Rainy days ending - back to sunshine soon

It's been a while since the last update.

That's because, as I indicated in the April 2nd post, we're busy doing and making, which leaves little time for talking and blogging. And there is also the fact that, increasingly, whatever changes and progress tend to be more incremental, less dramatic. And more of a conventional home improvement nature. You expect better than mundane from this blog. We don't do filler here.

Through the winter, as we spent our days essentially waiting for our furniture, waiting for contractors, waiting for the mail, waiting for spring, etc. first, we had lots of time to sit before the computer (at the nearest McDdonald's), and second, every time whatever it was that we had been waiting for arrived, happened or materialized, we had something distinct to report.

Now we're here, our stuff is here, the waiting is over, and we're in charge and engaged in doing what we came to do. (Although, to be quite frank, we're still waiting for some of the contractors to finish this or that. But, it's mostly because we're taking our time, not entirely because they're not instantly available when we call. For instance, the plumber couldn't install the sink until we had chosen it. It was not his fault that we took so long to do so. I hate to disappoint some of you stereotype-lovers out there, but not all contractors in France are straight out of a Peter Mayle novel.)

So, the last post (April 2nd) is still a valid reflection of our daily life in Gaulejac, except for the gardening, which has come to a standstill for two reasons: one, Nancy is in Canada for a couple of weeks and, two, the weather has changed dramatically. That lovely weather we enjoyed throughout March was not early summer after all: the temperature cooled and it has been raining everyday for the last three weeks. It is hard to believe that so much rain could come down, and keep coming down. Even on the West Coast (you know, the "Wet" Coast), I remember that I could always count on the sky clearing for a few hours now and then. Not so here, since April 1st.

Fortunately, now that my shop is operational, including a beautiful new door to keep rain and wind out, I can do what I came here to do, regardless of the weather: build cabinets! Yes, as I hinted last time, the wait is finally over and I am not just talking about them anymore. I have been actually building them. So, I have at least one new and interesting (well, "interesting" is a matter of opinion, I suppose) photo to offer you, to silence those skeptics who were beginning to question whether I would ever get started (actually, there were days this winter when I was one of those skeptics).

The first of many more to come. And on the right is the new door I was telling  you about above.

-oOo-

Tomorrow, I am going to a local event called "Journée de la forêt". A neighbour is involved in the organizing. The day's activities will include demonstrations, by teams of draught horses of various breeds, of the way logs used to be pulled out of the forest. The Périgord region has at least one thing in common with Canada: it is densely wooded and logging has been a mainstay of the local economy, going back centuries. It is rich with species like oak, chestnut, ash, and beech. A common sight, as one drives around back roads around here, is piles of logs freshly pulled out of the forest and waiting to be picked up by sawmill and paper-mill trucks.

Anyway, I'm taking my camera to the Journée de la forêt. The weather forecast predicts a few days of sun and clouds - no rain! - starting soon. There might be something better than muddy horses to report in a future post.

Oh, and, yes: I have already registered for lunch.

Indoors & outdoors

This post is dedicated to John, who left us recently, much too soon. We were honoured to hear that he was a regular reader of our blog. The sunshine and the flowers in the photos, and all evocations of spring and warmth in the words below, are for Patti and their family.

We have been blessed with beautiful weather for the last three weeks: clear blue sky, low twenties, an occasional mild breeze. Some here are concerned about the water table, of course. Rural concerns are the same everywhere, it seems: too much or not enough water. I must confess that we are not giving it much of a thought.

For us, after the last few months of relative cold and damp while living in an almost-but-not-quite-finished house (and workshop), it has been a blessed relief to rise to sunshine and keep doors and windows open all day, day after day.

But it's not just the blossoms on the trees and the birds singing and nesting in the dry stone walls that have raised our spirits. It's also that we are both busy and seeing progress of our own making, inside and out.

First of all, the floors are finished, which has made it possible to arrange furniture and bring stuff out of boxes. All of a sudden, it's like a real home in here.

The living room, seen from the top of the stairs
through the new handrail.

The stone "tapis" (literally, "carpet")
in the foyer, at the foot of the stairs.

Nancy has been working hard outside, too, clearing bramble ...

Before Nancy started working on this area a couple
of weeks ago, the brook (known as the "ruisseau de Gaulejac")
was hidden under a veritable tunnel of bramble,
tall grass, bushes and dead trees (see piles on the right).

... and planting rose bushes, lavender, herbs and lilacs.

Meanwhile, I have been trying my hand at stonework ...

No, these are not centuries old stone steps.
This passage up from the driveway onto the terrace below
the front of the house used to be a muddy gully
where the stone wall had crumbled from neglect.

My new workbench. Ain't she a beauty?

... and - finally! - woodwork, too.

Yes, for those who have been following the saga of the workshop ("when will he stop talking about those d... cabinets, and start building them?!"), I am happy to report that the "atelier" is fully equipped and work has begun.

My workplace for the next several months, finally come together.
Building the cabinets (at the back), and the bench on the left,
was good practice. After years of not even going near
a table saw, I needed it.

So, outside and inside, we have been working everyday. I'm taking some time off today to write this post, but I'll be back in the shop, and happy to be, tomorrow.

The weather is supposed to cool down a bit over the next few days, and it should rain tomorrow. Apparently we need it.