C'est trop chaud!!!!

Yes - it is way too hot here at the minute and has been for what seems like weeks! Luckily a while back Paul had a little brain wave that perhaps we should look at getting a jacuzzi instead of having a pool a lot further down the renovation. So I did my job and went searching and found what seemed like a great deal with some English people returning to the UK who wanted to sell theirs. And what a great idea it was too - we have been spending a lot of time in there - particularly since the weather has been just so hot and dry. This time last year we were trying to get our hands on lawnmowers so we could sort out all the grass - not a problem now - the horses have eaten anything remotely green and are having to be fed hay. Anyway here's some pics of getting the jacuzzi and the great job Paul has done of landscaping for it.

Paul has been doing his good impression of a stone mason at the minute although most days it just gets too hot to do too much outside. He has built some new walls for the outdoor eating area and joined them in to the old existing ones. Someone asked him if he was building a fortress the other day. I am sure it will look a little less imposing once the reducing pile of stones has finally gone and we can do some more paving and gardening.

I have been having a lot of fun with Tolsan. I even did a fantastic four day trek to Rocamadour on him with the equestrian centre. I was a bit worried it was going to be really hot but thankfully most of the route we were following forest paths so apart from a few hours it was shaded and lovely. Tolsan started right at the back and the first couple of days really dawdled along and we had to keep trotting to keep up, but by the third day his fitness kicked in and he started to annoy the horse in front of him so was moved up the line a bit. He was very well behaved - even when we had to cross the big freeway and we went on a fly over - the look on his face as huge trucks went flying along underneath us was priceless! It was great fun as there was three other Dutchies and a young French girl and me. We stayed in Gites along the route and had lovely meals and loads of laughs. And even better - no accidents! Since then he has even been for a swim in the lake that is only about a kilometre from us which is huge since he wouldn't even put his foot into muddy holes before! Peer pressure works well with horses - I think seeing the others do it made him wonder what all the fun was about..

Paul has also added something to his barn collection. He has bought a very little tractor for the princely sum of two hundred euros - it needs some work as it has been sitting in a barn for about forty years. Something else to tinker with in his down time.

Last week it was our village's turn to have its annual three day fete. Basically a party that goes on a bit long ha. We went to the meal on the final night and had a nice time with all the local expats. We would like to associate with more of the French locals - but it just ends up being too awkward with our awful (in my case) and non existent (in Pauls) French. Maybe in a few years - here's hoping! Here's hoping for some rain soon too!

Au revoir juillet

I should have written my blog yesterday but I am finding it very difficult to make the time - what with looking after the horses - occasionally trying to help Paul - do all the usual housework stuff and now not watching copious amounts of Olympic hockey games on the dedicated BBC channel! Oh well as long as it gets done once a month ha - it will be up to every two months soon... but anyway we have had a good few weeks. Building wise Paul has finished the super deluxe horse shelter and thankfully it was just in time for some blisteringly hot weather and they do use it. We have finished the oak floor in one of the bedrooms which looks good. I also located some more oak parquet direct from a sawmill for a lot less money for the other bedroom which we will put in soon.

Paul has spent the last week or so doing lots of stonework out the front of the house - it now looks like we have a walls everywhere - some I have just uncovered that had been under the ivy. They all need to be jointed now which will be a good job for me and Gabs who we picked up from the train last Thursday night. She arrived with a bad head cold which it now appears she has shared with me as I have a very sore throat tonight. Not happy Jan!

Paul has also uncovered some old footings in the front yard along with lots of old bits and pieces. He has rebuilt part of the walls on top of the them. Would be so interesting to have more information about the building history.

A couple of weeks back we spent the day or some of it with Yves and some of his Belgian guests watching the Tour de France go past. It had a leg between Toulouse and Brive which passed only about 15km away from us so we couldn't not go and experience it. Most of the time it is just sitting around waiting but then the fun begins about an hour before the cyclists go through as lots of sponsors cars go past throwing out crap freebies/samples which we all had a lot of fun fighting over. Here is Paul and Yves in their free green lycra shirts and a couple of shots of the cyclists.

I have still been riding lots and have had a couple more dressage lessons - most recently this morning. I am starting to think I can't ride at all as I find it very difficult - there is just too many things to think about and Tolsan can be a bit on the lazy side so most of the time I have to be pushing him on at the same time as trying to adjust my seat and the reins - maintain my balance etc. I think I will be feeling the effects of attempting a rising trot without stirrups for weeks!! We went to the Cazal market on Sunday to pick up some fruit and vegies. I have to admit I feel so much more comfortable asking for things in French then I did even a few months back so hopefully the french lessons are starting to pay off. Here's Paul and Gabs wandering around.

It has been very warm here the last few weeks - and it is starting to really dry out. Some rain would be very welcome. We have had some hay delivered by one of our farmer neighbors ready for when our pastures have all been fed off which is getting to be very soon by the looks of it. The farmers are getting pretty desperate as a lot of their crops are mid season. We have a lovely field of sunflowers directly opposite our house. Harry decided to come with me when I walked down to photograph it.

L'été est là!

I am very sorry but I have been totally slack with writing the blog lately. My only excuse is that we are virtually never inside the house long enough to do it! The weather has been lovely and the days are so long - most nights we don't eat dinner until it is dark which is about 10 pm so as you can imagine it can be hard to find the time to do it! I was nicely reprimanded for always sending in my French homework late today - have promised my teacher to make time for it - will try to do the same for the blog! Well the past few weeks have literally just flown by. We had our friends Mark and Narelle here with their teenage daughters for a week so pretty much downed tools and played tour guides which was fun. Paul and Mark did build a very nice new garden wall in between drinking a lot of beer and generally having lots of lovely long chats. None of them had been out of Australia before so I think there was a little bit of culture shock going on. Some very funny incidents with the language ensued - side note to all potential visitors - we live in rural France - very few people speak English here - and don't need to - so it pays to at least know how to say hello and thank you. It's ok in the more touristy areas but generally around here you basically have to bumble your way along in French. Here are some photos from their visit. We took them to the usual spots - Sarlat - Rocamadour and went canoeing on the Dordogne near Beynac. That was a lovely hot day - Narelle and I were not able to participate due to both of us recovering from recent stints in hospital so we lazed around in the river downstream and waited for the canoeists to arrive. Such a beautiful area - will definitely be having a go next time.

We also checked out a 'famous' restaurant we have only about 15km away whilst they were here. "La Recreation" was the subject of a popular book although the original people who set it up have moved on - thankfully it lived up to it's fancy reputation. It's more expensive then most restaurants around here but totally worth it. We had undoubtedly the best meal we have had since moving here. Not only good looking food but yummo as well!

Since our visitors have left we have been busy with another side project. What started off being a small shade structure for the horses has now become a full on shelter complete with tack room. Paul has done a great job and it is nearly finished. We are about to do a trip back to the saw mill to get some more lining boards to complete it. The horses better make use of it! They looked pretty interested in it last night when we let them in to graze around it.

I have been riding nearly every day for the past week - I got the ok from the doctor to ride again and have been making the most of the nice weather. Even went on a three hour hack with the riding school on Sunday - was good because I now know some more tracks to use! Tolsan needs to have his front feet shod though as he gets very footy on the stoney tracks - he was trying to run on the sides all the time poor guy! I also had my first dressage lesson ever on Monday which was very embarrassing as I had an audience of about 10 people at the sand school as the gites there are all full of holiday makers. I have never done this type of riding before and trotting and cantering around in circles with no stirrups is very hard work I give you the tip! Tolsan hadn't fully recovered from the big ride the day before so I had a hard time getting him to stay in the canter - and my legs are still sore now! Here's my two - Ambre is nearly as big as Tolsan now and a couple of years still to grow!

Ok well I think that is all the news for now. Gabi is in Turkey at the minute and loving it although she is on one of those trips that goes everywhere but nowhere for any length of time so I am sure she will be off to the next country by now. Chelsea has just had a lovely week with her boyfriends' family in Florida before her preseason starts again in a month or so. Oh and here is a pic of the bath after I painted it up - hard to believe it was the same ugly dark blue one - what a bargain that turned out to be!

Bon anniversaire!!

Yes - incredibly we have been here for one year now! So time to reflect on the year and our new life in France. Has it lived up to our expectations? Well I would have to say yes although we didn't have too many expectations because in a lot of ways we just came here with open minds and an open agenda - if we hated it we would have only stayed until the house had been done and moved on. It became pretty clear early on that visa allowing, we weren't planning on going anywhere else anytime soon! We have met some really great people - had some great times and are really looking forward to lots more of the same. We love our little place here - it really is very peaceful and the living is easy in many ways. Do I think we would have been further along in the renovations after a year here - well I would have to say yes but realistically it really is basically like building a house from scratch - and Paul has pretty much done all the work himself so it is a very good effort I have to say. We have also had lots of distractions like horses and motorbikes to enjoy and I would prefer to have a bit of a life outside of the house and it take longer anyway. Hopefully this time in another year we will be close to having everything done. Mind you we have met a few people here still renovating their houses after more then 5 years at it! So we are in the early days yet! I have been trying not to think too much about the fact we are meant to be in Chicago this week for Chelsea's college graduation - this is what we missed out on :) Never mind - we couldn't be prouder of her! The past couple of weeks have been spent working on the two rooms we want to have close to finished when our friends Mark & Narelle and their two teenage girls arrive in a week or so. And Paul has also been doing the huge job of breaking though a very thick stone wall to put in a new door. We were fortunate to be able to get some stone and lintel for it from our friends Don and Anne who had bought them many years ago but had not had to use them so had been sitting in their garden. This huge job culminated in Paul borrowing a tractor with a forklift attachment from another Dutch friend and finally being able to put the big lintel in today. Here are some pics. The tractor was also useful as we have a very heavy claw foot bath going into the spare bathroom - I have spent the last few days painting it white. Should look good eventually! And a very old cupboard - also from Don and Anne's barn! I am feeling pretty good now after my accident. Still can't do too much as I get pretty tired quite quick. Here's me in action yesterday! And finished window.. I have a scan next week to see how I am healing - hopefully will get the ok to ride again. I have had Hans from the equestrian centre come and ride him a few times a week so he doesn't get too fat as I hate leaving him in one of the smaller paddocks on his own so he can't graze as much. It's much nicer for him to stay with the other two and help out with the fly chasing! Here is a pic of Ambre tonight doing her trick of reaching as far as she can under the electric fence. She is turning out to be a lovely little girl - very well mannered and friendly and she learns very quickly. And here is the little man Will having a lovely little break on the citern in the evening warmth... A bientot!!!

Quel dommage...

Well the best laid plans and all that... I should be getting organised to travel to London with Gabbi at the end of the week, then on to Chicago for Chelsea's college graduation. Unfortunately I am virtually on bed rest after spending 12 days in hospital and not going anywhere! The drama all happened two weeks ago when I agreed to help a neighbor with one of her young horses. Long story short but as I got on, the horse bucked and threw me against her side quite violently. I didn't actually fall down - landed on my feet and initially thought I had just been winded. I even got on again and rode for about 10 minutes until the owner agreed it had been enough for the day. When I got off I felt more pain and started to think I may have broken a rib or something. So I made my apologies and drove home - then struggled to get up to the attic to where Paul was - the pain at this stage was very strong and I couldn't sit in any position and be comfortable. We called our friend Kathleen who is a nurse and she said she would come and take me to the emergency department. After getting x-rayed at Gourdon and no broken anything the doctors then called the ambulance to take me to the bigger hospital at Cahor with suspected internal injuries. So it all got very dramatic very quickly - two very large catheters put in for the trip which was in case I started to bleed out on the way which very thankfully didn't happen. Anyway after the 40 min ride and an MRI they told me I had a ruptured spleen and they were going to try and save it by not operating but monitoring the bleeding over the next 48 hrs. It was at this stage they told me if they didn't operate I would have to stay in hospital for 15 days. Well thankfully it turned out it was 3 days in intensive care and 'only' another 9 days in the surgical ward. But I guess I should be happy as I still have a spleen. Although I was very upset when the surgeon told me it would not be advisable to fly any time soon. The only good thing was Chelsea was able to fly out from Chicago and meet Gab in Paris and they both came down on the train together. So I have had the two of them here with me at home since leaving hospital a few days ago. I am still not really able to do much yet and I am trying very hard to do very little but we are all going a little stir crazy from watching too much crappy tv and not being able to get out and about much. Poor Paul has also had an awful couple of weeks too, traveling to and from Cahors most days to visit me - consequently not getting much done to the house! Although we did have the plasterer come and finish off the plastering on the second floor.

Paul has also started doing the big job of constructing a stone door opening from what was the window in the kitchen.

Well I won't be riding anytime soon. My boy is getting fatter by the minute. Hopefully in a week or so I will be able to do some groundwork with him but for now he is enjoying a little holiday. The day before my accident the same neighbor dropped off a yearling to keep Ambre company and settle her when I took Tolsan out riding. So we now have three horses to look after. Lucky Paul likes animals! Although he loves complaining about them equally as much ha. Ambre has filled out nicely from the skinny gangly little thing only a few weeks ago - all our lovely grass has done wonders.

Here is a shot from yesterday of my gorgeous girls in the market at Sarlat. Lovely weather at the moment - not too hot but not cold either.

And here is me and Chels - she is going back to school for her finally exam and then is starting her post grad studies in the summer before her hockey season starts in August. We have postponed our trip until the end of August so it won't be long before we see her again. Gab is due to start her big trip through Europe in a week so we will take her to Bergerac for her flight to London on Friday. Has been lovely to all be together for the first time in over 18 months but it's a shame it had to be under these circumstances!

Ok - hopefully next blog I will have more positive news! With luck I will be back 'en forme' and we will have got further along with the renos..Nearly a year since we got here - still can't comprehend where the time has gone - so fast it's ridiculous!