and so it begins

Our house is officially sold. We will be vacating on August 31st, then taking our belongings to Portland and storing them there for a month while we go visit our family and friends in the midwest. I'm so happy that we're finally getting back to visit everyone after two years of not going anywhere.

Flights are booked. A little tip: look up the flight comparisons on one of those sites that gives you the lowest fares. But once you find that flight, go to the airline website to book it. Because something that you might not realize when you book through those cheap places? Is that itineraries are subject to change not only without notice, but without them notifying you. This happened to us once, and had we not called the airline for something else, we'd have never known they changed our itinerary - we would have missed our flight home. The airlines don't do this, because when you've booked a flight, you've booked that flight. Not the possibility of that flight, or something like it. If I can spare anyone this same fate, it's a good thing.

My upcoming posts might well be about all of my adventures in packing and moving to the US, so be warned. Hopefully I'll be able to offer tips and tricks to others who are moving, maybe someone else will find this useful.

The fun thing about moving is that we get to get rid of stuff. I always love a good purge of stuff we never use, so I have that to look forward to. There is also the Inventory of Everything We Own, which can be informative and interesting, and most useful is that when we're unpacking we know exactly what items are in each box. The inventory is something that was required of us when we moved into Canada, so we are assuming that when returning, the US will also want to know what we're bringing into the country, as they tend to be even more strict about such things.

Of note: the Canadian immigration website is quite user-friendly. If a person is willing to take the time and read the website, pretty much anything anyone might want to know about immigrating is on that website. I mean, really - everything. I cannot say that the US website even comes close. I still have no idea what the requirements are for us moving back into the US, even though I spent a good hour on the website.

I was at least able to contact someone at the DoT to find out what we'd need for our car...though I had to call one number and get the second number, then leave a message and wait for a call back. I think the big difference here is that Canadian government seems to completely abhor phone usage of any kind, ever. There are pretty much zero phone numbers anywhere for people to call immigration, and even when you do find one, all you get is a recorded message with the exact same information that can be found on the website, only less of it. Whereas the US seems much more fond of telephone communication - there are phone numbers everywhere to call for all manner of things, and very little actual information on the website that I can ascertain other than the forms I'll need - only I have to call the numbers to find out which forms.

Sorry if this is totally boring to everyone but me.

Also, see that gorgeous picture above? I found it on the interweb - the photo is linked to the page - and I searched for a way to find the actual artist  - Ramona Safree - and see if maybe she had prints of this for sale. Sadly, I could not find anything. I hope she is still painting and selling her work somewhere, because I love her colours and her soul.

Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury

I actually kind of skimmed this when I first read it, because we never eat anything with HFCS in it. But then I realized that lots of folks I know DO. So I am sharing it.

MONDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.

HFCS has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average.

"Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply," the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement.
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In the first study, published in current issue of Environmental Health, researchers found detectable levels of mercury in nine of 20 samples of commercial HFCS.

And in the second study, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), a non-profit watchdog group, found that nearly one in three of 55 brand-name foods contained mercury. The chemical was found most commonly in HFCS-containing dairy products, dressings and condiments.

But an organization representing the refiners is disputing the results published in Environmental Health.

"This study appears to be based on outdated information of dubious significance," said Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, in a statement. "Our industry has used mercury-free versions of the two re-agents mentioned in the study, hydrochloric acid and caustic soda, for several years. These mercury-free re-agents perform important functions, including adjusting pH balances."

However, the IATP told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that four plants in Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio and West Virginia still use "mercury-cell" technology that can lead to contamination.

IATP's Ben Lilliston also told HealthDay that the Environmental Health findings were based on information gathered by the FDA in 2005.

And the group's own study, while not peer-reviewed, was based on products "bought off the shelf in the autumn of 2008," Lilliston added.

The use of mercury-contaminated caustic soda in the production of HFCS is common. The contamination occurs when mercury cells are used to produce caustic soda.

"The bad news is that nobody knows whether or not their soda or snack food contains HFCS made from ingredients like caustic soda contaminated with mercury. The good news is that mercury-free HFCS ingredients exist. Food companies just need a good push to only use those ingredients," Wallinga said in his prepared statement.

More information

The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry has more about mercury and health.

SOURCE: Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, news release, Jan. 26, 2009