"So When is the Big Move?"

     Every few days someone will ask me when I am planning my move to France.  There are many things that have to fall into place before I can actually make that kind of a move.  So, for my benefit and yours, I will list those things here.  I'm sure more will need to be added to the list as I get closer, but here's what I know at this point in time.
     For those of you who are animal lovers, you will understand that I will not move while my old dog, Huck, the husky/lab, is still living.  He is thirteen and I have seen a steady decline in his health over the past year.  I don't know how much longer I will have him, but as long as he is living it will be in the house he has always known.  I would never even consider putting him through a move like that.  He is a big boy and never been kenneled.  It would be cruel to put him in a cage that would spend 10 hours in the cargo hold of a plane.  Nor would I ever consider leaving him behind.  So, as long as I have Huck, we will stay in our house.

Big Boy Huck and Little Girl CoCo

     CoCo is small enough that she will fit in an airline approved dog carry-on so she can come with me and be with me on the plane.  But something I will need to do is to contact the airline to find out all of their regulations regarding her coming with me.  So, that is on my to-do list when I get to that point.
    Here are the rest of the things to be done in no particular order.  And if you think of anything that I have omitted, please let me know.  Some of you have been through a similar move and I'm sure I could learn from your experience.
1)  Finish work on my house.  I still need to paint ceilings and walls in the newer addition and to refinish the wood floors, get the carpets professionally cleaned and replace the old linoleum.  I also need to work on the "curb appeal".
2)  Put the house on the market (which I will not do until Huck is gone)
3)  Rent a storage unit that's large enough for my car which I plan to leave.  That way I'll have a car when I return to the States for 2-3 months each year.  I will also store a few items of furniture and boxes which I don't want to get rid of, but neither do I want to take them with me.  I will have 2 suitcases and CoCo!
4)  Contact the French consulate in Denver and see about getting permission for an extended tourist passport.  I read that I can get the usual 90 day passport extended to a year if I meet certain criteria.  But I must go through the consulate and fill out a ton of paperwork and make sure to get the extension before I leave the US.
(There's an interesting thing about US passports and Europe.  Most of the countries on the continent allow for only 90 days for a US passport.  Once you enter and get your passport stamped you have 90 days before you must leave Europe.  However, the countries of Great Britain allow for 180 days, so if there is a problem with me getting the extended passport for France, I can always find house-sitting jobs for days 91-180 in Great Britain and then I can go back to France - or Italy - or Spain - or Switzerland . . . :-)
 5)  One I have the extended passport I can start setting up housesitting gigs.  I have seven websites to use for finding houses.  Most of them require a membership for both the people wanting to find housesitters and for those who want to be housesitters.  That's a good thing because the money is used for background checks to make sure that everyone is who they say they are.
6)  I still have a lot to get rid of!  So more trips to Good Will!    
7)  Look into car leasing in Europe.  I know it is much cheaper than going through a car rental agency.  I might go talk to leasing agents at the Toyota dealership.  I love my RAV and would really like to have one in France.  They are very popular over there and there's even a 2 door version that super cute!  I'm wondering if I can go through a dealership here and then pick the car up over there.  Anyone know anything about that?
8)   I forgot to mention that I'm still waiting to get my mom's ashes back.  So I can't leave until that happens and Andy and I can take the ashes and scatter them where we scattered my dad's ashes in 2003.  Mom's body was donated to medical research and when that happens it can take up to two years to get the ashes back.  It's been about a year and a half.
9)  Continue to do research on different towns and villages in SW France.  The Neste Valley is never far from my thoughts!

The Neste Valley in SW France

      I welcome your encouragement and suggestions!  And as always I thank you for reading my blog and following me on my journey as I get ever closer to France.  People have asked if I plan to continue my blog once I move and I definitely plan to do that.  I want to tell you all about my adventures over there - the bends and bumps and surprises that meet me on a daily basis as I live in another country!  To misquote Dr Seuss (!):  "Oh, the places I'll go!"