A collection of baskets basking in the late winter sun.
Here’s the long awaited update on our move to France! The fact that I haven’t posted for over 2 months should be an indication of how things are going. Hectic? Hellish? Harried? Yes, all that an more. It’s been about equal measures good and bad, but we’re slowly working through the problems (no heat, leaky roof, insanely frustrating administration, etc., etc.) and focusing on the positive.
A stunning sunrise looking due south towards the valley of the Dordogne River. Um yeah, that’s our view!
So on the positive side, we bought a ridiculously charming farmhouse and barn on about 3 acres and we have a lovely view. This has been a life long dream of mine, so no matter how challenging, we’re livin’ the dream, as they say. Most dreams are pretty weird, kind of magical and a little scary - this one is no different.
Here’s a nice angle on the house and barn.
The other day, my pool professional , he who is tasked with replacing the liner and repairing the pool cover, said “she just needs a little facelift”. “She” referring to the house and the facelift or “un lifting” referring to the fact that literally every surface of the property needs attention. New roof, paint windows, repair shutters, masonry repair, complete landscape redo, new barn door, new pool surround… yeah, “un lifting”!
This photo is from a visit last summer. We have since scrubbed and steam cleaned the floor. It looks 100% better!
Inside, we’re faring slightly better. The house was basically livable once we had the boiler replaced, added insulation to the attic and tossed 90% of the items left behind by the seller. We bought the house furnished, but she took most of the antiques. We’re working a plan to renovate the kitchen so I can start teaching classes asap. New stove, new worktops, reusing the existing cabinets in a different configuration, new lighting, etc. Fortunately, there’s no need to gut the entire kitchen as the floors are a nice, stone look tile and the beams and exposed stone walls add bags of charm. I’ll do a blog about the kitchen reno soon!
A peek into the boudoir!
Upstairs, there’s two huge rooms and a bathroom off the one we’re using as a bedroom. Get a load of these floor boards! The ceiling also features beams and wide planks.
Turns out, I’m quite handy with the insulation!
Here’s the attic space, newly cleaned out and insulated. When we get the roof redone, we may opt to finish this space as a storage space, or if we can get approval, add Velux skylights and make it an office for Mark. There’s just enough headroom for him if you can avoid the wooden pins. And yes, that’s daylight coming through the tiles - our roofer has assured up that this is totally normal in this style of roof. Um, ok.
Mark coveting our friend’s new 2CV!
Other than working on the house and struggling to get our residence permits, we’ve been meeting the neighbors, hanging out with friends and generally doing french stuff. There have been town meetings (the mayor knows my name already!), market days (Monday in Sainte Alvère), a community lunch to support the local boar hunting association and lots of shopping for food and all the little things you need to set up a house.
Every evening, after the ten minute ritual of closing all the shutters so our neighbors don’t think we’re crazy, we collapse into our newly slip-covered furniture, light a fire and have a glass of wine. Are we in France yet? Yes, we seem to be!
