Too busy (and internet-less) to blog!

Sorry about lack of blog. Lots to write about and loads of photos, but no time or internet connection. Will do big catch-up as soon as I can. All well, in house, very cold, using lots of logs in the wood-burners, and hot water bottles at night- but the sun is mostly shining!

One day to go.....

A very full car before leaving home!

 Well, we're here in France, having set off with a car full to overflowing!

A lovely crossing on Brittany ferry's Bretagne, superb meal and a good night's sleep, then ready for a long drive down to Aquitaine. A smooth journey, at the end of which we should have been meeting Nicole at Bergerac airport just after 3pm. Unfortunately, Ryanair had other plans, having cancelled the flight from Bristol just minutes before takeoff. Nicole, resourceful as ever, changed her flight to Easyjet Paris and caught a train to Bordeaux. All would have been well, except we expected her to arrive at Libourne, where we were waiting for her at 11pm. We eventually caught up with her at Bordeaux station (the sat nav having sent us to the bus station first!) at around half past mid-night.
We are staying in a very comfortable chalet on a campsite half-way between our new house and the town of Duras. We can see 'our' house from the window - so near, yet still so far!

Today we visited the chateau in Duras and took this lovely photo of our house from the top of the tower - so exciting to see it.  There it is, right in the middle of the picture, our little house on the hill!

Vue de Duras in the distance

Nicole and I at the top of the tower at the chateau.

 

The house with an almost sparkling pool!

We took a picnic lunch up to the house and ate it in the garden! The house looks beautiful in the sunshine today, rather better than it did when we arrived on Thursday, when the garden was overgrown and the pool had a bad case of algae.



 Tomorrow is the day we have been waiting for, at 3pm we will go to the Notaires office to sign for the house, pay over the money and pick up the keys. Fingers crossed!

Finally.......

....at last, we have a date, and as expected it's all going to happen in a hurry! We have a date to complete on the purchase on Monday 18th October. So...we are going to travel out on Wednesday, stay at a B & B for a few nights, and then pick up the keys and move in on  Monday - sounds simple doesn't it! Hopefully our furniture will arrive not long after.
The timing is great, because Nicole, youngest daughter, is arriving by Ryanair at Bergerac on Thursday afternoon - we should be there just in time to pick her up. Her ticket was booked months ago as a short visit, and has now turned into an open-ended stay.  No room in the car for her due to all the 'little things' I've picked up in charity shops/ebay/flea markets since all the rest of our belongings left for the continent. It will be great to have her there - our resident interiors/design professional!
Fingers crossed everyone, for the last bits to fall into place!

 As I've no pictures to show yet, I thought I'd add a photo of the patchwork I've started to keep me busy while we've been waiting.


My lovely friend, Denise gave me this old Singer sewing machine which sews like a dream. The fabric is ready to be turned into my first quilt.

Here's the fabric turned into blocks, waiting for borders to be added.

                                                                                     To be continued............

 

 

First Steps to Starting an Orchard

Today I have been to the Countryside Centre in Worcester for an 'everything you need to know about fruit trees' day....fascinating. The course was taught by Wade Muggleton, Senior Community Greenspace Officer, in the classroom for the morning then out in the orchards next to the countryside centre - who knew they were there?! One of the orchards is very old and was neglected for 50 years or more, the other recently planted with local Worcestershire varieties. The course was very informative and enjoyable, ranging from choosing the right plant, planting and pruning to turning some of the harvest into juice.

We ended the day juicing lots of apples, mostly windfalls, some we had picked up in the orchard and some brought along by others on the course - delicious - I'm hooked!


Now just to decide what varieties of fruit, which rootstock and where to plant them - and of course to actually get the contract signed and take possession of the house! (Of which still no news - apparently the solicitor is awaiting documents from French tax office.......)

And still we wait...

We are assured that the wheels are still turning....albeit very slowly. We will get there! It's very difficult to update a blog about a specific event when nothing obvious is happening. So I'm adding this just to let you all know that it's not that I can't be bothered!
While I'm waiting (not even any supply teaching coming in yet - still early in the term though), I am 'researching' on the internet -honest! I'm just easily distracted.

I have learned how to make Greek style yogurt, the first batch made overnight - tastes lovely - creamy and mild.
Recipe

1 litre whole milk, 2 tablespoons live yogurt, warmed and put in a (t)rusty old flask overnight.

strained through a linen cloth in a colander

 and then bottled ready for use. Recipe to be refined and served to future guests with home produced honey and fruit. Something to look forward to.
Now....what to do with the whey....

House Sold!

We are another step closer to our dream! On Monday we completed on the sale of our Worcester house. Many thanks to Craig and Julian at Reeds Rains in Worcester, for their expert handling of our sale.
Someone is looking after us as the euro/sterling exchange rate is working in our favour and some of that money was winging its way to our French account by the end of the afternoon.
So we are now all set to sign on the dotted line for the French house.....sooner or later! We are still hoping that it will be in the second week of September. We are eager to get started on the next part of the project, the renovation of the barn, addition of en-suites, decorating and the establishment of the garden. Perhaps a bit of a breather first is a good idea.......

Moving Day

Yesterday we waved goodbye to our belongings, superbly loaded (we hope!) at top speed and efficiency by James and Mike from Hunts International, fuelled only by frequent tea breaks. It’s all going to be stored until we’re ready to have it delivered to France – hopefully soon, although no firm date yet.

The house is now clean and empty of everything except happy memories. Thank you to all our children, family and friends who helped to make all those memories.
So we spend our third night in the flat, thankfully the bed is comfortable and pubs with food are within walking distance!

This morning we are expecting the engineer from BT to fit us a new phone line, the first step on the way to broadband. Until then, we are having to manage with sharing ONE mobile internet dongle, for as long as two weeks. Potentially more difficult than sharing a small flat!