Getting ready for the movers

5 Weeks.  35 Days until we leave Los Angeles.  Let the countdown begin.  We are starting to get ready for the movers, who come in 2 weeks.  We are using Rainier Overseas Movers.  We had California Relocation services come to the house to do a survey of the things we were taking.  They work with both of the companies we looked at, so they both had the same information.  We decided on Rainier because they were a bit (not much) cheaper and No Regrets for Me also used them when she moved to Brantome.

We are looking at what we have, how much it's worth and if we should pay for it to be shipped or could we buy a replacement in France.  Things like the old couch won't go, we'll get another at Ikea.  Things like my cookware and such will definitely be going.  It's not cheap to ship your stuff and since we are paying for it ourselves, we have to smart about what we'll be taking.  I'm not a hoarder and really have no sentimental ties to my "stuff",  so getting rid of things is no big deal to me.  There are a couple things, like these etchings my mom got in New Orleans about 50 years ago, an antique dresser and a few other things that I would never give away, but that's about it.  I don't like clutter and believe in less in more.

Once the movers pack us up, we won't see our stuff for 75-90 days.  Luckily the village house we are renting in St. Antonin will come furnished until our stuff comes.  The hardest thing is that we will be  without our bikes for 2-3 months.  We'll have to run, rock climb, do yoga and join the "club du musculation" the local gym in Villefranche so we can stay fit.

We'll leave Los Angeles and head east to Michigan to see my family for a few days and then we'll drive down to Chicago.  When we left on our sabbatical in 08 we drove to Chicago and left from there, because it's only 7.5 hours to Paris, 12 hours from Los Angeles.  We have the dogs and 12 hours is a long time.  7.5 isn't too bad.  They have done the trip before and they were fine.  We are flying United again, since they took such good care of them last time.  We have decided to fly to Brussels instead of Paris this time.  We are going to spend 2 days there looking for a used car.  The used cars in France are very expensive and they are not so in Belgium.  We are looking for a good reliable car, a bit newer than Claude (our 1985 Peugeot station wagon we had last time we lived there).  We are thinking of a Peugeot 305 estate (station wagon) or a Skoda estate.  We had great luck with Claude and all the french mechanics know how to work on Peugeots.  We want a wagon, so we can pack up the bikes or the dogs and still have a bit of room.  Once we find a car, we'll drive down to St. Antonin.  I have heard that the Brussels airport is so nice and easy, CDG in Paris is a nightmare!

Claude our 1985 305 estate

A new 307 estate

I'm also going to start throwing pottery again.  I haven't thrown in almost 2 years.  I couldn't find a place to throw when we were living in France last time and then when we came back to the states last October, we didn't move back into our house (my studio was in the garage) and I had no place for my kiln.  I sold my wheel and just sold my kiln and slab roller.  We'd like to find a small space to rent in the village where we can have our studios.  I'll throw and Bruce will paint.  We are also going to offer some art classes on Wednesday and Saturday for local kids during the school year.  We'll focus on our art in the winter/spring and hopefully get it into some galleries/shops.

some of my pottery

For late spring/summer we'll focus on Raison d'Art  our new business.  We'll have women's retreats in May & September and Summer art camps for tweens/teens June-August.  Our first trip this July was a huge success and we know that we can offer kids a very unique experience, something they will never forget.  We'll take kids from all over the world, but the focus next year will be on the US and England.

Right now I'm a bit nervous but super excited.  Our one year sabbatical was amazing and life-changing and we knew we wanted to go back for good, but when it's only 5 weeks away it's a bit scary.  No turning back.  The business has been sold, the movers are coming, the one-way tickets have been purchased...we are so ready for our new life!

Change is good!

Mr. Owl at Le Sivadal

Our amazing view from the terrace

       

The "gang" in Penne

When we came home from our year sabbatical in October 09 we knew we needed to get back to France as soon as possible.   We've outgrown Los Angeles, it's too busy and too big, just not our style anymore. We want countryside, hardly any street lights, beautiful architecture...basically France.  10 years ago we said to each other "in ten years we'll move to France".  I always keep goals - 6 months, 1 year, 3 year, 5 years.  And each year I'd write down "we'll move to France".  It was hard getting back to the studio and back to business.  We love the kids but doing the same thing for 10 years was getting old.  We wanted to take what we know and move it outside of the classroom/studio.  Sometimes it's someone else looking in who opens your eyes and Kim did that for us.  Raison d'Art was born last summer and when we came back to Los Angeles we started to market our "summer camp" for teens. 

Last Monday we arrived home from our first trip to France with 9 teens.  18 days in the Tarn, 16 at the most amazing house in the country and 2 nights in Toulouse.  It was wonderful and exceeded our expectations!  We hope we changed some lives and/or opened some eyes.  If you're interested in reading about the trip and learning about our new business check it out here.

After being home for a month or so one of our clients asked us if we were interested in selling the studio.  Yes, we said.  Yes, yes, yes!  This client has sent her daughter to us for 4 years and believes in what we do and wants to expand on it.  Something we never wanted to do.  She's a very smart business woman and a good friend.  It was a perfect match.  We closed the deal in May and we are now Independent Contractors for her.  Still doing some camps and helping her as much as we can with training new teachers, understanding the daily office duties, etc...  We will work until the end of this week, take the month of August off (and spend it in Mammoth), come back in September and work through mid-October, but then after that we are moving back to France.  Yes, you read that right, we are moving back.  How long...hopefully for good.

We found an amazing house to rent in our favorite village St. Antonin Noble Val.  During the year we were there (as most of you know) we lived in Les Costes, a 200 year old stone farmhouse in the middle of the countryside.  Very little heat, very isolated, but amazing.  This time we want to rent in a village for a bit.  We think it will make the winters a bit easier, being around other people.  We'll rent for a year and in the meantime look for an place to buy.

Next year we'll be offering (2) women's retreats in May, with yoga, cooking classes, wine tasting, visits to museums, villages, etc... and then (4) summer camps for kids (1) for kids 11/12 and the other (3) for kids 13-17.  We'll rent the same house we rented this summer as it was so perfect for what we are doing.  It's call Le Sivadal and it's just outside of Cordes.

This business idea has become a reality and we can't wait to get over to France to start working on it.  We'll register as a french business so we can pay into the french system.  We want to be legit.  We are also thinking of offering some art classes for local kids on Wednesday and Saturday during the school year. 

Bruce is all set to paint, paint and paint.  I hope to get settled and get a wheel and a kiln and start throwing pottery again, as it's been almost 2 years since I've thrown.  The dogs are super excited too.  They had an amazing time during the year they lived there.  Nellie has never been but she'll love it too.

So loads of amazing things are happening to us.  We are excited, thrilled, a bit scared (because what if it doesn't work), but then so what, we'll figure something else out.  Sure we could stay here and try to open another studio in another area, but we don't want to do that and it's so expensive here.  What we pay 1 month in Los Angeles will cover us for 4-5  months in France.  Isnt' that crazy?  So, why not try and make this work.  Life's too short.

I will be updating this blog, as I've had many requests to keep my personal blog going.  As long as you are not bored with my everyday life, I'm happy to continue reporting, but keep checking our Raison d'Art blog (which also gives information about our programs) and pass it on to anyone you might think would be interested.  We are almost done with our website and I'll post that when it's ready.

It's good to be back.  I have missed my blogging, but I wasn't ready to announce the sale of the business until now and really didn't have much to talk about.  But new exciting stuff is on the horizon, so stay tuned.

Happy couple in Toulouse