Les poissons en France

Monday, July 29, 2013

Where's the Wedding?

I've been slowly clearing the 'salon' so that work can start there in earnest.  Now that it's cleared the first job was to sweep the chimney.
I should think that the chimney hasn't been swept for at least 25 years and it is coated with tar rather than soot.  I wanted to bring down as much of the loose stuff as possible before getting involved with decorating. 
The intention now is to have a woodburning stove fitted with the chimney lined and no doubt that will entail further sooty mess.  But that's a little way down the road!
In the meantime, anyone need a lucky chimney-sweep?

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Just a Little Rain

We finally had some rain this evening after what seems like weeks of sun and temperatures in the 30's!
The trouble is, when it comes, it really comes.
As you can see, our problem is that the rainwater pours down the hill and rushes past the porcherie and our front steps.  And it brings lots of mud and stones with it.  But within 10 minutes of it stopping, it's all dried up.
 
So, tomorrow's job will be to sweep the road and put back the stones onto our drive!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

The Garden

We are having temperatures every day in the mid thirties and have done for the past fortnight. So I thought I would show you a few photos (well lots actually) of the garden before the drought destroys it , or alternatively the storm, which we will inevitably have sometime.

The petunias are those minute plug plants which arrived in March and which I have been moaning about eversince, until now. They have turned out to be doubles, in a myriad of colours and they even give off a lovely perfume in the evening.

As usual the hosepipe has become an extension of my right arm. I vow every year that I will not be a slave to the garden but if we do not water all the effort put in the rest of the year comes to nothing. However I hope I have got it into a little more perspective now.

John finished the landing  in time for our friends stay last weekend. Unfortunately our camera is not up to showing you a picture. The photos make it look like a house that someone is just moving into  -  I hope it doesn't actually look like that and I have got my rose tinted glasses on. Joking aside we are very pleased with it and just need to find the finishing touches.

We are off tomorrow to help our friends move back into their house which has been rebuilt after the fire a year ago. I would love to tell you that it is finished but it isn't and their traumas are far from over.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Il y aura un Orage!

Hier après-midi, Sue m'a dit, "Nadine est sur la tondeuse!!!"  J'ai courru, et, bien sur c'était Nadine sur la tondeuse neuve.
Sue a demandé à Nadine si Jean-Jaques était malade, mais non, il coupait l'herbe sur la vielle tracteur.
Nous sommes envieux ... nos voisins; une famille avec deux tondeuses!!!

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

She's Happy!!

I'm pleased to report that we're on target with the floor laying on the landing.  Having finished the 'stones' above the beam and then tidied up everything I sealed the floor this morning.
We are having temperatures of 30+ everyday now, so it didn't take long before the floor had dried and I was able to start laying the adhesive floor tiles.
With the adhesive on the tiles, and the sealant on the floor, you only get one shot at putting down the tile!
However, I spent all afternoon laying the tiles and tomorrow I'll have to start doing all of the fiddley cutting where the tiles butt up against the stone walls.

 The clerk of the works is walking arround with a smile on her face!

Sunday, July 07, 2013

Summertime ...

..and the living is easy; or at least that's how the song goes.  Here in the south-west of France we've assumed our 'summer' routine.
During the morning (or all day if you're stupid enough, and remember we're English) Sue works in the garden and I work in the house. I'm under instructions to try to finish the landing outside the bedrooms by next weekend when we have some visitors so I'm putting some stones above a beam to tidy it up before I can lay the flooring.
 In the afternoons it's a bit hot for work (like 35degrees-ish).  In the evening when it starts to cool down it's time to water the garden.
All of this activity is very tiring for some of the members of the team.

Thursday, July 04, 2013

Planting Up

Sue had been struggling with lifting the Irises and so I gave her a hand to clear the first side of the iris walk.  This meant that she could prepare and replant them, but she's replanting with pale blue ones and not the 'common' dark blue!
 
As you can see we've still got to lift the other side of the walk!!!
All of this gardening is exhausting for cats......
......and dogs!
Meanwhile, I'm still 'playing' in the loft but, to keep 'er indoors happy, I've started to fill in a gap between a beam and the 'ceiling' on the landing.
I was hoping to get on with this quite quickly this week as we had nothing in our 'social diary' but suddenly we've had or are going to have meals or aperos nearly every day.  This retirement can be very difficult!