So much to do, so little time

I am writing a couple of posts this week as I have fallen behind with everything that has been going on.

So much for the slow pace of french living - we have had the exact opposite.

Our renovations on the house are now complete. We are now getting the back yard dug up and stones and pavers layed. The pavers were delivered today along with the sand and concrete.

He had to lift them over the fence

We had the local water people turn up (3 of them) as they have to quote on moving the water meter from inside under the kitchen to external to the property.

We also had the antennae guy here replacing a part in the satellite.

Then a guy knocked on the door to try and sell us some French wine.

There were also friends that dropped in to say hello and to see all the digging works. So a pretty full on day.

The house and yard seem like a money pit at the moment but am sure we will be pleased with the final end result.

We went up to Paris to meet our son Mick who spent a wonderful 6 days with us. We had 2 days in Paris and then 4 days here at the house. In that time we travelled back from Paris by train, took Mick to Gargilise and had lunch after doing a hike through the forest, held a big party for my birthday, Mick and I did a 4 and half hour hike at Chambon sur Voiuze, went to the Boussac markets, toured the local Chateau, had lunch in Boussac, had dinner at Les Pierres Jaumatres, played french monopoly and had drinks in the back garden. All this in four days. On the fifth day we drove him to Lyon to catch his train to Interlaken, onto Grindelwald and then flying home via Zurich. We had 2 days exploring Lyon.

Luxemburg Gardens

Pantheon

Pantheon at the top

St Germain markets

St Michel

Our back yard

Playing monopoly

Randonee

Cafe in Boussac

Boussac Chateau

Boussac Chateau

Near river in Lyon

We keep asking ourselves did it really all happen - it's like a blur.

My birthday bash was fantastic. Received some beautiful gifts.

As well as all of this going on also managed to paint the gates.

Bill has been digging holes to try and find pipes and electrical cables as well as connecting up storm water pipes that weren't connected to the mains. So much to do, so little time..........

Wendy

Highlights and lowlights of our one year in France

We have now been in France for exactly 1 year and 11 days.

Yesterday we picked up our 2nd year visa from Gueret.

Our year has been full of:

• adventure
• travelling 
  
• socialising and entertaining 
  
• works/renovations 
  
• trip back to Australia 
  
• organising of paperwork
• stripping back of linen cupboard 
  
• wood work projects - building of wardrobe space and shelves for bedroom, architraves and skirting 
  
• plumbing work 
• works in the barn 
  
• sewing projects
• cooking and home grown foods 
  
• soap making
• curtain making
• setting up stall at brocante
• selling stuff via facebook sites
• attending many local village functions 
  
• many luncheons and dinners 
  
  
  
  
• surviving winter
• house sits 
  
• making new friends 
  
• getting to know neighbours 
  
• learning french in many different ways - private lessons, village group lessons, Duolingo
• regular attendance at the parish catholic church with setting up tables and cleaning up afterwards
• visiting different markets

There's probably so much more I could mention but have to stop somewhere. Least of all to say that our year in France has just been full on from the time we arrived.

The highlights of the year have been many but will keep the list to a few main ones:

• Recent visit from our son Mick 
  
• Ensconcing ourselves into all things french
• Meeting some wonderful people 
• Randonées 
  
• Seeing the most amazing countryside change in all four seasons
• the price of the french wine
• Looking forward to our next 12 months in France - hopefully at a slower pace

Some of the lowlights of France:

• getting used to the closing hours of businesses at lunch time
• the bureaucracy
• checkout operators not packing your groceries
• missing Bunnings, vegemite, milo, Allen's lollies, cappacino's, cooked breakfasts

Here's to our second year in France

Wendy

Pablo Picasso - eat ya heart out...

Update on our renovations.

Presque fini (almost finished).

We managed to sand, clean and undercoat the walls and ceiling last weekend.  This included 2 coats of satin paint on the walls using 2 different colours. Really happy with the look of the rooms as everything blends together nicely.

The advantages of painting before the flooring goes down means that you don't have to be too careful where the paint ends up.......

View out to garden from new part of house

New laundry

New living area

New bathroom before fittings

Apart from painting the ceilings and walls, Bill did all the floor grouting last weekend.

Bill grouting

As well as completing other jobs around the house that he had started. He fixed the first floor bathroom by building a box around the piping behind the toilet and plastered and tiled the top as well as painting the wall. Great job - wife very happy.

Boxed in pipes behind toilet

He also has been doing work on the dorm window in the attic. Plus installing flyscreens on some of the windows. So he's been very very busy. He want's to go back to Australia for a rest.

Masking and preparing of dorm window

Tools used to fix dorm window

Flyscreen First Floor - builders van in background

The toilet has now been installed on the ground floor - no more dashing up the stairs when arriving home.

The shower cubicle being fitted today. The basin was fitted on Friday. So looks like a bathroom now.

New ground floor bathroom

The laundry cabinet and sink fitted on Friday. Problem with the washing machine pipe - but leak now fixed (we hope).

Laundry

All the finishing touches happening today. Heater installed and all the electrical work now completed.

Living area

The downpipes connected up to the storm water pipes.

Bill removed all the windows and doors on the weekend so I could clean up around the frames - there was heaps of plaster around the hinges. Plus I needed to paint around the edges. So it made it easier with the doors and windows removed.

Just have to insulate the pipes up in the roof space.

We have also been busy getting stuck into our french. It's seems to be getting harder and harder instead of easier and easier. Conjugating the verbs for past, present and future tense is doing my head in.

Learning french - sooo hard

I am busy trying to utilise all the material I was given. Loads of it really. So I have started to make soap bags to use in underwear draws - I made another batch of soaps the other day-  and little herb bags using my home grown lavender plants. These will make for lovely gifts at Christmas time.

A pleasure activity - making soap bags and herb bags

The back yard will be our next priority. We need to get the area dug up and then we can start laying the stone. We have to get this done before the rains come as it will be too much of a mess to leave.

And of course our almost twice weekly flowers from our dear friend Madeleine. She stops in on the way to locking up the church with a lovely bunch of flowers from her garden.

Au revoir
Wendy