Wednesday, July 13, 2016

News From A Tiny Village In The Auvergne, France

oo
IMG_8764
IMG_8766
For those of you who have been patiently waiting for photos of markets, quaint little french towns or sunflower fields, I must apologize.
Since arriving in our family's home in the Auvergne section of France two weeks ago, my husband and I have hardly had the time to take day trips, nor do our shopping at the markets.  The truth is, we have been busy working on the house and have several projects going at once before our first guests arrive and before vacation can really start. Any trips away from the house have consisted of visits to Gedimat, Mr. Bricolage or Big Mat, the French equivalents to Home Depot and Lowe's.
Here are photos of some of the things we are doing.

Tending to the garden, weeding and pruning.
Untitled
IMG_8730
Untitled
IMG_8699
IMG_8701
IMG_8698
Planting flowers in all the planters
IMG_8700
IMG_8695
Replacing the weed barrier under the pebbles along one side of the house
IMG_8697
IMG_8746
And getting more pebbles to make the walk longer.
IMG_8768
Sanding the wood floor in two rooms of the house. The pine flooring had never been finished in the 50 years since it had been installed and it looked sad and scratched.
IMG_8769
IMG_8780
After sanding, came the finishing with an oil product that tints and hardens and allows the wood to breathe.
Untitled
Untitled
And voilĂ  the result.
Untitled
The result is beautiful.

Our neighbors think 'les américains sont fous,' working all the time.
But the projects above were actually just the small ones.  Currently, there are seven workmen busy on two major projects on the house.  One of them involves three 15 meter pieces of wood, pictured behind our house below. More on those in the next post.
IMG_8750



5 comments:

chance bliss said...

looks very lovely. i always feel a twinge of envy when i see your photos from auvergne... it reminds me of a time when i lived in a country, where most everyone took a summer holiday, and we used to have six weeks to enjoy that.

have a great time over there.

Katia said...

Chance Bliss, the French definitely are holding on to their two hours of lunch and their four to six weeks of vacation, some of which they always spend in the countryside to reconnect with nature. They are productive during the whole year, but know how to leave work behind for enough time to really relax. I admire that about them.

Anonymous said...

Yes, viva les French. They know how to live and hold on to their values. Mr. Pardon me looks like a very handy Andy! Replacing a weed barrier - seeing that makes me feel lazy. But all your results look magnifiques! And looking forward to seeing what the major work is - a cliffhanger seeing those long heavy planks of wood. Must be something structural I'm guessing...

Katia said...

Mr. Pardon Me is definitely handy and I would not be able to hold on to this house without him. I am so thankful to him for spending his French vacation working on this old house.
I'll have to wait just a bit longer for the pictures of the current work since it is not finished yet and I want to show the finished result.
But boy, it's major.

MrsSam said...

Greetings Katia,

The gardens and greenery look absolutely beautiful! Excellent job by you and Mr. Pardon Me! I can only imagine the hard work, but believe me, the results are Better Home and Garden magazine worthy!