Beauty and the Heat

Mr. Fix It and I drove out of our village yesterday and across country to the market in nearby Rieux Minervois. The beauty of the hills, vineyards and olive groves in the strong sunshine is simply breath-taking and we were lost together in the same thoughts: how lucky we are to be surrounded by such rich and stunning countryside. Looking long into the distance, seeing the tips of the Pyrenees and the earthy colours of this Mediterranean landscape would warm the heart of the toughest soul. We determined silently to retain our huge appreciation of this region, however long we live here.

The weather is glorious: very hot, very sunny and clear blue sky every day. I walked to the edge of our village this morning and snapped a few shots before the real heat of the day took over. Being so far south means that the contrast between sun and shadow is far sharper than ever we have known in the UK.

With temperatures no less than 35 and many days up to 40 degrees, Mr. Fix It has had a week of relative rest and we spend each evening until late sitting outside and planning our next stage of restoration of our beautiful home. I say relative rest since one day he drove up to Toulouse to take possession of 9 cast iron radiators which we had found on the site “Au Bon Coin” at a knock down price. As Ludo, our lovely friend and owner of our bar, helped Mr. Fix It take the radiators off the van, I was suddenly rather glad to be female: these radiators are a dead weight. For now they stand alone in our garden but once painted and in place they will enhance the character of this old house. We await hearing from Gaz de France regarding extending the natural gas and then we will be sourcing a boiler which will be sited in our huge cellar with natural vent to ground floor level. In this heat it is somehow hard to imagine needing any heating at all and winters are not usually freezing cold here but this is a large house and not to install any heating, despite our numerous fireplaces, would be a little foolhardy. When we arrived here in March there was thick dry snow for a few days, for example, and although this is unusual here, present day weather patterns are ever changing all over the world.

Aside from the beauty of our surroundings which always give us cause to celebrate, this week saw our Renault go back to her French roots! The process of changing the matriculation from English to French number plates is somewhat lengthy but we followed every step and went to the Prefecture in Carcassonne to collect our “Carte Grise” or log book and receive our new number: AY-130-PR. The new number plates in France have the department number written on the right-hand side and it was joyous to see Alain, our friendly mechanic, drill the plates on – a process which took around 3 minutes after months of administration!


On Tuesday evening, the full moon shone brightly above us. Mr. Fix It and I lingered outside as we do and thought of our good fortune in finding this house, this village, this region. To see the Church at night, no more than 20 metres from our front door, softly up lit and standing so majestically really does takes one’s breath away.

A Little Planning, A Little Stock-Taking

They say time flies when you are having a good time. We realised this week that we have been down here in the sunny South of France for almost 6 months now and that phrase does ring true with us. It seems as though with each week which passes, time speeds up. One of Mr. Fix It’s favourite phrases of late is: “I still feel as though I am on holiday.” This, despite the enormous tasks he has already undertaken to restore our beautiful house, tells a tale of its own: if life feels like a holiday, it cannot be bad.

Settling back into our house after the joys of my daughter’s wedding in Kent, we have this week taken time to plan our next stage and also look back on what we have achieved so far. The sun continues to shine, the temperatures remain very high and Eddie & Alfie still rejoice in their regular walk by the canal.



Having achieved a great deal in the last few months, our attention now turns to planning our kitchen and putting in heating. Our kitchen is large and light. Now that we have a door and 2 graceful steps giving out to the garden, I can easily visualise warm gatherings around our table as the sun streams in from the west in the evening. The kitchen part will cover around a third of the space, with an L shaped granite worktop serving as a natural break between this and the dining area with corner fireplace. We found a beautiful black glass topped dining table some time ago which will fit perfectly in this space. A true bargain, we went back to buy another which will stay outside where we sit these days with our wine until late most evenings. We already have our floor: old pine planks waiting in our entrance hall until we are ready to start. Our carpenter, Jean-Louis, found this for us: local recommendation is always the best.

A neighbour of ours was telling me about “Au Bon Coin” – a tremendous internet site for anyone undergoing house renovation in France. Mr. Fix It spent a day looking at second-hand old-fashioned radiators and found 9 which will suit us at a real knockdown price and not too far away in Toulouse, for him to go and pick up. My task was to find out if we can connect gas to our property. Not everywhere in France has natural gas but we knew it is already connected in parts of our village. A trip to the Mairie was my start followed by a visit from a chap at “Gaz de France” to locate the nearest point to our house for the gas. This bore fruit: if the existing point is no more than 35 metres from your property, they will connect it at little cost and happily we fit into that category. We will not need the heating for some time but planning ahead, particularly in France with its extensive bureaucracy, does make sense.

Despite days when we feel we have not achieved a great deal, we looked back this week at all the improvements we have carried out to date: the demolition of the tower in the garden, opening up the kitchen, installing 2 ensuite bathrooms, creating doors where there were windows at ground floor level, creating a large window in one of the bedrooms has been no mean feat.



All the way through however, we have taken time out to live and enjoy this lovely area of France. One never tires of seeing the strong sun glinting through the majestic plane trees.

It is Mr. Fix It who deserves a large pat on the back, I am so happy for him that life feels like one big holiday.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

A Joyous Celebration Away From The Brickdust

We left the sunshine and the brick dust behind for a few days and flew to the UK to attend my daughter Natasha’s wedding to Sam. Sometimes in life we make our own luck and so it was that this beautiful celebration at a romantic outdoors location in Kent was perfect in every way. As the early evening sun came out to join us, I felt a moment of sheer joy as I watched my dear daughter sing and dance in her wedding dress.



To watch our extended families celebrating this, the happiest of marriages, was a delight. Natasha simply glowed and as I helped her get ready during her last moments of being single, I thought back to the day she was born and wondered where the time had gone. Occasions such as this happy one allow us to take stock and remember that life is to be enjoyed.



Having welcomed my son and his girlfriend Ana to our home ahead of the wedding, our good friends who came to take care of Eddie & Alfie enjoyed a week of celebration here in our village. The summer fete took place the weekend we were away and they were struck by the friendly and safe atmosphere all around us. Having renovated the house to at least a functional level so far, with 3 beautiful and spacious bedrooms to choose from, it was heart-warming to know that our dogs could stay in their own space and that our friends could enjoy something of a holiday as well.

We were welcomed home by 2 wet noses and 2 helicopter tails. To be back in the warm air of the South of France makes us happy and Mr. Fix It is now planning what he calls his “second phase”. Our kitchen design will be high on our list of priorities as well as installing heating ahead of the winter. This week sees us sourcing radiators, air conditioning units and the like.

Having had such a wonderful family time we are also planning ahead to next summer when we hope to welcome as many of them as would like to come. The house is large, open and welcoming and we have yet to meet anyone who has not been open mouthed in admiration at its proportions. Since the day we moved in here I have dreamed of a time when we can welcome everyone to this beautiful part of France.

Many people think of moving to France at some stage in their lives and I am truly lucky that Mr. Fix It and I shared just the same dream. When we drove down here on March 1st this year I can remember wondering what I would miss about the UK and hoping that the huge project we were taking on would not cause us to wonder if we were doing the right thing. I can say with hand on heart that I have not and do not miss one single aspect of life in the UK – and I know Mr. Fix It agrees. Even when it snowed in those early days here and we had to light 4 log fires to keep warm, I have never wanted to leave. Now that we have enjoyed the company of our family and friends and they know they can come and visit us here, that feeling is simply reinforced.

So as we toast my daughter Natasha and her husband Sam at the start of their married life together, we also toast ourselves, this house in all its grandeur and our own contentment at knowing this is our real home.



Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Time Out With Family

Renovating such a grand and beautiful house as this one takes time. The beauty of it is that we are not “under the gun” and are able to enjoy the journey, have some leisure time and savour every moment. Now that the first floor (thanks to Mr. Fix It) is largely rewired, replumbed and, dare I say it, reasonably clean, we rejoice in being able to welcome friends and family to witness the fruits of our labours.

So it was this week that my son, his girlfriend and cousin, came to visit us. As with all our visitors who have followed this blog, seen pictures and even movies of our home, they are still incredulous when they first set sight on this house. “Is that it?” asked my son Saul. “That’s it,” I said. “It’s huge!”

The days before they arrived saw Mr. Fix It fine tuning the ensuites, the bedrooms and – quite incredibly – even finding time to plumb in our new dishwasher. Lights on, beds made, fluffy towels on the rails and even a rose or two in vases in the bedrooms gave us a great feeling of happiness: now the house can show herself off and the sense of space lends a feeling of grandeur. Why, even Alfie seems to notice how hard we have worked.



This coming week we shall be going back to the UK for my daughter’s wedding. Scattered around the globe as many families now are, it will be thrilling to be together again and celebrate Natasha’s happiness on her big day. Eddie & Alfie will stay in their home here in France and we have now been joined by friends who will take care of them in our absence. As Mr. Fix It barbequed countless chicken legs and sausages outside last night, we toasted our good fortune with our family and friends. Coming from New York, Brazil and the UK, the magic of this wonderful corner of France has worked on all of them. We have had a few days of great company, fine food and wine as well as laughter and warmth.

The sun continues to shine, the brick dust becomes less as we go on and although we have yet to plan our garden and have become somewhat used to our mountain of rubble, we feel an enormous sense of pride at what we have achieved over the last 5 months. Summer is now in full flow, fetes abound in all the little villages here and the sun continues to shine until late in the evening.

Life is about moments and this week we have had several to cherish. As we toast my daughter on her big day, my dream is one day to have all of our extended family come and stay. Our top floor remains untouched, dusty, almost ghost-like but each time I venture up there I sense that it is waiting for its moment to shine out.

Pictures can speak a thousand words and our special time this week with some of our family will remain in our thoughts as we continue to renovate this beautiful house.



Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/