Just a bit of decorating

We bought our farm in France some 30 months ago, we were looking for an old property with about 5 to 10 hectares of land, and 'some work to do' for E to occupy himself, and given our budget we knew we couldn't afford a fully up-together and renovated property. We found Le Pommier, it was 25 hectares and needed a lot of work on the house and two barns. There is also a pair of cottages but they have no roof at all and nearly past saving. But it's set in a beautiful spot so we persueded ourselves it was okay, we could do it, it would just take longer than planned, the money would stretch.


Ha!

We are getting there, E does all of the work himself, and it gets him down when progress is so slow. But we do have a comfortable living room now, two decorated bedrooms, central heating and a new fosse septique. As well as renovation the animals needed paddocks and field shelters, the big barn's roof leaked badly (or well?) anyway, during the summer E spends several weeks up scaffolding replacing battens tiles and beams where they're needed and now 2/3rds of the roof is done. The 3rd bedroom is nearly complete and family bathroom is next. Then, I think it will be the turn of the kitchen and family room before our bedroom and en suite. But, that may not happen until this winter, or even later. And to add injury to disaster, the small barn which wasn't too bad, suddenly parted company with some its wall. There was already a gaping hole and part of the roof had fallen in, so, this summer every job inside the house will stop while E works on the barn so that it doesn't fall down altogther.

Hoo bloody ray

It's taken me an hour and a half to get the photo in the previous entry. I tried to sign up with Type Pad as they have a month free, but they say my address doesn't match the details for my card ?!

'tis just turned Wednesday, time for bed.

Gettin' a grippe

Having my own party tonight, on my third glass of Chateau Ferret (honest) not honest it's my third glass but that's really what its called. I like minervois. The Dixie Chicks are on really L O U D, the benefits of your nearest neighbours being half a mile away. The dog's sheltering between my knees, serves her right for spending the last half-a-hour outside down in the valley barking her her head off at deer/foxes/whatever.

Some things that have happened.

Grippe Avaire struck France with the inevitable knee-jerk response. Our poulets have been shut in since mid February. We are over 500 miles from the outbreak, the Spanish border is half that distance and as far as I know they haven't any restrictions. I see chickens out all the time around here, so I let them out for a ramble yesterday but only because E was in the UK, he is worried about the 800€s fine. The restriction finishes at the end of May, no parole.

Three times since Christmas I've put something on the gas to boil only to forget it. It takes about a week of soaking and scraping to get a useable saucepan again.

It takes about 48 hours for the smell to leave the house.

My dear dad was 80 in April, he cried at his surprise party.

After a long, cold grey winter, spring suddenly arrived with the swallows on 26th March, they were late.

Cowslips fill the ditches and banks, then come the purple orchids and self-heal. Good use of the colour wheel.

I persuaded E to take the car to the UK, I get around on my scooter. I buzzed into Alençon this morning and happened to glance down at the front of my white jacket, it was covered in dead insects. Now I know why bikers wear black and grey. Then I had to shop.

It was very warm last week so we decided to start shearing, we took Lissie first, I made the first cut, and the shears packed up. She now has a gap along her left side. What if I'd done the whole of her side before they stopped?

As E would be leaving for the UK the following day he rang Peasridge who were brilliant, Mr P said he doesn't normally work on a Saturday but would be in so to drop them off, he was going to Germany the following week so would take them with him for Heiniger's engineers to look at them and they would be shipped directly back to us!

Notes for 2007.

April- Check shears are working