Move Out Day #1

This morning we had our furniture and lots of boxes 
memories, dishes, glasses and gadgets of all sorts. 
Now we have a fairly empty living room. 
So thankful for having friends and family willing to help us out on this day.

Thank you Austin's, Frank & Grace, Jewl, Julia & Dan.


Moving out is stressful, but having the core stuff out will be a catalyst for the rest of it.
We had a nice bbq looking out on the ocean in front of Family Student Housing afterwards.
The topping of the day was Mango Avocado salsa.  Great on a BBQ chicken sandwich!
Wish I had taken a picture....it's really my friend Jewl's recipie.  C'est tres bon!

ingredients if you so wish to replicate
1 Large Mango-cut into small chunks
1 small avocado-cut into small chunks
1/2 a red onion-diced
1 lime-juiced
as much cilantro you would like
as much jalapeno or serrano as you like
can add red bell pepper-diced

Packing

What can you live without, for a month and a half?  Tom, wants to simplify our living situation by packing pretty much everything we don't need between now and right before we take off for Laval, France. 

Champagne glasses are a no brainer.  Most books too, although we are leaving out any french study guides, and I'm not sure what sort of sheet music I may want to scan for practicing yet. 
I think I am sore from packing, but it's also exhilarating because it's quite a drastic change for us newlyweds.  Covering the main dishes with newspaper felt weird knowing I wouldn't see it all til January.  Goodbye sea otter mug! 


It is good to rely on less.  I know that I've been enjoying the comforts of the cal king a little too much when the prospect of settling for a camping air mattress or futon on the floor seems like a prison sentence.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog about our preparation, journey and settling down temporarily in a small town(about the size of Santa Cruz, CA I hear) in the northern part of France. 
Laval is situated in the Loire Valley, which is a region known for its castles and lush greenery.  

For those that are interested in some more detailed reading, the Loire Valley has been listed as a    UNESCO site.


Tom will fly out in late Sep. to start his malware internship at a school called E.S.I.E.A(details to follow) and settle into our apartment they have reserved for us.  I will join him on the 1st of Oct.
In relation to Paris, Laval is 3 hrs. by car,  1 hr. 40 min by train.