Soar-Dream-France

Counting Down to Home-HOME Today

 

Today is HOME day! It will be my first night sleeping in the Chatette since the end of November of last year. To say that it feels strange is an understatement. I am telling myself it's just another new adventure to add to the list of my life...so far!

Seeing the lighting fixtures up and glowing yesterday made me smile. The carpet is in the process of being laid in the private bedroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monsieur Jolly returns this morning with the repaired leg for Monsieur Winkelmann.

 

And, BUT is delivering my new mattress and box spring this afternoon. I am ready with the essentials.

There were things that were supposed to be completed while I was in England that didn't get done, which have set me back in the connectivity department. 

 

 

So, I soldier on and do the best I can with letting go of things that are not in my control. That said, last minute scrambling leaves me practicing patience and letting go. Once again in my life, just do what I can and keep moving forward...sometimes petit a petit.

There is so much to be cleaned.

 

Imagine everything in the photo below totally black. There's lots more where that came from...a whole vernissage cave full of furniture, paper, and the sentimental items that I was able to save!

 

 

With a few picture hangers left around on the stone, I've been able to hang Kate's calendar. 

 

 

I've always said that the stone is pretty all on its own. I'm shooting for simple and pretty. I don't plan to rush out and buy anything except what I absolutely have to have now.

I want to be able to live back in to this Chatette.

I may not be back for a bit, while I get phone and internet sorted. WIth May holidays coming up in France, it may be even longer than I'd hoped. Until then...

Happy Coming Home Saturday!

 

Counting Down to Home-Day Three

 

Yesterday was crash and burn day for me. On top of being totally overwhelmed with the in betweeness of it all, cough and runny nose set in. Evelyn and I managed to get the last big batch of stuff to the house so Saturday will only be bedding and odds and ends.

Even though I thought about returning to the Chatette on my bike, I decided to just stay put and take care of a few errands AND myself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I combined early errands and taking care of myself.

 

 

On the way home from La Poste I had a visit with my favorite Saint-Saint Therese of Lisieux. I lit my candle in gratefulness, took a few shots and enjoyed the wander through St. Etienne. I left feeling centered again and not so overwhelmed.

 

 

The wisteria on that corner of the circle called me back again for another round of photos. It is irresistable!

 

 

 

Still, I needed to resort in my mind and then resort again as more new information presented itself.

After a run for cleaning supplies, piano supplies, a merci gift and a book for me; I returned to the apartment ready to curl up with my book and be good to me. 

Today is clean the apartment day. I really want to just stay here, but the carpet is being laid at the Chatette and I may need to at least drop back in to see the painter who is doing this job too. We shall see.

Happy Friday!

 

Counting Down to Home-Day 4

 

With a stain-free happy quilt in the sack, I wandered up this hill to the apartment and grabbed a few shots along the way. I'm still amazed at all of the tiny alleyways and medieval surprises that I hadn't noticed before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little before 11:00h, I hopped on my bike to head to Cadrieu to get some more work done and wait for my people.

 

 

It turned out to be a day of no-shows. It's very frustrating for me, but I still made progress. Instead of wrapping up electrics (including phone and internet) and gas fixings for the stove, I focused on columbines, deviled egg plates, and other china items that needed cleaning.

 

 

 

My Monsieur Winkelmann kept me good company. With each little rest along the way, I'd play something. I even managed to sit on the front step and write a few items for my 2018 Good Things Jar!

It feels good to see the finished product, but the black that hangs on items I was able to save still gets me down.

I'm going to be happy to get back to "The sweet life of the French countryside!"

 

 

Packing up this morning for another shift of moving stuff from the apartment back to the Chatette. Evelyn comes at 9:00h this morning. Saturday morning will be the last run. 

It is going to be nice to be in one place. 

Happy Thursday!

 

Counting Down to Home-Day 5

 

Tuesday was planned to be a big day. It turned out to be a big day that got bigger!

Knowing Monsieur Jolly was coming to check out our Monsieur Winkelmann and L'Electron Blue was delivering my appliances in the afternoon; I planned to be prepared with coffee, croissants and pain au chocolats for all. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I christened the new coffee pot and had my first cup of (ha-ha) "proper" coffee at the Chatette. It felt like a celebration. I was even able to put my kitchen towel from Julianna down to protect the window ledge, where I placed Dad's cat, expresso cups from Kat and Tom from when I first bought the Chatette, and other favorites. It felt fun and was beginning to feel like home again.

 

Monsieur Jolly discovered pretty much what I expected and hoped to be true. The insides of our Monsieur are just fine. He sounds just fine. The veneer is "buggered" but not unsalvageable. I told him that Dad said he'd say a "piano prayer" for us. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We giggled, but then he told me: It worked!

 

 

He showed me what to use to clean the keys and the insides and how to work on the veneer with sandpaper and what weights to use. Monsieur Jolly will always be my piano man. After Philippe left I went up to see Christiane to get my checkbook. I needed to pay the remainder on the appliances. I found her in the garden powerwashing around the pool. I continued my work until Antoine arrived: key cleaning, bathroom cleaning, window cleaning and just busying myself a step at a time.

All the appliances are in and placed, with a few minor touches to be completed today. New is wonderful, but I must say that the frige, stove, washer and dryer are all bigger than the originals.

 

The windows sparkled!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was fun to see the kitchen coming together again!

 

 

Riding home felt good. I was on a high from the day and decided to treat myself to a pastry from Lagarde's. It was Roux's in the morning and Lagarde's in the afternoon.

 

 

RIding high, looking at my photos from the day, there was a knock at my door. It was Christiane with good news. She first teased that I owed her a bottle of champagne. I was puzzled. Once she said she had good news I guessed right.

 

 

Her letter (in French for my signature) to the insurance company convinced them to re-instate the 14% to my claim. I was speechless and shocked. As Christiane ran off to her evening plans I shouted to her: How about three bottles of Veuve Clicquot? Even that is not enough to say thank you to Christiane for all that she has done for me. As you can imagine, the wheels are turning in that department.

 

Off to get ready for another day. I leave you with a celebration in wisteria!

 

 

Happy Wednesday!

 

 

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Counting Down to Home-Day 6

 

Yesterday was Sunday's columbines, today is Monday's laundering saga. Since so many of you have been with me along this journey of return to the Chatette after the fire, I thought I'd share this last week to home with you.

As wonderful as it is going to be to be home again, I confess that there are so many conveniences in Cajarc that the wheels are turning to future possibilities.

The main reason for using the laundromat yesterday was to wash my beautiful lavender, flowered bedspread and shams from the fire.

 

 

I thought they were okay, but it wasn't till I got them out of the dryer that I noticed horrible brown spots right in the center. 

I'd gotten my winter clothes and summer clothes finished, but decided that I'd need to go to the Intermarche once they opened again after lunch and add stain remover to my stash of products. Then, I'd return to the laverie again and hope it worked.

 

 

 

 

Once my morning was over and there was no more to be done for now, I stopped at La Pause (conveninetly located directly across the road from the laverie) and told Julien: "J'ai besoin un kir!" I need a kir! Actually, as it turned out I needed two. 

I wandered back to the apartment with my backpack full of laundry and my dutch grocery bag full of bedding, taking photos all along the way.

 

 

 

After I got back from the Intermarche, I spread my bedspread out on the floor and began spraying the spots. It foamed up nicely as I'd remembered so I put it back in the sack and sprayed it again at the laverie for good measure. 

 

 

Two more sprays and two washes later, it still looked awful.

 

Back home after round two and getting my laundry products out of my backpack, I noticed that the spot remover was still in my backpack. I had grabbed the bathroom tile cleaning product instead.

Now that I know what I've done, I'm going to have to make one more trip and use the real thing next time. If this doesn't work, THEN I'll surrender.

I have to confess, having wisteria and freshly budding plane trees everywhere to keep me company made it all almost a pleasure.

Today...on to piano and appliances. Each day brings me a little closer to home.

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

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Sweet Surprises

 

Yesterday I took a ride to the Chatette to try to get a sense of what this week needs to look like for me so I can get everything done that needs to be done before moving back in on the 28th. I'm so ready.

Evelyn invited me for coffee and croissants, so we had a chance to visit a bit before I searched for Christiane and then returned to the house.

Before I even parked my bike under the plum tree, I noticed a huge patch of pale pink columbines near the woodpile. I'd have expected to find them in the flower box along the train tracks, but not here.

 

They were gorgeous and bountiful! I took a few shots and found more beside the tracks too. It looks like there are deep purples waiting to bloom there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love that they return every spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom even had some at 411 out beside the garage.

 

 

So, I couldn't resist-I collaged. I filtered. I cropped. In general, I went to total photo hell with myself.

And, I think I have a special spot in mind to be sure to plant more.

Before I left, I decided to pick a bunch and return to Evelyn's to give her the update. She loved them and we talked about never having seen them in that spot before. It hit me that I'm usually cutting the grass in the spot, so I would have probably mowed them over.

 

Not this year-Hooray!

 

 

What a sweet surprise!

Happy Monday!

 

 

Back in Black and White

 

Although this trip was full of color and love, I wanted to share some of the highlights of this trip in black and white. Oh, you'll see the color eventually.

It's just that there's so much color and so much love that I needed to tone it down a bit to even be able to pick out some of the highlights for myself.

 

Color, love, friends, 4-legged friends, chosen family, and a true "vacance"...what could be better than that?

 

I confess to being heavy in the 4-legged friends department in this post. Between Bruno, sheep, horses, and Rocky Boy, I was in hog heaven.

I don't know what was wrong with me (it had to be the horns), but I keep calling these sheep goats. They were so pretty and posed so perfectly for me when I wandered down the road with my camera. 

I fell in four-legged love regularly.

 

 

Those golden flowers were even beautiful in black and white!

 

It's fun to experiment with these photos from vacation! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's helping me to ease back in to the apartment in Cajarc and have a little rest for now.

Especially because I also know that this is the week of getting busy to return to the Chatette.

 

It's time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am rested and ready.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, April 28, 2018 here I come!

Happy Saturday!

 

A Cadrieu Tour Eiffel

 

 

This life after the fire can be strange and unusual. I still feel like I'm sorting through the rubble of my life for a second time. Fighting the mistral like winds on Saturday and wandering through chores and "stuff," I looked up from the terrace to spy this lone Eiffel Tower!

Before Hurricane Katrina, this lone Eiffel Tower was one of a gang that held my shower curtain up in New Orleans.

 

 

After the storm, the gang came here to hold up the shower curtain I'd made for the tiny bathroom on the first floor between the kitchen and piano. Over our sixteen years here, I'd been given lavender sachets and tied them between each Eiffel Tower. I was very close to having enough lavender sachets to fill each in between spot. 

Obviously, one of the workmen hung it from this iron rod that extends out of the stone on to the terrace next to the horizontal evier window. Saturday was the first time I'd seen it hanging there. I smiled. It took a little work to get it down, but I did.

 

 

I attached it to my newly designated "work" overalls and just kept moving. 

Once again, there is sweetness and kindness in these discoveries made by these workmen who are strangers in my home. It's as if they know that what might seem like some silly little thing to them, has meaning for me.

And, so it goes.

Happy Monday!

 

Moan Rivering!

 

On my way to the Chatette yesterday, I decided that I would take the day as it came and only do what I felt like doing and work really hard NOT to overdo it. If I overdo it when I'm there, all I have to do is crash on a bed or sofa. These days, there is no bed or sofa to crash on (yet) and I still have a bike ride back to the apartment in Cajarc.

 

(Isn't the mezzanine looking beautiful? They are in the process of getting the final coats of varnish on the floor. It looks so fresh, new and pretty. I'm trying to visualize what life will be like spending more time in this room. At the moment, the only piece of furniture I know will be here is my new double bed that arrives on 4/28!)

 

 

Then,when you add in mistral-like winds...I'm exhausted by the time I get there and haven't even started.

I also know I'll be facing the same on the ride home. You'd think there'd be a tail wind in at least one direction, but no...I'm riding into the wind for both.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It does make for beautiful river patterns and interesting "rowing!"

 

Even after Monday's handiwork, it looked like the land by the barn, lavoir and wagon could have used cutting again. I tidied up around a couple of spots, but then took the electric cord over to the house so I could get a start over there. 

I have two lawnmowers.

One I keep in the barn and the bigger, heavier lawnmower was waiting for me on the covered terrace. It is a little heavy for me and not easy to maneuver. I managed to get the area around the roses cut.

 

 I ran up and down the areas of the Chatette that edge on the front of the road, and a bit of the yard itself.

 

 

It became clear pretty quickly that even though the ground wasn't wet, it was difficult pushing and getting through high grass and loose ground beneath my feet. Plus, there were the ruts to contend with everywhere from the work trucks and dumpster placement.

I feel like I'm moaning, when really it's just the facts. I do what I can and keep moving. 

It was in the keeping moving part that the magic appeared...always in the flow to be found if I'm paying attention! More on that tomorrow,  but for now...

 

...Happy Sunday!

 

Come on Down

 

 

This is NOT Sam, but you would have had to look very close at the coloring to be able to tell! Imagine my shock when I saw this guy sitting on the outside kitchen window ledge. I thought he was Sam. I was trying to figure out how she got out of the house without me knowing, until I turned around and she was hissing from the corner of the kitchen counter!

He was a very lovey little guy at the time, but that didn't make any difference to Sam. She hated other cats.

We had a number of hissing sessions through the screen on the evier...that would be her hissing and him just wondering what in the hell was going on!

 

 

 

 

I began putting food and water for him out by the wagon, and would find him there from time to time. Sometimes his little cat head would pop up through the ivy along the train tracks and make me smile. He'd always come running.

He'd also drop in on the terrace, which meant being a little more careful when I let Sam out to come keep me company. 

Pretty soon, he found some more formal and welcoming sites at Christiane's, Josie and Patrick's, and even at the Chateau!

 

 

 

Christiane assures me that once I return he will be coming back down to see me too. I say:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come on Down!

 

We will need to be visiting on the terrace. I know if the little stinker gets his foot in the door (or paw, as the case may be) he'll be making himself right at home.

 

I'm not ready for that, but I'm looking forward to his first visit and many more.

Happy Saturday!