Living in and working (or not) on 2 Cool

24 March 2012

Jake

Living in the Ruin is a lot different than just working in the Ruin.  The urgency to get “everything” done as quickly as possible slips away a bit.  For example, I still have work to do on the front door.  The door is painted but the hardware is not….I have started on the hardware but other things get in the way.  For instance, a nap; a walk with our Beagle, Jake;  a good book; plain ol laziness; a party; aperos with friends; shopping…any number of things happen to interfere with work.  Jerry and I have been steadily working on things but just not at such a frantic pace. 

Salle A Sejour

 The doors to the Salle a Sejour are painted and back in place but the hardware hasn’t been put on yet.  Jerry is getting handy on repairing old door hardware and what he can’t repair we are replacing with new hardware that has the old style.

Salle A Manger floor ..

I have tried several applications of huile de lin on the floors in the cuisine and salle a manger but to no avail….they still look terrible.  But!  Help is on the way. We bought a product that will leave the floors with a “wet effect” which is a good thing because they are beautiful just after I mop when they are still wet.  The product lets the old tiles breathe (it is oil based) which is important and the tile guys assure me it won’t hurt the floor.  I have already told Dickerson if the tiles are damaged we are putting back new “old tiles” and at 85 euros a meter I don’t think he wants to do that!  I am ready to get the dining table put up in the dining room.

Spring at last!

We had some rain this week and looks like the roof has to be repaired (or replaced) in some places over the garage.  I am thankful no water was found in the house! 

As I said, our “production output” has slowed but we still work a little everyday……when we want to…as long as something more fun doesn’t come up…..A Bientot!

We have heat!

17 March 2012

The “clim” is installed and it is wonderful!  It is grand to open the bedroom door and not get a cold blast of air from the ground level.  As I predicted we had two days of really warm weather and the heat wasn’t needed; however, the weather turned cool and gray for the weekend and the heat was appreciated again. 

Because of the clim work being done Jerry and I were not as busy as we could have been.  Before the clim guys, Regis and Evan, came on Tuesday we cleaned out a space for them to work in the barn.  The barn will become the terrace one of these days.  We swept clean about 1/8^th of the barn and we were not happy to see the condition of the floor was just as we suspected.  Lots of boards have to be replaced if that small sampling is any indication of the condition of the floor.  Jerry took out several of the boards in front of the small French door and now he is having a time getting the wall stable enough to put more boards up.  Good thing he had opened up the other door in the salon….at least Regis and Evan had a door to enter the barn with the big outside units….and they didn’t have to jump over the big hole in the floor.  Anyway, we have left that floor project for another time.

I have started painting the front door.  Jerry took a sample of the color to a local paint store and they matched it perfectly.  After the door is completed I will repaint the hardware black.  If nothing else it will look clean.  Jerry also brought in a color called Bordeaux for the bottom of the stairwell.  I painted up to the first level and stopped.  It just wasn’t the right color for there.  We have lived with it for a week and it isn’t getting any better.  So, after finishing the door I will begin painting the stairwell with the door paint.  We will see how that looks.  I have finished painting the wrought iron railing up to the turn on the 1^st landing.  Since we still have work to do on “Bert and Hannie” hall I will wait until the wall is painted before I continue up the railing. 

Jerry spent his down time making a wine rack.  It just needs to be painted or stained then we will hang it.  It looks pretty good!  He also hung one of the bookcases we bought from Robert and Dorothy’s friend.  I have cluttered it up with items found in the house.  That may change but …well…we shall see.

We spent Friday at a vineyard tour at Abbye Silva Plana.  The vineyard is a biodynamic operation.  That means no chemicals, no machinery in the vineyard.  The vineyard is plowed by horse pulled plows and we saw one working yesterday.  The horses are worked for 3 hour stretches….the plowman the plowman brings three horses and he works a 9 hour day.  After the vineyard tour we had lunch and a wine tasting.  It was a very enjoyable day. 

Today is St Patrick’s Day.  We have an event to attend tonight but before that I am finishing that front door!   

Updates

7 March 2011

February will be remembered as the coldest month here since 1947.  Even with little heat in the Ruin everyone worked and we moved in.  David and his Merry Men were trying to finish all the last minute to dos ….painting the ceiling in the salle a sejours and the salle a manger, finishing the foyer, and cleaning up the floor in the salle a sejours.  The painting took a while because it was so cold.   I helped scrape the gunk off the floor because I did not want the salle a Sejours floors suffering the damage the salle a manger floors suffered.  The floors are still a work in progress.  We have obtained a product that will act as a protectant, seal the tiles but still allow them to breathe.  The weather has to be warm enough to open the house due to the odor the product has.  Now if the weather will just warm up a little so we can get on with it!!!

2nd bathoom

2nd bath sink

Paul, the plumber, came and finished his last bits.  We may have to have him come back since he didn’t hook up an overflow drain on the kitchen sink….of course we will have to find an overflow drain somewhere since it wasn’t included with the sink or the sink connections….things here are not like in the States.  Everything comes in pieces instead of all together.

new Foyer Floor

Brian, the tile guy, came last Wednesday and Thursday and put the back splash (or splash back as the Brits say) on the kitchen counters and he also installed the new foyer floor.  They are both beautiful.   While the tiling took place Jerry and I stayed at Robert and Dorothy’s flat.  We couldn’t walk on the tiles until Friday.  So we had a “mini move” out Wednesday afternoon and a “mini move” back in on Friday. 

master bath

Kevin, the electrician, still has a few bits and pieces to finish before he will be finished.  I could have given him a bear hug when we moved back in on Friday.  He had wired the garage and we had lights in the garage!!!  The entire operation in the garage had been working off extension cords which ran from various plugs in the house….we tripped over them, couldn’t shut doors properly and generally cussed when someone would “unplug” us…..until hearing our outbursts then we would hear “OH Pardon”!  Ever polite these French!!   

master bath

Foyer Fixture

All the light fixtures have been hung and I have to say my favorite is the one hanging on the landing on the 1^st level.  It is an English fixture that our friend Theresa was taking to the charity shop.  Robert told her to see if we would like to have it and we said yes!  I think it is the most beautiful fixture we have.  After several unsuccessful tries rewiring several different fixtures for the foyer we finally bought one.  Only to have Kevin tell us it can’t be completely assembled.  I looked at the directions and it said it would take one man 3 minutes to assemble….Kevin had been working on it for 1 ½ hours.  I said it should take a woman 1 ½ minutes to assemble it….challenge was accepted…..well, it couldn’t be completely assembled!  I tried for 30 minutes, Jerry tried for 45 minutes and Kevin had 1 ½ hours in it.  Soooo, the dang thing is hanging in the Foyer without all the wire pieces attached.  It looks fine just not as fancy as it would have with all the missing pieces. 

master bedroom

As I said, we moved into the Ruin 18 February.  David was finished with his work and we could live around the little bits and pieces of work to be completed by Kevin, Brian and Paul.  It is wonderful to finally be living in this beautiful old house.  Even the lack of heat hasn’t dimmed the experience. I guess I should say “limited” heat.  We do have new wall heaters in the bedrooms, a heated floor in the master bath and towel heaters, but the ground floor has no heat as of today.  Jerry and I have continued to do our “little” jobs.  The laundry room has been painted, the floors in the bedrooms are finished and even Brian said they looked good.  The small bathroom is finished (except for a little bit of paint on the ceiling where the wire was run for the ceiling fixture).  The master bedroom and bathroom are set up and they are so very comfortable…even though we did have a slight set back with the shower.  The first night here I was so excited to try the shower…been looking forward to that shower for months!  I stepped into the shower, turned on all the jets and was hit straight on with COLD water!  I couldn’t get any hot water at all and I couldn’t get the shower turned off.  I would turn a knob and the shower head would start running cold water, I would turn the knob again the hand held shower sprayer would come on, I would turn the knob again and the jets would start again!  I thought I would never get everything turned off and out of the shower! Apparently, the hot water hose was “kinked” behind the shower panel where the jets are.  Paul came the next day and put all to rights.  The shower is wonderful but we still might have to put a door on it which would be a shame….when the jets are on water gets all over the bathroom floor and it is too late to install a drain in the middle of the bathroom floor!!  LOL  

The Kitchen

Salle a Manger wainscoting

Jerry has completed the refurbishing of the wainscoting for the Salle a Manger and I have painted them.   The yellow has given way to "Rouge Basque".  The panels are reinstalled and look wonderful.  I still have one side of the door to paint for the Salle a Manger as well.  We have cleaned the inside of the front door and taken the window out above the door and cleaned about 200 years of dirt off of the glass.  I rust proofed the wrought iron trim above the door while Jerry was cleaning the glass and wood.  After we got everything cleaned up we reinstalled the window and I painted the wood around the window.   It looks so much better from the inside and the outside!!!  I have started painting the iron stair rail.  I thought it would be easy but it isn’t!  That “little” job will take another week to finish I imagine.  It does look better with a fresh coat of paint on it.  After I finish the rail I will start painting the area around the rail.  The wainscoting in the foyer has been repaired, reinstalled and painted.  The door from the Foyer into the garage has been refurbished, rehung and planed down to fit the door opening.  As with most of the doors in the house it didn’t shut properly.  The broken windows in the little French door in the salon have been replaced and we discovered the shutters over the door help keep out the wind and cold.  Before they left, David had his helper install the door in the salon that Jerry just couldn’t figure out how to do.  It was installed in about 3 hours and it looks pretty good, except what we thought was a door is actually a window!  HA!  It looked like a door to us!  Anyway, as with a lot of things we laughed and “made lemonade” from what was obviously a lemon situation.  When we get the terrace finished the window can open and it is installed like a door so we can walk in and out of it….the only trouble is ….there is no handle on the outside.  Good thing we have the little French door to open and close!  What fun we have had laughing at that “Window Door”!

Emmaus Chairs

1st landing fixture

In the meantime we have been gathering up more furniture.  We bought three chairs for the Salle a sejours, a desk and a large piece that is presently holding a second set of dishes, all our wineglasses and Jerry’s booze.  It is a reproduction and looks really substantial in the large room.   Jerry set the TV up in the Salle a Sejours for the moment.  The easy chairs and the TV will be transferred to the salon when it is finished.  We still have to do some sanding and painting and cleaning the floor in there.  That little job should take about three weeks.  I will be happy to get the salon finished.  There is salon furniture in the master bedroom, the guest bedroom and the Salle a Sejours. 

The only remaining big thing is the central heating and air.  Regis came last Monday to confirm what Jerry wanted, collect money for the units and said he would be back next Monday to install the units.  I imagine as soon as the heat and air are installed the weather will warm up and it will be warm enough without the heat but cool enough we won’t need the air conditioning!  LOL    

Jake under covers..BRRRRR!

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! 

We got a "Lotta" again!

Putting the final coat of "stuff" on the walls

mixing up the "stuff"

Mstr bath vanity

The past couple of weeks the only thing going on at the Ruin is Kevin, the electrician, getting his electrics ready so David can close up the walls.  Seeing all that conduit run along the floor and thru the walls and up to the box is amazing.  I don't think they use that much wire in the States.  Or maybe it is just strung all thru the frame so it doesn't seem as massive.  At any rate we will be "well wired" when Kevin is finished.   David and his crew have completed the final coat on the walls in the kitchen and all but a half wall in the sejour.  Wayne has completed the repairs on the Salon and I have painted the master bathroom ceiling.  Jerry has framed out the library (finally getting to work with wood an he knows what to do with it!!).  Paul, the plumber has installed the toilets, the tub and the shower and he has fitted the meubles with the lavabos.  We have bought the paint for the master bathhroom....it is a respectable gray... unlike that Sorbet Peach Jerry insisted on for the new bathroom! 
The tile person will be coming about the middle of December to tile the bathrooms.
There was a problem with ordering the kitchen but we finally got that worked out yesterday and as far as I know the kitchen was ordered yesterday.  The BUT Store wouldn't order the cabinets until their installer told them it was ok to order because he couldn't measure until David finished the wall in the kitchen...Lord, what a whoohaa!

Per David....wall are FINI!

The heating and air guys showed up Monday with a lot of OH LALAing while trying to figure out how to dispose of the condensation that will come off of the heating and air units.  Apparently they have figured it all out and are now running plastic pipe and conduit everywhere.  I hope they get everything installed by 1 Jan 2012.....that is when we are moving in....OH LALALALALA!!!
Our new windows have arrived but we can't get them installed until after 18 Dec 2011.   The Batement du France has to object or be silent on the issue.  If they are silent (and it has been nearly two months since we filed our paperwork for the repair for the outside of the ruin) we can go ahead with our plans.   Jerry has called Patrice, our window person, to get on their schedule for window installation.  It has started to cool off here and we do have that lovely WIND from time to time so windows and heat will be welcome 2 Jan 2012 I am sure!!! 
Jerry did a little more work on clearing out the garage and he found the original black marble mantle for one of the fireplaces...either the original fireplace in the Sejours or the original fireplace in the blue bedroom.  He also found a shovel made from one piece of wood...kinda like the rake I found back in September. 
On a more pleasant note two Christmas markets were held this past weekend.  One was at Chateau Cassan on Saturday and Sunday was the Noel Fete in Tourbes.  It was wonderful to see the Chateau...but the items the vendors had for sale didn't inspire me at all.  On Sunday I did spend a little money on a Christmas cover for the table (if I ever get a table).  We also enjoyed carols sung by our friends in Tourbes and a few friends who live in the surrounding villages.  It was a wonderful way to spend a few relaxing hours on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Random Photos

have no idea--maybe an oil lamp?

Since the work at the Ruin is "more of the same"  I decided to post some photos that didn't make it to the earlier posts. 

Faux Wainscoting on stairs

the advertising thermometer

chairs in the Attic

vélos in the attic

Let me OUT!

and between work days we play!