Friday, September 13, 2013

Checking In -- and Updating

Well, I've decided that Denmark probably won't work for me -- but France will.  I've been doing research like mad and have found out that I can make it work.  I have a tentative "no-later-than" date to leave of around the end of May 2014.  I've found a region that most appeals to me -- kind of east and slightly southeast of Paris, in the Brittany region.  With my daughter's help, we've been both researching different regions and have found that we both are gravitating toward that part of France.  When we lived in France nearly 20 years ago, we lived in the south in a wonderful city called Toulouse.  It was a great place to live, and I made many friends there; but the heat in the summertime just isn't something I handle very well.  I've always preferred cold-weather climates (such as Colorado and Wyoming in this country, where I spent many years), so at this time anyway, Brittany it is.

There's so much to do between now and then to be ready to go that I stay a bit overwhelmed, and it's still eight months in the future.  Oh, by the way, my trip there the end of May is to go to the areas we've found to be most desirable, check them out, and make a decision on where we want to move -- yes, we, because my family will be following me later on.  This first time, I'll only be there three months so I won't have to apply yet for the "visa de long séjour." the long-stay visa.

Regarding my art, yes, I'm still painting -- and am finally getting some landscapes done that I'll be happy to show.  We took a camping trip along the Oregon coast a week ago, and I did some great sketches and am almost finished with the first painting, a small 8x10" on canvas panel, around Cape Lookout.  I'll be doing a series of them and then will list the best ones.  And I am finally!! getting the hang of oil paints.  I even did a small long-haired doxie painting in oil a few days ago, my first dog painting in oil.  I'll also be doing some more animals in the not-too-distant future, too.

Okay, now I have to go put on my other hat, my "ceramics" hat, and finish up too many dog mask orders that all have to go out on Monday!  Yikes!  Fortunately, I'm nearing the completion of all of them.  I built them all at approximately the same time, bisque-fired them all at the same time, and am now painting them all together, etc., etc.  So, unless something unfortunate happens in the glaze-fire, they'll all be ready to ship by Monday morning.  Then on to the next batch!  It's fun, though.  After my long break from doing them, it's fun again.

So keep in touch on my big, big move in the next eight months.  I know everyone and their cousin blogs about moving to another country -- but, hey, there's always room for one more, though.  And I'll try to cover as much of the "nitty-gritty" as I possibly can.  One of the things that I'll definitely cover in great detail is getting pets moved to another country.  We did it when we moved to Denmark a couple of years ago, mostly my daughter's work, and it was quite a daunting task --and the "importation" fees they charged were something we overlooked, and they were massive!  France has no such fees, so it's at least going to cost less.  Anyway, if you have any specific questions you want to ask as I post more, please do so.  I'll try to cover any moving-overseas subject I'm able to.   I'm so excited now that I've made my decision of where and when I'm leaving!

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