Cold weather and hot water

I have to report another milestone in our housebuilding project, and that is the installation of permanent hot water. Since arriving we have been heating water using a very small 15 litre hot water tank; the kind you use in a caravan. It has been adequate and we have managed to heat up enough water for a quick shower or a bowl of washing up, but it was inconvenient. With the arrival of our permanent electricity supply we were able to think about our permanent supply. After much debate we decided to opt for something Ian tells me is called a 'thermo-dynamic water heater'.

Basically it is a small heat pump that extracts excess heat from the house and used it to heat up a 150 litre water tank. Ian saw a bargain on 'Le Bon Coin' and it arrived before Christmas. However there were a few glitches with the installation and it was not properly installed until this week. After a few days to 'run in' we are now enjoying the luxury of warm water from all the hot taps, showers where you don't have to turn off the water half way through to ensure you don't run out, and not having to wait 40 minutes for the water to warm up before we can take a shower. As you can see from the picture, it's a big thing!

It seems to have arrived just in time as the cold weather has arrived. It isn't as bad as in England at the moment but we did have some snow overnight and lots and lots of heavy rain. The bottom field, where we walk the dog, was flooded this morning and the river was completely full and had burst it's banks in places. Normally it is a small trickle at the bottom but when full it is between 1.5-2 metres deep.

Broadening Horizons

It has been a little while since I posted anything. Reading my last entry, about buidling the garage, I realise that we have been quite busy. The garage is now placed on hold as we have had to change priorities and concentrate on getting as much of the wiring done as possible so that we can apply for our permanent electricity supply. This is because EDRF are now threatening to disconnect the temporary electric supply that we have been living off for the past year. We can't really argue against it as we have had the supply for 6 years and technically we are not supposed to use it to live off! The positive thing is that it means we are making progress on our living area which is a great morale booster!

The wonderful thing is that we seal off bare walls with plasterboard never to see them again, and open up areas that we had temporary sealed. Today we removed our temporary wall between the kitchen and living room and for the first time were able to enjoy the open view, through the two doors.

The space has been a bit overwhelming and all of us, including Gremlin, felt a little lost. Maybe soon I can unwrap my grandmother's chairs!

Looking out of the double doors we can get a good view of the four hoopoes that feed off all the insects on the lawn. Unfortunately I can't get close enough to get a good photo!

Thaw

At last the snow has cleared and we can see the field again. Temperatures are up to seasonal normal and life is slowly getting back to normal. Burst pipes are being mended, freezers re-stocked and mail is now being delivered.
We managed quite well despite the fact that we live in an unfinished house with no central heating and only a 3kw temporary electric supply. Ian even managed to continue on with the garage on some days, although on others keeping warm was a full time job.

Here are the latest pictures.



Next stage is the roof.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr

The sky is deceptively sunny. It looks balmy but the temperature didn't get above freezing today and was minus 8 degrees this morning and overnight. We unpacked the thick duvet and I looked out my thermals! When I took Gremlin for his walk this morning I was wearing thermals, three fleeces, a windproof jacket, two hats, two pairs of gloves and thick socks, and when the wind blew I was freezing! The culprit of this severe winter spell is high pressure over Russia and a Northerly wind!

This didn't stop Ian from getting on with the garage. The frame is now almost finished and the next job will be boarding and putting on the rafters for the roof.

3rd Feb 2012

Moving forward

The work on the garage is progessing, in between rainy days and a few other chores. Here are some pictures taken yesterday.

The garage

Monday arrived and it was the day to start the garage, assisted by our neighbour. Ian had painstakingly drawn up the plans again and again, calculated the materials required, ordered them and had them delivered, lost a few nights sleep to worries about certain aspects of the design. The design was finalised on Monday and by Tuesday the planning was over  and it was time to start building.

11th November 2011



Back in November Ian finished off the concrete base by putting in a row of blocks to support the timber frame and finishing off the positions of the drainpipes, water and electricity.

day 1- sun



Monday was cold and sunny. The first job was to erect the old tent to protect workers and tools form the rain and to set up the work benches. Wood was measured and cut.

cutting and measuring

Cutting and measuring continued until the shadows lengthened and daylight faded! Much tea was needed to keep up motivation and morale. The A frames were constructed.

Yesterday I was in Bordeaux so I didn't see the progress. In Bordeaux it was cold and foggy all day but according to reports was lovely here and so progress was made. Today is day five and when I looked out of the window I saw this.

13th January 2012

It's funny how suddenly my view has changed forever and something has appeared where once there was a muddy field.

erecting the A frames

Erecting the frames has required the digger arm to lift them in place and from what I could see a bit of cursing and swearing to get things into place and secure. When all 4 frames are in place it will be time to do the end bits (I think they have a more technical name).

Building the yellow brick road

I noticed today that the vines are suddenly bare; almost overnight the yellow leaves fell to the ground. Winter is approaching. It gets light at about 8.00 and is dark by 5.45 in the evening, so less than 12 hours of daylight. However, the temperatures have still been mild enough to sit on the terrace in a T-shirt during the day. As dawn breaks, if it has been clear, a morning mist emerges, edging up the land from the river. Most mornings it clears up, but some days it lingers almost all day, making it feel cold.

We have been focussing on finishing the driveway. It sounds like a luxury but the downside of having an unfinished drive is that as soon as it rains the ground turns to muck and sludge and we tread it all into the house. Worse still, it sticks to all our shoes and if you don't remove it whilst wet, attempts to chip it off when dry usually end up removing the sole of the shoe as well. The other problem is that if we need to have anything delivered, without a solid driveway it can only be delivered to the edge of the land.

before

So last week Ian marked out the drive and we put down some geotextile. Monday morning a large lorry arrived full of yellow gravel, hence the yellow brick road. Yellow gravel is important because the white stuff disintegrates and gets sticky, whereas the yellow stuff packs down nicely.

We eventually needed 4 lorry loads as the drive is about 100 metres in total; and rather than the two days Ian had estimated it took more than a week to finally get it all down and spread out. This was mostly due to the fact that the lorry couldn't drive down there without getting stuck and so we had to have it delivered to the car park and then Ian had to transport it down to where it was needed in a dumper truck. The result was very pleasing and I now feel a little more ready to brave the winter knowing I might be able to keep at least one pair of shoes free from mud.

stuck lorry being towed out by tractor

After

The other job we have been doing is planting some fruit trees in the front garden. 24th November is the day they should be planted, so on Saturday we to a tree show in the Lot et Garonne, where we were spoilt for choice with varieties of apples, pears, apricots etc. In the end we bought 6 tress and 6 fruit bushes. Planting them required the digger and buckets of horse manure and lots of hard work, but we eventually managed.

Getting on

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I last made an entry here. Suddenly I have become so caught up in day to day things that I haven't had the energy to write about them, even though I have thought about many posts and things I could say.

Having the dog has forced us into some sort of routine. I get up at 7.00 or thereabouts and take him for a walk; I then give him breakfast and put him in his outside shelter while we get up. Mid-morning he has another play or walk, or comes out with us if we are going shopping, mid afternoon we do the same, followed by a longer walk in the evening and some training if we can. By this time, with any luck Gremlin is asleep in his box and sleeps through until morning whilst we are exhausted! He is growing fast and loves food, treats and play in that order. Everything else has little interest for him! I soon realised that you can read as many dog behaviour books as you like but nothing prepares you for those moments when it's just you and the dog and the dog has one idea and you have another! Before we got a cattle dog all the books said don't get a dog like this as your first dog, but we did anyway! I am not so sure that it would have helped having owned a dog before as if we were used to a nice laid back puppy we would never have been able to cope with this hyperactive over stimulated beast with ADHD! As it is, we are managing with what we have and enjoying his antics and behaviour. He seems to be thriving quite well on it!

Here he is at 13 weeks old but still a baby!

We have also had two jobs on the go to fit in around dog ownership. The first one has been to lay the base for the garage, as until the garage is built and we can move our possessions and tools into it, we can't finish off inside the house. The soil was scraped level by the builder but we have had to infill with gravel, put the shuttering in for the concrete, lay the damp proof membrane and put in the steel reinforcing. We have been fitting this in around the weather and other jobs but think we can get this done next week in preparation for the concrete, which will arrive in two lorries, ready mixed. Then we can take a small break until the autumn!

The other job has been to finish off the sofits around the tower and so prevent Renata redstart from making her third nest of the summer in our house. We had to wait to do this until the builder went on holiday and was able to lend us his heavy duty machine for getting up to the roof. He did this last week and although it was not fully operational (as with most of his machines) it did the job and we now do not have a gale blowing through the house everytime the wind blows

Ian on the machine!

I mentioned that we have been fitting in these jobs around the weather. After a hot spring and early summer we have now  had a really wet July, with storms and a fair bit of rain. Yesterday we had the most amazing double rainbow ending at our pot of gold!

Pot of gold in front of the field shelter

The week of the pool

The focus of this week has been the swimming pool; checking the hole, awaiting the delivery, getting it in place, filling, backfilling, connecting up the filters and pipework etc etc. This is the story of the week in pictures.

This is how the pool arrived, on a truck from the South of France. It left Monday and arrived with us on Tuesday.

It was hoisted into the air

And lowered into the hole (the hole was 'impecable')

Our neighbours helped with the filling in with gravel (what lovely neighbours)

As the pool was slowly filled with water

The filters and skimmers were connected

And Ian went for a swim

Pools and plants

This week has felt busy. Ian has continued to dig the hole for the pool, this time with some help from our neighbour. It arrives next week and we are slightly anxious and slightly exited. It is coming on the back of a lorry from the South of France; staying nearby on Monday night and arriving first thing Tuesday, when, all being well it will be carefully lowered into the big hole!

In the meantime growth in garden has slowed down a little due to lack of rain and sun. However today I harvested my first courgette. Apparently from now onwards I will be inundated with the little green things and by the end of June running out of courgette recipes!



Shifting earth

Mont Blanc (the pile of white soil that has been outside our house since it was built) is now gone!

It was loaded into the dumper, moved and spread out at the back of the house to form the supporting structure for the swimming pool. Ian has been watering it in place as it really needs to pack down a bit before we put the pool in place in five weeks time, and we haven't had any significant rain for some time.

Meanwhile, Mandi the cat is getting rather upset about the fact that everytime he looks outside the view has changed!

Time to go already

All to soon our three weeks are coming to an end and we are, as usual, rushing around trying to finish off things before we return home. The weather has continued to be hot, which has been a problem for working. Yesterday the temperature reached 39 degrees again but this was accompanied by a strong wind that was so warm it took my breath away as soon as I stepped into it. Last night the temperature didn't drop below 29 degrees in the room and neither of us slept that well. However, today the cloud came in, the wind increased again, the temperature dropped slowly and by afternoon we watched as brief but heavy rain storm raced across the land towards the house. When it hit us it blew down the ladder that Ian had used to get onto the roof! Just as well I was there and not too p*ssed off with him as I was able to put it back and enable him to get down. He has been trying to finish the soffits. This was a job we started last year but could not finish as we couldn't access one side of the house and ran out time with the tower. The disadvantage of not having soffits is that Renata redstart and her family now think that the roof is the perfect place to raise a family and have moved in; covering everything with bird sh*t. We are on course to finish all but the front of the tower, for which we need to build some scaffolding to reach. Hence I fear we will not deter Renata this time round.

We spent a day in Bordeaux this week and I have provisionally agreed some dates with the school to do some teaching. It is not brilliantly paid but is a start and will certainly help me to settle into my new life.

The local Mayor (think Vicar of Dibley) owns a airstrip that he uses for microlights. They had an open afternoon and we dropped in briefly to see what was going on at the same time as group of monks from Plum Village, mindfully watching the scene! The whole thing was quite bizarre!

We asked the Mayor if the Russians were landing on his airstrip. He didn't laugh at all but said that the Gendarme had asked him the same question a few weeks ago!

We had a full moon at the beginning of the week. When the moon is full you don't need any lights to see outside.

The Russians are coming

Our three weeks seems to be racing by and already I can tell that we will not get all the things done that we had on the list, but that is what usually happens. We are aiming to finish off some more wiring and to plasterboard the rest of the ceiling in the kitchen. Ian intersperses this less interesting activity with sojourns on the digger! I can hear it whirring in the background!

On Saturday evening we went to the soiree jambon braise in the village. The committee de fetes in the various communes usually organise an event each year to  raise money for local projects ets. I suppose it is a bit like the English village fair. Tickets are 18 euros and you turn up with your own place setting (knife, fork, plate, bowl etc). There were about 100 people there; a mixture of locals, French, English and tourists. The food consisted of an apperative, tomato soup with tapioca, barbecued pork with pepper sauce, braised haricot beans with garlic and pig skin, cheese, cider and dessert of cherries soaked in alcohol and ice cream. This was all accompanied by wine, music, etc. and I must say was enjoyable enough to justify the hangover the following day.

On Monday night we went to our neighbours to finally eat the leg of venison that as been in their freezer since February and was given to us by le Chasse as it was shot on the land. I must confess it was very tasty and I only had a slight pang of guilt when I thought about the four lovely deer that have been running across the field all week.

We caught up on some local news. Now France has become too expensive for most English people the Russians are arriving. In the nearby village of Thenac the Chateau has been bought and beautifully restored by a mate of Abramovich and the rumour is  Abramovich himself has bought the neighbouring hilltop! The reaction of the locals has been mixed but I am not going tho say anything bad at all!!

Visitors

We have had  a few visitors chez-nous over the last few days. On Thursday Julie from my French class came for lunch. We sat in the sun on the terrace and looked out into the field while her partner and Ian discussed the problems of building in France and the UK. It was very pleasant. Just as they were leaving Ian's friend from the north of France arrived. He is staying with us for a few days to help Ian and also for a change of scene for him. He arrived complete with his pop-up caravan. This was a bargain Ebay purchase as it cost him all of £200 and as it folds into a trailer, means he does not have to pay the higher tolls on  the motorways. It comes with all its original fittings and is now parked under the trees.

Yesterday morning we were looking out of the window just as a hot air ballon glided into view. At first we thought it was going to put down in the field, but it managed to stay aloft for another kilometre or so and we saw it ditch in a nearby farm.

The final group of visitors have been of the wild variety. We have seen several deer and hare but the most frequent visitors have been the praying manitis (is the plural mantii or mantises?). There are lots in the field..so many that I abandoned my strimming so that I didn't kill any more. One in particular has taken a likeing to the house, despite all our attempts to rehome her in the field, she keeps coming back!

Connected to the rest of the world

I haven't minded the fact that we have had to get all the hot water from the shower , or that I have been cooking on a camping stove, or that the toilet has until recently flushed directly into the field, or that we have no TV.. However, I have missed the Internet. When we were here last we signed up to a new WiMax service. "It will be installed within two months" said the girl, from the comfort of her Parisien office. Two months came and went and still no sign. Ian called once, and then again and then eventually, 4 weeks ago, got through to the installer who came out with the age old excuse ,'sorry, my van broke down'. He agreed to put us in his diary for first thing Monday. By 10.00 o'clock on Monday, when there was so sign, Ian called him. "Sorry, I forgot. I've just got back from holiday". (In France the customer is always wrong!) We agreed to reschedule until today. At 9.30 there was no sign and a call confirmed that the installer was lost! Eventually, however, at 11.00, he found us and started his work installing an arial pointing at the only transmitter that was not obscured by a hill. As you can see we now have Internet access. It is a little slow for uploading things and at times has been a bit hesitant, but at least we can now stay in touch with our virtual lives and virtual friends!

The dumper truck made it down in once piece without any more problems. However, getting it off the trailer and into the field was another matter as it starts with a starting handle. Two grown men could not get it to fire so ended up bump starting it down the field. In the end there was a puff of white smoke and it coughed into life and trundled around the field with Ian cheerfully in command!

Logo launch

So here it is.. the logo..

As explained in an earlier post, this was done by my neighbour Dave. This is a scanned picture of the original pen and ink drawing that we have. I may at some point experiment with a bit of colour but at the moment we have the black and white version for letters, cards etc.

Health and safety man is alive and living in France

Ian is still in France. He has been hampered by rain and a rather officious inspector from the SPANC who took one look at Warren's carefully placed plastic pipe leading from the end of the filter bed to the middle of the field, shook his head, wagged his finger and said 'interdit'! Negotiation and discussion was therefore out of the question and so Ian and Warren spent last week digging a trench for the run off, consisting of two further 30 metre drains running across the slope, sand, gravel, yet more pipe and two further inspection holes so that the man from the SPANC could look into them on Thursday and check that they were draining properly! This is in spite of the fact that our neighbours' fosse empties directly into the ground and runs off into the corner of our field filtered only by the grass and the soil. The slightly smelly puddle that collects a the top of the field has been ideal for growing the twisted willow tree we bought from England 18 months ago and is also popular with Sid the snake so we are not too bothered by it but annoyed by the 'health and safety man' mentality that has found its way into the French countryside! If the drains prove to be ineffective then we have to get the run-off from our filter bed pumped up to the ditch that runs off by the side of the road!

You can just see both features in this picture. Over to the right, just in front of the hedge is a lush green patch, which is our neighbour's run-off and at the end of the muddy trench leading away from the filter bed is the forbidden pipe exit!









David Cameron and his ConDemmed party have appointed Lord Young to investigate whether health and safety has 'gone mad'. I think it is probably the people implementing all these policies that have gone mad. Interestingly when Cameron first mentioned these ideas before the election the LibDems emphatically disagreed with him. Funny how madness spreads.

I expect my wages to be frozen after the budget on Tuesday. Apparently my 'perks' are also threatened but as I can't think of any perks that I have had then I can't see what they can do. Public sector pensions are waved around like a red flag by the likes of the Daily Mail as being a perk. Yes, I have a pension and I have paid 7% of my salary every month towards it for  20+ years. Even if I work until I am 70 I will never be able to accrue the 40 years necessary for a full pension. A full pension would give me half my salary on retirement. I will get about a quarter which, without going into too much detail with regards to my salary would give me a pension of about £10,000 per year. Not what I consider a perk after 30 years of public service! Anyway, it will shortly not be my concern as I formally handed in my notice on Monday!

Digger man

Ian spent most of the week with the digger. He is still in France with her but today he has taken a 'day off' and gone to see a Tractor Pulling Contest! I am posting this picture because maybe some of you can identify with the look of sheer concentration and pleasure on Ian's face!

Boys' toys

Ian is now the proud owner of an orange 1.7 ton Kubota digger. We have a lot of ground work to do in France and the quotes we had from the local 'artisans' came to more than we had spent on the walls and roof! Ian searched Ebay and decided that buying a digger would be cheaper, and , as prices seem to be higher in France, we may even make a little profit once we have done with it.

So, today Ian drove the van and trailer up to somewhere near Mansfield and looked at the digger. He liked what he saw and so after a trip to the bank the digger was purchased and loaded onto the trailer. He is now at his sisters in Bedfordshire and tomorrow the digger starts its journey to the Dordogne!

This is a picture of it.

A working holiday

We returned back late last night. The journey was relatively smooth and we made good progress, although as usual it was hard to leave; feeling as always that we are leaving a job unfinished. However, this is the way our lives are and there is progress to report. The render had been finished and the results were rather pleasing. The colour is getting lighter as it dries and even Ian, who is very particular about things, thought that the company had done a very good job. All the corners and edges were perfectly squared off and all was done by hand.

This time last year we had no interior walls and the windows had only just gone in and now we have most of the interior walls, some plumbing, half a fosse septic, drainage and a finsihed exterior with the exception of the shutters.

Ian spent much of the week putting in the drainage pipes under the house. This is not a job that gives you much to see from the outside, but as a result we can now run water direct from the sink and shower into the fosse. He also fitted the shower trays and basins in the guest bathrooms and connected up the drainage for the two toilets.

I also tried to be mindful of the fact that whilst we have to spend a lot of time working we should try to enjoy the moment. I spent a lot of time looking at the view from the terrace (more time than Ian thought I should!) and we also spent some evenings with friends (more details to follow).