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/