Two big achievements

It’s been a bit of a project but we have finally finished the atelier. Brian finished laying the floor today, so we can start to move stuff over there and tidy up the barns. It will be so good to get ourselves organised, it’s been a big project - removing the old oil tank, clearing the loft in the barn and removing all the old rotten ceiling and beams, having the shell for the room built, building the staircase, insulating the roof, plaster boarding it out, painting, grouting with lime mortar, building a stud wall and laying the floor. We still need to sort out the banister, but we have an idea how we can make this safe as an interim. Brian still has a few finishing touches which he would like to do, but the main thing is the space is secure, clean and dry, but the great thing is it’s better than either of us ever expected. Tomorrow we will be moving stuff up there.

Another big achievement this week was the Blackbirds fledged. They left their nest, to our dismay, by just tumbling to the ground. I didn’t know that’s what happened, I had a romantic idea they would know how to fly. But, they then spent the next 3-4 days fluttering around the rose bushes on the ground learning how to fly and find their own food. Miraculously, with a little effort on our part also, all three survived and have flown off to establish their own ‘turf’.

We are thinking we will probably see them again next year.

Scorcher

It’s been a scorcher of a week, temperatures reaching 38°C. The water pump, to get water up the slope, was delivered and fitted this week, so finally we were able to get the pool opened. Just need to wait for the chemicals to settle, then we will be able to use it.

We do need to do a few jobs before we take a day out at the pool. I need to clean the pool room and weed around the pool. Brian wants to clean up the stone work. He started by pushing a loose tile back into place.

Another use for the cleaning pole - tile reposition

By hand

Today we needed to go into Troyes to try and sort out our position with CPAM. This relates to the issuance of our Carte Vitales, which will enable us to have any of our medical costs automatically reimbursed. Currently we have temporary social security numbers (SSN). This means you can still be reimbursed for your medical, dental and optician costs but you need to do this by submitting a paper form with the receipts.

We had previously posted, by recorded delivery, copies of our passports etc, and had confirmation of their receipt. Unfortunately though, they wrote to us to tell us these were not suitable. So we thought the best thing was to deliver them ourselves.

The CPAM office in Troyes is a large modern building just on the outskirts of the city, so easy to park. We arrived around 9.30. We joined the queue of four people, and I was soon suitably impressed, as people were promptly invited in by the administration staff to address each individuals needs. It so happened that this was going to be a scorcher of a day, and I was a bit worried about waiting outside in the sun, but surprisingly after about ten minutes we were welcomed in by a young chap who kindly listened to our bad french and read our letter. We presented him with all the necessary documentation which he copied, and he stamped our file complete. Could that be it? Unfortunately not, we now need to wait for the next stage, which should take about 15 days. It is actually submitted to another government body, then our actual SSN will be issued, and we can then go online via the Ameli.fr website to request the production of our Carte Vitales. It still feels like we are a long way off getting them, but we have done all we can for now.

If we were to start at the beginning again I would go straight to the CPAM office and deliver our documents in person.

As we were in Troyes we decided to nip to the outlet shopping centre at MacArthur Glen.

I wanted to buy a couple of non-stick pans to complement the stainless steel ones I had previously bought from Samuel Groves, which I love. However, some things are just better with a non-stick pan, such as white sauces, scrambled eggs, frying fish. I hadn’t really considered Le creuset for non-stick, as I’d always thought of them as the brightly coloured heavy cast iron pans. Which work well on some cookers, and great for slow cooking, but not for induction. Looking in the shop though, we found they do some beautiful, tough, non-stick ranges as well, and being a factory shop offer sensible sized discounts. I came away very pleased with my saucepan and 30cm sauté pan.

It was certainly time for coffee, which we enjoyed in the shade of the umbrellas outside Starbucks. It wasn’t busy so it was nice to take our time. You don’t need to wear a mask whilst seated at your table in a restaurant or café, but you do if you get up to pay. However, we have just heard that from today masks are no longer required in outside spaces except crowded areas such as events or markets. And as from Sunday the curfew has been removed, this is ten days early as the numbers in France are looking good, and the vaccination programme is going well. 30 million people have now had their first vaccination. And the target is to achieve 35 million people to be fully vaccinated by the end of August.

Click-clack

It’s that simple! Well it may be when you know what you are doing, but to start with it’s like being on ‘the Krypton Factor’. I used to love that programme, watching people trying to fathom out how to build something. So easy when you know how. But in this case I think even having the instructions was an interference.

We started off by laying the insulation. This seemed easy enough, it even specified that glue or tape were not necessary, which seems like a positive, however whilst you are trying to line it up and keep it flat it was inclined to slip and slide out of place. Once we laid the first board though it all started to hold better. Brian then brought the second board over to ‘click-clack ‘ into place. All I will say is that at this point there was not much click-clacking!

After some contemplation, Brian returned to the task and approached it slightly differently. This time with more gentle persuasion, which seemed to do the trick.

I left him to it, as I’m not sure I was helping, and I went to do some gardening. A couple of hours later when I returned I was very pleasantly surprised to see it was really coming together. It seemed the first row was the most challenging.

Cut above

Where the stud wall fits along the old oak beam, Brian has had to cut around some supports we’d had put in place when we first bought the house in 2015. It was not a straight easy line to follow.

He has done a pretty exacting job with the cut though, which he achieved by using his new invention, the ‘sharpie level drawing tool’. Genius!

On Monday he wanted to finish the project. Brian had sorted out the latch and clips to hold the access plate in place, and also found a door lock he could use for the door.

I can remember him buying the lock and it not fitting on the gate - that was a learning in what to look for when buying a door lock. He hasn’t done that again.

Un dimanche à la campagne

We started the day by visiting a pottery in Amance, where they had been making roof tiles and pots of all shapes and sizes since 1892. I can see that we will be returning here one day. We then headed for the fromagerie at Champ-sur-barse.

Outside they had set up a number of stalls. I visited the boulangere van and the plant stall and bought some bread made from locally milled flour and a small butternut squash plant, which I will plant somewhere in the garden amongst the flowers and shrubs. I’m loving mixing some fruit and veg amongst the flower borders.

We could also smell the smoky aroma of charcoal singed sausages cooking on a barbecue, so we went to investigate. As it was nearly lunch we decided to have an early snack washed down with some freshly pressed apple juice. All rather delicious.

The fromagerie was filled with delicious cheeses, most made on the premises, which we got to taste. The farm shop is well stocked with lots of locally produced food stuffs, yoghurts, jams, biscuits, sausages, wines, all very well presented, we will definitely be back.

Before we left we visited the cows that produce the milk for the fromagerie . There was a particularly friendly one who was definitely not camera shy. It was lovely to see them being well cared for and happy in their environment. Obviously why they produce such good milk and cheese.

We then headed off to another small village about 20 minutes away called Vougrey - we were visiting La Ferme des Abbesses. This was a farm that grows all their own cereals and seeds, which they then either milled into flour or pressed to produce oils. The by-product of the pressing was then sold as animal feed. It was fascinating understanding and getting to taste their produce. They produce three oils, sunflower oil - which can be used for cooking - and two salad oils. Chanvre, which we know as hemp, was very nutty in flavour and Cameline, quite an unusual and particular crop, which produces an oil that tastes of asparagus. We bought all three and I’m looking forward to using them, especially the salad oils.

Needless to say there was a champagne producer also there, so we sat in the garden overlooking the fields and enjoyed a very pleasant glass of champagne before heading home.

It was great to look at what we had bought on our travels throughout the day, and at no time had we been more than about 30 minutes from home. I loved seeing the farmers turning their raw food stuffs into saleable products on the farms, with such quality, passion and commitment driving their businesses. It was a great couple of days learning about the artisans and producers in the region, and we only scratched the surface. We will definitely be going back to buy more, and look forward to next years event, which apparently is normally in April.

But it’s saturday

This weekend 35 local sites opened their doors to welcome the public to view their businesses and the products of fellow artisans and producers. It was called ‘dimanche à la campagne’ - Sunday in the countryside. However some of the venues also opened on Saturday, so we thought we’d get a head start and visit a couple of the champagne producers. We started off in a small village the other side of Bar-sur-Aube called Colombe La Fosse, the producer was A. Viot et fils. We decided to try the rosé and the 100% chardonnay to accompany our bag of chips, it was a very pleasant start to the day. There were a number of other stalls selling various goodies and handmade items, the one I couldn’t resist was a stall selling locally grown strawberries.

We then headed towards Meurville, a much older village this side of Bar-sur-Aube. We were heading for champagne Cothias.

We were greeted with a big bonjour when we walked into the courtyard. There were a few people tasting the champagne, but there were also a few other stalls, one selling homemade soaps, a local artist displaying his paintings, one with locally produced jams and honey and something that caught my eye, a couple of ladies weaving homemade jewellery made from stainless steel wires. We watched them for a while making a bracelet, then started chatting to them and trying out our french. I quite liked the bracelets, and Brian suggested I tried one on. It fitted really well and was comfortable to wear, and we both really liked it, so when Brian said I should get it I did not take much persuading.

We then headed over for a champagne tasting. It was 3 euros for a coupe, so we had a glass each, and got to try 3 different champagnes, although Brian drank most as I was driving. They were well made wines, and we decided to purchase some. However before that, Jerome Cothias gave us a tour around his cellar. I love an opportunity of viewing cellars, you always learn something new. Jerome was especially keen to tell us about how long he leaves his wine to rest in the bottles and develop rich flavours. He was very calm, and that feeling came through in his wine production, along with the passion he has for his business. It is so good to see.

On leaving, I suggested to Brian we could drive up to a local view point, which we discovered had breathtaking views across the valley. We sat and enjoyed our picnic that I had brought under the shade of a chestnut tree, and took time to reflect on the wonderful day we had had, and having the opportunity to get out and experience more of our region. What would Sunday bring?

Blackbirds

M. et Mme Blackbird have had chicks, and it’s very nerve wracking. They both spend most of the day flying in and out of the nest with a mouth full of worms trying to keep them fed. Brian has been on stealth watch and managed to capture a few photo’s without disturbing them.

Aren’t they gorgeous. We can hear them chattering away when their mum and dad return to the nest to feed them. We think there are three, so they do have their work cut out.

I’ve been published

We had some really exciting news this afternoon, Zoe from French Entrée, a digital magazine about life in France and for people looking to buy property here, emailed me to let me know the article I had written and submitted to her has now been published. It tells the story of our move to France, and some of the challenges we have faced. I have posted the link here if you’d like to take a read.

I really enjoyed writing it, and hope you also enjoy reading it.

Backgammon

I have been pottering around in the garden today, trying to stay in the shade whilst doing a bit of weeding. I also prepared some rubbish to take to the tip which we planned to do at the end of the day. Brian was focused on finishing framing out the stud wall. He completed that, and started cutting the OSB (oriented strand board) to size. I think this is the same as chip board, but maybe a bit stronger.

He packed up around 4.30, and we took a trip to the tip, always great to clear some rubbish. When we got back, before dinner, we sat down and enjoyed a few games of backgammon and a couple of beers - we found a nice spot in the shade. It felt like a very rewarding day, and I think it always does after a tough days work that leaves you weary, but gives you time to reflect on what you’ve achieved.

France is open!

Today, France has moved into stage three of Macron’s four stage re-opening plan. Bars and restaurants can now serve food and drinks inside as well as out, tables are a maximum of 6 people, and if you are not seated at your table then you need to wear a mask. In fact you still need to wear a mask in all public indoor spaces and many outdoor venues. The curfew is extended to 11pm. All shops, cinemas and cultural sites are all now open, although some have strict capacity allowances, and booking can be necessary. And events of up to 5,000 are allowed but attendance is only with a health passport.

Travel to France

The French government have announced a traffic light system, which enables vaccinated people to travel. Green classified countries, which include the EU, Australia and New Zealand, and orange classified countries, which include the UK, US and Canada, can now travel to France for any reason, as long as you have been fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency, i.e. Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson (Janssen). For double-dose vaccines you must wait at least two weeks after the final injection to travel. For single-dose vaccines you must wait at least four weeks after the vaccine to travel and proof of vaccination is required to be shown on arrival for both types. For orange designated countries you also need to show a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours of travel.

Non-vaccinated travellers, or those who have not completed their full vaccination, still need an essential reason to travel from orange designated countries.

Although the vaccination program got off to a slow start in France it is now working well, and vaccinations are now available to everyone over 18 years of age. Over 28 million people are now vaccinated with their first jab, and at least 50% of them have had their second jab. As from 15th June vaccination will be available to 12-18 year olds.

Early doors

Brian was keen to get started today. We cleared the area in the barn for him to work and organise his tools. It was also good to be working undercover in the coolness of the barn. He’d prepared the wood yesterday, so this morning it was about fixing all the elements together so he could then hang the door. Once again I was very impressed with his ability to create something that he’d never done before. Especially as the door is not the straightest one to hang as your first door.

It was quite hungry work, so we had an early lunch which gave Brian a chance to recharge his batteries and have a think about how to tackle a hatch he wants to add into the side panel for access to the wood pellet silo from the side.

Quiche from the local ‘traiteur’ with sweet tomatoes

It’s only a small thing, but we have noticed the pellets get stuck in the corners of the silo when they are getting low - so they need a bit of a prod. So after lunch he got out his box of metal treasure bits, and found just what he needed, some hinges and a latch which can be bolted shut. I found some hooks, which I can use in the laundry room.

Early delivery

Brian ran downstairs this morning as he heard the bell clanging at the front gate. Gedimat were delivering our wood.

He helped the driver unload it into the courtyard, then I wrote them a cheque for payment. I have written out more cheques since we arrived last July than I think I wrote in the UK in the last ten years. It’s still a very acceptable form of payment in France.

I was hopefully going to be able to finish the grouting in the atelier today, and having the wood delivered early meant Brian could start on the stud wall at the bottom of the stairs. He started by chalking a line on the floor and the wall by using his new favourite tool, the laser. He has found it saves him no end of time he would otherwise have spent measuring angles and levels.

Plodding on

Today whilst I was plodding on with the grouting Brian was outside preparing the old door he had found in the barn which he wants to use for the entrance door into the atelier. We were not keen to remove all the old paint, just where it was flaking. I love the layers of colours through the ages that start to appear.

He then needed to cut in a new piece of wood to strengthen where the lock and handle will go. And also fit three french style hinges to it. One half of these slot into the wooden door, the other half are screwed to the door frame. Then they slot into each other. Sounds easy enough!

Bagged it

They had forecast a thunderstorm today, so I had kind of expected it to be quite a dull day, however we woke to a gorgeous bright sunny morning. Brian decided to trim the laurel hedge before the sun came round to that part of the house, they were in need of a tidy up.

I decided as it was a beautiful morning I would pot up my planters at the front of the house and refresh my window boxes. When I’d planted the large cast iron planters previously, I’d used a couple of plastic pots inside them. But to be honest, that was never very successful. I found the pots didn’t fit great and they kept looking lopsided. So I came up with what I think is a much better method, and that is use a plastic bag as ‘the pot’. It means it fits perfectly to the size of the planter, I just made sure I put enough compost in to cover the bag.

The roses are all starting to come out now, it is so lovely to be able to see their full glory. The different shades of pinks look amazing. Unfortunately I do have a bit of greenfly and black spot, but I’m concerned about spraying because of our resident blackbird. Any ideas?

It’s a grout thing

Didn’t want you to think all we do is sit around drinking wine and enjoying the sun, although I have to say it is always very inviting. My days at the moment consist of grouting the atelier. It really is looking so good, far better than either of us imagined, but the grouting is taking a lot of time. Brian is preparing the door for the stud wall he is putting up to secure the atelier, so with some quiet time I am listening to a talking book, it’s been on my playlist for nearly four years now, so definitely time for me to listen to my girly choice.

There was a small distraction today, as Brian has also been giving the stone wall a straight edge to lay the floor up to. I like how he’s done this, it’s totally pulled the wall together, and given it a clean purposeful straight line.

Roses are red

Summer has arrived, and instead of by the fire the evenings are now spent in the garden listening to the birds chirping and the vignerons finishing up for the day. We are watching M. et Mme Blackbird disguising their flight path to and from their nest they have built in one of the rose trees. I’m desperate to go and have a peak, but also so conscious they need their privacy. So for now I will be resisting.

The roses all around the house are now coming into flower. This beautiful deep velvet red climber on the front of the house is looking stunning as it blushes with colour.

Our days are still busy with our many projects, but it’s so good in the evenings to relax and feel the warmth of the sun, and enjoy the life in the garden.

Dienville

Not one to pass up a visit to a car boot, we nipped out early yesterday morning to see if we could spot some bargains at one I’d noticed a short drive away. I came away with a couple of good purchases, an old copper pan, which I will probably use for flower arrangements, and a variety of cotton embroidered handkerchiefs - which I’m always on the look out for.

As it was nearly lunch time when we were leaving we thought we would go and explore one of the small villages by the lac d’orient, which we were not far from. We thought we may be able to find somewhere to have our coffee. We headed towards Dienville, which has a marina complex on the lake, it also has a very pleasant beach area which is bordered by lots of trees and picnic tables. So we parked up and enjoyed our impromptu picnic. It’s an interesting area to explore and has a choice of cafés, a creperie and small beach bar. It is only about 30 minutes from us.

Rumilly les vaudes

After we had visited the open garden, we took some time to enjoy the beautiful stone church which was being renovated. I had wanted to go inside, I love visiting churches, but unfortunately a sign stated that because of the renovations we were not allowed in.

We had just been chatting about the damaged stone carvings above the doors and were commenting that it would be great if they were to renovate them, when a very enthusiastic french man appeared and asked us if we were waiting to join the guided tour of the church. Before I could explain properly, he had picked up we were English, and told us to wait 30 seconds whilst he ran into the church. He returned with a sheet that had been translated into English as a guide for us. He told us we could then follow his small, private group inside. Perfect timing.

Once inside we could see the glorious stained glass windows that were lit up by the beautiful bright sunshine outside. The true marvel though was the ornately carved stone alter piece depicting the crucifixion. It was looking a little dusty, but that didn’t deter from the intricacy and dedication to detail that had gone into the work of art.

Our guide showed such energy on this rather unexpected tour of his village church, it was a real delight to experience such a welcome, and very memorable.

The princess and the pea

That was the theme for an open garden in a nearby village. We really didn’t know what to expect, but this was to be our first real day out for months so I was so excited to be going out. I had seen an advert in a local newsletter I subscribe to, and as it wasn’t too far away I thought it would make for an easy trip out

We started off with coffee at the market in Bar-sur-Seine, then tapped Rumilly-Les-Vaudes into the sat nav and off we headed. It was only 15 minutes away. The village was made up of some beautiful old historic buildings, they were mainly half timbered country houses, but the garden we were visiting was for a slighter younger house, looking very inviting with its bunting and open gate. You entered via a path along the side of the house, which opened into a rather fairy tale like garden.

It couldn’t have been a more perfect day out