Catchin up weeks of 15-28 Jan 2012

David repairing plaster

28 Jan 2012

Well, the last couple of weeks have been very productive.  The bedroom walls are painted; a door has been returned to its original place  between the hall and the salon; my furniture was delivered from Emmaus; all the lights that have to be polished and rewired have been polished; my kitchen was delivered and is being installed this week; the fireplace in the sejours is complete along with a “gift for the maison” from David and his Merry men (they are truly artisans by the way); the ceilings and trim work have almost all been repaired and painted in the sejours and salle a manger; the door to the laundry room has been reframed; I found the perfect color of paint for the hallways; Paul, the plumber has finished his second set and Kevin, the electrician, has completed some of his to dos as well; I have discovered the wonder of steam cleaners on filthy tile and woodwork thanks to my friend Jenny and  we have bought more furniture and drapes from a friend of Robert and Dorothy who is closing and selling her house in Tourbes.  We pick everything up Saturday.



Daniel installing my kitchen

I started painting the hallway yesterday after I found “Jaune de Provence” … this perfect color after two prior dismal failures.  We first tried a product specifically designed for rough bumpy walls like ours. The label said to roll it on and smooth it out with a trowel. It was supposed to fill in all the smallish imperfections and leave a textured or patterned finish.  When we opened the container we saw orange (versus beige yellow) mashed potatoes with the consistency Granny would never have allowed. We had to dip it out with a trowel and tried a roller and it wouldn’t even go on the roller. We tried to smear it on anyway but half the wall came off on the roller. I tried putting it on with the trowel with the same result. We quickly gave up as we didn’t like the color.  We also tried some limewash in a can, but it suffered the same problems color and application, plus the label said three coats/steps to achieve the desired finish! Three coats of Hell?? No thanks.

As I paint down the stairs, my problem will be reaching all the way to the ceilings on the stairwell and I have also discovered I don’t have as much trouble with crumbling, clinging limewash if I use a brush instead of a roller.  Well, after another day my problem of being vertically challenged was overcome.  Jerry and I figured out how to set up the platform on the stairs.  Worked pretty well actually…good thing I am not afraid of heights!!  The landing and the stairwell on the 1^st level is painted!!  Can I hear an AMEN please?  Now I have to brush the Sous Couche on the underside of the stairs to the 2^nd floor.  That might be a little more difficult since the wall is higher than the wall on the 1^st level stairwell.  We shall see what next week brings on this painting stuff.    

The steam cleaner is an absolute wonder!  It has no aspiration just outputs steam.  The built up gunk on the old tiles softens and can be easily scrubbed off with the scrubbing attachment.  There is another little circular brush that can be used on woodwork (I found out).  Because it is steam the dirt just loosens up and goes away.  I HAVE to HAVE my OWN!!!!  Number 1 because I don’t want to wear out Jenny’s steamer and number 2 it is the greatest cleaning aid known to women or men!!!  Why oh why didn’t I get one of these sooner! I have now cleaned all the wood in the master bath and the master bedroom.  The only wood in there are the doors and the one piece of wainscoting under the window.  It was soooo simple with that steamer!  The doors and wainscoting are now ready to be lightly sanded and repainted, but that will probably happen sometime in the future.  At least they are CLEAN!

The kitchen is going together like a big jigsaw puzzle.  You have never seen so many screws and clamps!  Because of the crooked walls and uneven floors, each piece had to be hand fitted. Still, on the tall unit that holds the oven, it touches the wall at the top and bottom but leaves a gap of 2 inches toward the middle. The counter top didn’t arrive with the cabinets but it did get there yesterday.  They are going to be beautiful!  Hope Daniel finishes today.  I think I will feel a lot closer to being ready to move in with the kitchen put together.   *Note*.. Daniel took five full days to complete the kitchen, but boy is it ever beautiful!  It looks bigger than what I had imagined. 

Jerry has been busy rewiring light fixtures, putting the drywall up in the laundry closet, figuring out how to build a tub surround and how to rebuild the door frame in the salon to fit the door he bought.  He is very good at the light fixture job and the drywall job.  He had David rebuild the door to the laundry. David’s son was dispatched to do it. He had it all framed out and was about to start the plaster work when Jerry walked by and noticed the door looked a little small. Upon further review, the door was 55 cm and the washer was 60cm. We would have had a laundry room with no way to get the washer into it. Jerry completed the tub surround but he has finally admitted defeat on the door fit.  It is the same thing that defeats him every time….walls and door opening that are not square and stone walls!   LOL Apparently David is going to take care of that little matter Monday!  After the door is fitted we can start sanding the walls down and get the paint on the walls and ceilings.  The salon is the last room I will have to paint for a while…with the exception of the stairway of course.   

new fireplace with Languedoc Croix

Languedoc Croix

The new fireplace is complete and it is beautiful.   For some reason I couldn’t visualize the final look of the fireplace but I have to tell you it exceeded even Jerry’s imagination.  Can’t wait for David to finish the painting and repair on the ceiling so I can get in there and get things cleaned up and furniture in!  The Languedoc Croix was made by one of  David's crew.  It is made from the bricks that line the interior of the fireplace.  It is beautiful and this photo does not do it justice. 



dining table

Armoire not nearly complete

I told you Emmaus delivered the two chevets, two armoires, a chair and my dining room table.  Well they delivered the armoires in pieces…. You know … 4 pieces for the back, one top, one bottom, three doors and two filler pieces to fit the doors to.  It looked simple enough to put together, however that piece of furniture is held together with 4 screws and before the screws can be screwed in you have to fit the pieces together tongue and groove fashion.  That is not so easy.  The dang thing fell completely apart on us twice!  We finally figured out we have to lay it down, fit the stuff together then put the screws in, then stand it up….that isn’t so simple either!!!  After two weeks we have one Armoire 2/3 of the way together… (We had it completely together until we realized we had several pieces left over!) Maybe soon we will finish that one and get up the gumption to start on the other one.  As I have said before, everything has a learning curve.   Jerry and I have both been humbled by the amount of stuff we are figuring out we do not know how to do!!!     

Coffee in new kitchen with our helpers

Today, we pick up the furniture we bought from Robert and Dorothy’s friend.  All of it is going into one bedroom because I haven’t got the floors finished yet. For a very small price (grand larceny), we got three beds complete with frames, mattresses, bedding, a sleeper sofa (for unwelcome guests), two chairs, 5 tables, a large bedroom bureau, a small ottoman chest, two bookcases, a window settee, various bric a brac and all the custom drapes in the house complete with designer hardware. Our Friends Hannie and Bert and Patrick and Helene were drafted to help us move it and it completely filled up the rental truck and over flowed into Bert’s wagon.  After getting everything into 2 Cool Helene served us coffee….she had brought her coffee pot and our neighbor furnished cups and sugar!  Our very first coffee klatch in 2 Cool!  It is wonderful to have such good friends and neighbors!!

Jerry and I also made our way back toward Montpellier to Troc.com.  We picked up chairs for the dining room and a 12 piece place setting of Stainless flatware (circa 1935 England)……well, everything but the knives!  I will pick up some knives as we go along I suppose.  I can’t wait to tell Robert we got the “Faak” but not the knife!  Jerry loves that store because he can dicker with them. We picked out what we wanted and the negotiating started. The young man took about 40% off the stickers without much effort at all. We got 7 dining chairs, the flatware, and three brass chandeliers. So we now have sleeping for six, seating for 12, plates, faaks and spoons, and wine glasses for 12. Ya’ll come!  (BUT.. Bring a paintbrush, a hammer, knowledge of refinishing wood and cleaning and polishing old tiles ….oh yes….and your own sheets!  HAHAHAHAHA)

floor mopped not steamed

I have the floor in the master bedroom totally steam cleaned, but I have to use some type of floor wax remover to get the old wax up, then I have to clean the floors again, then put linseed oil on the tiles to polish them up.  As someone who doesn’t like to vacuum or mop I can tell you my work is cut out for me on these floors!!  LOL  

Wheelin' and Dealin' in France

After spending Monday doing nothing at the Ruin except listening to David and Jerry and Kevin discuss more work for David and how much it will cost, I came home.  Totally unproductive day for me.  Robert did put us onto a product that will seal the limewash on the ceiling and walls (we hope) so painting won't be such a pain in the patoot.  We have put a sample amount on about 10 ft of ceiling and if I ever get back to the work site I will try to run a paint roller full of paint over it and see how it does.   I am nothing if not hopeful!  Jerry and I could not work at the Ruin yesterday because David and his Merry Men were working in the Sejours and up the stairwell.  We couldn't go up or down the stairs and we couldn't get in or out of the garage very easily.......SO  we spent the day toolin' around the countryside on our way to Montpellier.  We stopped at a large Brico Marche...it was a water haul because they are in the middle of remodeling the entire store and every department was roped off because of work.  If you wanted anything from one of the roped off areas an employee had to get it for you.  Jerry did buy a garden sprayer to use if the above mentioned sealer works..we will spray it on and hopefully save some time.  Jerry also got his first ever face to face scolding from a French driver as we were going around the round about trying to decide if it was the correct round about for us!  That French woman was MAD!!  She was in a hurry to get to the McDrive.....I promise! That is where she pulled into after our cussin'....she pulled into the drive thru of the McDonald's!  We guessed Big Mac Attacks occur in France just like they do in America!  LOL  After we FOUND  IKEA and then figured out HOW to GET to IKEA we spent hours going over the entire store.  I bought two mattress covers and two sets of clothes hangers.  We also decided we would get our bed from IKEA  since they have a 90 day guarantee to exchange it for another one if we decide we don't like it.  Almost everything else we will need is there and it is reasonably priced.
As we started home we stopped at  Tronc.com.  It is a used and some new furniture store.  Jerry found some chairs he thinks will look fine with the dining table but we didn't get them.  If they are still there we may pick then up when we get the beds.
Today Jerry and I spent nearly all morning at The But Store buying the major appliances for the kitchen.  We now have an oven, microwave, stove vent, gas burners, dishwasher, TV and American Refrig. The Refrig has ice and water in the door and an outside door to steal a coke, milk jug or wine bottle out of the Refrig without opening the big door.  I would tell you how much we paid for everything but Jerry swore me to secrecy.  Just let me say this....the sales person and her manager were both relieved when we paid out.  I am sure they spent the afternoon comiserating with our cabinet salesperson over dealing with "The Damn Americans".  Jerry is good at negotiating!  We still have to buy a clothes washer and a kitchen sink.  I have become stubborn about the sink and the washer I want.  The sink has to be white or good stainless steel...good being the key word, it has be deep and it has to be a double sink.  My washer has to be 7kg, 1400 on the spin, and not loud, db should be 46 or better.  The reasons for the specs on the washer is because I won't have a dryer, nor will I have an outdoor space (for a while anyway) to hang our clothes out to dry, I don't want to do several small loads everytime I wash, and I don't want to feel like a jet plane is taking off from the laundry room.  The acoustics in that old house are incredible!  The 7kg is large enough for us, the 1400 spin cycle spins them really dry and the lower decibles speak for themselves (or not)! 
After saying I will be finished painting by whenever I said, we can forget that.  As far as David saying he will be finished by Friday, we can forget that.  Jerry and I haven't worked in two days at the Ruin and David or his merry men were not there today.  Oh, well....."Demain"  as they say in France!  

Happy New Year!

5 Jan 2012



Wine tasting at Monplezzy 

fun in Narbonne

After 15 December Jerry and I became very busy with house guests…Our Daughters came for Christmas!  Kimberly and Lisa had been with us a week when Laurin, Lisa’s beau, arrived.  We spent every day  going to Village markets, lunch with friends, aperos with friends, happy hour with friends,  a winetasting at Monplezzy, sightseeing sites they had not been to and when Laurin arrived we took him to Provence to see Arles, Nimes, Les Baux, and  Orange.  We also went took everyone to Aigues Morte, Sete, Marseillan, Narbonne and, of course, Alignan du Vent.  The girls and Laurin think the Ruin is a lot bigger than the photos show and they are   very excited for the remodeling to be fini (Lord, aren’t we all!).  We also had a wonderful Christmas Day.  The only thing that could have made it better would have been if our son and his family were with us.  The girls and Lauren left on 30 Dec for a few days in Dublin and we prepared to move out of the villa we were renting.  We are now staying in a friend’s flat until we can move into the Ruin…hopefully the first to middle of February.

Nimes Arena

Roquebrun

Our New Years Eve was spent with several of our Friends.  We had a great time with Friends, Food, Music, and Dancing and of course wine!  It was a wonderful way to bring in the New Year.

vin chaud in Aigues Mort

Aigues Mort

Merry Christmas!



Sete

Now that the New Year is underway we are back at the Ruin.  Several things have been completed or are very close to being completed.  The master bathroom is complete as far as tiling and painting go.  Paul has to come and reset the toilet and the lavabo and Kevin needs to hang the lights and the towel warmer.  The master bedroom is painted (need to finish painting the ceiling, however).  The other bedroom is totally finished and the bookcase is also finished.  I will be repainting the bookcase sometime in the near future.  The color Jerry picked is no contrast at all to the color on the wall.  The hall between the bedroom and the salon is finished.  We have decided to not put in a closet there at this time.  We have purchased a huge armoire for the space.  The new bathroom is completely tiled and will be completely painted by tomorrow evening.  Paul still has to set the toilet and the lavabo and put the surround on the tub.  Kevin has to hang the lights and the towel warmer.  The salon still has to be sanded and painted.  There is also a door in the salon that has to be hung and we have to get glass panes cut for the little door in the salon.  By the end of next week I will have all the painting done on the first level.  I will probably start painting the stairwell soon.  David and his crew are still working on the walls on the ground level.  The wall in cuisine, salle a manger, and sejour are complete.  They have been working in the Foyer and hall this week.  David started hanging the new ceiling in the kitchen today.  Next week the construction of the new fireplace in the sejour will be started.  The new windows have been hung and they look beautiful!  The cuisine will be delivered 23 Jan 2012 according to our salesperson at the BUT store.  The installation will take three day so he tells us.  The garage is now filling up with our “junque” and it makes Jerry cuss!  LOL We have actually found the floor and the top of the caves! 

Today we purchased two armoires, a dining room table, two night stands, an occasional table and Jerry an “easy chair”.  I have to say, I love Emmaus! 

Well, I think that will catch me up on the news from 2 Cool.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!