Bonne fetes!!

So unbelievably it's only a couple of days away from Xmas - this year has gone by so fast although I am pretty sure I say that every year! I have to confess that I don't really do Xmas - sorry but I really hate spending money on buying stuff that no-one really needs and just fills the world with more packaging etc - bah humbug ha. Having said that having our first wintery xmas is going to be fun and it's been nice driving through all the pretty little French villages with all there lights and decorations up. We went to Sarlat last weekend to show Chelsea as she hadn't been there before - it's one of my favourite towns in our vicinity - a lot less crowds too in the winter - the last time Paul and I went there for the Saturday market it was total bedlam! Here's some pics.

They had a little ice rink set up in the town square which looked like lots of fun for the kids..

It was one of the few days it hasn't been raining - I think it has rained nearly every day for several weeks now - the Dordogne and Lot rivers are both looking very full now which must be a good thing for everyone. Mind you it gets a bit tiresome as far as getting up and going in the mornings. We have (or I should say Paul has) removed the floorboards on the first story now - this makes the walk upstairs a little interesting as if you did fall off it would be pretty ugly!

Paul has also manhandled the two huge beams we bought a few months ago into their new positions - consequently he has a very sore back now - hopefully it's just muscular and won't be too bad in the long term.

We discovered that one of the chimneys was leaking a bit as the stones inside the attic have become a bit damp - Paul was not too keen on getting up on the scaffold but our friend John didn't seem too bothered so was roped in to do the job - here he is today fixing it up.

It's not looking like it will be a white xmas here like it was last year but we are actually headed to the Pyrenees for a few days skiing and it has finally snowed there last weekend - the weather is meant to be sunny but cold so should be perfect! Here is a pic of our house that John and Aileen took last year on xmas day - hopefully it will snow here soon!!

Le neuvième de Décembre

This will be a quick post this week. We have been cruising along the past week or two - putting finishing touches on the attic apartment and just generally enjoying life in general. Paul has spent the past couple of days helping out our friends who are doing a similar renovation but they have a gite business and have actually already taken some bookings for the house so have a very definite deadline! We, on the other hand have got a bit more time on our hands although it will be nice to have the next floor done by March when my parents are due to visit. But all the major jobs in the attic have been done and we are pretty well ready for Chels' visit in a couple of days time. She will be sleeping on a fold out bed borrowed from the neighbors in the store room at the side of the kitchen so not exactly ritzy but will still beat the barn :) Here are some more 'finished' shots of the attic.

We are still on the lookout for a couple of finishing touches - an armoir for our coats etc to put at the entrance and a tv cabinet or something that we can use as one. We have also got to do the shelving in the store room but will probably wait until after Chels has gone back to school so she doesn't feel too cramped in. But all up we are both pretty happy with how it has turned out. So far it has been easy to keep warm with our standard oil filled electric radiator heater - but having said that we have had very mild weather lately so hasn't really been tested yet. Hopefully the weather does get more wintry in the next couple of weeks as we are booked in to go skiing at the Pyrenees for Xmas. Well I say skiing but since none of us have actually done it before I think there might be only a slim chance of actual skiing happening but it will be fun trying. We did spend a day or so installing the satellite dish which nearly ended in divorce due to each of us thinking we knew which way to do it best. Hmmmmm this seems to happen to us a lot - both a little bit arrogant perhaps - haha who would have thought!! Both of us spent time up the ladder - in the rain - trying to use our iphones to align the dish to what we thought was the right direction. There is probably a very good reason most people get a professional installer! I ended up finding something on the net that uses google earth where you can actually click on the exact spot the dish is and it gives you the direction the satellite is in - this turned out to work much better and so we finally got the dish tuned in and we were away. Or so we thought... three days later Paul was woken during the night with bright lights coming on the box - mildly creepy since it was turned off when we went to bed but after a few minutes they all went off - well next day the stupid thing wouldn't boot up at all. So that took care of a morning while I researched what could be wrong with a brand new 'you beaut' Humax!! After a few calls and emails to the place in the UK that we had brought it from they emailed and told me to pack it up and send it back! Great... anyway we told our neighbors about it and they told us we could try to use one of their old boxes - quick clean - plugged it in and away she went. So we still have some English tv to watch which has been handy since it has been raining pretty much all week. Although unless you like X Factor or Dancing with the stars there aint that much to watch to be honest! (sorry Aileen!) I went riding again last week - was very lucky and got to ride a lovely young Friesian - I am now pestering Paul constantly about getting some fencing organised and maybe a little stable so I can have my own. However whilst I am now on the lookout for a horse Paul has been scouring the second hand websites for a motorbike - so is all fair. Here is a pic of me looking very happy with myself!