Soul Food

At a time when I need the occupation because of 'other things' going on in our lives right now, painting and renewal of our home environment is not only very productive, but also good soul food.

Creating or re-creating  an environment is something we are both very practiced at. Like our boating experience, Waz does what he does well, and I do what I do well, and we just get on with it.

We have never had designated 'jobs' per se, but obviously we all have our strengths, and I am being literal using that term. Waz has a whole lot more strength (physical) than I do, and following my January 'trip' up a step which wrecked my right shoulder, I have little of that down my right side. This is important, as most of what we are doing is very physical. As long as I dont have to put my right hand behind me or up my back, I'm good to go.

To say that I'm having a blast with the de-pinking of the house (slowly but surely) is a bit of an understatement, and the fact that I'm painting everything white is really a first for me. I dont normally DO white. This time around, it is cleansing! Yes, that is exactly what is needed in this house.

There is always more work involved in doing these things than initially meets the eye...or should I say...enthusiasm!! Important word that...oh, and did I mention the 32C heat inside today? Hmm....not being a hot weather person, I wasnt too surprised to feel a bit whacked out after a couple of hours of hard at it painting. Water always helps, and Im learning that I am not drinking nearly enough of it. Plenty of coffee...but not enough water! Tsk!

So, while I have been turning all the pink walls into white ones, Waz has been doing a gazillion other things. Changing out light fittings in the basement that were previously just bare light bulbs dangling dangerously by their wires and giving off next to no light in the bowels of our house....

These ones spread the light beautifully~

Some of the pipes downunda also needed to be wire brushed and painted...they look like new! Boiler pipes, these are.

And that 'antique' book case that was rotten on the bottom and top and the back was falling off???

 The Wazster took the back off, painted some 'stuff' on the rotten parts to stop the dry rot et al, and we bought some T&G flooring at the Brico the other day to replace the backing. He tells me it is now ready for wherever I want to put it. Not until the living room is fini!
Firewood anyone?

 In the process of doing other things, Waz discovered that he has a nocturnal visitor of the rodent kind. How fun!
So, we bought a couple of mouse traps and he had these baggy things with that horrid (there is that color again!) pink stuff inside...and guess what?? Our rodent has eaten enough of the killer granules to kill half a dozen rodents. Hmm...how do we know there isnt more than one? We dont! And, do they reside somewhere in the basement, or do they come in at night for a feast? We keep waiting for a bad smell to develop somewhere down there, but hope this animal went back outside with it's belly full of nasties.

 The electrics and plumbing in the house have been (are?) pretty challenging. Waz has spent considerable time and created much blue air over both. The issue he is dealing with here started with a joint in the pipe that meant we couldn't open the door properly as 'someone' had done a shocking job of putting it all together so that the joint was sticking out. WHY do they do these things????Rhetorical question, BTW.
We spent considerable time in the Brico looking for and finding the appropriate pieces to make it all lovely again...well, he did.  All good now!  And the bonus is....we can now open both doors without the pipes getting in the way. Woot! There is also a valve there now!! A lesson in how to make things easier for yourself!

Because it is light until 10.30+ these nights, it is lovely to go outside and do some yard work out of the hot sun.
This poor hibiscus tree had Ivy growing (make that CHOKING) all over it, and I was determined to get the horrid stuff off. The tree is obviously old and I rather like it's blue/purple blooms.
You can still see some slips of Ivy, and it might take a while to remove it altogether, as there is ivy throughout the grass surrounding the tree...and beyond!

 You know this 'sucker' has been on here a while, by the size of it. Yes, that is IVY! Dont grow ivy over anything. Dont plant it, it's horrid!

Our pile of clippings, tree trimmings and hay is shrinking...even though we add to it regularly.

We have read, and been told that burning is unlawful in your backyard, at this time of year. In fact, I think it is now unlawful in this commune any time of year.

So, after opening all available windows and doors, this morning, you would forgive me for the swearing I did when I smelled smoke. Further investigation turned up this....
Guess what! This neighbor obviously waited, this Saturday morning, for the wind to be blowing things away from his house, and into ours. He lives down the hill, and the wind was blowing from the south this morning, and so the whole house filled with smoke for a few hours. Initially I ran around the house like a crazy woman, shutting everything I had previously opened, much blue air following me, and then I realized that I had now trapped all that nasty smoke inside! GAH!
So, throw everything open again, mutter, mutter, and much calling myself horrid names, and "get on with your life, you have better things to do today", never mind that smoke isnt good for my asthma!

Then the smell changed, some hours later...you have to larf! This guy obviously didnt get the memo about fires. Well, I would hazard that he doesnt care, because this is what he has always done in his backyard and nobody is going to tell him not to...maybe I will???
Not sure how I would do that with my less than stellar Language, currently, but...maybe next time?

We had purchased the appropriate hangers at Leroy Merlin when we were in Angouleme, last week, and today Waz installed them for me. I know this gets me off his back, but being the sweetheart that he is, he also likes a job well done and dusted. THIS, my friends is the laundry room complete! Yay!

Another one down! Phew.

Because we were warned about extreme heat today, we decided early on to close the shutters when the heat started getting a bit much. This dining room shutter is the only one that we can shut then lever out like this. Pity! Being on the west side of the house, this gets the longest amount of sunshine. I hate that we then have to put the lights on to see in the resulting dark rooms.

 With the lovely big overhang on the north side of the dining room, we just open the windows wide and let the breeze blow through, when it changes back to northerly. It didnt really do that today, being hung up with distributing the smoke from the neighbors! ha!

 Voila! The living room looks so much lighter and brighter all white. Plenty to do to finish yet, but another day might see it dusted. I will then put a mat paint on the ceiling.

 We discovered that where that book case is, there was another doorway leading into this room before they (whoever and whenever) took down the wall between the two rooms to make this lovely big space, now.

Breakfast, lunch AND dinner were eaten outside on the terrace overlooking the vines. It was hot at 7.30am, and we didnt linger out there longer than we had to. The Pink Room was showing 32C, even with the doors closed and shutters shut! Fans have kept us cool , or some semblance of cool for most of the day. Upstairs is warm, but all windows are open up there still, and it's days or nights like this that we wish for an air-conditioning unit! Aint going to happen!

While in Barbezieux last week we made enquiries of a window company to come and give us a quote for changing allllll our windows out for double paned ones. I think we have about 20, in all, so this aint going to be cheap!
We learned that we could get 0% loans from the bank to finance a new Fosse Septique and/or ceiling and wall insulation, and/or new energy efficient windows. This is all in the name of using less power and making our homes more energy efficient.
The bank has asked for quotes, so this is the first step in the process. Monsieur comes to give us a Devis or quote, this Thursday. He speaks a little English we are told, so I will be prepared with a diagram and the appropriate words in French, for him. We will have many decisions to make about the type of windows we want in the house. We already looked at PVC/Wood/Aluminum, which all come with or without screens, electric shutters (being the preferred and no more expensive than manually operated one, we were told) and also some doors. We will need to choose carefully, as we get one go at this loan. Helps if we dont have to use cash! We need a new Fosse, but the insulation is good here, so two out of three aint bad, as they say.

We also want to make a hole for a new window in the Pink Room, south end. This may or may not be covered by the loan. Depends how Monsieur does the quotation, we are told.  I think there is often a little hanky panky goes on with these things to maximize the clients Euros! I sure hope so!
Well, I am about to go and have a cool shower and get rid of some of the paint I have collected on my person, today. My book is awaiting me, as is the sunset from the top terrace, so Au Revoir mes amies.

A Bientot.