The Loo, The Chambre and the Terrace......OH MY!!

July 10, 2010

The Loo

Doors of  the loo and storage room

Somehow Jerry and I have been working really hard but we haven’t been getting anything finished.  We have the loo and the storage room in the garage almost finished.  I have two strips of wallpaper to hang and Jerry the baseboards to tack up in the storage room.  The ceiling also has to be hung.  Both rooms are functional at the moment so hurrah for that!!!   The loo is complete except for a little grout.  Seems like we have been working on those two little rooms since the beginning of time. 

The 3rd chamber & bath

Pouring level floor in chamber bath

Jerry is working like a madman on the chamber on the 2^nd level.  He has repaired the holes in the walls and the floor.  A door has been installed where there was a door (but not during our ownership of the house).  Insulation has been installed above the new door and along the top  of the existing wall to keep the wind from whistling down the staircase during the winter   He has torn up the floor where the bath will be due to the fact the floor sagged really bad at some point in time.  To install the shower the floor had to be level.  He is pouring concrete to get the floor ready for the shower enclosure, the toilet and the new floor.  We aren’t going to use the old tile since to clean them would take months.  They are very fragile and break very, very easy.  It is a shame…….

I have cleaned the walls in the chamber twice, steamed cleaned the ceiling beams and pulled nails out of everywhere I could reach….still have about 1,000 more nails to pull!  (Keep in mind this is the chamber where animals were kept at some point in time.)  I started painting the Sous Couch on the walls….I had forgotten how much I hate that stuff….YUK!

The floor has been swept, mopped, steamed, mopped again and swept again…….it needs all of the above again and again before I can put any kind of sealer on them.  Hopefully the room will be ready for company (with the exception of the floor) by the end of August.  I think we are being totally unreasonable but hope springs eternal!

We are having a company come and TRY to get a nice finish on the dining room floor.  They say they will TRY on several of the worse tiles and if the result is to our liking they will tell us how much it will cost us for them to do a tile by tile restoration.  I think it will be too expensive.  I have ordered cleaner and brillwax for a last ditch effort on my part.  If I can get a nice shine and remove the rough spots with the wax Jerry and I will be happy to skate along …..LOL

 July 11, 2013

drilling holes

 

debris falling from barn to garage

Work on the Floor of what will be the terrace started today.  It was as dirty and dusty and they filled almost as many truck loads with rubble as David’s team did when they were tearing up the downstairs!  There are big holes drilled about every two or three feet.  These are for the iron rods that will be put into the walls then tied into the iron mesh that the concrete will be poured into.  An opening was cut in the floor where the stairs from the garage to the terrace will be built.  It is dirty, dusty work!!  They also installed the support jacks in the garage that will hold everything up until everything is poured and set. 

support beams

More support beams

 

July 12, 2013

where the stairs will be

Work continues on the terrace.  The workers have formed up the part they are pouring today and have put the iron rods and mesh in place.  Now the concrete is being mixed and distributed over the floor that has been prepared.  The concrete is mixed in a machine on the street level then it is pumped up to the terrace level thru a long flexible pipe into a container.  The concrete is released from the container into a pile and the workers spread it where and how thick they need it.  It is a pretty clever way to move the concrete.  Can’t wait to see when this part is poured! 

mixing concrete

Concrete container

getting the floor ready

spreading the concrete

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 14

the new floor

and more new floor

and still more new floor

The floor in the barn is poured and curing.  It looks totally different (thank goodness).  I have to say it is nice to step out onto that floor and feel it strong under your feet.  Every time I walked out there I stepped “lightly” knowing for sure I was going to go thru the floor at any time and land flat out on the Garage floor.  We now wait three weeks for the floor to cure completely.  After that the workers will be back to take the braces out of the garage and put a waterproof sealer on the floor.  Think we need to start getting devis for the tiling.  I really want to have it tiled before we leave for Georgia.

Cabaret

OH LA LA

 

Blue Grass Band

In between all the work, Jerry and I have enjoyed a night at Moliere in Pezenas, a dinner and music in the square in Neffies,  a cabaret show in Tourbes,  a country and western festival in Herepian,  The Sunday Brocante sale in Marseillan Plage, the 1^st Brasucade of the season in Alignan and of course the Bastille Day festival in Alignan. 

 

 

Le Mayor's sausage at Brasucade

the Poulan at Brasucade

 WHEW!  Can’t wait to see what this week will be like!!


Happy Bastille Day!!



A little catch up from last year....

One of the last things we did last year before returning to the states was clean out what we call the Granary.  It is one of the chambers in the attic that has three concrete bins attached to the wall and floor.  We think the original owners used it for grain….we can’t think of what else it would be.  There was a lot of wooden “stuff”, three legged chairs, doors, an old handmade wooden table, a huge Armoire that was in about a dozen pieces, etc, etc plus 100 years of dust and dirt.  All of the wooden trash was hauled down for Jerry and Jake to take to the dump.  I stacked the doors that were worth keeping, the armoire and the table out of the way and swept up as much of the muck and yuk as I could.  I then turned my attention to the junk that was in the three bins.  As I reached into the first bin I was delighted to find the drawer to the armoire.  I pulled the drawer out and several items fell out.  Nothing of significant value (darn it), but some things that gave a good insight into the person the “woman of the house” was.  MME Armand was a devout churchgoer.  There were tithing records going back to the   early 1920’s and continuing until the 1950’s. 
  

Marriage program

There were three marriage “programs” for Marie Armand to Gerard Vene.  The date on the program was 10 December 1927.  We have been told Marie was probably a niece since the Armands had no children of their own.



Souvenier de ma Premiere communion

I also found Souvenier de ma Premiere Communion for various villagers; one of whom was the mother of the current Mayor of Alignan.  The dates range from the early 1930’s to the late 1950’s . 

Ligue Feminine d'action Catholique Francaise

Remembrances of various church saint's days  

There were also receipts for dues paid to the Ligue Feminine d’Action Catholique Francaise.  Mme missed paying her dues only three times from 1935 until 1949 (1935. 1938 and 1946)…she may not have missed a payment but I didn’t find receipts for those years.  Jerry thought because those were war years she may not have had money.   We will never know.  There were also remembrances of trips that were made to various churches on various Saints’ days.  These date from the early 1930’s until the 1950’s. 




I found a small bibliotheque Catholique  Vie de Saint Isidore , print date 22 August 1863 and another small, old book “Le nouveau Luth De Marie” ou Recueil De Cantiques pour Le Mois De Marie".  There was no publishing date but the inside the first page was this inscription “Propriete de l’Editeur,  L Devillaris”.  

Catechisme

I found a Catechisme dated 1923. Mme  Armand also had a handwritten response to a letter she had written to the diocese in Monpellier dated 16 August 1941. 



My unknown Gentleman

The last thing I found was a photo of a man made probably around the late 1800’s or early 1900’s.  No name of course but it was a fun find.  I keep hoping someone in the village will recognize him.  Villagers seem to be born here and stay till they die.  Some village families have been here forever. 

The last items of interest I found were shirt collar buttons.  The  gentlemen used these shirt buttons when collars would come off their shirts.  Apparently men would wear their dress shirts several times but to keep the collars clean and starched the collars would come off.  I probably didn’t explain that very well but ….. there you go….
The last find was the financial page of the newspaper dated 2 September 1921.  I think this was probably what was lining the drawer.

And the work continues......

on the road from Paris 

Jerry and I have been back in France for two months now.  We were anxious to get here and enjoy the warm breeze and the sunshine as we contemplated the projects we would be starting.  When we landed in Paris the weather was icy cold with snow everywhere.  Jerry assured me the weather would improve as we travelled south.  The best thing I can say about getting further South is at least it isn’t snowing.  There has been an inordinate amount of rain, cold temperatures and just overall icky weather.  It is 30^th of April and we still have our heat on!  Oh well!  Work has started regardless of the weather and I am sure it will warm up eventually.



bathroom door

new entrance door to chamber

One of the very first things Jerry addressed was the “tunnel of wind” from the attic to the ground level.  The wind would whip under the roof tiles and head straight thru the door and down the stairwell.  He installed a new door on what will be some sort of bathroom in that chamber.  Then he built two doors for the chamber entrance since no readymade door would fit.   He then stuffed insulation boards into the area above the door (actually across the entire wall) to insulate against the wind.  I cannot tell you how happy this “little” project made me.  The house warmed up almost immediately! 

the loo and broom closet

The second project was the “loo” on the ground level.  This is important because at the moment the only bathrooms in the house are on the 1^st level (which means you climb a flight of stairs and you access them thru bedrooms).  It is inconvenient when we have parties or guests.  Now there is a water closet just as you enter the garage from the house.  Jerry also enclosed the water heater so I have a separate room for my vacuum, floor polisher, broom, his golf clubs, etc., etc.  That little room makes me happy because everything but the golf clubs was in my tiny laundry room.  At the moment we are waiting on the electrician to get here and do the electrical stuff.  After that I can get in there with a paint brush in hand and Jerry can finish the tiling.  Then “VOILA”!

Jerry has also been busy building the last panel for the dining room.  It will be set within a day or so.  With the weather being so cool and rainy it takes the paint longer to dry ….  And it took a long time to dry when the weather was warm and sunny.  After that panel is set the kitchen/dining room will be finished. 

the attic

The attic

The renovation of the chamber in the Attic has been started as well.  Last year we cleared all the junk, wood, rubble and trash out of the attic.  Now we have started cleaning the walls and ceiling and wooden beams…..dusty, dirty let me tell you!  I have pulled probably 100 nails out of the first wooden beam.  The previous occupants must have hung meat, dried vegetables, flowers, or whatever up there!  At the moment we are contemplating how the bathroom will work up there….it is a problem and I hope we can get something figured out. 

The other major project will begin the middle of May.  We have acquired a contractor to begin construction of the terrace and the sunroom.  This project begins with strengthening the floor and putting on a new “skim coat” plus waterproofing.  Stairs will also be installed in the garage for outside access to the terrace.  The stairs will be in the general location of the new “loo”.  Because we do not know at this moment in time if we will be allowed to remove part of the roof, and because we have to have some roof repair done in some places, we are installing translucent panels.  The panels will let in light and will stop the leaks.  There is a lot of cleanup to do on the walls and I am not sure how we are going to “sweep” them down.  Big, black cob webs are hanging from the very high ceiling and dirt is clinging to the very tall walls. Guess we will figure it out……like we have done on so many other things!