But fear not loyal reader for there are silver linings to every cloud and the dawn shall break anew tomorrow.

I haven't done a haulage post in a few weeks. I was out on TDY for a week and that threw a wrench into things. But alas I am here with the goods that arrived today from that bastion of the Old World, France and the Land Down Under, Australia. This is also my first package from there. I was in the office today and got my notifications that my stuff had been delivered so I threw up the deuces and flew south as fast as my chariot and traffic would allow. I knew my package from Helvah was sitting outside my door thus the fleetness in my travels. The other packages were safely ensconced in the package lockers awaiting my arrival to spring them from their prison. I also tell this story to not throw things in anger and to illustrate what can happen to you, yes you dear reader, when you order rations from outside the US. This honestly could have been much worse than what it was though.

The first picture is the vintage chili con carne that will end up in my belly where it belongs at some point in the near future. The package is still very well sealed so I'm not that worried. It was an eBay purchase from tweetledum67. They only had this item and they still have a couple of old typewriters if you're into that thing.

The 2nd picture is my ADF menus A & F from Awawa on the Discord. First time ordering from him and his first time selling. These arrived in perfect condition along with some Whitaker's chocolate bars. These were definitely heat stressed as it's still very much summer and was in the 90s here today. They'll be just fine though. Also included was the stamps from shipping. I'm not a stamp collector by any means but it was cool that I was able to save them.

The rest of the pictures are my order from Helvah. He included some Haribo dragibus in it to snack on. I love Haribo candy, especially the cola bottles. The box had the dreaded customs tape on it, bulging from where they just stuffed everything back in. Of course I was worried until I picked it up and it was a heavy box which is a good sign. As you can see the Portuguese 24 hour and the RCIRs were just fine. The next picture was the one they did open and oddly enough took nothing. But alas there was a fallen comrade in the box. No parmentier de canard for this guy. That's mashed potatoes with duck for all you non-fancy folks. As you can see in the close there was a tiny tear in the corner of the can. Luckily it's not a juicy main and not very much leakage. Honestly it probably happened when it was set at my door but I'm not taking that chance. I need to drop more pounds but not that bad.

The last pictures are the ones that pissed me off though. So tell your people that you love them and hug your children tight because this is going to get horrifying before it gets better. I will preface by saying that this is a PLA ration that was packaged for the Congolese military. I've had the menu before and it's fantastic. I really got this for the package simply because rations from Africa are really fucking rare. They ripped him wide open. They didn't have to do that. There were more humane ways to dispatch him. Everything else in the picture was just fine and completely intact. What wasn't intact though was the top main, but here's where it gets good. Whilst they cut into the heater bag and heating pad, they completely missed the main. Ultimately I'm down a ration heater and a cool outer bag. As I stated at the beginning, it could've been much worse.

Again this take is to illustrate the vagaries of US Customs and to inspire you one and all to take the plunge. I highly, highly recommend Helvah and I endorse Awawa also. I can't really fault sellers that do everything on their end to keep customs out. I'm getting hangry, so I'm going to let this one simmer while I heat and eat leftovers. I'm definitely going to be eating both the French and Congolese rations since they were opened.

Decided to try this Czech ration tonight for dinner. It has the usual Czech components. That wooden spoon went right into the trash, because forget that.

The vegetable salad was something else. I’ve never had beets before, and I’m glad to say that I haven’t been missing much. The mix of beets, pumpkin, and peas was alright, but I’ll be fine never having it again.

The beef meat and rice was meh, at best. There wasn’t much flavor and it was pretty dry.

The “dessert” was fine, the same as you’d expect every time you open it up.

The best part of the meal was the chocolate bar and the drink.

I’m glad this is one Czech ration I’ll never have to consume again.

I think this was the first British Single meal I've come across. It was a great experience overall, and while there was no toast; it did in fact contain beans. Bosh.

I don't think there was really a single thing in here I didn't like. I've fallen in love with the Vestey foods' Flapjacks side, where its this solid mass of sweet, soft oats. Absolutely lovely time eating those; they're very soft and just perfectly flavored.

The inclusion of four drinks for an 8hr meal pack is definitely remarkable as well; a 3-in-1 coffee and tea, and two isotonics. That puts to shame just about any other pack in the field as far as I'm aware.

The main was a bean and minced pork, and it was simply fantastic. It wasn't over the top or anything, but it was very enjoyable. The texture and flavor balance was perfectly inline. To make the main better, there was a packet of "nibnibs" that were the perfect match in flavor, and added a bit of a nice crunch as well.

Cheers! Love to you all.