Looking back now we actually got a lot done last year with the floor, ceiling and bathroom projects completed. It's now onto the bedroom...ooh la la! A quick tip for anyone planning to get work done. Plan ahead and get a builder booked in before August. August is holiday time for the trade in France. Down tools, sit back, enjoy life.
We were able to get our wood burner installed...but only after we had already left. Its bit odd really as we are there in the summer but have been doing a fair bit of work towards making the house warm and cosy, ripping out and installing new heaters and wood burner. Not much call for a wood burner in summer.
We have a wonderful woman who looks in on our house each month checking the mail, making sure the roof is still on, and giving us regular updates. We thought she may know someone who could help with work we still need doing. The floor in the first floor bedroom needs sanding and revarnishing. I think the previous owners were fans of Jackson Pollock as the lovely floor is spattered with white pain splotches.
It turns out she did know someone, a Dutch craftsman who was free and had reasonable rates. Better still for me is that he speaks English. Malheuresment, I can get just so far with shrugs, pointing, smiling and waving my arms like a windmill. I am improving my French but still get into a bit of a panic when a word I have never heard of gets thrown into the conversation. Actually make that half the words in any given sentence, and the glazed look of the dead sets in.
So he starts next week, sanding, varnishing and sealing the floor, and also putting down the lino in the bathroom which has been rolled up and leaning against the bathroom door since October!
