Progrès

Well - It's been a while since this blog was updated and thankfully, there has been some great progress - we're not there yet; but there is light at the end of the tunnel at last and not some one with a torch, switching it off!!


First visit was April and after we'd been there for a few days and got the house ready, Josh (my son) and Georgia (his then girlfriend) arrived.  It was Josh's first ever visit and I was so excited, but also very nervous during their journey down.  It was the first time Josh had driven abroad and they called almost as soon as they got off the ferry that the SATNAV was not working and they had no maps and didn't know where to go.  After some frantic texting and a couple of calls, they were on their way and did very well, only getting lost at the interchange outside Caen (Alencon).  However, their journey should have meant that they arrived about 8 in the evening.  I made a curry for them, thinking it would be very forgiving if they were late.  Good job I did, they eventually arrived about 10.30.  Simon went to meet them off the motorway and guided them in - they had to coast all the way down any hill's as they only had 6 miles of petrol left!!


It was pure joy to me, to have them there.  Josh was such a great help to Simon and he's got so many skills that he doesn't realise his worth.  Georgia was amazing too.  When they arrived, her nails were beautifully manicured, with bows glued on to some nails.  I was afraid that the work we had lined up would ruin them.  But she put on some gloves and set to work.  Her first job was to paint the metal work of the well with blue Hammerite.  She did a great job, even ensuring that her buttocks don't go rusty either!  (Thankfully, they did have some warm and sunny weather.)  We ate in the (not yet created) courtyard as often as the weather would allow. 


Josh and Georgia got engaged whilst they were there on the Saturday - it was a lovely day (although the weather closed in!).  Josh had gone to such lovely lengths with regard to preparation for his proposal and I was impressed that my son was such a romantic, planning it all out and just needing somewhere to 'pop the question'.  We suggested that he take Georgia to a lovely spot just outside Ebreuil; an old church which gave the most spectacular views for miles as it was in a very elevated position.  We all went out in the morning to Gannat under the pretext of going to the Saturday market.  Georgia was looking lovely, very much like Daenerys Targaryen and as a blond in an area where most are quite dark haired, I think people were looking and wondering if she were actually Daenerys.  Simon and I then suggested that they go off and explore by themselves for a while whilst we went to the supermarket.  (This was all a set up so that Georgia didn't know what was about to happen).  So they went of.  By the time we got back to the house, they were already there, waiting for us.  Georgia was so excited and it was lovely to share in their moment. 


Because I'd had a heads up from Josh, before they came, I thought to buy in show bubbles and also some sparklers for birthday cakes.  I made lunch look as lovely as possible and lit the sparklers and took it all in.


As the weather had closed in, Simon put a film on the ipad for them and they spent the afternoon watching the latest Wolverine film!  Hope they look back on the day with as much warmth and love as I will.


Georgia also pointed the end of the dependence and appeared quite happy doing it - Josh built a couple of low walls, set about the stump of the fig by the barn with a very sharp axe, went on the roof to finish the cementing/sealing of the top of the wall into the bard and set out the footings for the wall which was to be our boundary from the dependence to the house.  He helped me cook and the evening that Annie came around, they were both such a help in the prep; I think they were really enjoying themselves. 


One night, we were all relaxed and having dinner when thunder and lightening started - it was really dramatic to see the 'bones' of the roof of the dependence lit up in stark contrast to the night.  Georgia who is usually frightened of thunder and lightening felt very snug and cosy, knowing that the house had seen it all before, many times and lived to tell the tale.


They day they left came to soon.  Simon and I said that we would stand on the bridge over the auto-route which is about a 15 minute walk away and waive to them as they went underneath.  Whilst we were waiting, the occupants of many other cars waived and flashed their lights and eventually, we saw the bright red C1 coming into view.  Georgia was driving and Josh held up a sheet of paper but we were unable to read what they'd written.  Simon and I turned to watch them disappear into the distance - I was finding it very difficult to contain my emotions.  I felt so sad to see them go.  Simon put his arm around my shoulders and we went home. 




Last September (2014) the framework for the bedroom in the middle part of the house was made.  We used the 'monster' beam, which is the talk of the village to provide the main support.  Simon, a colleague of Simon's called Roz and I worked solidly for the first week in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees to make a patio and courtyard.