How to get a visa

Apparently NOT at the French Consulates located in California. I have no idea if it's any easier elsewhere, but we are feeling FRUSTRATED!

I guess we've gotten used to just going to the administrative office we need for anything here and seeing a person. We knew it would be more complicated trying to deal with an office 6000 miles away, but certainly not THIS complicated!

It all started off so well. In July, JM sent a letter to the Consulate in L.A. to get the ball rolling; Bob was still alive at that point and we thought we had a fair amount of time, so were relaxed. A week later, there was an email reply telling us all the details. "Cool," we thought, they respond to correspondence.

That was the last communication we had from the Consulate. We've sent around 6 or 7 emails with no response. We tried calling; bizarrely, the telephone number was constantly busy, no matter when we called.

Last week we decided we needed to do something; after all we want to have the interview with Mom the week that we are in L.A. She doesn't drive and lives over 100 miles from the Consulate's location, so she needs someone to take her. JM sent a telegram. It cost $128, but at least we knew it would be delivered.

What we didn't realize was that there was a fatal flaw in the plan.

Unbeknown to us, the Consulate in L.A. is moving! Now, in July, surely they must have known they were moving, no? Did it not occur to anyone during the entire month of August to let people know? Perhaps putting it on their website would have been a good idea? They did that, the day AFTER they closed the office for their move!

The fun part is that the Visa section isn't going to open along with the rest of the Consulate because it's waiting for some mysterious equipment. So, we have no idea whether they'll be open when we're in L.A. or not.

The now updated website says "emergency" long term visa applications can go through San Francisco. Okay, less convenient but possible. The joke, of course, is that San Francisco ALSO doesn't answer their email, and although you can get through on the phone after pressing various buttons on the phone, you finally get to a mailbox that is FULL and won't take any messages!

Oh yes, we're having fun.

Ciao for now.

Randy

Back into the swing

Now that August is over and I'm back to being a stay-at-home writer, I feel as if I'm busier than ever.

Less than three weeks to go before our trip to L.A. to visit my mother and hopefully get things moving with her visa application at the Consulate. This would be far easier if the Consulate actually either replied to emails or had a telephone line that wasn't constantly engaged! We've been trying to set up a visa interview since mid-August and can't get any response at all.

Last week, JM decided to send a telegram. Who knew these were so darned expensive? At any rate, it was theoretically delivered yesterday and, surprise, surprise, we have still heard nothing back. Good friend Diane in L.A. has offered to go over there in person on Friday if we have no response before then.

It never occurred to me that contacting the Consulate might be the most complicated part of bringing Mom over here.

Meanwhile, I have decided that I've had it up to here with using bottled gas for cooking! First, you always run out of gas in the middle of something important, like a cake or an expensive roast; something where time and temperature make a huge difference in the final outcome. Second, the damned gas bottles are HEAVY! I tried switching to one of the new, lighter-weight bottles, but our plumber, Christian Drouin, tells me that they are not compatible with the way our gas connectors are set up. In other words, I can't use them.

When we first moved here, I had come with the idea that I would get an induction cook top. At the time, just the cook top, without an oven, would have been somewhere around 1200€. However, as with all things, prices have come down. I can now get an all-in-one cooker with four induction burners and a multi-function oven for less than 1000€. I really, really, REALLY want to do this.

JM and I are "negotiating" because he doesn't want to make any changes in the kitchen. I think the convenience and energy savings of induction, as well as having a smaller, more manageable oven, will make up for any minor complications. In order to finance the purchase, I'm trying to sell some family silver that I"ve been carting around for over 30 years. No matter where we live, it sits in a closet somewhere gathering dust, since I'm not the silver type. If I sell that and then sell my current stove, I will more than pay for the new stove.

Of course my problem with selling the silver is I have no real idea of the best way to go about it. A friend suggested talking to a local restaurant to see if they were interested in the silver. I have talked to a local chef and we'll see where that goes.

If that doesn't work, I suppose I need to go the depot-vente route or else try on eBay. The problem is that I'm selling U.S. flatware by manufacturers unknown in France. I don't know whether this makes it easier or harder to sell. I suppose it will be an interesting experiment, no matter what I decide to do.

In thinking about selling the silver, I've also been looking around on all my shelves and have realized that I have way too many tchotches! I think some of those need to go as well. Here I thought I'd gotten rid of so much stuff when we moved, yet there is still too much "stuff."

Time for a clearing out sale, that's for certain.

Ciao for now.

Randy