Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

We had a long discussion with the lady, Charlotte who is going to do the chair. She trained in Toulouse as a chair upholsterer and has recently set up this business in La Gacilly. The town is full of artisan workshops, and I like the fact we are supporting local. Charlotte is only young and just starting but you can see the work on display in her workshop. She thinks it will take about 3-4 weeks and should be finished before we go home. She could speak little English and got a little flustered but we told her to speak french but slowly and we would understand between us. Looking forward to it.

The house is all clean and tidy and all the washing done. I was just putting the last load of towels on the whirly line when the central support post broke! ( Bob had hit it with the mower a few days ago but his repair had failed) Luckily I was able to drape things over garden chairs and tables whilst we went to buy another. It was so warm and sunny everything soon dried. The new ‘parasol linge’ seems very flimsy. Yesterday was the best day for a week, a pleasant 26 degrees and wall to wall sunshine. I feel so for the families in Whalley Bridge in Derbyshire. All that rain and more to come. I hope they can stop the reservoir from bursting.

Off for a shower and the shops to refill our empty fridge!

[Wendyf]

Having a quiet birthday. Looking forward to tomorrow when a friend arrives from Scotland to stay for a few days.

[Marilyn]

Happy Birthday, Wendy. Any special plans? I still have a Birthday Meal celebration outstanding next Saturday. We are meeting half way between ours and the city to have a grand pub meal with son and his girlfriend. We are taking the camper and booking in to the caravan park, so we can walk to the pub ( and simply log roll down the hill to the van afterward). We have offered them floor space, should they roll down the hill with us ( but it won't be comfortable for them, and while I can provide a sleeping bag, I may have to step on faces if I have to get up to trek out to the loo in the night).

[Wendyf]

No plans, will celebrate Sunday with Joanna.
With the mention of log rolling you have reminded me of the amazing Bellowhead and this song which will be stuck in my head all day!!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Apz2yKc2ac

[Cathy]

Wendy

Have a great day.

[chinatyke]

Happy birthday, Wendy. Have a great day.

[Sue]

Has that chair got short legs? Could just be the camera angle - but short legged chairs were referred to as nursing chairs (as in feeding baby).

Yes it has short legs. I haven ‘t found a picture online that is the same, however there are lots of similar ones

[Sue]

Having a quiet birthday. Looking forward to tomorrow when a friend arrives from Scotland to stay for a few days.

Happy birthday Wendy, Enjoy.

[Stanley]

I thought I responded yesterday but..... Ah well, many happy returns Wendy. I hope you had a good day.
One small task in the shed and then writing will start.

[Sue]

Yesterday I tidied some flower borders that had gone over, leaving the rockery and strawberry beds to do, as well as bank up my leeks. It was hot and sunny, reaching 30 degrees. I had to abandon for a couple of hours so came in doors to renovate a dressing table mirror I acquired from the hospice shop at home for 50p.

We could not afford to buy new furniture for all the bedrooms here when we bought the house so our room is made up of old stuff donated by friends and from Julias bedroom as a child. I painted it in distressed blue and white to match and the mirror will be painted the same . We bought a full length mirror in white from a friend, and the bed was Claire and Pauls ( first husband) when they married. The bedroom rug is from their lounge. Two other bedrooms are furnished with pine dressing tables , beds from the girls bedrooms and Bobs mums house, wardrobes and cupboards also from both Bobs Mums house, and Claire’s bedroom when she was at home( now my sewing room) . The master bedroom is different, it is full of antique french furniture bought locally, and the chair we are having renovated. This was a very large room, hence Bob making an ensuite bathroom. We have thought carefully about the fittings as we want it to look modern french. This we hope will help any future sale in a few years time. Realistically we know we haven’t the stamina we used to have and eventually will have to sell. Although the house is nearly finished inside Its a big plot of land to maintain, especially from the distance of England.

Today being Sunday is a chilling out day so we are booked into a local restaurant at lunchtime. This afternoon is an annual local Breton Fete and parade, and this evening we are invited to apéritives at a friends house. This morning I may do a little yoga and/ or some knitting.

[Wendyf]

Thank you all for the birthday wishes.

[Big Kev]

Happy birthday for yesterday Wendy, I catch up with things eventually

[Marilyn]

Sue...when we bought our present house, we were offered a "wild card" - owners didn't want to take anything with them, and we could have it all. I have to say, it was quite exciting, as we paid no more for the "inheritance". Hard to move into a house with your stuff when there is already stuff there, and it takes patience to work through ( hubby sat on the lounge and fell through to the floor! So that was a dud!)
But we found some gems here and there ( beautiful Chrystal glasses and decanters, designer leather chairs, exquisite Egyptian cotton sheets and towels, some wonderful pieces of furniture that ( now) I could not part with. Had to clean out a lot of crap ( cupboards full of the worst ever wedding presents of the century) . Despite the work, I found it an exciting experience. The garden was full of concrete gnomes and statues. We put them out the front with a "FREE" sign on, and they were gone in hours. Same with a lot of outdoor furniture and other household furniture.
Would I do it again? No. I wouldn't! ( but it was a unique experience, and I love some of the things I inherited in the experiment)
And the beds they left behind, were brand new, with high quality mattresses, and fabulous quilts and bedding. It was a really mixed bag, between getting rid of what we didn't want, fitting our own stuff in, and appreciating the quality of some of the stuff we suddenly owned....

[Sue]

When we sell Maz we too will sell all inclusive, less sentimental stuff and things like my sewing machine and Bobs tools. I wouldn’t know where to start otherwise and there were some big things bought for our extraordinary large séjour/ lounge/dining room. It is 60 square metres.

[Marilyn]

This had been the previous family's holiday house. They didn't live here, so there were few personal belongings for them to move. They must have entertained a lot...party platters and cake plates galore in the cupboards...champagne chill buckets...cocktail shakers etc. if our kids didn't want it, it went to charity shops.
One thing I was cross about inheriting was another billiard table. I hate the things. But it is upstairs, and it would take a crane to remove it ( we are told that is how they had it installed ). Hubby's grandkids play when they visit. I'd rather use the space for something else, but it does come in handy when I am doing Ancestry. I hate having another bar too, but not much you can do when it is built in (I have visions of turning the space into a massive walk in robe off the bedroom behind that wall.)
The only personal thing we found, and returned to the former owners, was a CD of photos. That had slipped down the back of a drawer.
I've always got another box on the go for the charity shop.

[Stanley]

All my itches scratched in the shed. I can aim at writing now.....

[Sue]

Maz, similarly of course this is our holiday home too. Personal items are mainly the tools and sewing machines. The house is full of stuff saved from the homes of our parents ie towels, tea towels, glasses etc. A lot of the crockery is supermarket stuff or hospice shop. All no loss to us to remain. There are loads of things that we no longer used in our home in the UK, no loss to leave behind. So its the chair, our tools, new towels and bedding that will go back with us, the new furniture bought for here is too large for our house in Rochdale, though I am tempted to try with the séjour furniture which I love !

It was a lovely relaxing day yesterday. I did bit of sewing in the morning, running repairs and updating on various items of clothing, all of which have really seen better days style wise but are still wearable. Summer clothes get little wear in general and last for years, and with a few tweaks can pass as fairly modern styles...mainly length. Bob did plumbing in the ensuite, then we passed the day in a haze of sun, food, wine, good company and a local fete. The fete was excellent, they did a one hour re-enactment of jousting games in 1290. There was a fun story line running through, the good king the beautiful daughter and the evil knight. Those horses were so well trained and beautifully ridden in what were sometimes quite exciting games.

Today is more plumbing and either a little gardening or sewing

[Marilyn]

Van all cleaned for our weekend ramble. Birthday meal at a country pub, and will book into the caravan park for the night. Hopefully we don't have to sleep with adult son and his girlfriend on the floor of the camper, because someone could get hurt if I have to climb over bodies to go to the loo in the night.
We have house guests staying for 2 nights before then. Their rooms are ready.
Busy week!

[Stanley]

Hope you aren't involved in the plumbing Sue....
I wrote one article yesterday and it was hard work. Research based articles are always the hardest and this was even more so because of the lay-off. Got it done OK and the next ones will be easier. I shall be at it again today. One of the good things about a weekly column is that writing one article gains you a week of respite.
Otherwise looking after the house and Jack and making sure we do our regular walks!

[Sue]

I gardened all day yesterday, tidying flower beds, strawberry beds( not that we had any strawberries this year, far too dry when we weren’t here) and one veggie plot. The latter I weeded thoroughly and the bit not planted I covered with plastic ground sheeting to prevent the weeds re-appearing. It rained quite heavily but I paddled on and finished with a feeling of satisfaction and a nice welcome hot shower followed by a bit of sewing and knitting. The sewing repairs are all done and I am ready to embark on the shirt that I brought over all cut out ready to go.

Bob was plumbing and needs a few more bits so today is a trip to the DIY store, a trip to the tip, and a trip to the shops for a few essentials and a new white plastic table big enough for 6 ( when our next guests arrive) but small enough to go under our wisteria gazebo for eating alfresco. I feel from the long range weather forecast there may not be much of that. The tables are hugely discounted now so a good time to buy. We may need to on Saturday when the next door but one neighbours come for lunch...home made pizzas made in Bobs home built pizza oven. Next door declined the invite as they have visitors and there will be 16 of them. I had invited them ALL out of politeness but a bit relieved they had declined as I was wondering how I could make all that pizza dough!

Its going to be a grey rainy day today, not much different in forecast to home just plus a couple of degrees. I shall spend my time pickling the last of the beetroot I picked yesterday and some of my bumper crop of shallots, before the plumbing, shopping trip out this afternoon.

[Stanley]

Lucky escape with the potential pizza marathon Sue!
I've written one article already and am started on a second....

[Marilyn]

I had a 2 hour rest on the bed this arvo, reading ( a book set in Yorkshire actually). I am resting up before young guests arrive on Wednesday. Doubt we will be able to keep up with them, but best to present a bright eyed and bushy tailed welcome. We will get a revenge on their revalry though....early doors on Saturday...they must be on their way early as we have travelling to do. I am not taking any flack with their "hangovers". We need to be somewhere by lunch! ( on your bike!!!!...)

[Stanley]

The epitome of the gracious host.....
I wrote two articles yesterday and am aiming for the same today..... I am back on full flow again.

[Sue]

Thick thick mist this morning, characteristic of the area from early August onwards. It usually lifts by 11.00 and promises to be a fairly decent day. Yesterday rained hard, bouncing in fact. I haven’t seen rain like that here for a long time, it was 3.00 pm before it dried up leaving us with a sunny evening. We got all our jobs done and all that remains is to out my spiced vinegar over the shallots and bottle them, after rinsing off the salt they have been soaked in overnight.

I may start sewing my shirt today, or indeed may finish my talk on the origin of the Widdups that I am giving at Hebden Bridge in October. I shall finish distressing the mirror I have been renovating and may even finish an oil painting I started some time ago in the studio of my artist friend who moved to the Lakes. So many choices.

Bob will continue with the plumbing which is making progress. Its not been an easy job getting pipes through 3 foot thick stone walls. The cupboards etc we bought for the bathroom are finished and are a good match for the flooring we put down. The downside is we noticed rather a large hole appearing in the carpet in the bedroom. Its cheap foam carpet that was in the room when we bought the house. Carpet is not easy or cheap to buy in France so we have never replaced it. After an internet search I found a large brown rug on Amazon.fr. With delivery next week. Our guests may have arrived when it comes but we shall put it down then anyway. Its a very large rug which will cover a substantial area of the carpet, leaving a small border all the way round. Ideally we would have liked to have put wood flooring down to match the ensuite but the old french furniture is rather too heavy to move around whilst we ( thats the global we, ie Bob) do it. The rug therefore is the easier cheaper option.

Hmm I though the mist was lifting but it is getting thicker. I shall finish my cup of tea and go and have a shower.

[Stanley]

"Its not been an easy job getting pipes through 3 foot thick stone walls."

I came across the same problem Sue at Hey Farm but an old mason showed me the solution. It may be a bit late for Bob but what he showed me was that I was wrong in making the assumption that thick walls needed deep foundations. The opposite is true because they impose less load on the ground because of their area. The old builders had just laid down blue limestone stones (they are waterproof) and built on top. All I had to do was dig down a foot and burrow under the wall, install the pipe and fill the cavity with dry sand. I suspect your old masons may have done the same thing.
As I say, this is a bit late but show it to Bob, it might help him in future.