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.

READY FOR SOME SUNSHINE and a new bathroom

The subject in watercolour class last week was "trees".  The sun was shining (briefly) and this palm tree seemed like the right thing to paint.

This week I am back in the UK for some errands.  Mixed weather is expected but I feel as though we have turned the corner and winter is on its way out.

Meanwhile, Nick is tackling a job we've been meaning to do for years.  Refreshing the en-suite bathroom.  It’s tired and dismal but the biggest challenge has been in deciding how far to go with the changes.  A bathroom is a Big Job and can be very expensive so we compromised.  

Nick is doing it while I'm away so that I can’t grumble about the mess and disruption - which is another major challenge!  He’s completed the demolition phase.  Now all he has to do is fit the new items.  Fingers crossed it will be finished by the time I get back!

A FALSE ALARM!

In an unexpected turn of events we seemed to have received a text from the Prefecture to say our cartes de séjours are available to collect.  This was even before the current ones expire!

On looking more closely, the text was from last year………we had been looking it up to check the date we received it in an attempt to second guess what might happen this year!  On hearing an alert for another completely different sender we got all excited and got it wrong…..

So, it’s back to the waiting game………

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.

A NEW WINDOW

 

Some time ago one of our windows developed a large crack.  It was a single glazed window, set into the stone between the dining room and the outside "barn" that we refer to as the "well room".  

The window was not double glazed and the glass had no frame; it was set directly into the stone.  The way it was fitted left a very narrow window sill on the inside and a much deeper window sill on the outside.  We had been meaning to change it for years as quite a lot of heat was lost through the glass but somehow we never got round to it. 

Then something else happened.  The glass in the door of the wood burner in the living room also developed a crack.  This had to be replaced urgently.

We took the door off the wood burner and took it to a place in Loches that someone recommended.  They fitted a new glass to our door while we waited.  We had considered attempting to do it ourselves but I'm glad we let the professionals do the job.  If we had tried to do it we would have been without the fire for a few days and seeing it being done by a professional we saw how tricky it was.  It was not cheap but money well spent.

While we were waiting we spotted that the main business of this place was the fitting and replacement of double glazed doors and windows, so we asked them to come and give us a quote to replace our broken window.

We waited for the quote to arrive and braced ourselves for a big sum.  It turned out to be very reasonable so we paid the deposit and only a few weeks later they came to do the work.

The new window is double glazed, has a beautiful oak frame around it and that end of the room feels much warmer.  In addition, they set the new window further back in the stone so that we have more window sill on the inside than outside.  They made a fabulous job of it.  We're very pleased and wish we had tackled it years ago.

(The spider plant belongs to some friends.  We are looking after it while they are back in the UK for the winter.)