Blog posts

40 and counting

Bonjour!

I have made it to 40 weeks of blog posts, with a few delays here and there. I am really pleased. Not too long until I have been at this for a year! Are you enjoying the ups and downs of our life here in France? The renovation part is moving very slowly. We seem to do so much just to stand still. The house keeps on giving us more things to fix rather than finish! It can be quite frustrating at times as I can see how the house will look eventually and want it all done NOW! I am a total renovation novice with little patience. In spite of all the challenges (and there have been a few), we love it here.

This week I thought I would celebrate some of my favourite things from the past 40 weeks of blog posts. Last week was 50 doors, this week 40 or so favourites – who knows where this may lead. Maybe to 1 finished house! See you in 2030…

Before that, news this week. Again very changeable weather. On Sunday we were poolside basking in 31°C enjoying one of my favourite activities – swimming. Some friends joined us and we had a lovely afternoon. On Monday the temperature had dropped by about 12 degrees and we were back in winter clothes – well almost.  It has rained all week but on Friday the sun reappeared and warm weather is promised. The upside to all the rain is that the garden hasn’t needed watering, the downside the lawn just keeps on growing, so Max just keeps on mowing.

Wednesday was le 14 juillet, an important fête nationale (national celebration) in France, often known as Bastille Day, so we joined the village for the celebrations – well about 20 of them as the weather was awful. Le 14 juillet, as I am sure you know, marked the beginning of the French Revolution when the Bastille (a prison fortress at the time, although fallen out of use) was stormed on 14 July 1789. It is also commemorates the Fête de la Fédération that celebrates the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790.

At our little village’s celebration, M le Maire made a speech in the pouring rain, getting soaked until a kind man arrived with a large umbrella. At the vin d’honneur afterwards, we met this man and his wife and found out that he had done a lot of research into our house. A branch of the original noble family had set up home where he lives, so there is a connection, plus the villagers are very proud of their little château so the information was of interest. He has promised to send me what he has and also help me at the Archives in Albi. Amazing. It was lovely to meet a few more people. The next village event is the summer meal – le repas communal on 30th July. I was in the UK the first year and missed this and last year it was cancelled. It is going ahead this year with social distancing and hygiene protocols – a bit scary after so long being tucked away seeing basically no-one. Does anyone else feel nervous doing social things now?

Max and I are also now officially fully vaccinated (2 weeks after our second dose) and whilst taking my son for his first vaccination (another story) missed a delivery from the post. It was delivered the next day – our cartes de séjour – residency cards. Even our post lady was excited for us! We are now French residents, but as ever with passport photos, mine is terrible – I could easily pass for some kind of scary would-be assassin!

You will probably have heard that on Monday France’s president announced measures that require citizens to get vaccinated, including the need for proof of vaccination (or a negative test) to be able to go to cafés, restaurants and to travel. Within 2 hours of this announcement about 980k appointments were booked. Luckily I had already booked the dates for my son prior to this, as now it is quite hard to find an appointment for the coming weeks. Just shows how important the café is here in France! There are plenty of people against this approach, but it is a pretty effective way to encourage vaccination in the fight against this pandemic.

40 weeks of blogging – I can’t believe so many weeks have passed and that people have actually read the posts. Thank you to all of you who have followed my ramblings, hopefully some of it has been interesting and some of it has made you laugh. We have had some adventures and plenty of disasters but somehow we are still smiling!

Since October 2020, I have shown you around the house, shared some renovation ideas and explored a little of this area of France with you. We have cooked and looked at seasonal produce. The rescue animals have put in a few appearances as have lots of views, flowers and chocolatines. I would love to hear what you have enjoyed, what you would like more of – aside from some finished renovation projects!

Here are a few of my favourite things/moments/photos.

We acquired our 4 delightful rescue kittens but I had to wave good-bye to my younger son who returned to the UK, after spending a year out here with us. The kittens have been a source of joy, pain (my finger) and sometimes irritation but are growing into lovely cats – now 10 months old.

Bear, the rescue dog, has not fared too well during the various lockdowns, so continues to need work. He is such a sweetie but is struggling to learn – fairly typical of his breed and also understandable after his difficult start in life. A 45kg handful at times but he does love a tummy tickle and is very handsome!

We have discovered some exciting things in and around the house, such as this ‘pond’ in the garden, the blue paint under the floorboards in the attic and the plaque at the back of a fireplace. We have opened up the attic landing to show off the tower staircase to its best advantage. We still have the sanding, repairing and painting to do but it is lovely to have the open space and more light.

The skies never cease to amaze me – day and night. These days as we are often out searching for one or other of the kittens after dark, so we often see the night sky. Out here as there is no light pollution on a starry night, it is like being under a very dark blue velvet blanket covered in glitter. Truly spectacular. We have also sat out to spot shooting stars – a favourite thing of mine – great for relaxing (apart from your neck!) and just so incredible when you spot one. Day time skies, whether dawn, day-time or dusk are stunning – I never tire of the view, the light and the colours whatever the weather. Plus the sky just seems so huge here.

Some of the places we have visited are also magical and as for the food and wine…. I am in seasonal and local produce heaven and regularly making jam or chutney amongst other things – currently all things courgette! We are also testing out local wines – rosé at the moment as it is summer, and not forgetting the delicious pâtisserie, often sampled, and cheeses galore! Tough jobs but someone has to do them.

We have had our fair share of dramas: broken fingers, cat bites, power cuts, fallen trees and damaged water mains. Some more of my favourites are: goats guarding a nearby large house all year round, coloured shutters, beautiful flowers, garden produce, architectural details and snippets of history about our petit château, moodboards and renovation plans, brocante and vide-maison finds, and of course many coffees and chocolatines!

So much more to share. I hope you stick with me on our journey. As ever thank you for travelling with me so far. I would love to hear what you are enjoying and not. In the coming months, the renovation will move forwards, we will explore more places nearby and enjoy local seasonal produce – not to mention continue to bring you tales of the ups and downs of notre vie en France!

I am going to post the weekly update on Saturdays over the summer, instead of Friday evenings as I always seem to be late these days. I hope you don’t mind?

Have a great week and see you on Wednesday for the next local spot to visit. I can’t tell you where, as I have to confess I don’t yet know!

A bientôt

Ali xx

4 Comments

  • Deborah Tate-Smith

    Hi Ali,
    Thought I’d reply for the first time. I’ve been reading your blog for the last couple of months. Caught up on the older post and now read you every week. Have loved following your trials and tribulations. Reminds me so much of Mark’s and my adventures when we first moved to our little ‘maison de manoir’ in southern Belgium. Every job seems to take 3 times what you originally estimate . Oh and THE DUST!
    Love everything you write, keep it up.
    Much love, Debs

    • Ali

      Debs hi
      So sorry for the very delayed reply. Thank you for reading the blog and for your comments. Much appreciated. Hope all well with you all? One of these days we will get to meet up again. Meanwhile back to the dust! Lots of love Ali xx

  • Teresa

    Well done in reaching 40 weeks Alison. I’m going to try and keep up in real time going forward. I had no idea for example about the impact of the terrific storm you had! Also planning to try some of the recipes, I’ll let you know how I get on! Xxx

    • Ali

      Thank you for the comments. It is nice to hear what you think. Looking forward to seeing the results of the recipes. Let me know which ones you make and whether you like them. Definitely try the chocolate brownies with courgettes! xx

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