Quarantine

OK, so it's taken almost 6 months, but we finally managed to get something quarantined by Australia Post!

Way back in October, Jen's grandma mailed her a parcel (by sea) which was supposed to reach us in time for Christmas. Well, it never arrived. We'd kinda given up hope of ever seeing it when it still hadn't shown up by the time we got back from WA, especially since the parcel from my parents, which had also been shipped by sea and several weeks later than Jen's grandma's parcel, did arrive. So yesterday when I poked my head outside in the rain to check the mail, I was pleasantly surprised to find the parcel sitting on our doorstep.

Like every other parcel we've received, it had been opened by Quarantine. This no longer surprises us. In fact, it's become kind of a game to find out whether or not our mail has "passed inspection". I mean, really - either our address raises red flags in the Quarantine office, or it is just routine to for them to open every single parcel that crosses the border. We have accumulated quite the collection of "What Can't be Mailed to Australia" pamphlets.

Well, this time, they actually kept something! Most of the parcel passed inspection, but apparently Jen's grandma had included a small Christmas tree or decoration of some kind that had a wooden base, and that's a big no-no. So in the parcel Jen had a nice long letter from the Quarantine folks, telling her that if she wanted the ornament, she would have to pay to have it irradiated, and it would cost $45! Oh, and it would take another 6-8 weeks to get to us.

Good grief!

So, no Christmas ornament for us. It's well past the season now anyways. :-)

Jen was so happy to get her parcel at last - even if she didn't really get to have all of it! Now I'm just waiting for the one I know my grandma mailed, and then we will finally have acquired all of our Christmas parcels from home!