Good Intentions

8 July 2013
There I was, all keyed up to write a regular blog so I could read it in my old age and relive all the exciting things we do (and in my dreams be a 21st century Samuel Pepys - a female version, of course. Hah, what dreams!!). Then life got in the way so I didn't record any of the important things that have happened recently. Still, never one to be put off, I thought I'd start now. It's helped by the fact that the days are so warm here that it's impossible to work or sit out in the garden from about 12 noon until early evening! At first the afternoons were taken up by watching Wimbledon and the Grand Prix, but now it's only the Tour de France which doesn't need as much concentration - and today it's not even on since it's a rest day. Now there's nothing to stop me, apart from playing computer games, but I'm determined not to let myself get into that rut.

But what?? Here I am just one paragraph in and we're off to Brico Depo to buy the remainder of the things that we need to complete the gite kitchen.

Main house is 2 sections on left,
gite last on right

Isn't it amazing how one develops a 'code' to help identify different things - we do it all the time. In this house we've bought in the Vendee, there are so many rooms it's vital to be identify which one we are talking about . . . so we a have the main house, which has the main bedroom ('our bedroom'),  spare bedroom, studio, kitchen, lounge, salon, pantry, boiler room and wine cave. The attached smaller house (although still 3 bedrooms like the main house, but smaller) we intend to let out as a gite in the summer months, and that has a gite kitchen, gite lounge etc.


27 July
Boy, that trip to Brico Depo was a long one, it took 19 days! So, what has happened to keep me from the blog? Well, playing cards on the computer has taken quite a few hours, or even days! But NOT TODAY!! So, what has happened over the 2.5 weeks? Lots. Used to hear about people who basically had no life once they'd retired - work had been their reason for being. Not for John and me. For the first time in our lives we can make decisions that are totally our own - it sounds awful to say, but with both sets of parents dead, there is nothing holding us back, we are free to do whatever we want. And believe me it is good to be able to have a totally free choice for the first time in your life - it's only taken me 62 years!

Gite kitchen as we originally saw it

Having got all the electrics replaced in the gite, we bought the kitchen units and set ourselves a schedule which would mean we'd have the whole thing finished for when Dave and Emma came round for a barbecue. They are the couple who own the chambres d'hotes we stayed in whilst looking for the house and then during the buying process - so they've lived this expedition with us. They also know exactly what we're going through in the renovations, since their house was a derelict tannery when they bought it.

We hired a van for three days and had a quick visit up to Le Bourg Dun to pick up the washing machine, some more kitchen stuff and our double bed. (A 'quick' visit means mainly spending hours on the motorways. It takes about six hours to drive from here (including stops) on the motorway, and costs about €45 each way. What appears a good thing in France - no road tax - is not quite so good when you do a lot of motorway driving. The downside consequence is that most of the major motorways are toll roads to raise money for maintenance which makes the trips quite expensive for us. Travelling on the ordinary roads, however, would add about another two hours, so difficult when doing just a three day trip.) Hopefully this means we can have a proper kitchen (not just surviving with a microwave and a barbecue) and also have a spare bed for visitors - though having a bathroom in the gite would be another prerequisite!

Well, we didn't make that deadline. Though it didn't matter too much since poor Emma fell down the stairs and broke her wrist and jaw, so they had to cancel anyway. (Actually a good thing since I realised after that we didn't have any decent crockery!). I did say that it would have been easier and definitely less painful just to pretend they had no time if they didn't want to see us!!

1 August
At least the gaps between my comments are getting shorter - pretty soon they may even be daily!

Following the accident, we arranged another date with Dave and Emma to come round for coffee (Emma can't eat anything solid yet) which was Tuesday, and we were using that as a new deadline to get the kitchen done - guess what!

Today had roast chicken for lunch!! At least the bottom units, oven and hob are working now, so hopefully we'll have a fully operational kitchen early next week. Then we'll go back up to Normandy for a few days to get the work progressed there, and bring back the rest of the kitchen 'stuff' to fill all the cupboards here.



August schedule is:

1. Finish the gite kitchen.
2. Get the gite upstairs bathroom finished (new everything, including plumbing) so we can live there in September when the electrics and heating is being done in the main house.
3. Take out all the asbestos cement panels in the main house in readiness for the electricians and plumbers. Luckily the rubbish tip at Fontenay le Comte actually accepts asbestos! That is very rare, and we thought we'd have to leave them stacked up in the back yard. This wouldn't have been as bad as it sounds since they are OK so long as they don't start to break up.
4. Put in a shower room on the ground floor of the gite - not vital since there is a downstairs toilet already, but it would be nice to have all the messy work finished. If not, we'll just have to keep the door shut when Mike and Pat Meara and the Skeltons come for an overnight stay in early September.

Not much really, probably spend most of the time sunbathing in the garden!



Interesting Things No.1

We had torrential rain one evening with rain pouring out of the guttering. Thought we had a problem till we saw the pigeon who has made a nest right next to the downspout. Hope the eggs/youngsters don't get washed away! Not the safest place to nest.