Life in the Snow Lane: Merry Christmas in April!!

My Christmas present arrived on Friday!!!

You see, when we traveled to Australia over the summer with Courtney and Chris, we visited Melbourne for a few days. This short trip was a backpacking trip, meaning we literally packed only enough items that we needed and that we could fit in our backpacks. These items also had to be what we took with us on our Coral Reef adventure the days before (since we flew from Cairns to Melbourne). On the first day we roamed the city, we went to Queen Victoria's Market which is the country's largest open air market. There were all kinds of goods, from meats, cheeses, sandwiches and produce to clothes, and other handmade things. There really was a lot of neat stuff. We bought many souvenirs here.

After wandering through the huge market, we went into this little shop, Ambiance. This place was packed with a variety of decorations ranging from spring to Christmas. That is when I saw it. Adorable as ever, Australian animals depicting the nativity scene we all know. I took a picture of it (and got in trouble) because it was so cute but thought "It's $175 dollars." {I'm one of those people that couldn't justify spending a whole lot of money on one thing. I like to get my bang for my buck} Another thought that went through my head was, "How would I get it back with me? It definitely won't fit in my backpack." Also, since I had expressed my interest in it, I was hoping Hubby would say, "Well, let's get it!" but he didn't.

We bought a few items and left the store. We sat down at some of the tables outside while we checked out a map to figure out our next stop. While there, I kept thinking, "I should have bought that nativity scene." However, I did not go back in to get it.

Buyer's remorse ensued from that point on.

So, I told Hubby that is ALL I wanted for Christmas. I sent him email reminders for about 3 weeks before Christmas. I even gave him a website where you could purchase it. He emailed that company and never heard from them. I told him his next best bet was to look up the store and call them. "How do I call Australia?" He never told me that he had done it but I could see that some Skype credits had been used for a phone call. He informed me that the store told him they ship the nativity scene out a lot... due to buyer's remorse, and that due to the holidays they would ship it the week after Christmas.

He got an email saying they had shipped it and we should receive it by March 29th. SAY WHAT?! The lady said she would send it by 'Sea Mail' because it was cheaper. I asked, "Does that mean they are sending it over in a bottle or by kayak that it takes 3 months?!" So for the next 3 months, I waited. I won't say patiently because starting on March 29th, I would state, "There's no box on the porch." several times a day.

I told Hubby he had until Thursday, April 5th, to call because our Thursday is their Friday and I wanted to make sure he talked to someone. On one of those days he sent an email. The response he got was that several people had called about not receiving their package so they had called the Australian Post, who told them they got about 2 weeks behind with all the holiday shipping. She told him to give it until the end of April and then let her know if we didn't receive it.

I continued to inform Hubby if there wasn't a box on the porch until I got this picture text.

Happy Friday!

This is how they pack sea mail from the Australian Post

Oh My Goodness! Isn't it adorable!?!?!

Included in the package was a write up from the company that makes it:

Always creating critters and artwork out of the box, Arkart brings an Aussie slant to the traditional nativity scene, with their delightful rendition. The pinnacle of the arrangement; the shining stars which represent the Australian Southern Cross, is used by the characters as the guiding light to find the manger where the baby koala lay. The attention to detail such as the corrugated rusted tin roof and akubra hat wearing three Aussie kings makes this piece a true iconic Australiana scene.

Ark Art hopes you find humour our of their characters that have been appropriated to mimic the traditional scene we all know. The kookaburras with swag hats represent the shepherds attending their echidnas (instead of sheep) whom ride an emu (instead of a camel). The three wise men in akubra hats; being the wombat, platypus and kangaroo carry their precious gifts of Aussie bush oils whilst Mary and Joseph are a cuddly koala family with baby koala in the crib.