The Big Push

For Henny's birthday, a gang was going to celebrate at Les Goutailles, one of our favourite local restaurants. We decided to have an apéro at TopTop first, determined it would be a building site no more. An almighty push was on to get the place looking presentable for its thus-far biggest-ever audience.

Josh and Michelle tamed the weeds. The man with van we hired to move furniture stored in Henny's garage for the past 18 months, couldn't, at last minute. Teddy & Nicola kindly and ably stepped in with their trusty remorque. We held our breath as the huge couch bumped along country roads and then just about squeeked through the front gate. It was unveiled for the first time since leaving Devon two years ago, happily surviving unscathed.

J de P came to hang art which made an immediate impact. The painting by Dominque Caby was bought nearly 4 years ago. Lizzie & Ali have been safe-guarding it ever since, from dust and builders' mess, during both little French house renovations. Now in its new home at last.

A proper kitchen is still only a twinkle in our eyes, but here's looking into the living room from where it will be. Chairs bought before Kate & John had the sofa recovered, pure coincidence.

A splash of colour in the bedroom.

It took us forever to prepare the marble tiles in the bathroom. Now they're finally sealed, first showers were taken. Divine! The well-travelled fish that came from AL & Liz's ceramics gallery in Toronto so long ago have finally made it out of the bubble pack.

Seeing it all come together was thrilling. Thanks to everyone who helped, especially to Henny, who's done more than anyone, and who lent her birthday as the excuse. It felt like about 5 birthdays rolled into one for me.

Happy 15th Poppy

Poppy was whisked away from basketball practice for a quasi-surprise BBQ on Greg and Alex's glorious terrace. Wonder if Poppy, an ace-player, wouldn't rather have been shootin' hoops with her mates? Too bad. We selfishly kept her all to ourselves, savouring the moment. Now well into her teens, how much longer before she finds us all completely un-cool?

Living in the south of France, Poppy masterfully pops a champagne cork without spilling a drop.

Greg and Alex have an amazing wrap-around terrace. There's Alex manning the fire in the distance. Yes, that's still the same house!

What's the secret behind those deliciously tender chops? (Every possible pun intended.) The meal was yummy. Afterwards it was time for games. The devil himself was there.

Poppy's birthday on the 5th of May kicks off the summer birthday season. It was the first time we could comfortably sit out all evening under a starry sky. Thank you Poppy for giving up basketball for us, and thank you all for a marvellous evening.

The Diving Bench

The last time I dived was in the clear turquoise waters of the Seychelles over 5 years ago. Soon afterwards, I signed for the first Little French House. I didn't immediately realize the two would be mutually exclusive, but I haven't managed a dive since. My gear's been collecting dust. This year I decided it had to go before it became completely worthless.

Watching wistfully as, piece by piece, my kit went out the door, I was comforted by keeping my eyes on the prize -- transforming my diving equipment into garden furniture. So as my drysuit wended its way to Krakow, this bench was being delivered in Roujan.

And here we are. As Lizzie and Ali said, two old dears on a bench. A wonderful, sturdy teak bench which should bear a brass plaque: Kindly donated by my diving career.

Henny's Terrace

Flying in on the 1st of May, the pilot announced, "The weather in the Béziers area is, well, perfect." And he was right. Warm and sunny. Poppies everywhere. Fresh asparagus. May is one of my favourite months. Henny's terrace is an ideal place to enjoy spring.

That is until Pou brings a lizard into the house to play, the wriggly green legs and tail a stark contrast hanging out of his black mouth. Whenever possible, Henny operates a strict catch and release policy. I'm sorry there are no photos. It all happens lightning fast, in a controlled chaotic kind of way with a glass and a piece of paper. All recently stunned reptiles were rescued and returned to the safety of the thick ivy.

When lizard stalking is over, tranquility returns and it's time for a nap in a favourite chair.

Easter Monday

South of France, eh? Over Easter, we heard reports of lovely sunshine in England and Holland. Not so for us! Grey skies and rain, rain, rain. We didn't mind too much; there was plenty to do indoors.

But we kept hoping the weather would lighten up in time for the traditional Easter Monday wine-tasting at Domaine Bourdic. Thankfully it did, just in the knick of time! Hans and Christa had a successful day introducing many guests to their delicious new wines, while Equipe Bourdic kept things moving in the background. Henny in charge, Freddie on BBQ, Michelle and me filling in wherever. It was great to see so many friends. We had such a fun day, though by the end, how stiff were we?! I was delighted to receive a case of the yummy new red called Zappa. Thank you Hans & Christa! I hope you sold loads!

He's back!

As you probably know, Pou was extremely ill for a few weeks. It came out of nowhere. A virus? The vet kept asking if we knew if any cats in the neighbourhood had been poisoned. Pou was in and out of 'hospital' for two weeks, his weight went to nothing, his immune system turned on itself. It was touch and go. But, to cut a long, scary story short, I'm delighted to report he's better! Last week he was given a clean bill of health. The vet seemed as pleased as we are. I won't humiliate Pou by posting a picture with his shaven chest and paw (growing back nicely), so here he is in all his glory. With heartfelt thanks to all his fans and our wonderful, supportive friends who sent their love and wishes from all parts of the globe...

Heavenly stairwell

It was just over a year ago that I wrote my first blog about the stairwell. I mused about how lovely it would be once decorated. There was no sense in painting it while big works were on-going, but we finally got there.

Surprisingly this has turned into one of my favourite little corners of the house. The understairs cupboard was once wider, but the wall was moved to enlarge the bathroom. The cupboard area we lost is now a nice roomy shower and we gained some interesting angles.

Before:

It was messy along the way.

But it was worth it. This is Henny's favourite angle. Handrails temporarily removed for decorating.

Different perspectives

This picture was taken from the walled garden in autumn. The vines were just given a radical cut-back. When leaves are green you don't see half as much from this angle. The aluminium shutter on the left is the kitchen, the completely new structure. The window next to it is in the living room, as is the blue door you can see leading to the terrace.


This is the back of the house. Both open-shuttered doors lead out from the living room. The third door is the bedroom.

And here we see the house from next door's plot. We begin where the evergreens end. You can just see the covered terrace and the tower when it still had the scaffolding up. Right now our only neighbours are an ever-increasing number of chickens and ducks, but you can understand why we want to grow a green barrier.

Bedroom

On the day I signed the compromis for the house in December '06, Lizzie and I went into Béziers to buy supplies for the garden. On the way we stopped at a brocante where I spied these beautiful brackets which I bought as an offering for the new house. Thank you L & A for storing them for at least a year before I figured out how to use them.

Henny decided to strip them. Pou helped. We fixed them underneath the newly exposed beams in the bedroom.

Formerly a small room, walls and ceiling covered in pine...

it was enlarged by taking out a corridor, moving a big wall, tearing down the ceiling and re-siting a water tank that lived in the crawl space above, making good various floor levels, re-tiling the lot, and turning a window into a full-length door. The door profits from having the grille we lost from the 1st floor tower window repositioned here. The before bed is a tiny double. To give an idea of scale, the bed below is 6' x 6'6". The ceiling is 4 metres at its highest point before sloping down. The room isn't quite finished, but it's certainly different. It's a joy to wake up looking out to the garden.

Belated Birthday

Sorry, this report is only 3 months overdue. My birthday fell on a Saturday last year. What better excuse for lunch at le Bistro d'Alex in Florensac? The restaurant is in a modern facility at the cave coopérative. Here the local winegrowers have ample room to display their wares, which of course you walk through to get to the bistro at the back. The ambiance is sort of workers' canteen meets Ikea, but the food is delish. Best of all, these savvy vignerons sell their wines without the usual restaurant mark-up. What you enjoy during the meal, you can buy on the way out, at very keen prices. Here I am with my best girls taking full advantage.

And here we are loading Alex's van. I wanted you to see the big vats.

Later on, Henny and I took a walk through the vines, carefully avoiding the volleys of hunters who were far too close to the village limits. That's me, about 2 minutes from Henny's house.

On the way back we passed through the centre of Alignan where the annual drive for children's charities was taking place. It was late afternoon and getting cold. A man with a microphone hosting a raffle was trying to enthuse a handful of bundled-up spectators. We felt bad that we'd come out without money, so went back to the house to get some. Upon our return, we were received with great joy, the man excitedly announcing, we've just gone international! It's no wonder. Henny and I will never be mistaken for natives as we're about twice as tall as anyone local, male or female. But the welcome we got made us feel right at home. Here's Henny with the raffle mascot in bustling downtown Alignan du Vent.

Cloudy sunset

On the way from one house to the other after a hard day's work, we were recently rewarded by this magnificent sky.

Kitchen progress

I've just returned from 12 days in France. Apart from the delicious feeling of being home for more than just a weekend, the purpose was to move works forward. And we did get a lot accomplished. Henny had already decorated the living room with stunning results, a magnum opus due to previously detailed difficulties. You'll have to wait for pictures; the ones taken with the camera phone just don't do it justice.

This week the kitchen was painted. Sorry we couldn't shift the scaffolding. I like looking up and seeing the old pigeonnier through the skylight. The two stunning beams are reclaimed, not an original feature of this house, but now the best we've got.

The length of the room running under the glass bricks is 6.4 metres. We hope to put a linear kitchen straight across once we figure out what we want. The centre of the glass bricks is where the extractor will go; you can see the hole for the duct. We created a soffit here with 6 recessed down lighters on a dimmer which give off a lovely ambient glow at night. It's exciting to see things you planned and hoped for actually up and running. Is that a light flickering at the end of the tunnel?

Raining Cats and Dogs

Alex says that Pou is a "dog-cat". It's true; he has canine tendencies. Yesterday Henny caught him on the terrace in the pouring rain, drinking from a puddle. The bathroom door is kept closed in winter to try to keep heat in, so his normal bidet watering hole is hors service. He has to get his liquids somewhere, and a bowl in the kitchen, where's the challenge in that?