Blue windows

No, I am not blue but the windows are. Don't they look lovely? It's such a good colour.

The painters are also going to come in and finish off the interior house painting and then thats it. La maison est fini. So whats the next project ?

If you want to have a holiday in France and rent a house. Rent ours!!


Here is a close up

  and then finally, hidden under the eaves, the owl hole.

The house revealed

The scaffolding is down and the house is revealed in all it's beauty.

Here it is again.

Did I tell you about the Blacksmiths Cottage behind our barn....?

Maybe not. Along with 2 barns and the cellar and the land with 2 building plots we also have what was the Blacksmiths Cottage. It's small, it's run down. It's more of studio than a  cottage. No toilet, bathroom, cooking facilities as we know them. The usual story.

John and I have been dreaming....,  what this might look like and how fabulous it might be with the new french windows leading out onto the small, walled garden.

And how it could be the perfect office or a small holiday let, or a dreaming studio for those audacious dreams of how to change the world. Oops... lots of real work to be done.



So I think the first conversation is with the stonemason to see what the problem with the bulging wall at the other end might be. Always a good start.

That shorter bit in the photo is where the chickens used to sleep apparently as it's right over the bread oven (nice and cosy warm). I would be quite happy to sleep over the bread oven on some of those cold nights.

The back of the house which could have windows added 

If we take the tree down and make some windows then we could build an enclosed garden for those  quiet times we never seem to get.

Oh and remove that asbestos roof which for some reason is just on one side of the building.

One bright suggestion from a french workman was to take it down and bury it in the garden. Oh I don't think so. I think it's get the specialist in, with all the necessary masks and equipment, take it off, cart it away, clean out the whole upstairs and then we start the next phase!

Nearly finished and we have chairs with seats in them

After 5 months of waiting and cajoling  we finally got the chairs upholstered. A miracle. Do these people want our business or not. They nearly didn't and it was only a final threat (in French)  that got the move on. Weird.

The finally finished chairs. No one was murdered in this process, but could have been.

However one person who never slacked off was the stonemason. Here in all its scaffolding glory is the house - repointed, repainted to a less glaring colour, with the little patio at the front. Well done everyone.

And apparently the vegetable garden is going gang busters too. How exciting.

All the pointing has been done and the scaffolding about to be removed.

We have had a lot of visitors this year and hopefully.. many more to come to share our little bit of heaven in France