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Projects Galore!

Bonjour everyone

How quickly the weeks are flying by. How did we get to half way through February already? I am convinced time is speeding up – or maybe it is a symptom of my age!

At last the weather here has improved – it is still February but the days are warmer, we have had some beautiful sunny afternoons and the garden (and house) are slowly beginning to dry out. There are signs of Spring everywhere now. It makes me want to be outside all the time – not that compatible with work and a house renovation. I have started planting some seeds in trays – so far some tomatoes, aubergine, pepper, chilli and sweet peas. I forgot to plant the sweet peas outside last autumn along with the broad beans, so I am planning to put a few in outside over the weekend if the soil has dried out enough. There are lots more seeds to get going over the coming weeks.

As I mentioned last week, the kittens had a vet visit on Monday – this time for the big op to keep our cat population at 4! The cat basket exercise didn’t quite go according to plan – again – and I am once more covered in wounds! The door to one of the baskets got stuck as Louka was being manoeuvred in to join his brother. Raoul escaped, Louka sunk his claws in but didn’t quite manage to get free. Getting Raoul back in was not fun. The girls were much easier! Not keen but less aggressive about their dislike of cat baskets. The operations went well, all behaved impeccably (according to the vet) and after paying a large bill, they came home the same evening. The poor girls look a little like tiny sumo wrestlers as they have large harness/nappy style bandages to protect their stiches. The boys got off much more lightly and don’t have stiches or antibiotics to take. I am relieved as they are the most challenging in all things vet. I learned that hormones continue to rage for 2-3 weeks afterwards so life has been interesting here. However the main thing is everyone will be happier long term and we won’t be increasing our cat population. 4 is enough – too many really but…

This week is all about reusing and revamping things, breathing new life into preloved items. Our renovation project is on a tight budget, even tighter now given the circumstances, so we are always on the look-out for bargains or even free things. Back in the UK, we loved visiting charity shops, as well as auctions and junk shops. In fact, the dress I wore for our wedding was an amazing charity shop find years ago – a fabulous Patsy Seddon dress and jacket. For the wedding I paired the dress with a coat my lovely sister Sarah gave me – voilà an absolute bargain of an outfit! I also collect vintage china and glass, especially champagne coupes and tea/coffee services and have found many of my collection in charity shops or at the auction. We used some of these at our wedding too:

Since being in France we have discovered Emmaus – a charity emporium, along with various brocante places and flea markets. On our first visit to Emmaus in Albi, I found this beautiful vintage glass light shade for 3€

There are some great brocante shops around – some quite pricey but all Aladdin’s caves of fascinating things, which, even if you don’t buy anything, can give you some great ideas. One of our favourites is called Le Chien Vert in Albi – a cavern of a place filled with so many interesting bits and pieces. A real plus is that the owner always makes coffee for you as you browse. We haven’t been for a while, but we did buy a huge ring of old keys some time back – what stories they could tell. Did they all come from one house I wonder? They are very rusty but I have started the long cleaning process as I have a project in mind! There is also a lovely brocante shop in St Antonin Noble Val where we found some beautiful glass pendant light shades. I could spend hours browsing and run the risk of spending a fortune on things we probably don’t need.

We have also become huge fans of vide-greniers or vide-maisons. A vide-grenier or vide-maison is a bit like a yard sale and great fun to go to – people emptying attics or clearing out houses – sometimes you get to wander through the property, other times the things are in a garage or on the street. One person’s rubbish and all that. The last one we went to in Cordes sur Ciel last year was held throughout Cordes, so we spent a wonderful few hours strolling around the winding streets with some friends finding hidden sales and discovering places we hadn’t seen. We had a hugely successful time, coming away with a leaf blower for 10€ and six beautiful tea glasses which cost me 1€!

I love the idea of reusing things rather than throwing them away and it is great that things can have a whole new lease of life. It is also key to renovating on a tight budget. Whilst we have been sorting out our various brocante and vide-maison finds for renovating, it has given us a chance to work out what we need and where. Max has been busy with woodworm treatment for a once-stunning old sofa, bought from a vide-maison in the village. Actually it was hidden behind some old trestle table tops, very dusty and worn but with huge potential. I also found a marble topped washstand and an old fruit ladder there too. The washstand will be painted white as the wood is a little worm-holed, but now treated. The ladder was a folly! It is just so beautiful – and seems very sturdy and is so very long (just under 6 metres). So either we will use it for its actual purpose – to pick cherries – or I will think of some project for it.

We also recently acquired two very sturdy chairs from a neighbour – not the most beautiful items in the world, but with a lick of paint and some new fabric they may well look fabulous!

When we moved here we inherited a huge old bureau and an enormous mirror, which have been part of the house for a very long time apparently. No-one seems to know from when. Both stunning pieces of furniture, both needing a bit of repair and care. The bureau sits in the hall, where it will stay. The mirror hangs over the fireplace in the salon. I am thinking of silver gilding it as the wood frame doesn’t really suit the room.

We were also lucky to find all sorts of forgotten bits and pieces in the attics – old chairs, sleigh beds, a huge picture frame once seemingly quite ornate, zinc basins and a sleeping red lion, amongst lots of other things (as well as the papers I have mentioned before). An old painting packing case (which caused a moment of excitement when we thought something might be in it – but no) is going to become the worktable part of Max’s desk. I am having our old kitchen table. We are continuing to plan what to do with some of the other pieces. We are hugely curious as to what purpose the lion served. It seems to be a plaster mould, painted in the same colour as the shutters used to be. Any guesses?

When the roof was done, we arrived in time to rescue all the slate tiles, the roof timbers and the terracotta tiles before they all disappeared. I have used some of the slate to edge flower beds and some of the tiles as a path. It is nice to keep these things but also very useful. We also rescued a beautiful roof beam and decided to incorporate it into the kitchen so that something of the original house remained. Max repurposed it into a support for some open shelves on our slightly adapted kitchen island. Even the builder was impressed. It looks lovely but is also part of the house’s history. One thing we didn’t envisage is that the kittens think it is a scratching post – we need to work out how to stop that!

I have started small on my revamping projects. I have 2 sets of lovely wicker boxes – one red and one blue. The blue boxes have sadly faded over time, as you can see from the lid in the photo, so I have been giving them a new lease of life with some ivory and graphite chalk paint. Quite smart now I think.

Next up is this table, a find from ages ago, very battered and in need of some attention. This is going to be painted ivory with the carved detail picked out in another colour – I am tending towards grey at the moment. What do you think? A spot at the top of the staircase beckons. All will be revealed soon.

Max is also hard at work upcycling things. Last night I was treated to a late Valentine’s gift, but I had to go to the attic to find it. Attic at night? Not high on my list of places to visit but off we went to a darkened attic to be greeted by twinkling fairy lights. What an amazing and unexpected surprise. He has repurposed his late uncle’s old umbrella into a beautiful light using the fairy lights from the pergolas we erected for our wedding supper. Just gorgeous.

I am off to finish some painting. Have a great week and see you next Friday.

Thank you for reading this. Enjoy the mimosa which is even better than last week and smells divine.

A bientôt.

Ali xx

4 Comments

  • Ruth Churchill

    How lovely it all sounds Ali. It’s a tonic to read during lockdown here. Particularly LOVE the sparkly umbrella!!

  • Teresa

    You are so inventive Alison! I’m sure it will look beautiful by the time you have left your mark xx

    • Ali

      Thank you. It will certainly keep us busy for many a year! Hopefully you will be able to visit soon and check up on our progress, or lack of it! xx

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