Sunday, October 08, 2017

Dreaming of France -- Like Dominoes

Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

Aargh! My life is too crazy. Every week I forget about my Dreaming of France meme until I see that Sim has already posted hers and is waiting for me.
I wonder what could be distracting me?
This weekend, I started to feel some anxiety as I realized everything that has to be accomplished for us to move to France in about 86 days.
So the house is in contract. The final hurdle is Tuesday when the appraiser comes. If that all goes well, we close on the sale of our house in early November, and I have already scheduled our appointment with the French consulate to apply for a long-stay visa.
So my mind whirrs with the thoughts of:
Whipping the house back into staged shape before the appraiser arrives
Cleaning out the house once the sale is final
Helping Spencer find an apartment
Moving ourselves out and in with friends for a temporary stay
Collecting all the necessary paperwork for our French Visa
Finding affordable plane tickets and places to stay during our first days in France
Leaving the kids behind

That's all. Nothing much else going on in my brain, except beautiful dreams of how lovely our life will be in France if we can get everything else under control.

Thanks for playing along with Dreaming of France. I hope you'll visit each other's blogs and leave comments. Also post your blog info in the Linky below.

9 comments:

Sim Carter said...

Thanks for posting when you're so crazy crazy busy! I can't put into words how much you have meant to me, but on this week's Dreaming of France blogpost, I tried. Thanks so much Paulita, I can't wait to hear about all your new adventures.

Anonymous said...

Good for you! The dream is taking shape. Just imagine the day you wake up in France as a resident.

Kiwi said...

Very glad to hear that you are close to selling the house and nearly on your way.
If you are looking for airfare and don't already know about the ITA matrix, it's a great tool for finding the best deals, and has columns you can manipulate to find shorter trip times along with lower prices - yet avoiding tight connections that might cause you to miss a flight. https://matrix.itasoftware.com
Generally speaking, a roundtrip fare will be less than one-way, but not always. If you find a fare you like, and have to pick a return date, you can always change it later for a few hundred dollars, and that may still be less costly than one-way tickets. You can't book fares directly on ITA Matrix, but once you have the fare you like, you can then go to the indicated airline's website or call them to book the tickets. Don't forget to get your frequent flyer miles!

sillygirl said...

Wonderful news that the house is selling! That was a big hurdle! Enjoy each accomplishment when it happens - don't just move another worry into its place.

Just Me said...

Cheers to you Paulita. Gosh I really like what Silly Girl said.

Suzie Tullett said...

It's all very exciting. Loving how your journey is progressing x

Paulita said...

Thanks to everyone for your comments. Sim wrote the loveliest post about my journey. I hope you'll all take a look.
Francetaste, Yes, if we get all of the paperwork in, we'll be official residents.
Kiwi, Thanks for the tips on the airfare. I'll check it out.
Sillygirl, I will heed your advice. I just finished cleaning the house for today's appraisal, walked to the coffee shop to hang out while the appraiser is there, and a guy sitting outside says, "You look relaxed." So, I think I'm doing okay at not freaking out. I just keep focusing on one thing at a time. Today, that is catching up on grading papers.
Just Me, Yes, taking words of wisdom where we find them.
Suzie, I know! I can't believe we're actually doing this.

Philippe said...

Bonjour Paulita ! En vendant votre maison de famille le Rubicon est franchi. Je suis en admiration de votre force de caractère.L' esprit américain à son meilleur comme on aime en France ! Donc votre recherche de la maison idéale débutera dans 84 jours. Patience et détermination seront les clés pour réussir.// Hello Paulita! Selling your family house means Rubicon is crossed.I' m in awe of your strengh of character : American spirit at its best that we like so much in France! Then your dream house hunting will start within 84 days... Patience and commitment will be the keys to success.We ( your followers ) are all behind you by spirit.

Paulita said...

Philippe, Thanks for your words of encouragement. It's true that selling the house is key to making this whole trip.

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