Thursday 19 December 2013

First Few Weeks

French countryside
 Well, at long last we are here. The long wait and all the hassles are behind us and we are in our French home and can begin the latest chapter.
As our furniture wasn't going to join us for two weeks we were able to relax a little and take time over rearranging what the previous owner had left behind and making it as comfortable as possible for that period. We had a bed, sofa, oven and hob, plus various wardrobes and such, so it wasn't exactly camping. The electric radiators and the hot water all worked, so we wasn't going to freeze to death either. The only appliance that refused to work was the TV, no great loss.
One job that did cause a certain amount of stress was getting the internet and phone operational. We had collected our Orange "livebox" during our stay at the gite, but we still had no idea how it worked. After connecting it up and a bit of faffing we got the computer internet going but the phone was still a mystery. Luckily our new friend Peter, owner of the gite, popped round for a coffee and he managed to sort it. In Fact they have managed to point us in the right direction on more than one occasion.
We also were reunited with Howard, who we met on our buying trip, and he was able to take us to a house which had some furniture for sale. There we managed to purchase an eight seater dining table and chairs, a dresser and several other decent bits and pieces for a very good price.
Our furniture duly arrived on December 10th, Karens birthday, delivered by the top blokes from Wheadon removals. It all went well with only one vase broken, but that  was probably due to my packing. And since then our feet haven't touched the ground. Sorting through stuff  we'd forgotten we owned and trying to decide where to put it. It's amazing how many books we have that have no relevance out here. "Weekend walks in Britain" and "Footpaths of Britain" to name but two.
But we seem to be on top of it now, the Christmas tree is up and the place almost looks like a home. I say almost because we now have the builders in......



 It was always our intention to begin the work on the en suite bathrooms after new year, with only a couple of minor bits done before. Unfortunately as the builder has other commitments in January, and we wish to open for guests at Easter,  the stud work at least has to be done now. 
So I now have bags of rubble and such to transport to the"Dechettarie" and a previously tidied workshop, in need of a tidy. But they seem to be doing a good job. We've lost a little more space out of two of the bedrooms than I would have liked but I'm sure when it's done it'll be fine. 

Stud Work going up
Me at our local lake
As I said we seem to getting on pretty well in the village. We get handshakes in the Tabac and we are known in the Boulangerie. Our French neighbours are very nice, and the ex- pats are a cheery bunch. The only blots so far is the failure to find a key to fit the side door into the basement, and as we can't open it, getting a new lock fitted is proving a problem.
And the fact that the log burner isn't up to French standards and has to be replaced at some point. We can use it for now so it's not too bad.  
Yesterday we took delivery of a "cord" of logs (3 square meters apparently) and spent over an hour stacking them in our wood store in the rain. But I'll be glad of them come Christmas.
So here's to the new year and whatever it brings. 
Joyeux Noel et une Bonne Annee