OLD STUFF

 

This is a selection of stuff from recent brocantes.

Some of it is old, some not so old.

On the day of our own village brocante the weather was terrible so there were not many stall holders.  This was good news for the lady holding a "vide maison" where people could browse indoors so she had a steady stream of customers.  She said this set of playing card stainless steel dishes had been a wedding present.  Guessing her age I would say they were probably from the 1970's.  I bought them as a gift for some friends who occasionally hold card tournaments.

She also said her house was for sale, or would be once she had cleared out all the stuff (there was a lot of it).  I gave her my number as it could be exactly the kind of small house we're looking for.

This pretty set of espresso cups came from the brocante at Neuilly-le-Brignon.  When I got them home two of them were chipped so I swapped them for some I had already.  It was still a bargain for 2€.

This unusual chandelier came from the brocante restaurant in Pleumartin, the one where everything is for sale, including the dishes you eat off and the chairs and tables you sit at.

It took me a while to find some candles slim enough to fit in it.

This pretty dish is probably fairly modern but it's proved very handy for serving bread or a few biscuits.  A bargain at 1€. 

I got these Pyrex cups from the vide grenier at Le Grand-Pressigny, perfect to supplement my collection of small cups to serve chocolate mousse or lemon posset.  They remind me of the glass cups and saucers that were used to serve coffee in the coffee shops that were all the rage when I was a teenager in the 1960's.

This pretty green plant pot holder looked as though it had never been used.  In fact the price label was still on the bottom of it.  Although the price was not legible I bet it cost a lot more than the 1€ I paid for it.  The pineapple plant is a recent purchase from Ikea.

A BUSY WEEK.

The gorgeous weather of my first week back was bound not to last, but it was great while it lasted!  I got loads and loads of washing done and dry on the line outdoors, including bedding, curtains and dog beds.  

I find there’s something therapeutically old fashioned about drying washing on the line in the fresh air.  The whole process gives me huge satisfaction - unless of course there’s an unexpected shower!  Having to fetch it all back indoors in a hurry is fundamentally disheartening but then I just put it all on the airer in the dining room where it’s out of the way and the warmth from the log burner at the other end of the room finishes it off.

This is all completely baffling to a friend who doesn’t possess a washing line and dries everything in a tumble dryer.  When I explained that I've always dried washing outdoors whenever possible and that now it feels more important as it saves me money, saves on electricity and in turn goes some way towards saving the planet she thought it was pointless.  "Someone else will have to do that for me" she said.  There’s no wonder that the planet is gradually burning to a crisp.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" and we took time off from chores and DIY quite a lot last week.  On Saturday we went to a wonderful concert in a nearby village hall.  It was a performance of swing jazz by an amateur orchestra of local musicians and it was fabulous.  There’s a lot going on in rural France if you know where to look!

On Sunday it was a glorious 20°C so went to the first brocante of the year and later in the afternoon dusted off the old Harleys and went for a run.  I hadn’t ridden mine at all last year but it seems you never do forget…..

The bathroom project stalled a bit and not much progress was made.  Not for lack of effort though, but because of niggling problems.  The drawer unit under the sink was a flat pack item that simply wouldn’t go together properly.  Yet another visit to several DIY shops were required to source bits that would help to align the components correctly.  More visits were required to get different plumbing bits to solve small leaks on the sink and toilet and then several more to find somewhere that had tiles that we liked in stock.

This week though, the work is steaming ahead and Nick is getting on with tiling, woodwork, painting and finishing off.  And of course, today it’s going to rain all day!

SPRING IS SPRUNG AND GOOD NEWS

During my busy week in the UK where the weather was cold, grey and wet, Spring arrived chez nous in France.  Whilst I was dodging heavy rain showers to do various errands, Nick was beavering away with the bathroom modifications and taking his breaks outside in 20°C sunshine.  Winter just suddenly ended.

Once back in France I was able to enjoy it all myself, eating lunch outdoors and sitting out in the evenings until the bats had come out to play and to hear the owls, foxes and other nightlife.

The bathroom is coming along.  Demolition of the previous wall, rebuilding of the new wall and the new floor have been completed.  The plumbing was held up by having to do a tour of numerous DIY shops to find the right bits.  Only once the old sink and loo were removed was it clear exactly what bits were needed.  The old loo had been glued to the floor and not screwed down, an interesting DIY approach but not entirely unexpected in this house!  The plumbing part is now done, leaving tiling, woodwork, finishing off and decorating to be done.  

One of the challenges of life in rural France is that although there are plenty of DIY shops around, they are all at least a half hour drive away and they close for two hours minimum at lunchtime.  Hence timing is everything.  The compensation is that it can usually involve lunch somewhere, waiting for the shop to open or on the way home!  

It took us a whole day to find the few tiles that we needed for a splash back for the sink.  A tour of all the local shops ended in disappointment, as none of them actually had anything we liked in stock.  Eventually we went to the posh tile shop in Tours and after a rummage through their "fin de serie carrelage" (discontinued tiles) came away with a box of the perfect tiles at a bargain price.

 

Since my return I've been on dog walking, cooking and housework duty.  The walking has been a joy in the gorgeous spring weather.

In "other news" we were thrilled and relieved to hear from the Préfecture two days ago that our applications to renew our cartes de séjour have been approved.  It seems that this year everything has gone through pretty seamlessly and more or less on time.  With the email came our "decision favourable", the document we can print off and use for travel until we get the actual cards.  (This is the document we used to travel for a whole year in 2024 because we didn’t get the text message summoning us to collect the actual cards.)  This year we should have them only a couple of weeks after the current ones expire, which is today!

We expect to get the text in a week or so, to make the trip to the Tours, queue up at the Préfecture, pay our 450€ and then, with the precious cards safely in our wallets, enjoy a celebratory lunch somewhere.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

February may well be the shortest month in the year but in many ways it often seems like the longest.  The weather this February has been just as bad, if not worse than last year and we are more than ready for some sunshine.

However, the entertainment machine doesn't stop just because the weather is awful and although February was not quite as busy as January we certainly had some fun.

On 14th February, St. Valentine's Day, we hosted a ladies night.

Finding somewhere to eat on Valentine's Day where you are not surrounded by tables for two with couples gazing dreamily into each other's eyes, subdued lighting so that you can't see what you're eating (never mind read the menu), flowers on the table that bring on your allergies and cringeworthy soppy music, can be tricky if not impossible.  Not to mention the silly prices.

So, we invited some of our single friends round for an evening of friendship, food and fun.  We did a retro 1970's  menu and a quiz (with prizes) on the subject of Valentine, love, hearts and roses.  It was great fun and could easily become an annual event.

Only a few days later we went to a Chinese New Year event.  It's the year of the horse and dressing up was (as usual) encouraged.

Nick dressed up as a jockey.  All we needed was a pair of long johns to complete the outfit.

I dressed up as a stable hand.  All props model's own (although Nick's best green wellies).

We are however, somewhat on tenterhooks.  This time last year we were fast becoming nervous wrecks as our applications to renew our cartes de séjour went pear shaped.  You can read all about that here.

We applied much earlier this time, fourteen weeks before expiry date in fact.  The very earliest you can apply is sixteen weeks before the cards expire - which is in two weeks from now.

Yesterday, twelve weeks after we applied, we received our "prolongations".  These are the documents that extend the period of the visas by three months - three months that the Prefecture gives itself to consider the application.  The good thing about the document is that it restores our right to live in France and, importantly, to return to France after a visit back home to England, for three months beyond the period of the visa.  (Something we never had to even think about when Britain was in the EU.)

You have to wonder why bother to apply almost four months before if nothing is going to be done until they have almost expired anyway!

The prolongations came with, as anticipated, some questions.  This time they were straightforward, easy to answer and carried no threat of refusal.  However, in the coming three months there's time for all that but we're trying to be positive.

To celebrate the step forward we went for lunch at one of our favourite restaurants, Le George in Loches.  The "menu du jour" there is always delicious, only a couple of euros more than the mediocre menus served at a number of other places, and the ambience and service are excellent.

We were conscious that this is where we were last year when the phone call came from the lady at France Services telling us we had to sort the problem out quickly or we could be deported.

This year, we do feel somehow more relaxed.  Fingers crossed that this time it goes smoothly, that we get our "décision favourable" and cards sooner, and that we don't have quite so many sleepless nights worrying about what we would do if the Prefecture said "non".

(They have no grounds on which to say "non" but the computer programme dealing with applications last year thought otherwise.  Let’s hope they have fixed that.)

OLD STUFF

 

Late last year we stumbled upon a brocante shop in Montrésor and bought a few bits and pieces.  I wrote about it here.  The shop is only open on Saturdays and with the weekend weather half decent we went back again a couple of weeks ago.  There are virtually no street markets at this time of year so it's nice to be able to find old stuff at sensible prices elsewhere.  It's now my favourite shop!

Montrésor is a lovely old town and it's good to go there in winter when there are fewer other visitors.  The château itself is currently closed for the winter.

We had a very nice coffee at the bar after a walk around the town.

We plan to go back another weekend for lunch.

And of course another visit to the shop to see if they have any new stock!

The brocante shop is housed in the old Mairie building.

This time I bought a glass topped side table.  It was very reasonable.

It replaces a wooden coffee table which came as a freebie from the déchètterie.

That table has been passed on to a friend who was in need of a coffee table!

The lamp on it was a brocante purchase a couple of years ago.

I bought this painted candlestick.

I also bought some lovely wine glasses, ten in total.  

I don't think they're very old but they are French and very pretty.

I also couldn't resist this set of eight linen table napkins for only 3€ and a lovely old English Denby "cottage blue" teapot.  I often wonder how such things end up in a shop in France.  Our UK home is not far from the Denby factory in Derbyshire.

My most recent purchase of old stuff was this small outdoor table.

It is probably home made.

All last year I looked for something like it at brocantes and vide greniers and found nothing.  Then last weekend we went to a "vide maison" where you find house contents for sale as a result of a clear-out.  Although the street market season is yet to start, vide maisons crop up every so often all winter as people can display stuff in their garage or barns.  

We were late in the day on day two so any good stuff had long gone but this table was still there.  It's exactly the scruffy little outdoor side table I had been hoping to find.  Nick has fixed the wobbly leg and it's just right for the job.  I might tidy it up and paint it - or I might leave it just as it is!

MAKING THE MOST OF FINE WEATHER AND BECOMING A BAG LADY

The weather was lovely this last weekend.  Sunday was gorgeous and it was so good to see the blue sky and feel some warmth in the sun.  We sat on the deck with our tea in the afternoon and later with a glass of wine.

When the weather is good we abandon all plans for indoor jobs and make the most of being able to spend time outdoors.

On Saturday we went to Loches market.  The sun brought a lot of people out and it was very busy.  The bag lady was there with her stall, having been absent every time we went since the summer.  I’ve been on a mission to find a small handbag for "going out".  My usual bags are all huge and get in the way when we go to lunch or dinner.  I’ve experimented with not taking a bag at all but what do you then do with your tissues or phone? Not to mention the husband's wallet, phone and car keys! Bulging pockets are uncomfortable and even in a place where people happily leave bags and belongings out of sight I'm still nervous of leaving anything in a coat hung on a coat rack.  A habit of a lifetime to not be an easy target for a thief.

The bag lady had just the right size of bags for such occasions.  Small bags big enough for essentials that could be slung over a shoulder without getting in the way or over a chair without tripping up a waiter.  I got two; red for winter, pastel green for summer and she gave me a good discount for buying two at the same time.  

This black one is a very old bag that I resurrected.  You can tell how old it is from the size of the pouch for a mobile phone.  It's tiny!  Now I'm all set up and have finally turned into a bag lady myself!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weather has changed and we have wet, grey and miserable days for the foreseeable future.

WHAT DID WE DO IN JANUARY?

We were invited to spend New Year's Eve with friends who hosted a fondue party.

I took the dessert, a pumpkin and mincemeat cake.

Considering that January is one of the longer months and usually fairly dull, we had a very busy time!

We had some pretty cold weather and even some snow.

We stayed home during the coldest weather and did a jigsaw puzzle.

It turned out to be one of the hardest we have ever done, but Yvonne helped.

There was the invitation to the Mairie for the annual New Year greeting in the salle des fêtes in our letterbox.

It was well attended.

The speeches were short this year, the wine and servings of "galette des rois" generous.

Afterwards we went to a friend's house for a convivial evening of food and more wine.

She refers to the Maire's annual greeting as "the state of the nation address".

There was an exhibition of paintings by two local artists in Descartes.

Both artists were born in Descartes and the paintings are in the private collection of a local person.

The paintings were mostly of scenes around the area and lovely to see.

We felt very privileged to be able to view them.

There was a "Soirée Montagne" at the hotel bar in Abilly.

It was well attended and the food delicious.

Each person had their own pot of melted cheese and bits to dip into it.

I doubt that many people realised that January 13th was National Rubber Ducky Day.

Guests were invited to dress up in rubber duck/bath time costumes.

Some were more inventive than others.

A "parmentier de confit de canard" was served which is a kind of duck shepherd's pie.

It was delicious.

More dressing up was required for a Burns Night supper at the home of more friends.

Thanks to Jim Craig for the photo.

It was an evening of music, songs, poetry and a quiz centred on the life of Robbie Burns.

For dinner we had cullen skink, a delicious haggis shepherd's pie, tatties and neeps followed by Scottish tart.  I haven't had genuine haggis for a while and had forgotten how good it is.

Much of January has been cold, grey and damp but there has been some sunshine.

 

I was in charge of dog walking on the day that we had a new window fitted.

(More about that later.)

It was a beautiful morning to enjoy a walk around the park at Paulmy.

We sit out in the late afternoons whenever the weather is half decent.

Wrapped up in hats, gloves and blankets we have been treated to some fabulous sunsets.

And now we are into February, one week almost gone.

Although it is the shortest month it often feels like the longest.

Not much happens in February but the winter is nearly over.

1st March is spring in my book and we look forward to more sunshine and some warmth, at last.