Owls and Outings
Bonjour everyone
I hope you have had a good week or rather fortnight as I missed posting last week? We have had the usual array of the unexpected, some good, some not so good. We have also had a houseful of family staying which has been lovely, and also the reason for the lack of post. I hope you enjoyed the renovation update though? There is much more to come in that area very soon.
In the last update, I mentioned that the plumber was coming to connect our gas supply to the cooker. Well he came, it is done and we are legal now! It is wonderful having the hob back, and not having to juggle cooking on a two-ring induction hob. He also investigated the water leak we have. Tiles were dug up in the souillarde (actually the former kitchen but now utility room) and a pretty big leak was located. The next challenge was to decide how to fix it. The pipes run under the tiled floor and up through the wall. A complex and messy job to follow this route, so much time was spent looking at alternatives. An anomaly of this house is that the room above the souillarde does not sit logically on the room below. The two walls are not in line, in fact there is quite a difference between the downstairs wall and the one above. A stick was poked through the floor in the sewing room, which appeared in the dining room – not where we need it. Floorboards were taken up and the chimney breast in the outer wall below found – it goes along partly under a window for some reason. Who knows when that window was put in but at some point it would appear that it formed part of the enormous chimney for the old kitchen. We then had to wait for him to return to run a new pipe and thus solve the problem. The water was turned off to two bathrooms as the leak is really quite big, and all in the run-up to my family coming to stay. We were in luck and he managed to squeeze us in on the Friday morning before their Saturday arrival. We now have a new connection, with the pipe being fed up through the former chimney breast of the souillarde and through the wall into the guest loo, but all under the floorboards. A great job done in the nick of time!
On a more positive note, we visited a portes ouvertes (open day) at a favourite vineyard a couple of Sundays ago, with wine tasting, food and music. We went late morning as the day was going to be very hot (up to 33C). This vineyard is called Les Trois Têtus (the 3 stubborn ones) – I think I have mentioned it before. 3 guys (2 bothers and a friend) set it up a few years ago and now produce 2 whites, 2 reds, a rose and a dessert white – all lovely I have to say. We tried some of the different wines, and each picked one to have a glass with lunch and settled down to a gorgeous plate of local cheeses, some charcuterie and listened to some great live music. A rather nice way to spend a Sunday lunch-time.
In the run-up to my family’s arrival from the UK and Australia, we rushed around frantically trying to finish jobs and get rooms ready, clean the pool and plan food. My sister and my nieces arrived on Saturday after a long drive down from Paris, and my brother arrived from the UK on Sunday. Of course the weather changed and it rained that weekend! We were glad of the water but it slightly scuppered outdoor eating and lounging by the pool for a couple of days. We took them to St Antonin Sunday market, a firm favourite with everyone, shopped and had dinner in Albi on Monday, took in a wine tour at a chateau we hadn’t visited on Wednesday and spent Thursday in Toulouse. My nieces stayed on in Toulouse and my brother returned to the UK, with my sister staying on for a couple more days. Lots of food, wine, fun and laughter and a long overdue catch up, as well as some clothes swaps (always welcome).
In keeping with our usual luck, this was the moment when the septic tank decided to be difficult. Suddenly two bathrooms were once again out of use. The back bathroom, currently the laundry room and the original bathroom of the house, yet to be tackled, had to be cajoled into use. Not ideal but at least we have 2 septic tanks, so we had options! Now comes the fun of trying to get someone out to have a look and let us know what the problem is. We are also trying to book a company to empty them, although they shouldn’t need that yet. All this before the holiday season kicks in in France, so who knows what will happen!!
To end the week in suitable dramatic form, we had to undertake an owl rescue. This seems to happen each year with a young Little Owl getting stuck somewhere it shouldn’t! This time it had managed to fall down the woodburner flue, but got stuck where the pipe changes direction, we think. No amount of gentle prodding could get it to come down so we could rescue it. Eventually later in the evening after a day of worrying about whatever was scrabbling in the flue (we suspected a young Little Owl but didn’t actually know at this point), Max went in to the kitchen to find it flying around, and I heard a ‘help’ come from him. Half an hour later having opened all the doors and windows in the kitchen, having tried to gently catch it to release it, it managed to find its way out. Adorable but obviously very scared and stressed. One of its parents was nearby and it flew off to join it. Drama over and a happy ending, a good note to end this post.
Enjoy the week ahead. It is very hot here now, heading for 35°C, so the pool beckons later this afternoon. The rescue animals are seeking out shady spots or in Nina’s case the dog’s summer bed! Toulouse has taken a rather creative approach to installing some shade – beautiful shimmering metallic strips above the street to provide some dappled shade for pedestrians and cyclists alike. Wonderful.
A bientôt
Ali xx
PS A little postscript on the owl front. Mr or Mrs Little Owl paid us a visit this evening, I swear to say thank you for yesterday’s rescue. He or she sat on our terrace wall and bobbed away looking at us. Maybe my vivid imagination or wishful thinking but I like to think it was pleased we saved the young one.
