Our first artisan
Monday
Busy day of back to back calls. Matt has done a little more clearing of the pink bathroom ahead of the plumber coming round. The bidet is now out and the old pipework exposed. The last of the kitchen plasterboards has also now been dropped so that he can drop the pipework into the ceiling void.
Finally at about 6:30 I had a brief opportunity to get out into the garden and pop in a few of the Red Drumhead cabbage and some of the broccoli. Was watching as the cat was stalking something in the long grass but didn’t sound like a mouse so Matt went to investigate. It was a baby sparrow. He managed to get to it, wrestle it off her and put it up on the roof of the heating tank. Not sure it will do it much good as it was too small to survive alone but at least the cat didn’t get it.
I’ve managed to roughly laid out the remaining veg but am going to need a bit more time to actually get them in the ground as dinner is nearly ready and Matt wants a hand. After dinner Matt set about starting on the planning application for the swimming pool while I got back to work. Before we knew what had happened it was 10pm so just time for a quick episode of Lucifer before bed.
[7 June 2021]
Tuesday
Another busy day with back to back calls. It’s definitely heating up here though with 26deg the reported temperature. Managed to grab half an hour for lunch so popped out to get some more bits in the ground. Can’t plant the peas up until Matt gets the trellis in but that’s not his priority right now.
Matt has been down to the shops and made a lovely chicken caesar salad for dinner.
After the sun has gone down we need to do the last bit of prep for the plumber. This one requires a lot of PPE. Thankfully Matt’s been down to Luchon to pick up the stuff recommended by our wonderful asbestos consultant, Mr Mark Dodd. I think we look pretty fly!
I’d say it came up easily, but the sweat that was literally dripping off Matt told a different story. It’s an important job done though which needed to be done at some point in the process but it’s 10pm already. There really are just not enough hours in the day.
A quick episode of Lucifer, work emails and blog and finally bedtime. Hopefully the rest of the week will lighten up.
[8 June 2021]
Wednesday
Well that’s the last of the bathroom units out, and stored in the hallway. He’s done a great job but the bathroom looks quite the state and I can guess who’s going to have to clear this little lot up.
I think I will get some more work done and give Matt a chance to get going with it before I offer to help. In fact, maybe it’s time for a quick trip round the garden and for Matt to help me with the trellis for the peas (that should have gone in ages ago). It’s not exactly pretty but it will do the job and it is in fact the old re-enforcement wire from the cement in the kitchen floor, how’s that for recycling!
Garden done it’s time to help Matt back in the house. He’s done a good job but I think this is a two man job. Finally however it is all done and ready for the plumber to come and for us to get to bed.
[9 June 2021]
Thursday
The plumber turned up on the agreed day and even turned up early. He’s basically my French hero!
Ok, that wasn’t my first thought when he arrived at 8:45 this morning (French time – so that’s basically 7:45 by my watch, which still runs on UK time). Mr Nogues and his boy were here though and we walked around to say where we wanted the toilets, pipework etc. Answered their questions, explained where we wanted the pipes dropped and Matt made them coffee. [I don’t think I have ever made a builder a coffee in the UK – probably didn’t have any either, made a hell of a lot of teas though. But this is France; no milk no sugar, just coffee.]
I had some full on ‘no interruption’ type meetings so Matt was ‘excited’ about taking charge of any questions of queries. He was fine. ‘D’accord’ (OK) and ‘Oui’ (yes) go a long way when they’re the experts, along with a laissez faire (what will be will be) attitude. They seemed pretty confident and Matt had checked their credentials and they arrived to do work so let’s run with it.
To be honest they have been great. Matt and I were relegated to the salon, veranda and garden for calls. Drilling through 50cm walls is not quiet.
Eventually I’m done with most of my work and have a walk around with the plumbers. It was a much harder job than anticipated but they have done well and added in the pipe for the sink which was brilliant as every time we have tried to do that sort of angle we’ve failed. They need to come back to finish off but booked in for 10am, 18 June, with a wink – which I can only assume means ‘maybe you’ll be awake and out of your PJs this time’.
Lots of decision making now required on exactly what fittings and fixtures we want. I’m going to have to find time to do this quickly as all my previous choices got thrown out. The pink bathroom just won’t quite take the size of bath I had chosen, the second one is also not going to work with the angle of the toilet and I need to start again. Bathrooms weren’t previously top of my agenda, but then nothing in this house has been working out as planned so will take what I can get.
If you ever think this is a dream, think again. It’s far more rolling with the punches, celebrating the small successes, and being very confident that you can pass many months with just one person without going mad. I don’t know how Matt does it!
No time to relax quit yet. Off to the vegetable garden. Need to get the ‘last’ bits in. [Obviously, not actually last, last.] We got the few extra beans in. I then realised that beans don’t mix with brassicas so have to dig them up and move them again. Put in the lettuce and spinach and the very first of the flowers, and the lavender that Matt got me. There are still plenty of companion flowers and some chilies to go in, but we’re getting there. The cat wasn’t really helping if I’m honest but Matt and the watering can soon rectified that..
Time for dinner.
What a day. I have been bitten by something. I got bitten on the foot by a bloody field ant, no major drama. But I’ve also been bitten by something else. I did think I saw a single mosquito last night and said to Matt that it will have bitten me. This morning I had a scratchy bit on my back (I can’t see or reach it annoyingly), but more so on my leg. When I woke up it was about the size of an old 10p, this afternoon about 5cm, now (going to bed) it’s about 8cm.
Now I do get bad reactions to mosquitos and I do complain, a lot. But I am concerned that it could be a tick bite. Our friend up the road had a tick bite a few weeks back and was diagnosed with Lymes… So, despite or as a result of, quite a bit more moaning Matt has agreed to take me to the pharmacy first thing so they can tell me if I need the doctor. Better safe than sorry no matter how many millions of things we have to do.
Finally Matt is off to bed but I need a shower if I’m off to see the pharmacist and possibly doctor, my knees and legs are black and I’m not sure it’s a tan, more garden soil than anything.
Just before bed I hear something moving in the bin. I looked in cautiously (ok, half hiding incase it flew up into my face) and couldn’t see anything. I moved it and heard it moving again. Definitely something in there. Time for expert help. Sorry Matt, I love you.
Apparently I’m an idiot. It was clearly a mouse, he spotted it straight away. Well I did tell him we had a mouse. As Matt took the bin outside Meow tried to come in. No such luck tonight. But hopefully she will manage the intruder and kill it or not it shouldn’t come back after a round with her.
[10 June 2021]
