon, not ideal considering the length of the flight, but better than no cat. The other half of the problem occurs when the flight lands in Africa, Johannesburg does not allow animals to arrive in cabin, they must arrive as cargo. ARRRGH! I know of at least one other family going round in circles trying to get their animals to Malawi. You would think no one had ever brought a pet to post before. There has got to be a way to get at least the cat here with us. I am hoping for a miracle in the next 6 weeks.

The other paperwork issue is even more frustrating. As long term readers know Dakota left for bootcamp in early December. When a diplokid grows up and heads off to college they get a college shipment. It is a small shipment, only 250 pounds, but enough to at least get their clothes and a few personal items to campus. Recruits are not allowed to take anything to bootcamp, so we didn’t even think about this at the time. Now that bootcamp is over Dakota would really like to have his stuff back. We really didn’t think it would be a problem to get stuff sent to him using the college shipment, we were wrong. Why we thought anything would ever be simple I have no earthly idea.

To start with Dakota left Malawi on Navy orders, with a ticket bought by the Navy. Standard procedure for recruits reporting to bootcamp. We had no idea what a headache this would cause later. When we tried to arrange for the shipment we were told he isn’t eligible for a shipment since he is still at post. Explaining that he isn’t at post but in the states serving in the Navy didn’t get us far. There were no orders cut, no ticket bought with State funds, therefore he is still at post and doesn’t need a shipment. David has had this conversation in many forms, with many different people, and at this point it doesn’t appears as if this situation is going to be resolved any time soon. I will be hand carrying the most important items home with me this summer, and that may be all he gets. I know it is bit unusual, but surely Dakota isn’t the first diplobrat in history of the Foreign Service to join the military rather than heading off to college, there has to be some way to get his junk our of our house and off to his barracks room.

If anyone out there has any idea how to solve either issues please Please PLEASE let us know!

*The cat we have had for 10 years and he is much beloved. The puppy was a new addition to the family last summer but at this point is no longer a puppy and has never been around kids, except for a brief time last summer when he basically terrified of my boys, but he was a little puppy so he could be socialized and trained adapt to the kids. We will have to see how he handles the rowdy boys this summer, but also we have to consider that he is shorter than the gap under the security gate so he will be a high maintenance kind of pet, never able to go outside alone or even off leash. There are packs of scary dogs and the occasional hyena that roam the streets around here at night. It would be bad to have to explain to the kids that a hyena ate their dog. I am thinking we will be finding him a good, loving home this summer. Anyone want a not-a-puppy-anymore Japanese Chin?

Stanley Update

I have to bring you some bad news. Stanley has passed on to where ever wind scorpions go when they die. RIP Stanley. The boys sill miss you. I'm just praying all those eggs don't hatch. Does anyone out there happen to know how long it will take the eggs to hatch?

Stanley Update

Stanely laid eggs. It is reproducing. Oh yay! In case you missed it, this is Stanley, she lives in my living room. I can't tell you how excited I am by this blessed development. More Stanleys. I can't wait.



This morning when I drank my coffee and read a few blogs I got a message. The first two blogs I read both had the same message: Let go of the anger and welcome blessings into your life. What a great message to receive first thing in the morning. I am trying to figure out how this is a blessing but I am coming up a bit short. Any ideas? Anyone?

Rain, Termites, and Stanley

So rainy season arrived this week. Friday we had the first rain shower. Over the weekend we had some light showers, but today we had a real thunderstorm. I found out water comes right in the house under the kitchen door. I will put in a repair request for that tomorrow. I also found out that I have to clean the khondis (screened porches) out because every thing out there is drenched.


Tonight, just hours after the first big thunderstorm, the first swarm of termites arrived.


The boys ran outside to watch the bugs being eaten by frogs and lizards. They were really hoping to see their first baboon spider, but no such luck. Darn it! They will have to be happy with Stanley.




This is Stanley. He is a camel spider.* He lives in my living room. Oh the joy.


Stanley enjoyed the termites too. While Dakota hand fed the frogs, Colin ran around scooping up termites to feed to Stanley. I couldn't look away from Stanley munching down on the termites. It was sort of like a train wreck, horrifying and fascinating all at once.


I thought all spiders sucked the juices out their victims. Stanley just ripped them apart and chewed them up until all that was left was a pile of wings.



*Urban legends aside, Stanley is mostly harmless. He doesn't even have venom. He does have those big chelicera that he can use to pinch hard enough to draw blood. I am determined that Stanley and I will NEVER EVER touch each other. The thought makes my skin crawl. UGH!

Goodbye Sweet Fluffy

During all the chaos of packout we had suffered a family tragedy. Our sweet cat suddenly became ill and passed away. I have been too upset to write about it before now. We have had Fluffy since he wandered up to our back porch one day almost a decade ago. He was bedraggled, missing patches of fur, and someone had shot him with a pellet gun. Of course we told Alonzo not to touch him which of course he did grabbing his tail and dragging him across the floor. Fluffy didn't bite him or even snarl at him he just lay there and purred. We decided then and there that this cat was meant for our family. After a little love and care his coat came back in and he turned into a very handsome gentleman with his long fluffy brown fur and his two different colored eyes. He greatly resembled a Miane Coon.

He would go on long walks through the neighborhood with us, he would sit in the yard with me when I was working in the garden often rushing to the sidewalk to flop on his back and present his tummy for some rubbing to people walking by. He also would defend our yard against the evil of dogs, terrorizing many of the neighborhood canines. He did learn to tolerate our little poodle we had back then, although I don't think he really understood why we would let the enemy in our house. He would sit in my lap in the evening to watch TV and if I was playing with the computer he would either head butt my hand while I was typing or firmly place his paw on the keyboard until I put aside the computer and paid attention to him.

We have no idea what happened. Monday night he watched TV with me as always. He seemed fine. Wednesday when the movers were arriving he was acting strangely and we were worried about him but later in the day he seemed to perk up. By Thursday it was clear he was a very sick kitty. We left the movers with Dakota and took the cat to the vet. She said there wasn't much hope so we held him until it was over. The vet said these things do happen sometimes and there usually is no clear reason why. We are relieved that it happened now and we could be with him until the end and not in the hold of an airplane when he would be alone and scared. He is greatly missed.

Goodbye Fluffy you were the best cat a family could have.

A New Dishwasher and Other News

I just finished loading the dishwasher. Wheee! In case you think I have lost my mind you need to understand that A) I have four boys which makes for a lot of dirty dishes and B) my husband is out of town on business for a month so of course the dishwasher broke about 3 days after he left. I called maintenance and have been patiently waiting and waiting and waiting for it to be fixed. Today it didn't get fixed, it got replaced, TWICE. The first machine they carried up three and half flights of stairs to my apartment had exactly the same problem as the old one. Namely the dirty water won't drain, it just sits there getting more and more smelly. So out it went and a little while later they were back with a brand new, still has the factory stickers on it, dishwasher. Yay! Life is good. It takes so little to make me happy.

We have passed the half way point in Dave's TDY and now we are counting down to his return. In just two weeks he will be back home. In just two weeks and two days we will have our very first visitor here in Germany. Aunt Teri is coming to town! As excited as the boys are you would think Santa Claus is coming to town. Her room is all clean and ready for her to arrive. Here is a picture of Fluffy enjoying the newly cleaned kitty window seat. I hope Teri doesn't mind sharing a room with a fat and lazy cat.


Cody is at this minute performing in his last drama production of the year (and he assures me his last EVER). So why am I blogging instead of cheering him on? Because the baby sitter came down with the stomach flu. Oh well. He had a very small role this time so I am trying not to be too bummed, besides I video taped the last production in which he had a leading role. The little guys are enjoying a very rare treat, TV during the school week. They were excited about having their favorite sitter come over. They looked terribly sad when I told them that plans had changed so I am letting them watch about 30 minutes of Tom and Jerry.

Ribbon shed again. That makes 4 times since we got her. How often are snakes supposed to shed anyway? I wonder if we are feeding her too much, or maybe not enough? All I know is right now she looks very shiny and her colors are very bright. I don't know how long she will stay that way since she spends most of her time curled up under a log. Snakes are very boring pets most of the time. In case you wondered the boys have saved each shed snake skin and have them on display upstairs. Ewwwww! Sooner or later I am going to have to reach in there to get the skin out so they can add it to their collection. I wonder if it can stay there until Dave gets home. No? I didn't think so.

Colin's Birthday Present

Well, we have a new member of the family. His name is Ribbon. The kids all love him, it, her, whatever, I will be referring to Ribbon as a him. Colin got him for his birthday which is actually tomorrow but since almost all stores are closed on Sundays we went shopping today. Here for your entertainment is a video of Ribbon being introduced to his new home.



Don't you just love how I suddenly throw Ribbon when I realize he might actually touch me?! So much for bravery!

This and That and Everything Else

This is supposed to be my Project Support Beauty In Nature post, and I will get to that in a bit, I promise. If you are a regular reader you know the last few weeks have been very, very, busy in the Cyberbones household as we prepare to move from Indonesia to Europe.  Last week all our worldly goods were loaded into boxes and shipped off.  If all goes well those same boxes will eventually show up at our new house in Germany where I will get to unpack all those boxes.  It has occurred to me perhaps we should minimize our junk, as we seem to have far too much stuff.

Today the last of our pets are gone from the house and the only inhabitants left are human.  The fish moved last week to their new aquarium at the office.  The ongoing meal worm experiment was returned today to the classroom from whence it came, and now Mrs. Wolff can find a new home for the creepy crawlies.  There seem to be no shortage of volunteers to take a box of bugs. I will not miss the darkling beetles, the meal worms, or their great great great grand grubs, but I suspect the boys will. 

The cats also left today, although we are not giving them away. They are off to stay with the crazy cat lady, AKA Aunt Teri. They will enjoy hanging out in the Kentucky wilderness, bird watching, squirrel chasing and being spoiled rotten.  Sort of summer camp for cats.  Lucky cats.  They will rejoin us in DC to head to Germany.  Actually we will rejoin them in mid July when we head to Kentucky for some family fun.  Fluffy and Bing are well traveled felines.

My poor babies look so unhappy! 

Bye Bing, Bye Fluffy! Say Hi to Teri for me.

Now on to project support beauty in nature!  Lotus at Sarcastic Mom posted today about toilet paper and the waste it creates.  I guess we do kill a lot of trees in the interst of keeping our bums clean, but I do like a clean bum. 

 Since moving to Indonesia I have learned the solution to the toilet paper crisis, just don't use toilet paper.  Most bathrooms here don't have toilet paper, instead they are equipped with this handy little sprayer you see on the wall.  After you do your business you use this sprayer to clean your private regions.  Voila! No toilet paper waste!

The fancier bathrooms sometimes have a little sprayer hidden under the toilet seat so that when you turn the little knob on the side of the seat it will come out and spray you in the... um... yeah... this is a family blog so we will just say it sprays you where you need to be sprayed after using the toilet.  It is called the Eco-Washer and provides endless fun for my three year old son.  There is even a model called the Washlet featuring heated water, warm seat, anti slam lid, air freshener, and blow dryer.  My husband is fond of saying "For that price it better wipe my bottom!"  Well this toilet seat will!  Truly, this isn't a joke, think of it more as a bidet and toilet all in one. Now you can have that shower fresh feeling all day long.

While I am on the subject of Supporting Beauty In Nature I saw a wonderful segment this morning on CNN eco-solutions about a recycling project in the Philippines.  Did you ever wonder what happens to the big billboards when they change out the pictures?  I know I didn't. Well a group in the Philippines is doing amazing things with this often wasted material.  Take a moment to watch this video.  It is inspiring and well worth a few minutes of your time!