Friday – Tonia

So, our journey begins – Again!
A full day of working with far too much to do. I thought I was ready for this trip and it turns out that wasn’t quite the case. Whilst this time the dog should have more than enough paperwork etc (almost £300 later I will not be happy if this time we can’t make the crossing). I have been packing and cleaning the house for days and yet, somehow, I feel less prepared than the last time we were leaving!
Still, when it hit 17:30, I was logging off the computer and thinking I can finish things when I get to the hotel tonight, we still have to finish packing the car, Anya has decided she wants a full evening walk on the common – there was no way we had time for that as I had tested this route 3 weeks earlier.
Having gotten in the car I am confident we should make it in time, though I still had a niggling concern about the several miles of roadworks at the very end of our trip to Folkstone. Google didn’t recognise them last time and I was hoping they had finished by now. As you probably expect, 3 weeks and about 10 miles of roadworks meant nothing had changed in 3 weeks, but even on a Friday evening they were still causing issues.

We finally made it to Folkstone, Anya sailed through the check in but we were told we were now too late for the 20:20, we were now on the 20:50. As I took Anya out for a walk around I look up at the boards only to see we are on last call for our boarding pass. With a quick run/drag back to the car we are finally going to 0.5 miles we didn’t make last time and we are actually on our way!!!

I pull down onto the platform and I am obviously not the first car which was a relief to me as I had been concerned about not following someone else off the other side of the channel and onto the “correct” side of the road. Once aligned next to the train a few snaps to send to all of those concerned we will not make it again and drive onto the train. It was a pretty uneventful journey across the Channel. With just a mere 197 miles to go tonight, at least we were on our way.

Having made it to foreign shores I needed to stop for fuel, and as I pulled out there were no other cars around. I was super hopeful that not only was I on the correct side of the road but that I could successfully navigate the roundabout ahead. You will be pleased to hear this, I was not only on the correct side of the road, but also went the right way around the roundabout.
The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful, we went from evening light (which lasted until about 11pm) to full darkness. I’ll be honest, my concerns before heading out with it being late and potentially being tired, etc were all massively unfounded. Though being told, once I was on one of the first roads, “continue on this road for 177 miles” I was a little surprised – this was not something you would likely hear in the UK!
We arrived at the “hotel” at around 1:30am, a quick dog walk and to bed.

[1 July 2022 – Tonia]

Saturday

Having been awake with a nervous dog who doesn’t seem to like the motel environment and was very defensive of our room (which included barking at anyone who passed the door – which was a lot of people). My original plan to be out at 6 would have meant 45 minutes sleep. I decided this was not sufficient and went back to sleep unfortunately 3 times as on this occasion 3 was not the magic number. Having repacked the car, walked the dog, filled water bottles and set the route again it was just gone 8:30am and we had a good 8.5 hours of driving ahead of us.
Got into Paris, traffic was horrific and the I realised we were not going through the amazing tunnel, it would be my first time in actual Paris! Not how you would imagine it though, fighting through 5 lanes of traffic and crossing your fingers you don’t crash and die. I assume/hope this is not most people’s normal first experience of the French capital.
Just gone midday we stopped for fuel and a quick bathroom break (with a text to Chan) and then back on the road. Not any road basically the same road, as we had been told it was 277km on this road before we turn off! Another 4 hours of uneventful motorway, we had to pull off again – I think we kinda needed fuel but as I had never seen the gauge lit, this this whole trip was based on guessing how much fuel we had – also, my butt was starting to ache having not moved in so long. As it turned out, we actually ended up at exactly the same service station Mum and I had stopped at last time we came down. It was easy to tell as the views were stunning.

At the house, we’re still preparing for our arrivals. Jet-washing the front steps was first on the list which was ok. However apparently the steps to the veranda, covered in flowers and plants, also needed to be cleared. I was less keen on this but Matt won out, and apparently it was a bit different with a pressure wash.

Back in the car, we have checked in with the ‘hotelier’ [Chan] for the next month to let them know we should be arriving in about 2.5/3 hours. Finally several hours later, and a drive that was seeming to last a lifetime, we have passed Toulouse, made a wrong turn about 10 miles for La Maison Rose (I was taking a right a little early even though I have done the route countless times I think I was more hopeful of how close I was). We arrived just before 7pm local time to see Chan, Matt and Cressida sat by the pool having drinks. As I got out the car I realised my back and legs were both basically (as the English say) buggered! Walking like a very special individual I managed to make my greetings and received a lovely welcome from all.

With very minimal time to recuperate it was some “do” in the village this evening with a band we needed to check out, you never know, could be a possibility for their wedding. As such no nap and no real time to relax, it was dress on and up to the village green for a drink there instead.
Well, what can I say about the band???

The first comment from us all, “this will not be the one that they want for the wedding”. Following a fair amount of supposition later, we had collectively decided that this was a local 6th form band with the music teacher also playing guitar (and a couple of other instruments). Whilst not the worst band any of us has ever heard, they were definitely not going to make the cut for the wedding. That said the wine was fine and the cheese board was delicious. We had showed our faces in town and so with the job done and Cress having to drive it was time to head back.

Final “chore” of the day was Christmas in July!!! It turns out that Matt and Chan think I am Mum, I can’t seem to arrive without a car filled with goodies. This ranged from the large computer server Matt had ordered, 2 double duvets that were an exceptionally good price, 1000’s of seeds for the garden, some Christmas decorations, pots, a throw and all sorts of other goodies.

After that we were all knackered and time for bed.

[2 July 2022]

Sunday

Sunday is a day of rest. Anya and I were both exhausted from out journey and didn’t even leave the bedroom until after 12. It had been a long and somewhat stressful trip for us both. Once we did manage to get up, the weather was reasonable if not amazing. Chan and Matt did get a delivery from China that they were pretty pleased with, a new water chair to lounge about in pool and some more water hammocks.

All of a sudden however, our quiet day became somewhat less so… Anya started chasing something! Having assumed it was the illusive Meow who we had not seen as yet, I was not initially too concerned. I knew from experience that she was both fast and agile enough to keep well ahead of my pup.
As you know, assumption is the mother of all f***ups – it was not the cat!
It turned out that somehow a chicken had gotten into the garden, Anya loves chicken and also loves chasing anything that runs away from her. It seems last years game of Meow, Anya, Tonie, has just become: Chicken, Anya, Tonie and Matt! The “solution” was Matt guarding the chicken which hid behind him after a while whilst I did my best to eventually grab the dog. With Anya put inside, the chicken had run into the potting shed.

A few hours later, thinking the chicken had made its own way home we all went out again and Anya was on the loose, yes of course, chicken was not gone, Chan and I out side with the chicken being chased by Anya again. What I realised at this point, was that I am not the only one scared of birds (I have somewhat of a phobia of anything with wings). Turns out that Chan is fine chasing a chicken but not so brave when they run towards her – which incidentally was hilarious. So she and I were both more scared of the chicken than the dog, but Anya was having far too much fun. With a holler or more to Matt, he is out and able to herd the chicken into the vegetable garden where we can shut Anya out and finally manage to get her inside again.

That said we were expecting the Mayor and his wife for a visit this evening so once we did get up it was all hands to the pump.
I was assigned with cleaning the stairs up to our floor and a bit of a tidy up. Good job too as it appears that unless we are actually here they have forgotten that the second floor even exists. Vacuuming was definitely not going to be sufficient, the mop came out and I was distracted by hallways, both flights of stairs and the blue room and making things look lovely.
Once we were basically in position, it was time for a break and some lounging by and in the pool with Chan and Matt. I was thankful for a relaxed day. Anya was also making the most of the now enclosed garden and spent much of her time exploring.

With the house looking the best side of sparkling it’s been in a long time Matt and Chan have been preparing for their esteemed guests with the finest of Mumma Camp’s recipes, sausage rolls and muffins.

All dressed up however and nowhere to go. It seems that the Mayor has forgotten all about us. After all the cleaning and preparing Chan is knackered and isn’t exactly ‘feeling it’ – spending the evening speaking French and taking on the onus of the hosting due to our otherwise limited language skills. The weather had turned too so we were all also very happy just to eat what we’d made and call it a day. Meow is also forced to eat outside since the dog is in the house and appears to have decided that the compost boxes are the right location.

[3 July 2022]

Monday

Independence day in the US was also independence day for me – my first official day of holiday! That said I realised first thing I had not sent my handover documents or even set an out of office. Following some connection issues that were rapidly sorted by Matt, the minor chores were done and I had a “free” day as Chan and Matt were working.
I spent much of the day basically chilling in the garden, making sure Anya was drinking enough and reading on the terrace. I did try and do a run to the tabac, only to find out it had been closed all day and would be open the following day. A quick trip to intermarche for some milk and some other staples (beer and wine mostly) I was back to the house for a lovely dinner.

Half way though dinner I noticed Anya seemed to be eyeing up – lunging to and backing away from – some unknown item on the floor. Investigating this further, the call went back to the table “Um, there’s a bat in your kitchen!” We shall call him Batfink.
At only 7:45pm, and with it being fully light out we were all somewhat perplexed. Whilst we knew there were occasionally bats in the roof and we had seen them flying around outside this was apparently the first one in the kitchen. I was of course tasked with grabbing Anya and escorting her to another room so she did not try and attack/eat/play with the small mammal. Matt was naturally in charge of catch and release and Chan was taking her usual supervisory role.

Having relocated Batfink onto the stairs outside and shut Anya in, we were all fascinated and keen to take pictures of our find…. It is not often you have a chance to get up close to a live bat, during daylight and able to take the pictures we all managed to get.

Batfink did not seem to move too quickly, Matt relocated him away from the main stairs into a tree once we had gone inside and we will have to assume his wings of steel managed to get him away from the other cats, pine martins etc that are currently calling the garden home.

Chan has lots of work to do so she’s still going very late, Anya however is clearly exhausted.

[4 July 2022]

Tuesday

With another slow start to the day, I had an agency briefing call scheduled for 1pm and the agency I thought we were going to use was not going to work out so some last minute changes had to be made and I had to make quick U-turn. My call done, it was time to get started on one of the most enormous garden chores – wood chipping.

Following a quick, and this time successful trip to the tabac (by now I was more than confident about driving on the “wrong side of the road”) I was back with Chan helping me get the chipper out, the electric sorted and Anya tied to the relevant tree. The massive pile of 2 years’ worth of pruning needed to go through the chipper. 3 hours later and the dent is barely noticeable, but I could see it – my focus however had been narrowed to a very small section as there were hundreds of thousands of sticks, branches, leaves and other detritus to get through the small machine. This is a job that may not even get finished before I leave ☹

Deciding that I was done with the scratches and random bugs all over me, I went to check out Chan’s growing garden. Whilst it all looks great, the corn especially is looking great and taller than she is, this year they are apparently hoping for closer formed kernels.

Anya’s had a nice day though and been making the most of it, having a rest inside for most of the day and regularly popping out to check what is going on and act as guard dog incase a cyclist or pedestrian goes past.

Inside now and time for dinner, some relaxing in front of the TV and ultimately bed time.

[5 July 2022]

Wednesday

Having had a quick work check in, and a few emails, the weather was not looking great so it was time to start some work in the house. I was as usual sent back up to “my” floor (they only seem to recall they have this floor when Anya and I are staying). Today’s chore was to pull down more of the lathe and plaster from the walls and around the windows.

An hour or so into this, I realised I was getting some horrible dust in my eyes and better safety equipment was required for me to continue. Funnily enough at a similar time, the skies had cleared and the sun was making an appearance so I decided I would take another crack at the wood pile… this wasn’t something that was going away quickly and would require continuous efforts.

A mere 3 and a half hours later, I was looking at the small area of the pile that had been my focus and feeling good about my work. Sadly I then tried to take a picture to show the results of hours of labour only to find that it looked like a tiny dent.

Disheartened once again and hearing the banging coming from the room I had been working in, it was time to pack up and see what Chan had been doing. It turns out, that she had picked up the mantle where I had left off up in the attic room and done an amazing job of getting a lot more down.
Matt called us down for a dinner of bolognese on the terrace, with too much for me after a late and hearty pasta lunch already, Anya also got a little extra special dinner. Chan went up to finish a couple of bits and I went up for some cleaning duty and all of us brought down large bags of rubble for the dechetterie run the next day.

A couple of shows together, the kids drifted off and lastly, I took Anya out for a final walk and to open the gates in hope the pool guys would come again tomorrow. They’ve clearly gone wrong somewhere along the way as there’s a big gap that going to no doubt require a lot of work to put right.

[6 July 2022]

Thursday

Well, this is my holiday, so basically, I decided to have a holiday! Like you know… one of those actual days off!!!
My holiday consisted of a bit of a walk around (and around) the gardens, we were not sure if the pool building people would be coming, delivery trucks etc so this was all on-lead about 30 degrees. With Anya having decided she was plenty warm enough, I agreed and decided it was time to retire to the pool whilst Anya had a nap and scout of the surroundings from the nearby tree.

With the weather being warm enough and it getting towards the end of the week, Chan and Matt decided to join us in the early evening. Matt became the judge of the one-handed handstand competition. No doubt you can guess the owner of the pool who initiated said “competition” was
clearly the winner. Having not tried these sorts of things since Chan and I were about 15, I feel I was somewhat out of practice, particularly in comparison to her “at Jonny and Cressida’s I did a billion handstands for them”.

Long day done, WhatsApp messages sent with pics of pool and Anya sent and the appropriate, yes it was lovely, yes, you should be jealous messages, it was time for inside, some food and bed.

[7 July 2022]