Picking up!

If I sound tired, I am. I also did too much with my sore shoulder/arm today. I knew I might, and tried to pace myself, but there is so much to do, I just kept plodding along, and it must have been the vacuuming/mopping that really did it!

Yes, that's what we have done today. Picking up, cleaning, de-molding walls, ceilings, de-spidering, floors vacuumed and mopped...well, three of them anyway. Flies everywhere, both dead and somewhat alive. They go pretty angry when I attacked them with the vacuum cleaner. These are single pane windows and there are gaps, so of course flies enter the house. We have seen this in some of our house sits, so we weren't surprised to find them in this house.

Yes, it is somewhat dispiriting to have to do all this. The WHOLE house is badly in need of everything, frankly. When you go to look at a house with a view to purchasing, you have little time in which to explore, turn on everything, flush toilets etc, especially when the water and heat are off, and the house has obviously been vacant for a long time.
This house has been a high end rental for many years, and it appears that most things have been left to accumulate in terms of things that need 'doing'.

There was one thing that gave us immense pleasure today. Sunshine! We opened the shutters and let the sun shine right on in through the kitchen and dining room windows.

We sat in the dining room in the sunshine and enjoyed our cup of tea, just taking the time to revel in the warmth and the light now coming into the two rooms.
We have to concentrate on small sections of the house at a time, otherwise it feels overwhelming.

Today started cold. A frost, to be precise. Waz had to go out and pour water on the windshield before we set out this morning.

We had a lot to do this morning. First stop was Leroy Merlin. This large Hardware store ...well, it's wayyy more than that...is always fascinating to visit, and we had quite a list. We also managed to get ourselves a Carte Magazin...fidelity card, there.  We found some sealant for the windows, which will hopefully stop the breeze coming in until we replace them all with double pane. A variety of bits and pieces...micro-fibre cloths included!! those things are fantastic!
Having done our dash in Leroy, next stop was Carrefour Supermarche for some dish towels. I opted for a couple of hand towels as well, and found a large microfiber body towel, which I cut into two, when we got to the house. This is fantastic for drying dishes!
A Grand Crème was necessary, at our favorite bistrot/café in the Carrefour mall, and then onwards to do battle with the French Telecoms giant, Orange.
We have tried to get a new account online, but failed miserably, as has our realtor. When we saw him yesterday, he highly recommended that we go face to face with them, so we made our way to La Couronne, on the northern side of Angouleme. Fortunate for us, one of the staff spoke pretty good English.
THIS was one of those times when I really couldn't do it in French! I was most apologetic to the associate, but he was happy to practice his English:)

We came out of Orange having paid double what we went in thinking we would. Online vs in -person! Ack! However, it means we can call the USA and NZ as part of our plan...no extra charge! Phew!
We made an appointment with a technician to come to the new house to install our new phone line and Digital. This wont happen until the beginning of April, but we are nearly there, and wont need it until then.

Onwards to the house.
It was still windy today (that's what you get for living on a ridge with fabulous views) but not the freezing arctic wind we had yesterday. Slight rise in temperature, thank goodness.

I was happy to see that we have Grape Hyacinths growing in one of the huge pots at the front door!
I also found wild violets in the grass and garden, some polyanthus, and daffodils. Always brings a smile, making these discoveries:)
One of our purchases at Carrefour, was this DeLonghi heater/fan. We found it on the shelf, asked for a new one, but this was the ONLY one they had. The attendant gave us the bar code and sent us to the cashier with the 'exposition' model (floor model) and code. She didnt understand why we didnt have it in a box and why we had the code with us. She called the attendant, who confirmed it was the last one. We got a 25 euro heater for 15 euros! nice one!

Closing doors and putting the heater on full in the dining room, pointed towards the kitchen made a HUGE difference. The whole room warmed up, our hands weren't frozen and things generally looked rosier.

Waz brought up some cutlery he found in the basement...then he brought some MORE cutlery he found downstairs. Aiee!!! So much!  Of course it all got washed. I was boiling the kettle all the time for this purpose, until almost magically, hot water was coming from the tap...the hot water cylinder was on! yay!
The pink in the room is reflected in the stainless steel cutlery! :)

This was the second lot he brought up. Equal numbers of forks and spoons, but half the number of knives! Why??

 Drying them all out before packing them away again. About 24 of each, spoons, forks, teaspoons and only 11 knives.

Lunch! Cup of soupe, half a baguette between us and a cream Cornuelle - Waz's favorite dessert!

 Cornuelle (core noo elle) are basically puff pastry with cream sandwiched in between. The little pink and white balls are anise flavored. They are delicious, but this was really a meal unto itself, lol. Just as well cup of soupe isnt very filling!  I still managed to spread whipped cream on my jacket! duh! lol.

Oh...and I bought this on sale at Carrefour...OMG..this is amazing!! Hazelnut ganache with lemon zest. Such an interesting flavor. 1.65 euros!

We really worked for our lunch and treats, today.

Waz spent time recovering the Bar-b-q, when we were unsuccessful finding a 'Housse' (cover) for it, at Leroy Merlin. I asked the associate what the name for the cover was...well, Housse, of course! lol. Who woulda thunk?

He fixed lighting, front fence, installed motion sensor lighting outside (with solar) and much more besides. I didnt see him for the most part, and I didnt venture down the rabbit hole today.

I have dish washer hands! I must go and put some Crème Main on them....hand cream.

By 5.30 we were done! Truly done! We could do no more, so shut everything back up, and left town.
I drove slowly all the way home. No traffic to speak of despite being home time, and we just thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine on the stunning vistas laid out before us. Vines, tractors tilling and preparing fields, farmers on  quad bikes, tractors on the skinny roads, views forever! What simple pleasure. It all looks so incredibly manicured.

We dont have too many days left before we depart France, again. Not looking forward to the time away, and cant wait to get back.

We have quite a few appointments in coming days as we finish everything off. We still havent heard from the bank!! Not happy! The publican at Le Calice told us her account took three months for verification...crazy! C'est France! Our favorite saying currently, lol.


Breathe, Monica!


Ok, I'm tired. Going to finish off here, and get my PJ's on, and watch a movie with Waz.

A bientot....oh...haircut tomorrow....Are you gambling folks? You think this will actually happen tomorrow?? We will find out!...tomorrow!