It has been one heck of a week.


The Platane - one of three bars in our village.
Last Saturday we set off from St Sat at 6am drving back to the UK. It is 1000 kilometres. We drove through heavy rain arriving at 4pm for the Ferry. Thank fully the winds and rain subsided for our crossing. We arrived in Weybridge just before 8pm. Sunday was a day shopping buying all the things we cannot get here, or if we can they are extortionately priced! We enjoyed an evening with Geoff, Wendy, Sue & Tim before diving back into more shopping on Monday. The main purpose of the trip was to collect some furniture that we had bought.
We left early Tuesday morning with an alternative drive back through Paris which was interesting! If you thought the M25 is scary-try it!


Work continues, slowly on our pool,The walls are built from hollow concrete blocks which are reinforced with steel, concrete is then poured into the blocks.Before this it is necessary to shutter the entire area ready to receive the poured concrete.
It is a slow process as due to the access restrictions on our land it is necessary for the cement mixers to wait at the top of our drive, pour the cement into the bucket of the Manitou, which then takes it to the pool side for pouring.

This is Le Chene - nearly finished, no evidence of the water coming in!



We returned to get back to working on Le Chene however once again we were thwarted by the weather. There was heavy rain on Wednesday which found its way under the newly laid terrace and into the basement of the house - there was water pouring through the ceilings! In addition it found its way up the walls in the newly decorated dining room.




I think it is true to say that Karen and I are fairly positive. We have over come a lot of hurdles here to build. But today, Thursday, really was a low day. we were tired, the decorating we have done is getting ruined and water is pouring through the floors into the basement - can it get worse? At first we could not find the cause of the leak . Thijs started taking tiles off the roof but it was dry. We had that feeling again the house was built then they start undoing it. Eventually we found (we hope) the problem which we are now trying to resolve.

The basement walls of the pool house have been built and the floors are now prepared.



And so a very frustrating day pasees!.




Friday comes, it must be better than Thursday! I have a meeting scheduled with Thijs. We have 5 weeks until our first paying guests arrive and there is tons to do - we are way behind schedule.Our house still has scaffolding up, it is not rendered, there are roof tile missing, the pool needs 3 coats of render, then we have to order and fit the pool cover before filling the pool. Then there is Le Chene......... so we are feeling a little under pressure - during this meeting we had a delivery, just two deck chairs for Le Chene - the van arrived - the driver (who had been given 6 points that morning) took his eye off the road and that was it - next thing he knew he was off the road stuck on a well!!

It's a great way to meet your neighbours! they were out like bees - whats happened?, this is the third time!, we heard it all - but in fairness the locals, unlike the delivery driver were very willing to help and were on our side. And then the rain came again, absolutly torrential for abt an hour. Just what we needed - not!



And saturday - thev sun is back, the pool is taking shape - next week should see it advance further. We are sneaking off skiing for a few days, it was a week but I think we have too much on so might cut it short.

the pressure is mounting, it is just 8 weeks until our first paying guest arrive in the gites and 9 weeks until they come to Le Chene.One of our builders has been off ill for 3 weeks so Thijs has bought in an extra pair of hands and his dog! The cats were at first hoffified but seem to be coping with the 4 legged helper.

We still have no render on the North side of our house and the swimming pool is still lots of concrte blocks held together with copious amounts of steel!

We took a well needed break from the painting to collect Joan, Karens Mum last wednesday and treated her to lunch in Ikea (I know how to look after the mother in law!!)



On Thursday Ian & Kath, and their daughter Yasmin, friends from Weybridge who now live near Brisbane in Australia came to visit on route to their skiing holiday. We went to Avignon and lunched at L'Opera , fast becoming our favourite restaurant for lunch.It has been two years since we last saw them , but seemed like yesterday - great to catch up and put the world to rights!

When we returned our gardener had been busy planting the garden outside the gites.



In between watching the Rugby over the weekend we were working on the house. I also have a Home Hunts client to take out viewing houses today and in between this we are preparing Les Cypres for its first guest so I am opening up and cleaning the pool. Enquiries for the gites and houses are steady, interestingly we have a lot of French coming this year.So life is pretty busy, satisfying, just trying to keep all the balls up in the air!!or all the plates spinning - just like old times!

A little tale of life in France - Karen bought some hair shampoo last week, but it turned out to be conditioner which she did not need.So I took it back to the super market. I had already thrown the receipt - big mistake. I approach the counter in Le Clerc explaining my wifes error and requesting a change - NO! I am told , it is not possible! remember in France - the customer is never right!!I am then directed to 'the office' to discuss my dilema! As I have a store card they have all my purchasing history and after about 10 minutes find the item listed. I suggest they just credit the store card but no -they print two copies of the receipt, each 3 pages, and send me back to the first counter where a different lady looks at me suspiciously! I explain again the need to change the conditioner - receipt - Yes! I get my 5 Euros! Was it worth it - of course!
Next challange - the tax office want to charge our gites as separate properties to our house - so we are off to Avignon on Wednesday - if there are no more blogs for a while you will know what happened!

Our gardener Dominique is back, today he lifted out the Olive trees that we had re planted 2 years ago. These were previously where our house now stands and are over 50years old. They are the branches of trees that them selves were planted around 1900.
A severe frost in 1956, when the temperature fell to minus 20, killed the original branches, the shoots produced these branches, now our new trees - Olive trees are very hardy!




Our garden was once an Olive grove on one side and a fruit Orchard on the other.Hence the name of our house - Le Verger - the Orchard.


These trees are awaiting to be planted. We have just put a new hedge in between us and our neighbour.



These trees will line our entrance driveway. It has cost a lot to have them lifted and replanted but Olive trees are very expensive to buy and we will have a fantastic Olive harvest in the future, sufficient to produce our own pressing.



We have just planted 12 new fruit trees including Cherry, Apple, Plum, quince& Fig.

We also have a well in our garden with a stone borrie above. We are having it restored, here the feroniere fits the new gate.

We have had a pretty good week on reflection although after a shakey start! Last weekend Karen and I carried the 21 shutters down to Le Chene so that we could hang them after our careful and attentive painting. To our horror they no longer fitted! Those for the French doors were too large caused by the tiled terraces and those for the windows did not fit as the tableaux around the windows were too large.




When Thijs arrived Monday morning, we expressed our displeasure, and his response was simple - I can cut them down - no problem! but of course by the time he would do this they were going to need touching up and some repainting - later that day whilst doing his alterations one of the shutters fell through the brand new oven door - our displeasure deepened!

But onwards and upwards - we move on and overall there has been good progress with Dominique the gardener making good preparations for the planting which takes place next week.


Meanwhile we have been getting some pictures of the gites - well I was trying to! but Ginger had other ideas!


Karen and I have spent the week decorating Le Chene, and we are advancing well with just 1 bedroom the stairs and hallway plus the basement to go.


At our house the rendering is almost finished! and our terrace is tiled, this opens from our Dining room creating one large expanse divided by the glass bay. We toyed with leaving it as a beach effect!


And to crown the week the gardener brought his bill, no, I mean our first two trees, this one with Karen as the marker a traditional Platane. And me with our first Cypress tree.

The weather has turned balmy! 17 degrees today, almost too warm now to render! Thank fully with 3 pairs of hands good progress was made.


Our gardeners are hard at work!! at 12 noon it is down tools and lunch takes over. But bringing their own sausages to bbq! how cool is that! Dominique is thorough, but speed is not his strong point!

Meanwhile the team of tilers complete the tiling of the terraces at Le Chene.


A good French name??





The garden in front of the gites has been levelled, the watering system is in and the soil is ready to be planted.

Moles? No holes ready for 12 fruit trees to be planted.

The driveway has been cleared ready for a new hedge and Olive trees to be planted.

In between all the fun Geoff & Wendy paid a visit this week giving us an excellent opportunity for two days off, we headed into Avignon.. They very kindly bought us, well Ginger a house warming present!!

At last we are beginning to see some further progress on our own house with the arrival of the land scape gardeners.They have started by removing all the debris and stones from our terraces, sifting the soil and bringing in new top soil.After comes installing the integrated watering system,marking out which plants go where and laying Compost over the area to be planted. There is a large area to the side of our entrance drive which has been cleared ready for planting Olive trees and a new hedge. We will then be adding 12 Fruit Trees and a screen of Bamboo to conceal the parking area. After this is a screen of trees to conceal Le Chene, a new hedge in front of Le Chene, moving and replanting the Olive trees that we have 'in store' and then laying pebbles onto the terraces. Finally grass in front of the pool and laying the road in and out and we are done!! All in the next 10 weeks - no wonder we sleep well at night! Bon nuit!

Last week we had a pow wow (urgent meeting!) with Thijs our builder. We have analysed the amount of work still to do and with a deadline of the end of April we are getting scared, worried, stressed to name but a few that everything can/will be done. He has come back and assured us that it will no matter how many men it takes. Since this time there has been better organisation and more activity. Le Chene is now rendered, we have painted all the shutters, the kitchen has been fitted, the terraces are being tiled this week and Karen and I have started the entire interior decoration. (After I have to put all the lights up inside and out, curtain rails, pictures & fixtures). Out side has to be landscaped with leveling of the ground around the pool, hedges and trees planted so there is still lots to do.

We had one of those great French shopping experiences this week!
We have really struggled to buy bedroom furniture here. Don't get me wrong there is Ikea and Alinea which is similar,and plenty of up market furniture and many antiques but little in between. We do not have the M&S or John Lewis stores. Nothing beats British shops! So we bought some pine drawers and bedside cabinets, assembled and then painted them. We have the process down to a fine art - Karen checks the contents, lays everything out, gives me instructions and I glue and screw it!
However on opening this,one of the wheels on the runners was broken. But it was Sunday, the shop was closed and we wanted to get on with it.So we ploughed on with the assembly and first coat of paint. A few days later we were in the store where we bought it and remembered the broken wheel. We explained the problem and were reassured when told just bring the runner back and it can be changed. And so later in the day we returned. Of course the member of staff had dissapeared so we had to explain to a slightly unhelpful girl our problem. Eventually they took a runner off the display model and sent us on our way.
When we got home we found the wheel, such an integral part to this high tech unit (3 drawer pine chest)was smaller than the one on the other drawers! oh joy! So,yes, back we go again clutching our now painted chest. The staff member (there were now 4 gathering around) eventually agreed to change the runners for all the drawers! So we finally left - another shop where we have left our mark - lets hope the drawers stay together!

Over the last 10 days there has been a lot going on. Never have we been so pleased to see the Mistral (wind)which has dried out our soggy land. It also brings clear skies and dry cold air although of late temperatures are getting up to a Spring like 16 degrees.
Like the shops here when you can only buy things where they are in season you can only have a bonfire within certain dates, again largely due to historic wind patterns and dry periods. This weekend sees the end of the winter period and fires are embargoed until April 15th. So we decided to burn a lot of the debris that our dear builders have left, palates, tile cartons and the wooden crate that housed our pool cover measuring 6 metres by 1 which everyone on site had been using as there rubbish bin. When we lit the fire there was no wind and with in half an hour the wind whipped up and in a matter of minutes there was little left.

Decided to give our selves the day off yesterday, as it was Valentines, so took the Mazda for a blast up Mont Ventoux, fabulous blue sky contrasting with a bitter frreeezing Mistral wind. Saw about 5 cars in 30 kms , fabulous drive! The roads were interesting!

Mont Ventoux is the last ski resort in the French Alps before the coast which you can actually see from the summit. It is also the penultimate post for this years Tour de France cylcle race, all on our door step!

Karen up to her eyes in snow!


Fabulous views and crisp clear air.

I did not blog last week, whilst the UK enjoyed snow it fell here as rain which was not conjusive to progess!
Thank fully this week is better , this together with my threatening/motivational e mails to our builder on a Sunday seem to be working. At last we are able to get the final coat of render on to Le Chene.


And Karen and I are able to start the process of decorating the entire house, top to bottom - all three floors!


By the end of this week the rendering will be finished, there are 5 guys on the job. Hopefully we will complete the shutter painting, the kitchen has been delivered so its all sytems go!!

Thank fully we took advantage of last weeks sunshine completing the first two undercoats and applying the first colour coat to the shutters at Le Chene.There are I thought 19, until I discovered a pair I had left on the kitchen window and sods law the scaffolding is stopping me removing the final shutter. So, 21 shutters, 2 sides thats 168 times I have to paint them! Sadly rain is once again looming so the final coat might have to wait a week or two!
The pool progresses thank goodness.

Today was the kind of day we moved here for, cold with a stunning sun rise, clear blue sky all day and superb sun set.I took this on my walk to the Boulangerie this morning. Lifts the soul first thing in the morning. Temperature is minus 5.





Whilst we continue to paint shutters all hands are on site which is comforting.
Note the great health and safety rules being adhered to, this is carrying the electricity to the ......radio actually!


Due to the weakening of the pound we have had to cut back on the pool - this is the replacement diving board.




Overall though the pool is advancing with the walls going up,making it look like, well a swimming pool!

forgot to mention, I have a new routine. Buying bread daily here becomes a habit like, well you just have to do it every day. So whilst coffee is going through the perculator I walk to the boulangerie, usually around 8.15, ok 8.30am. It is amazing how many people are around!! I always see two old guys who I have knick named the old gits. It is because unlike most people they do not say 'bonjour'. So my mission has been to convert them. This morning I even got an acknowledgement it was a nice morning!

Despite the popularity of Mr Sarkozy, or maybe his wife Carla Bruni, the Fench passion for strikes continues. Before he was elected there was unrest and strikes for change in the working week amongst other things. 50% of voters chose him. Now the other 50% are striking! French schools used to finish Wednesday lunchtime but they were open Saturday morning. A nightmare for parents. So now they have stopped the saturday mornings but they close wednesday all day!! Admittedly a longer day than the UK. So which day do they strike, Thursday of course then take a bridge day Friday!!Nothing changes. Like our tabby they have attitude!