Progress report

On Monday, the installation of our new sanitation system was signed off. A 4000L fosse toutes eaux and a 30m2 sand filter bed satisfies the authorities and means that our household waste is no longer fertilising our field! This may or may not be a good thing, as Andy found a cracking tomato plant with ripening fruit in the midst of the lush vegetation down here. Hey ho!

We took a much needed break from work on the house for the week that our friends Jenny and Mike were with us. During that week we celebrated both Jenny's and my birthdays and Andy, as in-house chef, did us proud with some truly delicious dinners. The weather during the week wasn't full-on sunshine every day and was a lot cooler than we have been used to of late, but still only Wednesday morning and Saturday afternoon were wet, which was a darned sight better than the UK weather last week which sounded truly miserable, so our friends were happy. The relative dry weather meant we were able to get out on the mountain bikes on three occasions which was fantastic fun

We also had a lovely walk from Artigue above Luchon up to the Spanish border at the Col des Taons de Bacanère.

One foot in France, one in Spain....

Spain, and the remains of an old cable winching building, probably used in WW2 by Franco's army...

Since the weekend, a wonderful high pressure system has taken up residence over us and we are enjoying clear sunny days and temperatures into the high 20s. It is just glorious! Unfortunately, we know this will not last and the nights are already cold, so we are having a big push to get the woodburner and central heating system installed before the weather turns. Lets hope we don't have any major hiccups along the way.

Guest bedroom finished!

Our friends Jenny and Mike arrive tomorrow to stay with us for a week. We were determined to finish the guest bedroom before their arrival..... and we have done it! The only thing is that I was unable to find a suitable rug for the big floor space. I shall have to keep looking.

So, firstly, some 'before' shots....

And 'after' ......

 Do you like the sparkly light?

I am 'so' pleased with how this room has turned out - it is just beautiful, don't you think?

4 weeks? Really!

Oops. Well, it just goes to show how busy life is these days, doesn't it! Work on the house continues with a vengeance..... which goes without saying really, doesn't it! The most pressing issue? We have got friends coming on Sunday to stay with us for a week, so the pressure has been on to complete the renovation of the 'guest bedroom'. This has involved ripping out all of the old 'non conforme' socket and lighting wiring and replacing it with wiring that complies with current regulations. This naturally involved the creation of more holes in the walls which was a messy business. Then, we insulated the ceiling and put up plasterboard using the most important bit of kit that we have so far invested in - the 'lève-plaque'! It is going to get a lot of use.

We discovered that the skirting boards are actually riddled with woodworm, so they have had to come out. But a serious question for you.....what do you see in the following photo? A work of art depicting a seaside scene maybe? Or just a rotten skirting board? Squint and you may be surprised!

We acquired some lovely chestnut boards from a local saw mill which Andy has transformed into new skirtings which I will be treating with linseed oil to bring out the colour and the grain. Then, the wallpaper can go up and a big clean up before the lush curtain can be hung and the furniture put back in place. It is going to be a gorgeous room, this one. 

Work on the new bathroom is also ongoing, but hampered and frustrated by simple things such as the shower tray that we originally bought getting broken by a falling hammer and then the replacement tray that we bought from Toulouse not being level due to a manufacturing fault .... grrrrr. But the stud wall is in place and all we need now are a new shower tray, some water pipes to bring water up from the other end of the house and some time and patience.... that's all

The new sanitation is in the process of being installed thanks to our mate Bruce from down the road, which will bring us in line with current regs as well as drain the bank account :-/

We have taken delivery of our lovely new Stratford woodburning boiler but obviously the installation of the heating system has not yet commenced as we have got other priorities. Here's hoping that the fine, warm weather continues and we don't actually need heating for another month or so. Cross your fingers for us?

We have not surprisingly had very little spare time to get out on the bikes recently. Once a week seems to be the limit of it which has been frustrating. But one of those rides happened to be my longest and hardest mountain bike ride to date, 38kms/1200m+... which was hard, not just because of the distance and ascent but because of the nature of the riding which included a long section of narrow, rocky single track with a drop off to the left which did not amuse me and which saw me pushing the bike more than I would have liked. The ride profile was like this....

Full ride stats are on the usual site

Next week, Mike and Jen are here and we will be having a bit of a break from the DIY, getting out more on the mountain bikes, getting up into the mountains and celebrating both my and Jen's birthdays. Let's hope the lovely warm weather holds.

Characters

OK, so I have very little time these days to do blog posts and quite frankly posts all about 'we have done this and we have done that' become quite tedious after a petit moment for you, the reader. But the daft thing is that our new life here is made up of so much more than 'doings'. This is a whole new 'experience', made all the richer by the characters that make up our community here. I still can't put a name to them all, although of course the introductions have been made. Give me a chance.... it's still early days! But suffice it to say that I have never felt so 'at home' in France. Allow me to just give a nod to the characters who have contributed to this feeling. I'll start with the Maylins. Other characters will no doubt form the basis of future posts.

Monsieur Maylin no. 1;
One of three Maylin brothers who live in the next three houses down the road from us, all aged in their 60s/70s. No. 1 is the chappy who held the key to our new home ... literally. He opened the door to the agent and ourselves when we visited for the first time back in May. He is also the owner of the 5 horses that I invited to feast on the lush grass that was preventing us from creating my longed-for potager. He is a quiet, unassuming, patient, hard-working chap who is worth his weight in gold. He is also the owner of a bonkers boxer (dog) who is confined 24/7 to the house or (if he is very lucky and the wind is blowing in the right direction) to the little yard/garden. Said dog is still 'intact' which could conceivably explain his totally manic/frenzied behaviour whenever anybody passes the gate, behaviour which reaches fever pitch should Taff decide to tease/taunt him with a playful bounce as we pass by on our morning walk. I have suggested castration as a possible remedy for his seemingly intolerable behaviour. M Maylin was unimpressed. On the other hand, I could just accept that said dog it just bored out of his mind. It is not for me to conjecture. I comfort myself in the knowledge that M Maylin 1 has a big pile of well rotted horse manure that is going to render my fledgling potager the most productive potager in the hamlet. Thank you M Maylin 1.

Monsieur Maylin 2
This is the second of the Maylin brothers. He is also the most rotund. He has a strong regional accent. He apparently suffered a stroke a few years ago which explains why his speech is almost unintelligible to myself and even more so to Andy. Fortunately, M Maylin 2 is very aware of the communication problems that this generates and apologies incessantly for being so incomprehensible but the important thing is that we are able to communicate and besides,  M Maylin 2, you have given us the use of your fantastic, ancient, still fighting, 6 blade rotavator (which you get going with the aid of a length of rope, I kid you not) which has allowed us to turn over the patch for my potager, which M Maylin 1's horse manure is now nourishing and in which the most delicious winter greens will be grown, I assure you. M Maylin 2 also has two of the most delightful grandchildren that you could ever wish to meet, although I have no idea of their names. Suffice to say that the young lad (around 10 yrs old?), is made up when he is allowed to take the big quad bike out.

Monsieur Maylin 3
This is the third of the Maylin brothers. He has a cat that gave birth to kittens behind the tractor. His wife grows lovely lettuce. Apart from that, he is, so far, an enigma to me. But it's still early days, early days

Renovation works and Blighty visit

I headed back to the UK for a week at the beginning of the month for the joint Birthday celebrations of my sister (50) and mum (75). They had a chosen a fantastic venue for the small family party, right on the beach at Branksome Chine Dean between Poole and Bournemouth.

It was a wonderful evening and a fantastic opportunity to catch up with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and friends that I have not seen for far too long. A reet good bash, as they say up North!

It was wonderful to spend some quality time with my immediate family during my stay. Many people who are considering a move overseas worry that they will not see their family as often as before, but in my experience, I see more of them now than when I lived in the UK! It's great!

While I was away, Andy set about the hardcore prep work for the new bathroom upstairs, making holes in walls...

....removing a rotten staircase which was in the way of the toilet outlet pipe drop in the room next door and knocking through a doorway to the back of the house to where our terrasse/outdoor eating area is going to be. All noisy, dirty, dusty work that I was pleased to be away for! But he was finding it hard going with the tools that he had, so I picked him up a new toy on my way back from the airport which he seems quite pleased with!

One of the first jobs when I got back was to attempt to tackle the capricorn beetle damage in the new bathroom beam which has involved the removal of a lot of dusty, powdery wood. The beam wasn't very pretty once the damaged wood was removed....

... and needed another 5-6mm taking off the surface to remove all of the capricorn evidence and to make the beam worth staining/varnishing. So Andy deployed the planer and then the belt sander, both of which gave up the ghost in the process! So new tool buying is now on the agenda in order to finish the job. Fortunately, the two beams in bedroom 2 (the current 'guest' bedroom) were in a much better state when we removed the pine panelling a couple of days ago and just need some Xylophene treatment and then a good varnish/stain to bring them up to their best. Wonderful!

I made some scrummy plum jam before I went away and by the time I got back the pears were starting to fall off the trees. It has been a few years since I made Blushing Pears, but they are a great way to use up a glut of the fruit. They can be kept in preserving jars for up to a year and are simply delicious with cheese and cold meats. Miam Miam!

But the most exciting thing that has happened recently is on the 'growing your own stuff' front. I bought some young broccoli and red cabbage plants from the market a couple of weeks ago and planted them in pots, hoping that I would at some point be able to plant them in my own potager which was still just a field. I have also sown some brassicas in modules which again I have been hoping I would be able to plant out before the autumn. Then today, M Maylin dropped his rotavator round and Andy spent a couple of very hot and sweaty hours turning over the hard soil. That rotavator is a thing to behold and is probably nearly as old as me ....the string on the handlebar is part of the starting mechanism!

But it did the job beautifully and I now have over 140m2 to play with! We will have our own veggies this autumn! Hurrah!

Making progress

I love how our days are so full now. It's wonderful to have a new project to work on and to be working towards creating an amazing new home.

Our main priority has been to clear the place of decades of 'stuff', with the old 'grenier' (our future guest en suite bedroom) seeing the main thrust of our efforts. We have disposed of boxes and boxes of old magazines, of jars, of clothes and goodness knows what else. It is almost clear now and we can see just what a big space it actually is - over 48m2! It'll make a great guest bedroom.

Before we can start work on the interior however, the canal-tiled roof is going to have to come off, timbers treated, lattes replaced, membrane laid and then properly secured canal tiles put back on. It's a job we'd like to tackle before winter, but time is going to be an issue.

The smallest bedroom in the main house has also started its transformation into a first floor bathroom. Here's the obligatory 'before' shot

The 70s wallpaper had to come off (put up in June 1974 by Antoine if the scribble on the wall is to be believed!), the pine clad ceiling and cladding around the beam likewise. The radiator and pipes have been removed and the space looks much lighter and cleaner already. The old beam is actually in fantastic condition and the ceiling boards likewise. Shopping for bathroom equipment next week and then Andy is hoping to start installation next week when I am away!

The other two urgent projects are the sanitation and the heating. We hope to get approval within the month from the authorities for the installation of our 'fosse toutes eaux' which means we should be able to get the system installed by September. Re the heating, we have removed the fuel boiler from the house as that is an expensive and not particularly pleasant system to run. We're opting for a wood-fired system and research is continuing as to the most suitable woodburner with c/h boiler to install here.

I am pleased to say that we have had our first crop of truly delicious plums from our plum trees.

.... collected with the aid of a simple but ingenious device left behind by the previous owners - a long-handled 'grabber' with a bag on the end which gently removes fruit from higher branches. Brilliant!

I have transformed some into jam and have frozen more for the winter.

I am keen to get my potager/kitchen garden up and running as soon as possible so that we stand a chance of having some of our own produce this autumn/winter. Although we have got our 8m x 16m patch marked out with stakes, we have had one major problem which is the length of the grass in the field which had to come down before we can turn over the soil....

 The solution? Ask one of our neighbours, M Maylin, whether his five Breton heavy horses fancied a bit of a feast. The answer? Hell Yeah (said in a French accent naturellement!) They have turned out to be the best grass cutters. The bonus for us is that we are collecting plenty of manure that will be used to nourish the soil over the coming months and scoring brownie points with the locals... a win-win situation!

Talking of locals, the people here have welcomed us with open arms and are so pleased that we will be actually living here rather than just using the place as a holiday home. I am sure we will both be playing an increasingly active role in local life as time goes on. It is a truly special place to be live and I find myself smiling like an idiot just about every time I step out of the door! I love it!

Phew!

Goodness me, what a hectic time it has been since we got the keys for our wonderful new home! The week after we got the keys on the 27 June was spent cleaning over a year's worth of dust, dirt and cobwebs from the house, not to mention the many more years of accumulated grime from the kitchen which really was grim! We then moved in all of our worldly goods over the course of a few days before having our first night here on the 4 July. And we love it! The peace and quiet is the most noticeable thing, plus the space and openness of the situation.

The most exciting thing about exploring our new abode has been the discovery of so many items that belonged to farming life many years ago. Here are just some of our discoveries;

Madame was a great hoarder of jams and preserves and clearly didn't like to throw anything way. So it has been up to me to dispose of the hundreds of jars of jams and preserves, some dating back to 1992, in order to clear the shelves for our 'stuff'. We also discovered jar upon jar of beans in two old chest freezers in the barn!

We have had certain urgent works to do since we moved in, the most pressing matter being that of waste disposal. In common with the vast majority of properties in this area, the original arrangement was an outdoor privy....

... which had fortunately not seen any action for a good many years. But it had to go....

... the wood providing fuel for our quatorze juillet bonfire, more of which later! The current waste disposal arrangement is a concrete pipe from the house which takes waste down into the field. It is however broken in a couple of places and was also blocked with mud and scale when we moved in, which meant toilet waste appearing in the field - not pleasant! So Andy valiantly set to and eventually set up a system which works in the short term.

We will however have a proper new sanitation system in place by the end of August if all goes according to plan - the property is slowly being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century!

Our next job was to tidy and clear to the rear of the house where our outdoor living and entertaining area is going to be. We had set ourselves a bit of a deadline by inviting friends over for a 14th July bonfire and barbecue, so the pressure was on. The grass had grown long and tussocky which made mowing hard work but Andy soon got it down to a manageable level. Then a small pine tree that was crowding a fruit tree had to be brought down. It was soon looking tidier

We cleared out the space underneath the hangar structure 

 create a rustic outdoor eating area for our 14th July bash and used all the old, rotten pieces of timber and bushels of kindling that were piled up everywhere to construct a rather large bonfire. We discovered two lovely long benches up in the grenier that we set up around some tables and voila, we were ready

We laid down some of the straw that we found in the barn to cover the bare earth which finished it off nicely. The weather stayed dry on Saturday night, the bonfire and BBQ were a huge success and our new outdoor entertaining area was christened! Good times.

Our first visitor is due on Monday. Really looking forward to seeing Trudi who has been through a hard time recently. This place is sure to recharge her batteries. Have I mentioned how much I love it here?!