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| Avant |
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| off with the old |
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| Whew! what a mess! |
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| spraying on ciment foundation |
Reynald and his helper came early with two jackhammers.
They were very efficient and the old façade
was off by noon.
As they left for the
day he said he would be back in the morning with a large truck.
It would be large enough to carry off the
debris.
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| down to original stone |
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| mixing "ciment" |
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| Ciment for trim around windows and Door |
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| the mixer for crepi & ciment |
The next day they were back with a Grand Camion and a very large
“mixer”.
For the next two weeks, Reynald
and his crew sprayed on the under coat, the trim around the windows and the
front doors and finally the finish coat.
They worked together spraying on the various coats of ciment and crepi
and smoothing them and molding them to the desired effect.
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| ciment undercoat fini |
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| molding ciment into trim around door |
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| spraying on crepi |
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| smoothing the ciment |
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| Hanging shutters |
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| more sawing and cussin' |
They also hung the shutters Jerry has built
and put the down spouts up for the gutters.
There was much muttering, cussing, use of the power saw and the wood
planer during the installation of the shutters…and I thought it was just Jerry
who muttered, cussed, sawed and planed the shutters!
HA!
The front of the Ruin no longer looks like a Ruin (well, except for the
front door…that will be the next thing…if
Mr. Ruiz will ever get the panels back to
us).
Reynald and his helper are now
cleaning the crepi off the windows and the iron work on the ground floor
windows. The Ruin looks positively “stately”!
Our neighbors and other villagers have offered up “Tres Jolie” regarding
the finished façade…..once again….I hope they are not just being kind.
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| Apres |
 |
| Fun with Friends |
Friday 13 July was the start of Bastille Day celebrations here in France (at least in our area).
Our Valros friends invited us to the Village Fete…..Fireworks and the Mayor’s sausage…..how could we refuse to go!
It was great fun with a live band, what would be called a drill team in America was part of the entertainment, the sausage was delish and the fireworks were beautiful.
Jerry and I staggered home about midnight.
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| waiting on the Mayor's Sausage |
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| entertainment |
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| fireworks! |
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| More Friends |
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| Alignan's new bar owner |
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| villagers celebrating |
Saturday 14 July was Bastille Day.
Alignan Du Vent hosted a village fete, bal and feu d‘artifice and the bar opened under new management with a wonderful dinner (4 courses plus wine for 13,00 euros).
17 of our Tourbes and Alignan buddies came to the Ruin for aperos before we all wandered down to the town square for dinner.
The music was blasting away as we ate and after dinner several of us took advantage to “shake a tail feather”and burn off some of the wine and Cuisse de Canard dinner.
The dances in the villages are family affairs.
There are mothers, fathers, little kids, medium sized kids, teenagers, grandmas and grandpas…..and they all dance.
I like to see some of the older residents dance…the music here has a definite Spanish flavor and those folks can tango and samba like nobody’s business. The fireworks started about 11:00 and were set off in front of the church. They were spectacular!
When the fireworks ended most of the villagers went back to the square for more dancing and wine
. Several of our merrymakers went for drinks at a new friend’s house here in Alignan. Mark and Louise have a beautiful old maison with a Garden to die for. It was great to see inside another old home here in the village. After drinks we all tottered back towards the square so our Tourbes friends could locate their cars and make the short trip to their homes. As we passed the square plenty of villagers were dancing to the music that was still blasting away and it was midnight (at least). When Jerry and I arrived home and finally went to bed I thought to myself as I drifted off to sleep “Thank Goodness we have double paned windows and shutters….we don’t hear a thing!” July 21-24 is the Grand Village Fete…..Boy! Can’t wait to see what that is all about!!! A Bientot!
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| More Fireworks! |
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| Vive La France!! |
