Friday 16 December 2016

** we'll be the wild ones running with the dogs today

all those rushing about
with lists and wishes to fulfil
take a moment if you can
to breathe
we did that here yesterday
on the hills of Sonnac
we sat 
the sound of cowbells
birds
 fresh crisp air
we gathered juniper, pine and rosemary
then back home I put them onto my fireplace
a festive forage
happy holidays my dears
Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.
— RAINER MARIA RILKELETTERS TO A YOUNG POET  — 



Tuesday 6 December 2016

++ if you want to know the things we see

the "Dread Room"
has gradually been transformed
the lower section of the wall 
had been painted in a very old
oil and earth mix
which proved problematic when painted
as it kept bleeding through
we scrubbed it with a solution of this
then carefully rolled a thin coat
of oil based matt paint
and prayed
it worked!
then the task of scraping off years of paint
from conduit and sockets
and finding a match for the skirtings and doors
it pains me to tosh over these beauties
on top of all the really bad paint already on them
but time and budget won't allow for now
all I need now is furniture 
and a lovely light fitting to replace this pathetic bulb!
now it's The White Room
like that scene in Bruce Almighty 
when he meets God

"we spin, we turn, watch and wait
as the world just creeps on by"

Friday 25 November 2016

** out of season

most towns have market day
but my village only has a night market
in the summer months
so we visit Mirepoix on Mondays
their market is all year round
with it's stalls of produce
fresh ingredients
seasonal goodies
artisans
and shops
Mirepoix is a pretty medieval town
with 13th century houses 
supported on beautifully carved pillars
giving a covered arcade beneath
we recommend the coffee at 
Cafe Castigniolles and people watching 

Tuesday 15 November 2016

"" changing rooms

 how's the decorating going?
lots have asked
slowly is the answer
the stripped walls have been sanded
but are still incredibly lumpy and bumpy
you can't buy lining paper in France
stuck in the 80's when it comes to
all things interior design
yep anaglypta and something called
toile de verre are the wallpaper choices
we have been told to use this
stuff on our walls to cover the cracks
meanwhile the ceiling has been painted
after we borrowed a tower to reach it!
12ft is a long way up
we've used up this massive tin of paint already
paint here is expensive and not very good
you can buy Dulux but at a premium
so it's a challenge indeed

Tuesday 8 November 2016

✦✧ village life

every Tuesday morning 
three men arrive in La Place
outside my house
 this chap sells grapes and vegetables 
he has grown 
this man makes a huge paella
from scratch and sells it
for €9 a portion
by midday he has sold it all
then there is the knife sharpening man
this is him yesterday in Mirepoix Market

on Friday nights a little Pizza van arrives
a good sized pizza freshly cooked for €6
I like how people rock up, set up and sell things
in the Summer months 
there is a night market in La Place
with music and stalls
something to look forward to

Thursday 3 November 2016

:: history

there isn't much I know about this house
despite it's age

La Famille Jammy
lived here for many generations until
fairly recently
a little story I was told
when GrandPere Jammy died
they held a wake in the dining room
all the family gathered in the room
to say goodbye
then they heard one of the hall stairs creak
since then it is called "Grandpere's stair"

Tuesday 1 November 2016

}}{{ no back breaking

in the distance you can see 
my house to the left
and the covered square
la Place, to the right
this bridge goes over the river L'Hers
and over that bridge
is this gate
and behind that gate is my potager
well the land is mine
but it is worked by Pierre and Albert
who live in the village
they have chickens for laying 
and poulet for eating
a shed for their boxes and tools
a place for the onions to dry
there's a covered area for the chickens feed
and lots of green veg growing in neat rows
there is an arrangement with Pierre and Albert
which I have continued
in return for the use of the land
I get free vegetables and eggs
what a win!

Thursday 27 October 2016

- - colour me

 so we started stripping the red bedroom
at first it was a painterly thing
revealing old walls
these ceilings are over 12ft high
and the walls are really bad
hundreds of years of filler
it is taking forever
as the paper only comes off in tiny pieces
and the steamer is a no-no
but we will get there

Wednesday 19 October 2016

>>> elec-trickery

have a little think about how many electrical
things you have 
and how many plugs they use
in the UK our plugs have 3 pins
only having a few adaptors to use them in 2 pin sockets
got boring after a few days!
a quick youtube search 
and I was soon re-wiring
12 plugs
there's still more to do
but it's a start
;-)

Sunday 16 October 2016

depart/arrivee

one week ago
my house was packed up
labelled and loaded
onto a huge truck 
we had a few days without any furniture
{apart from some beds I purchased from the previous owner}
one frying pan and a saucepan
two borrowed deckchairs
and some random crockery 
by the third day, the truck arrived
the whole village suddenly wanted to walk their dogs
or visit the local bar
to see what was going on
within a few hours
everything was unloaded
most of the boxes were piled in a side room 
on the ground floor
we call this 'the room of doom'
much of it won't be unpacked for some time
so this is my new home
in La Bastide sur L'Hers


plenty more photos here ~ 
https://www.instagram.com/chocolategirl64/