Jean-Marie showed up for a (very brief) meeting today.
The long and the short of it is that we need the plumber to finish his bit.
He's ill again, and I don't know how quickly he's going to get better this time...
There is a meeting due to happen tomorrow or Saturday, which will hopefully iron things out, but at the moment the disturbed sleep is giving me "energy issues", so I haven't got it within me to get too worked up either way.
Either work is finished when I go back to London, or it isn't.
Either way, we won't/can't use the bedroom till it warms up next year, so I'm past caring just at the moment; dull, murky weather doesn't make me dash about achieving things at the best of times, and just now we are NOT in the best of times.
This, too, shall pass.
So I'll just play the waiting game, and pretend I'm being zen!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
HR: read this first!
I did occur to me just that if I was applying for jobs and anyone looked at this blog, I might not get an interview...
All that tells you is the people making the decisions who to interview/deciding the selection criteria would have got it wrong.
An ability to focus on the minutiae as long as necessary (before stepping back to look at the bigger picture) coupled with an eye for spotting something slightly out of the usual (with a view to investigating), separating things out into their component parts [however unnatural that may seem to system users], taking each step as it comes and changing tack as necessary, credible documentation of events (both planned-for and unexpected), together with a highly-developed (if at times slightly left of mainstream) sense of humour, I believe perfectly describes who you'd want working with/for you on your project.
[Forgot to add: can work alone or as part of a team!!! *wink*]
On paper: no chance. In real life: I'm getting stuff done where other people sometimes fail!
All that tells you is the people making the decisions who to interview/deciding the selection criteria would have got it wrong.
An ability to focus on the minutiae as long as necessary (before stepping back to look at the bigger picture) coupled with an eye for spotting something slightly out of the usual (with a view to investigating), separating things out into their component parts [however unnatural that may seem to system users], taking each step as it comes and changing tack as necessary, credible documentation of events (both planned-for and unexpected), together with a highly-developed (if at times slightly left of mainstream) sense of humour, I believe perfectly describes who you'd want working with/for you on your project.
[Forgot to add: can work alone or as part of a team!!! *wink*]
On paper: no chance. In real life: I'm getting stuff done where other people sometimes fail!
Slightly OCD lunch
I've decided to profit from the absence of workmen, and have a lazy afternoon hunkered down with a good book [an Agatha Christie, in case you were wondering] in front of the poêle, and am just having a late lunch first.
I blame tiredness/head full of other things, but I've ended up with:
- tomatoes on a chopping board
- avocado on a big plate
- cheese on a small plate
- crisps in a bowl
- dried tomato paste in a jar
I do know why it happened that way [I wanted salt & pepper on the fresh tomatoes, but not on the avocado, and the chopping board is covered in tomato juice, the cheese I'd already sliced and it was taking up all of a small plate, the crisps were all that I was going to have (as a snack) until I realised it was lunchtime, so decided to have the cheese. There was some tomato paste (like tapenade) that needed using up, so no point decanting it (and it goes beautifully with creamy-textured Caprice des Dieux). I don't like slicing food on plates as we prefer having sharp knives, and I've seen the damage that they can do even to the toughest crockery. By the time I added the avocado to the 'mix' (at which point, if there hadn't been a plate of sliced-up brie-type cheese already there, I would have gone for insalata tricolore; yes all on one plate!) I had to get another plate, but somehow the "picnic" look stopped me piling everything onto the bigger plate. Simples!], but I'm not sure the world at large will see what I'm seeing [a delightful repast with a couple of my five-a-day (up to seven today)], and might just look too deeply into something quite random. No, I'm not posting a picture as I'd no longer have the hope that you might think I'm kidding.
Before you think my formatting's got lost, I deliberately ran that paragraph together in the hope that it's TL;DR for most people, and I can sneak it under the radar!
Reminds me of an episode of Monk: Monk was eating at Sharona's house, and she'd put all the vegetables on the plate, touching!! Monk was desperately uncomfortable, till the son [whose name I've forgotten] got another plate to separate them out. It was at that point it became immensely clear to me that neither the director nor Tony Shalhoub has obsessive tendencies, as Monk was then happy, but some of the vegetables were still in the wrong place and touching!
Oh, I do miss that programme.
Together with Monica Geller from friends, Adrian Monk makes me feel so completely normal that I should be the poster-girl for normal!
Anyway, back to my segregated food...
Forgot to say
I do have enough time left 'on the clock' to be able to spend Christmas/New Year here, if we so choose, but I am NOT [sorry, couldn't find the HTML for "underline like crazy people do"!] sacrificing that time to be here for builders.
The room won't be finished in time for us to use it this winter: no central heating, yet...
[We're at the point where I'm playing the waiting game.
I'm coping with just the output from the poêle in the evenings, but it's only a matter of time...]
Today is warmer [13°C], but we've had several nights where it's been 5°C, and as the insulation for the bedroom is planned to be in the form of external cladding at some future unspecified date, it will be a stone-walled room with no heating.
Hmm, I've done that one, and am not doing it again unless/until we're on our uppers!
As an aside, apparently T+B are having a nightmare with the job in Cirfontaine...
From what we've heard [building trades grapevine is usually pretty accurate, even if I don't have any sources; sadly M. Hamid is not indiscreet!], plenty is going wrong there too.
Ahh, so much nicer to know you're not alone!
*end bitchiness*
The room won't be finished in time for us to use it this winter: no central heating, yet...
[We're at the point where I'm playing the waiting game.
I'm coping with just the output from the poêle in the evenings, but it's only a matter of time...]
Today is warmer [13°C], but we've had several nights where it's been 5°C, and as the insulation for the bedroom is planned to be in the form of external cladding at some future unspecified date, it will be a stone-walled room with no heating.
Hmm, I've done that one, and am not doing it again unless/until we're on our uppers!
As an aside, apparently T+B are having a nightmare with the job in Cirfontaine...
From what we've heard [building trades grapevine is usually pretty accurate, even if I don't have any sources; sadly M. Hamid is not indiscreet!], plenty is going wrong there too.
Ahh, so much nicer to know you're not alone!
*end bitchiness*
Oops!
M. Hamid finished the pointing yesterday, and I missed it!
The brick pillar looks much better; not quite as convinced with the bottom of the wall, but most of that will be hidden by the layer under the tiling and the tiles themselves. Will probably have a bit of a ponder/measure and visualise...
David is calling Jean-Marie in response to an email; saves him drafting his own email saying that I need to go back to England, and that we are planning to leave on Monday 18 October.
If I stay, I risk getting tangled up in French tax issues.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't see that as a problem: no income = no tax to pay, you'd think.
But, and it's a big BUT, if I'm here long enough to attract liability, the French authorities count that as David also being liable for French tax, regardless of whether he's even visited the country...
NOT something we want; unless you have four or more children, the tax regime here can be pretty punitive, according to what we've read.
We might not end up worse off, but it's not a discussion we want to have to start having.
And the thought of trying to find a French tax accountant (and having to pay said adviser) is enough to have me heading for the hills!
By the time I'd finished this, David has spoken to J-M who is seeing M. Torelli at his office on Friday, so that at least seems to be moving.
David emphasised again the various issues with the plumbing, and said that we are unwilling to have workmen on site unless one of us is here [because of last time's mess and breakages, and this time's errors], so basically put T+B on warning.
I don't think he mentioned that fact that any work not finished will have to wait for next spring [I really do want a break from it all, and once I go, I'm not getting back into it again till the nights start to get lighter!], but we can keep that as an ace up the sleeve, should we need to.
All the trades agreed, with the exception of M. Baty (who is not yet holding up anything), that this job was totally "do-able" in two months: start early April, finish late May.
We didn't start till early June, but even so, to have the end of September tomorrow with no end in sight is a bit much. Even allowing for August being a month off, that's still three months and counting...
I hate feeling that we're being hard-line about things, but we're actually not; we're just finally putting down a foot that ought to have been stomped a long time ago!
The brick pillar looks much better; not quite as convinced with the bottom of the wall, but most of that will be hidden by the layer under the tiling and the tiles themselves. Will probably have a bit of a ponder/measure and visualise...
David is calling Jean-Marie in response to an email; saves him drafting his own email saying that I need to go back to England, and that we are planning to leave on Monday 18 October.
If I stay, I risk getting tangled up in French tax issues.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't see that as a problem: no income = no tax to pay, you'd think.
But, and it's a big BUT, if I'm here long enough to attract liability, the French authorities count that as David also being liable for French tax, regardless of whether he's even visited the country...
NOT something we want; unless you have four or more children, the tax regime here can be pretty punitive, according to what we've read.
We might not end up worse off, but it's not a discussion we want to have to start having.
And the thought of trying to find a French tax accountant (and having to pay said adviser) is enough to have me heading for the hills!
By the time I'd finished this, David has spoken to J-M who is seeing M. Torelli at his office on Friday, so that at least seems to be moving.
David emphasised again the various issues with the plumbing, and said that we are unwilling to have workmen on site unless one of us is here [because of last time's mess and breakages, and this time's errors], so basically put T+B on warning.
I don't think he mentioned that fact that any work not finished will have to wait for next spring [I really do want a break from it all, and once I go, I'm not getting back into it again till the nights start to get lighter!], but we can keep that as an ace up the sleeve, should we need to.
All the trades agreed, with the exception of M. Baty (who is not yet holding up anything), that this job was totally "do-able" in two months: start early April, finish late May.
We didn't start till early June, but even so, to have the end of September tomorrow with no end in sight is a bit much. Even allowing for August being a month off, that's still three months and counting...
I hate feeling that we're being hard-line about things, but we're actually not; we're just finally putting down a foot that ought to have been stomped a long time ago!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
No rain today, so we ventured out...
I walked back into the kitchen after taking M. Hamid a cup of coffee, and caught a glimpse of a tractor out of the corner of my eye."That's a bit close to the house" popped into my head, so I took a close look; Claude was taking away the twiggy bits from when we cleared out under the two walnut trees by the road.
The tractor looked like one of those cartoon illustrations to show the destruction/devastation wreaked by deforestation, tearing off with a mouthful of vegetation!
When he came back for seconds, I took the photo, and here I think it looks like one of those deep-ocean eels: all teeth and no eyes.
Either way, it saved us masses of trouble, so I hope Claude likes the freshly-picked walnuts!
They are a pale creamy colour - very impressive, and much softer textured and sweeter than they will be in a few weeks time.Not impressive was my "haul" of elderberries; so few that I'm embarrassed to post a picture. I'm going to make a 'micro' bottle of schnapps to see if it's any good, and if so I will get my act together next year!
I'm currently freezing all my fruit before making liqueurs; one post I read asked why anyone would do that if they didn't have to...
The answer is that in the 'blind' tasting, the frozen fruit performed best for flavour. Pricked fruit was the most colourful, so this year I'm freezing my damsons etc and then pricking them - hopefully the best of both worlds.
Not going to prick my elderberries [obviously], but someone recommended freezing them for at least a week, so they may break open of their own accord.
The early-harvest sloes got squished!
Day 43
M. Hamid... pointing... fill in the blanks!
Seriously, he has finished the walls (with a possible minor adjustment to the base - the line is supposed to be 1m above the finished floor, but it's not - either way, easily remedied should that be necessary), and has started on the brick pillar by the entrance.
It will all be ready for M. Baty next week...
[Although, as previously mentioned, I'm not sure M. Baty will be ready next week!]
Seriously, he has finished the walls (with a possible minor adjustment to the base - the line is supposed to be 1m above the finished floor, but it's not - either way, easily remedied should that be necessary), and has started on the brick pillar by the entrance.
It will all be ready for M. Baty next week...
[Although, as previously mentioned, I'm not sure M. Baty will be ready next week!]
Monday, September 27, 2010
Day 42
M. Hamid back, making great progress on the remaining wall; the ugly grey plastic pipe and cement mortar have gone to be replaced with stones & lime mortar - beautiful!
M. Huguenot showed up to see what progress has occurred since his last visit, but I don't think that M. Antony will be able to come and do anything until the plaquistes have been again...
With M. Kadir's mum being ill, we don't know when that will be.
Equally, after our visit to M. Baty's atelier on Friday, I'm not convinced that he will be coming next week to fit windows or door frames.
As always, I am trying [with greater or lesser success] to not stress about it all.
Happy 8th Wedding Anniversary!
M. Huguenot showed up to see what progress has occurred since his last visit, but I don't think that M. Antony will be able to come and do anything until the plaquistes have been again...
With M. Kadir's mum being ill, we don't know when that will be.
Equally, after our visit to M. Baty's atelier on Friday, I'm not convinced that he will be coming next week to fit windows or door frames.
As always, I am trying [with greater or lesser success] to not stress about it all.
Happy 8th Wedding Anniversary!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Day 41
It started to absolutely throw it down last night, accompanied by thunder and lightning, so I did finally unplug the router and phones.
Still raining when I got up after a lie-in, and hadn't given up by lunchtime.
It did finally stop just before I took Messrs Hamid and Jamel a coffee, but they'd vanished, so David got two coffees after his lunch!
M. Hamid has done the rejingot and lisse [sorry, don't know the English] for the small window at the front, and some more pointing.
Still raining when I got up after a lie-in, and hadn't given up by lunchtime.
It did finally stop just before I took Messrs Hamid and Jamel a coffee, but they'd vanished, so David got two coffees after his lunch!
M. Hamid has done the rejingot and lisse [sorry, don't know the English] for the small window at the front, and some more pointing.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Calm before the storm...
It's gone suddenly, eerily, still.
That hasn't stopped us feeling a big one might be brewing.
Happy vernal equinox!
That hasn't stopped us feeling a big one might be brewing.
Happy vernal equinox!
Blowing up a storm
I never really thought that that phrase applied to weather [more to people working up to blowing up their tops!], but it really has started to get incredibly windy, and the wind is bringing in the darkest clouds I've seen in a while!
Another gorgeous day [Maria, lizards & hummingbird hawk moths all basking again] had got us thinking the météo had got it wrong, but apparently not.
Ooh, rumbles of thunder; I'm off to unplug the internet before the lightning comes.
Another gorgeous day [Maria, lizards & hummingbird hawk moths all basking again] had got us thinking the météo had got it wrong, but apparently not.
Ooh, rumbles of thunder; I'm off to unplug the internet before the lightning comes.
Day 40/Meeting
A day when we repeatedly heard that other peoples' work is finished [the vendangeurs drive round the village hooting their horns to celebrate having completed their harvest (and probably to rub it in with other workers left in the vineyards) before heading off for a well-earned beer], ours finally seems to be taking shape.
With the walls being pointed, it's really starting to look like a room, rather than a stable with a nice new floor! We're on track for M. Baty to be able to come the week after next to complete that transformation (although the "finishing touches" [like tiles on the floor] will be mid-late October).
Just M. Hamid today; I asked him if more or less work got done without M. Jamel, and he said just the same amount! M. Jamel is unfailingly cheerful, though, and he fetches stuff, so that's a help.
Continuing with the pointing of the walls, which will last at least another couple of days, I think.
Jean-Marie had called yesterday whilst we were out, and Joëlle called this morning to see if he could visit after his first appointment - so we had the meeting today.
It felt a bit more productive than several we have had: he apologised for taking a snap/wrong decision over the panels of "agglo" which has effectively prevented us adding to the insulation above the bedroom. He assured us that there was a good depth of ouate de cellulose, so that it should be well insulated, but I'm not 100% convinced; being English seeing half the amount that we would use, and in a much colder country, makes me doubtful.
Hmmm, we shall see; if it's not a noticeably different temperature than outside we'll get Laurent Mazij back to take up his beautifully fitted boards...
I really don't want to piss M. Mazij off, as we're hoping he will come and do the carpentry when we can afford the next phase!
Our doubts about the absence of plumbing to the second [future] bedroom upstairs, coupled (I believe) with emphasising [repeatedly!] that we'd paid for a waste pipe in the laundry, and now we're having to pay for a second [unwanted, and planned-not-to-have - see pipe in laundry] one in the bedroom, and then having to pay a third time when we will actually get the plumbing done, has made J-M have a think.
The fact that the second [planned against] pipe will make an ugly, unnecessary corner in the bathroom, and doesn't vent produced a "what was I thinking of to allow this to happen?", and a promise to speak with M. Torelli; nearly an apology, but certainly an intention to do something about it...
So let's see: we could either hook up to the existing (vented) soil pipe [our preferred option], or we are considering bringing the wall alongside the shower flush with the pipe, and losing a bit of width in the shower. If we could also push the shower screen towards the wash basin/move the basin right a bit, we might only lose a centimetre or two from the shower, which would still make it bigger than the 80cm standard ones we see.
Jean-Marie said it was an error, and I compromised by saying [what seems to be my favourite phrase!] that it was an opportunity missed to choose the most elegant solution.
Please keep your fingers crossed that we can come up with a better result than is currently likely!
With the walls being pointed, it's really starting to look like a room, rather than a stable with a nice new floor! We're on track for M. Baty to be able to come the week after next to complete that transformation (although the "finishing touches" [like tiles on the floor] will be mid-late October).
Just M. Hamid today; I asked him if more or less work got done without M. Jamel, and he said just the same amount! M. Jamel is unfailingly cheerful, though, and he fetches stuff, so that's a help.
Continuing with the pointing of the walls, which will last at least another couple of days, I think.
Jean-Marie had called yesterday whilst we were out, and Joëlle called this morning to see if he could visit after his first appointment - so we had the meeting today.
It felt a bit more productive than several we have had: he apologised for taking a snap/wrong decision over the panels of "agglo" which has effectively prevented us adding to the insulation above the bedroom. He assured us that there was a good depth of ouate de cellulose, so that it should be well insulated, but I'm not 100% convinced; being English seeing half the amount that we would use, and in a much colder country, makes me doubtful.
Hmmm, we shall see; if it's not a noticeably different temperature than outside we'll get Laurent Mazij back to take up his beautifully fitted boards...
I really don't want to piss M. Mazij off, as we're hoping he will come and do the carpentry when we can afford the next phase!
Our doubts about the absence of plumbing to the second [future] bedroom upstairs, coupled (I believe) with emphasising [repeatedly!] that we'd paid for a waste pipe in the laundry, and now we're having to pay for a second [unwanted, and planned-not-to-have - see pipe in laundry] one in the bedroom, and then having to pay a third time when we will actually get the plumbing done, has made J-M have a think.
The fact that the second [planned against] pipe will make an ugly, unnecessary corner in the bathroom, and doesn't vent produced a "what was I thinking of to allow this to happen?", and a promise to speak with M. Torelli; nearly an apology, but certainly an intention to do something about it...
So let's see: we could either hook up to the existing (vented) soil pipe [our preferred option], or we are considering bringing the wall alongside the shower flush with the pipe, and losing a bit of width in the shower. If we could also push the shower screen towards the wash basin/move the basin right a bit, we might only lose a centimetre or two from the shower, which would still make it bigger than the 80cm standard ones we see.
Jean-Marie said it was an error, and I compromised by saying [what seems to be my favourite phrase!] that it was an opportunity missed to choose the most elegant solution.
Please keep your fingers crossed that we can come up with a better result than is currently likely!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Day 39
It's another beautiful day - 35°C in the sun - but the weather forecast says tomorrow will be cold & rainy, so we're off for a last trundle in the countryside to enjoy it while it lasts!Not great for the vendangeurs, who will have to continue with the grape harvest come rain or shine.
Messrs Hamid & Jamel are back today: M. Hamid is continuing pointing the wall, whilst M. Jamel is raking out the joints.It's all starting to come together [at long last!], which is heartening.
We had a visit from M. Mekki, and the plaquistes are likely to be delayed as M. Kadir has had to rush back to Turkey as his mother is ill. Hope she gets better soon.
We'd been asking him all the sorts of questions the project manager should be dealing with, and said that we still had received no response to our email dating back to 25 August/6 September, so we had no clue what was going on, and we didn't know whether tomorrow's meeting would go ahead, and if so what time [last week's meeting didn't materialise, we think - we didn't actually wait in all day just in case!], etc, etc, etc. So basically we are just trying to liaise with the trades directly so that work still keeps progressing...
I'm not sure if is was a coincidence that about five minutes after M. Mekki leaving we received a very brief email from Jean-Marie stating that he will respond to our questions this evening, and that tomorrow's meeting may be on Friday morning or Tuesday...
I firmly believe in coincidences, but I also have strong faith that not everything that looks like a coincidence is one. Perhaps I'm being super paranoid, but I do know that M. Mekki is sensible enough to gather "brownie-points" when he can for later redemption when he needs to "get out of jail free"...
He doesn't throw it in your face that he's done you a favour when he wants to be allowed to change the scheduling, and it may only be a coincidence that stuff gets mentioned, but it may also be a "coincidence", if you see what I mean!
Anyway, he does a lot of work for Jean-Marie, so the mail from T+B may be a "coincidence", but either way if it gets a finger out, we'll be very happy.
The hummingbird hawk moths are out enjoying the warmth of the sun, as are the lizards, so we shall take our cue from them and go and bask in the countryside.
Happy glorious early autumn day!
Day 38
We left the house at 5.15am for Dijon-Prenois circuit yesterday [gorgeous weather for a Track Day, and no tumbles from the Chez le Baron camp (until I got home, but that was from tiredness & not life-endangering, so doesn't count) - may post about it later], and didn't return till 9.30, so never saw what the builders were doing, but this morning we could see that the bathroom window is finished, and the joints were pointed on another part of the wall in the bedroom.
Luckily, the mortar has dried the right colour, so we don't have to ask them to re-do it!
Luckily, the mortar has dried the right colour, so we don't have to ask them to re-do it!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Day 37
Nanoseconds before I got changed into my DVD-following kit [think: unflattering shorts/t-shirt in shades of mud that don't matter getting sweaty], a van rolled into the front yard - PERFECT timing!
M. Hamid & M. Jamel are back at work, and today the sill for the bathroom window is done, as is the rejingot, and they've done a test-patch of the pointing on the bedroom wall.
Lucky I was here to correct the sketch sent out by Jean-Marie, as he'd apparently forgotten the rejingot! What a shame he didn't send it to us as well, as we could have pointed that out! Fortunately, M. Hamid has a [for the French; well, he is Berber, so that could account for it?] weird attitude in thinking that the customer should be happy with the results!
At this rate we should get all the building work finished by the time M. Baty comes and fits our windows.
Speaking of M. Baty...
M. Hamid & M. Jamel are back at work, and today the sill for the bathroom window is done, as is the rejingot, and they've done a test-patch of the pointing on the bedroom wall.
Lucky I was here to correct the sketch sent out by Jean-Marie, as he'd apparently forgotten the rejingot! What a shame he didn't send it to us as well, as we could have pointed that out! Fortunately, M. Hamid has a [for the French; well, he is Berber, so that could account for it?] weird attitude in thinking that the customer should be happy with the results!
At this rate we should get all the building work finished by the time M. Baty comes and fits our windows.
Speaking of M. Baty...
Avast, me hearties!
The best I can do is wish everyone a [belated]:Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day!
Aarrrr!
[OK, he's not a pirate, but a pre-Revolutionary Frenchman will have to do! We were off watching Danton meet his end after his visit to the château in Charmont-sous-Barbuise, and this landlubber is
Monday, September 13, 2010
Snippets
Progress:
I was looking over my photos - there's one of me in a white boiler suit cleaning off bricks (not going to post it; despite pretending to be Anneka Rice, it's not an image I want out there!), and another of a pile of bricks that is fit for the Tate...
It seems so long ago!
Well, in the scheme of things, it is.
Obviously, before we'd even started, we'd missed our deadline of end of May, and then finishing-before-everything-grinds-to-a-halt proved not possible, and now I haven't a clue...
Except: M. Mekki mailed today to say that with the end of Ramadan, he should be able to get workmen to our house next Wednesday, and hopefully all the plastering/building will be finished by the end of the month.
Just in time for the lovely M. Baty to come early next month and fit our windows, and the equally lovely (but in a slightly-less-pin-up way) M. Waeber to come and do the tiling.
After that we just need the builders back to break through to the house (which as it's already been done, and just blocked up, should take about 20 minutes + tidying), and lay the stone floor to join up with the back hall.
And then I can "spring clean" the place!
A lot of dust [that came out as "a love of dust"; NOT Freudian, I can promise!], obviously, which is always part of the fun of having builders in your home, and when we thought it was going to be done by end of July I just left the 'edges'... Still am, but I've pushed the vacuum cleaner round a few times and it's a bit less "crunchy", but until the bare mortar/concrete is covered the dust won't stop.
I don't know what's going to happen with the insulation/plumbing/step upstairs, but David seems a bit more hacked off with T+B than he was, so I think I might just retire to a safe distance; he doesn't blow his fuse very often [I've never seen it in 11 years], but I suspect it will be spectacular should we come to that!
Changing seasons:
Our rose by the letterbox is coming to the end of a fabulous display of flowers, considering I cut it right back, having planted it at completely the wrong time!
Thinking back, we were planting that one by moonlight - not following biodynamic principles, just taking longer than we thought to get the other two in the ground - in an attempt to get them to survive: here in July it was definitely NOT the time to be planting anything other than lettuces!
I cut it back so it could concentrate on sending down roots, rather than blooming, but I guess it had other ideas. The rain has obviously helped, and it's been lovely to see the flowers.
Petals on the ground, fog blocking out the Mairie, a last whiff of mown grass/hay, the increasingly frequent smell of woodsmoke - all reminders that autumn is on it's way.
The nice days are still bringing the lizards out of their hiding places, but no longer am I greeted with the sound of rustling every time I open the front door, as one scuttles out of sight. And I'm opening the front door every time it's warm - to let the warmth in - rather than keeping it closed to keep the heat out.
I love being here, seeing the seasons change, watching the leaves develop from the tiniest of buds, to soft green, then stronger/darker adult foliage. Now I'm enjoying the first of the golds in the process of preparing to drop leaf as part of the winter dormancy. No oranges or reds, yet; that will come, with the dropping temperatures and the first of the frosts.
The fogs are going to get more frequent, and soon I will be lighting the poêle out of need, rather than from the luxury of being able to burn stuff [London being a smokeless zone limits any pyromaniac tendencies to candles!] , so for now I am, like the lizards, basking in the last of the hot sun before it becomes pallid and weak (leaving me longing for sunnier climes).
Of course, we have the festival of light to look forward to at winter solstice and year's end: lighting as many candles as I can find holders for, to burn away the darkness and herald the start of growth for a new year. But that's a long time off...
Still, some sloe gin to be made!
White goods:
We've really joined the 20th century!
First, we bought a washing machine - oh, boy, is that wonderful?!
And now we have a brand-new fridge-freezer; it's currently skulking in the corner, waiting for David to arrive so we can decide where to put it. It's going to be a massive improvement on our temporary fridge that the tenants broke/lost all the door shelves in, and is missing another shelf: we will be able to stand bottles upright, and keep jars in easy reach. Waiting for delivery on Saturday gave me time to catch up on so many posts here!
What we want next is a cooker; it's weird how I rarely use the oven at home [biscuits excepted!], but not having one makes me long for a bake of some kind.
At least I can always go out for a pizza!
Welly pros & cons:
Pros:
I was looking over my photos - there's one of me in a white boiler suit cleaning off bricks (not going to post it; despite pretending to be Anneka Rice, it's not an image I want out there!), and another of a pile of bricks that is fit for the Tate...
It seems so long ago!
Well, in the scheme of things, it is.
Obviously, before we'd even started, we'd missed our deadline of end of May, and then finishing-before-everything-grinds-to-a-halt proved not possible, and now I haven't a clue...
Except: M. Mekki mailed today to say that with the end of Ramadan, he should be able to get workmen to our house next Wednesday, and hopefully all the plastering/building will be finished by the end of the month.
Just in time for the lovely M. Baty to come early next month and fit our windows, and the equally lovely (but in a slightly-less-pin-up way) M. Waeber to come and do the tiling.
After that we just need the builders back to break through to the house (which as it's already been done, and just blocked up, should take about 20 minutes + tidying), and lay the stone floor to join up with the back hall.
And then I can "spring clean" the place!
A lot of dust [that came out as "a love of dust"; NOT Freudian, I can promise!], obviously, which is always part of the fun of having builders in your home, and when we thought it was going to be done by end of July I just left the 'edges'... Still am, but I've pushed the vacuum cleaner round a few times and it's a bit less "crunchy", but until the bare mortar/concrete is covered the dust won't stop.
I don't know what's going to happen with the insulation/plumbing/step upstairs, but David seems a bit more hacked off with T+B than he was, so I think I might just retire to a safe distance; he doesn't blow his fuse very often [I've never seen it in 11 years], but I suspect it will be spectacular should we come to that!
Changing seasons:
Our rose by the letterbox is coming to the end of a fabulous display of flowers, considering I cut it right back, having planted it at completely the wrong time!
Thinking back, we were planting that one by moonlight - not following biodynamic principles, just taking longer than we thought to get the other two in the ground - in an attempt to get them to survive: here in July it was definitely NOT the time to be planting anything other than lettuces!
I cut it back so it could concentrate on sending down roots, rather than blooming, but I guess it had other ideas. The rain has obviously helped, and it's been lovely to see the flowers.
Petals on the ground, fog blocking out the Mairie, a last whiff of mown grass/hay, the increasingly frequent smell of woodsmoke - all reminders that autumn is on it's way.
The nice days are still bringing the lizards out of their hiding places, but no longer am I greeted with the sound of rustling every time I open the front door, as one scuttles out of sight. And I'm opening the front door every time it's warm - to let the warmth in - rather than keeping it closed to keep the heat out.
I love being here, seeing the seasons change, watching the leaves develop from the tiniest of buds, to soft green, then stronger/darker adult foliage. Now I'm enjoying the first of the golds in the process of preparing to drop leaf as part of the winter dormancy. No oranges or reds, yet; that will come, with the dropping temperatures and the first of the frosts.
The fogs are going to get more frequent, and soon I will be lighting the poêle out of need, rather than from the luxury of being able to burn stuff [London being a smokeless zone limits any pyromaniac tendencies to candles!] , so for now I am, like the lizards, basking in the last of the hot sun before it becomes pallid and weak (leaving me longing for sunnier climes).
Of course, we have the festival of light to look forward to at winter solstice and year's end: lighting as many candles as I can find holders for, to burn away the darkness and herald the start of growth for a new year. But that's a long time off...
Still, some sloe gin to be made!
White goods:
We've really joined the 20th century!
First, we bought a washing machine - oh, boy, is that wonderful?!
And now we have a brand-new fridge-freezer; it's currently skulking in the corner, waiting for David to arrive so we can decide where to put it. It's going to be a massive improvement on our temporary fridge that the tenants broke/lost all the door shelves in, and is missing another shelf: we will be able to stand bottles upright, and keep jars in easy reach. Waiting for delivery on Saturday gave me time to catch up on so many posts here!
What we want next is a cooker; it's weird how I rarely use the oven at home [biscuits excepted!], but not having one makes me long for a bake of some kind.
At least I can always go out for a pizza!
Welly pros & cons:
Pros:
- Waterproof
- Cheap
- Can act like a big kid at any age [ooh, those puddles are so alluring]
- Stylish & attractive [!]
Cons:
- Thin soles aren't fun on the sharp pebbles of farm tracks
- Not very warm
- HUGE blisters on the soles of my heels
Sadly in this instance the "cons" outweigh the "pros" and I'm confined to base as each step is too painful to go for a walk. I did think "oh, get over it, they're only blisters!", but literally limping home taught me that I may be tough in some ways, but the skin parting company from my soles is not one of them.
Hmm; blisters are the bane of my life [can't wear my MBT boots for too long as they give me blisters on the backs of my heels]!
On that note, I'm going to hobble off...
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Not day 37
x 4
- We had M. Waeber come round on the 3rd to ask if he's still starting on the 13th [like anyone's going to tell us that?!], and where he can stock the tiles. He is worried about the depth of concrete that will cover the pipes: if it isn't sufficient, the changes in temperature could cause the tiles to crack...
- We had M. Waeber, again, on the 7th to measure up for the tiles - he was taking exact measurements this time, rather that estimated ones - and to say he had gone to T+B's office on the 6th, and he's happy now with the plan for covering the pipes [having now seen Jean-Marie's sketch with it's wrong dimensions (9cm depth is greater than the 7-8cm we actually have!), and received an email saying it was planned that way from the beginning (erm, no, we only did it this way round to continue working whilst M. Torelli was ill; the pipes were supposed to be laid in the first screed of concrete) I'm still a bit jittery, but if M. Waeber's convinced it will be OK I'll just have to hope it will be OK], and to say that he's due on the 20th...
- M. Mekki came on the 8th [the day the plaquistes were due to resume work], to ask if SMS can delay starting again until the 27th... I said I'd have to ask David, and see whether we could put M. Baty back (which he's fine about); David replied to his email that we'd prefer if they could start on the 20th, as we think there's (at least) two weeks worth of work to do... And we really don't want our lovely new windows splashed with all sorts of crud like the last time [see below]. We're still waiting to hear back...
- On the 9th the tiles arrived [after getting to sleep about 8am, confident in the knowledge that the tiles were due on the 16th, I woke up about 11.30am to two pallets outside the bedroom window!]. Milesi, who are rebuilding the other part of the church wall had helped M. Waeber put them there with their tractor, and he came back later to help me put them in the house [if they hadn't have been stacked vertically I would have managed; but I was glad of his help]. He's now likely to come back after the windows are in; some time in October... Also, Nicolas came (in J-M's place); he doesn't know why the carpentry work was brought forward from early October to late August, nor does he know the answer to any of our other queries. No quite sure what the point of that visit was...
Nicolas did point out that normally the windows go in before the interior is as finished as we want it; I made a big thing out of pretending-to-be-French (think English woman being loud, volatile, arm waving) and said that no way were we having the kind of mess that we had the last time made on our lovely new woodwork this time.
I emphasised that I'd never seen such a mess after builders had been [totally true, and I pointed out the damaged double glazing units - all four in the main room we use!], and that my cousin in the Vendée said her builders didn't even leave the place untidy; I just can't trust that the site will be left in a fit state, and it's NOT going to happen.
[I didn't add "so there!", but that's probably more down to my lack of knowledge of how to say it in French than anything else!]
I am glad T+B are communicating with some people [although to be fair, it did sound as though M. Waeber just showed up and forced the discussion upon them], it's just a tearing shame we aren't on their list!
It feels as though Jean-Marie has lost all interest; he's certainly dropped all professionalism - the planning calender, weekly updates, sending everyone emails to let everyone know what's going on.
Part of me thinks that's because we've over-run his original estimate of two months work, but we never got a planning calender [it was all hand-written on my wall calender!], only received one weekly update [although I know the companies working here got two], and the only prompt emails we received have been the bill-chasing ones when we were determined to get the issue over the joinery sorted out before we settled the account; our queries about the insulation, plumbing for bedroom 2, and the step up from the corridor remain unanswered [the first email was sent on the 25th of August, a more detailed list of what we needed to know chased it on the 6th of September]...
Jean-Marie happily left for a week's holiday without responding; we are currently planning to factor in similar delays for any future payment we make, bearing in mind that if we need the carpenters back to take up the panels upstairs any cost caused by that WILL be coming out of the remaining fees owing; I'm not paying for any more of J-M's slackness!
So, other than expecting M. Baty at the beginning of October, and M. Waeber after him, I don't know who's due and when, so (as usual) I'm just busy trying not to stress about it all.
On a lighter note: our fridge has arrived, so I'm free to leave the house...
[I feel almost lighter for 'getting that off my chest', so this blog is still working as therapy!]
The little snippets I was going to post can wait for another time.
Obviously, one day it will actually be day 37. And one day it will actually be finished. Just not sure when!
Happy warm-autumn-day from this beautiful region where the already-sweet pinot noir grapes are just waiting for the vendange to begin...
[If I was French, I would be unable to resist the temptation to add "...and begin their journey of magical transformation to become the source of pleasure to millions that is the rich legacy of our region, champagne!" (or something similar).
But I'm not, so just be thankful I'm shutting up now!]
Day 36
You can probably guess: more elastic trickery...
This time we have got the telephone point installed!
[It was forgotten in Phase 1a, and has been a constant focus of Jean-Marie's ever since; why the big stuff gets totally ignored, but he can issue nine reminders about something we told him can wait till all the wires are connected up, we're not sure!
I came across a note in my garden diary from three years ago: "I'm tired; not sleeping well because of worrying about the things M. Boyer seems to be neglecting (steels for mezz., well water, corridor height for phase 2) in favour of the minutiae (taps bath, tiles, etc.)." Hmm, getting déjà vu, yet?!]
No-one needs to know that it doesn't work yet [waiting for it all to be connected; seems logical to do all the extra work at once]; neither M. Antoni nor I will tell J-M, I'm sure!
M. Antoni has got as far as he can for now; he needs other people to do their bits before he is able to do anything else, so he's off site for a while.
But here's the exciting bit: M. Baty came!!
Not just because I've got a bit of a crush on him [he is gorgeous, *swoon*], but it means that he's taken the measurements for our door and windows (and the paint for them), so he can start work now!
[And I could say (if asked, which I haven't been yet), "yes, M. Baty's been; it was worth getting that sill done for the french window".]
We'd made a couple of chasing phone calls, and played telephone tag on the first of September [he said he'd come at the end of August, and Maria is quite literal in her interpretations!], when we got a call back from Mme Baty about 7.30pm to ask if it was OK if her husband came on his way home from another job...
Yes, no problem!
[Quick, finally decide what we want!!! We took the sketches and a tape measure out to the stable, and had just definitively ruled out the three-paned option (glazing bar very close to eye height, so no-go there) when he rolled into the drive, phew!]
We've gone with the four-panes to each window, two opening central windows and a fixed window either side for the porte-fenêtre and plain glass (no glazing bars) for the two smaller windows.
He should be able to fit them at the end of September (although more on that, later), and plans to be here for two days and do various little other things, too (tinkering with sills, adding a sill, replacing a cellar door hinge, putting up our long-awaited back shutters, etc), so we are really pleased.
And once again, a big, HUGE thank you to John Knighton for his CAD skills!
We were able to show his impression of how the window will look to M. Baty (and posted him a copy; my printer is NOT up to the challenge of that without using up all my ink!).
We had a discussion about what style, and he said modern can be good (especially where no precedent exists; 19th century french window, erm, no), but we want something in the same style as the windows, so let's hope we've made the right decision!
This time we have got the telephone point installed!
[It was forgotten in Phase 1a, and has been a constant focus of Jean-Marie's ever since; why the big stuff gets totally ignored, but he can issue nine reminders about something we told him can wait till all the wires are connected up, we're not sure!
I came across a note in my garden diary from three years ago: "I'm tired; not sleeping well because of worrying about the things M. Boyer seems to be neglecting (steels for mezz., well water, corridor height for phase 2) in favour of the minutiae (taps bath, tiles, etc.)." Hmm, getting déjà vu, yet?!]
No-one needs to know that it doesn't work yet [waiting for it all to be connected; seems logical to do all the extra work at once]; neither M. Antoni nor I will tell J-M, I'm sure!
M. Antoni has got as far as he can for now; he needs other people to do their bits before he is able to do anything else, so he's off site for a while.
But here's the exciting bit: M. Baty came!!
Not just because I've got a bit of a crush on him [he is gorgeous, *swoon*], but it means that he's taken the measurements for our door and windows (and the paint for them), so he can start work now!
[And I could say (if asked, which I haven't been yet), "yes, M. Baty's been; it was worth getting that sill done for the french window".]
We'd made a couple of chasing phone calls, and played telephone tag on the first of September [he said he'd come at the end of August, and Maria is quite literal in her interpretations!], when we got a call back from Mme Baty about 7.30pm to ask if it was OK if her husband came on his way home from another job...
Yes, no problem!
[Quick, finally decide what we want!!! We took the sketches and a tape measure out to the stable, and had just definitively ruled out the three-paned option (glazing bar very close to eye height, so no-go there) when he rolled into the drive, phew!]
We've gone with the four-panes to each window, two opening central windows and a fixed window either side for the porte-fenêtre and plain glass (no glazing bars) for the two smaller windows.
He should be able to fit them at the end of September (although more on that, later), and plans to be here for two days and do various little other things, too (tinkering with sills, adding a sill, replacing a cellar door hinge, putting up our long-awaited back shutters, etc), so we are really pleased.
And once again, a big, HUGE thank you to John Knighton for his CAD skills!
We were able to show his impression of how the window will look to M. Baty (and posted him a copy; my printer is NOT up to the challenge of that without using up all my ink!).
We had a discussion about what style, and he said modern can be good (especially where no precedent exists; 19th century french window, erm, no), but we want something in the same style as the windows, so let's hope we've made the right decision!
Day 35
As above, [or below, as it will appear!].
The thing with electrics is: it seems to take ages for not-much to happen, but if they didn't spend all that time with nothing to show for it, you would be able to see all the fruits of their labours...
Surely I can't be the only person who's gone into a beautifully decorated/restored/kept home & been amazed that in all that perfection people seem happy to have wires stapled to their skirting, or "hidden" behind that trunking that seems to be the alternative?
And don't get me started on 'pipes-as-feature', please.
I will admit that some of the runs can be pretty inventive, but that's admiration for things 'Heath Robinson' rather than things well done!
The thing with electrics is: it seems to take ages for not-much to happen, but if they didn't spend all that time with nothing to show for it, you would be able to see all the fruits of their labours...
Surely I can't be the only person who's gone into a beautifully decorated/restored/kept home & been amazed that in all that perfection people seem happy to have wires stapled to their skirting, or "hidden" behind that trunking that seems to be the alternative?
And don't get me started on 'pipes-as-feature', please.
I will admit that some of the runs can be pretty inventive, but that's admiration for things 'Heath Robinson' rather than things well done!
Seems like an age...
...since I last posted...
That would be because it is!
Serious lacks of both energy and enthusiasm combined to produce inertia after David went home from his holiday...
But I'm back now [even though the sleep thing remains elusive], and back to swinging my kettlebells, so here's to the return of normal.
[And, coincidentally, I've got that t-shirt!
No, don't ask me what it's all about; they were cheap (Barnado's in Brixton), new, & I liked the sheep (reminds me of one of my favourite books, "A Wild Sheep Chase").
I prefer to buy from charity shops if I can (reducing, reusing, recycling as I'm sure I've banged on about before).]
OK, let's clear that backlog!
That would be because it is!
Serious lacks of both energy and enthusiasm combined to produce inertia after David went home from his holiday...
But I'm back now [even though the sleep thing remains elusive], and back to swinging my kettlebells, so here's to the return of normal.
[And, coincidentally, I've got that t-shirt!No, don't ask me what it's all about; they were cheap (Barnado's in Brixton), new, & I liked the sheep (reminds me of one of my favourite books, "A Wild Sheep Chase").
I prefer to buy from charity shops if I can (reducing, reusing, recycling as I'm sure I've banged on about before).]
OK, let's clear that backlog!
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