A Leap of Faith - or Putting the Cart Before the Horse

     The idealist in me chooses the first expression and the pragmatist chooses the second.  In the past few days I have made all the arrangements and reservations I need to travel to France the end of August, but I still haven't been able to get an appointment in LA with the French Consulate for my long term visa and my house isn't on the market yet!
     I am so frustrated with the consulate's website in my multiple attempts to set up the appointment.  You can only see one month at a time so it's impossible to plan ahead.  And this morning when I went online to see May's appointment times, I got a message that said they are "at capacity" and to try again later!  What?!  How is it possible that that many people could have gone on the website before I did and filled all the appointment times for the entire month?  I sent an email to them to ask if there is a problem with the website.  They don't take phone calls so my only recourse is to email and keep my fingers crossed!  How annoying . . . .
     My realtor is coming over Wednesday morning to work on the listing with me and fill out all the paperwork.  I still have some things to get done before I'm ready for the house to go on the market.  Hopefully it will all fall in place by the end of next week.  The dumpster was delivered on Wednesday, but then we had snow and rain and freezing weather so I didn't get anything done with the yard.

Daffodils in the snow

A confused dove

     But when I got home from church this morning I saw that my sweet son had cleaned up a lot of the yard for me.  He chopped up the branches that had fallen into the dog run and cleaned out around the shed.  He got a lot of it done!  I just love that guy!  Once I get the rest of the yard cleaned up he will help me put out more mulch in the front.  I need to plant some flowers, but that's still iffy here in Colorado.
     Beth is coming over tomorrow to help me take some boxes and things to the storage unit and then we can start staging the house.  So, the house will be on the market soon and hopefully will sell in the next couple of months.
     Because I'm leaving for France on Monday, August 29th!  I made all the reservations a few days ago.  I decided to break up the 3 flights (from here to Toulouse) with overnight stays in Houston and Frankfurt.  I was able to use my miles so it only cost me $55 along with $125 for CoCo.  I made hotel reservations in Houston and in Frankfort - both are near the airports with shuttle service to and from. 
     I have signed the papers to lease a car for 2 months in France and I will pick up the little Peugeot at the Toulouse airport.  I will have a couple of days in and around Toulouse before I can actually get into my cottage on Sept 3, so I have reserved a hotel near Toulouse (as we get in about 7pm) and then a hotel in a town not far from the cottage. 
     So, all the arrangements are made, I just need permission from France to actually live in their country!  Is this a leap of faith or the cart before the horse?  I choose to call it a leap of faith as that sounds a lot more positive, don't you think?  I had no idea it would be so difficult to arrange for an appointment at the consulate.  And I have to go to the one in LA as that is the office that arranges visas for Colorado residents.  I checked out the other consulate websites and they have appointment availabilities, but not at LA.  Wish me luck!!!
     On a happy note, this is Andy's birthday month, and also my mom's.  They are May babies.  And so I leave you with a favorite photo and wish you a happy week.

My favorite May babies

 Thank you for your encouragement and for reading my blog.  Merci!