Lisa Pepin’s Neighborhood

Moving Sucks.  There, I said it. 
I hope I didn't offend anyone, but there you have it.  Sucks rotten eggs, because it's hard and messy and frustrating and neverending. 

So, about the time we were losing hope, along came Anne-Marie and Fred from Gap, to our aid. 
Not knowing what they were getting themselves into, they arrived with smiles and workclothes and optimism. 
First of all, we were having major plumbing complications to which Fred jumped to Patrick's assistance in solving. 
Anne-Marie warmed our hearts (and our hearth) and packed up my kitchen at l'Agnel without judging nor condemning my over-supply of drinking glasses and magazines and well, everything else. 
We didn't realize how much we needed them until they were here.  Thank thank thank goodness they came.
And then they left and we tried to find the most important things (toothbrushes and cereal for breakfast) and began the stage of unpacking. 

I guess this house blog chapter will come to a close, as I write about other topics (Oh!  Are there other topics out there?  A whole world out there?) with random updates such as upgrading our cement block walls, or real outdoor steps instead of, um, cement blocks. 

What a trip this has been. 
From Patrick finding the land, waiting years during the court process of fighting for the right to build on this land, to clearing this land (gently) and waiting impatiently for the masons to finish their work (they're still not done): 
the blood, sweat, and tears. 
The laughter.  The help.  The first pizza party, the first hot bath. 

Happy December.  Happy Full Moon. 
Happy housewarming to us.  Literally. 
As we're learning how to work this fireplace and as we're wondering why the house isn't warmer...
the fireplace guy, Vincent, is coming to look it over this week and we're hoping that it's something quick and easy.  15° celsius is a little too chilly in the bedroom.

But, even so, it is so heartwarming to have a fire in the house, isn't it?  

Here, we see the Sanchez crew stopped by long enough to hang the shutters upstairs. 
And Patrick is madly trying to get the plumbing in. 





We've added hemp sheeting as sound insulation, hung kitchen cabinets from IKEA, tiled the bathroom floor, and made several trips of moving boxes and things. 

We plan to be out of l'Agnel by the end of the weekend. 
THAT's when we'll pop the champagne:  when we're all sleeping together under this marvelous roof! 

Very soon now....

Our house number will be 1745, and we received this enamel-plated plaque from the mayor's office; this is a subtle benefit to living in France: cool old-fashioned metal plates are the standard issue.  How French! 

The days are rolling by quickly now.  After nine years, I've forgotten how chaotic and hectic moving can be. 
Tomorrow we will likely have the muscle power of the Sanchez boys to move our heaviest things.  No sympathy -- they owe us for making us wait so long to have the house done.

Then, Celeste and I will sleep down there for a couple of nights, and then switch off with the boys (no plumbing yet and the novelty is going to wear thin, I predict).
Today, to celebrate Thanksgiving, we grouted the tiled floors and cut/stacked wood for the fireplace. 

We didn't eat turkey, or anything even resembling any of those luscious food groups gracing the American tables, and this does give me a heavy heart.  I think a lot of expats are homesick today.  It's a tough one.  Next year, I envision a full-on feast with all of the trimmings.

And here is the fireplace, Before and After. 
I found it too boxy and made them taper the top, which really rocked their boat, but in the end I think we can all see that I WAS RIGHT!  ha. 

On the 30th, we won't have our old phone line and may lose internet for a short time, so cross your fingers and wish us luck. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.  We miss you so much. 

Liz

Another weekend, another update on the house's progress. 

This time, we were graced with the presence of Hervé and Philippe. 

Hervé (policeman by day, carreleur extraordinaire by weekend) came and tiled our wc/water closet and cellier/pantry, while teaching Patrick (and Hugo) the fine points of this complicated process. 

And I kept walking by, between IKEA kitchen cabinet construction, to smile and snap photos.

And dear Philippe came up from Marseille again, to lend a helping hand and tolerate sloppy kisses from the kids. 

We're so lucky to have friends like this. 

Thank you, Hervé.  Thank you, Magali, for taking Emerson both afternoons. 
Thank you, Philippe. 

These gestures warm our hearts so much. 
(and distracts us from the huge disorganization of moving that awaits us..)

Still planning to start sleeping there Friday night, since most of our furniture will be there.  We know we're crazy. 

Love from us five!

As if this place couldn't get more "cabin-y"....
tonight we lit our first fire with scraps from the fir planks and some smaller log pieces. 

How exciting!  Had to wait for the kids, of course. 
And then the place got quite smoky and we panicked a little, but later it seemed to be alright. 

We rushed outside to see the smoke drifting from the chimney top. 
Something about a fire, isn't there? 

That smell, that sweet cedar-y, pine-y smell. 
And this is a grade A fireplace that will heat our house very well, I think we won't even need the radiators that we put into the bedrooms. 



As you know, we are moving into this house in ONE week.  Or rather, we'll begin with the beds; Celeste and I have already decided that first night (next Thursday) is Girl's Night and we'll camp out here on the homestead. 
After that, we have a week to slowly move our things in.

Cosmetic touches will have to wait. 
Imagine this fireplace covered with fieldstones, with a wide ledge to lean on while you're roasting your marshmallows. 

mmmmm.  How do you like your's?  Lightly roasted or charbroiled? 
Come on over, and bring those cool, American marshmallow roasting sticks. 

love from us five.

Even though I can be superstitious, I couldn't find anything unlucky about the day. 

Our friend, Len, came yesterday and today with his trailor of tools and his carpentry skills.  He and Patrick have transformed the first floor, and
I love it! 
The fir tree planks come from Patrick's family's land in Ardeche; upstairs we'll use the Douglas fir tree planks in the kids' rooms, which have a rosy hue.



Some walls have vertical planks and some walls have horizontal. 

Len has a great eye for detail, and I can see that he and Patrick are having a good time. 

Thank you, Len! 
And thank you Philippe and Christian and Catherine and Marc and everyone else who has given their expertise and time.  You are making this house a Home. 

Just blogged all about the day, and lost it all. 

So, I repost only the images while I fight the temptation to destroy this computer. 

Resist.  Resist.  Resist.





Good to have a little mystery anyway, right? 

What is that photo about on the left????  What did she say about it??





All I will tell you is this:

Ja ja.  Here we have the pretty floors, almost too pretty to walk upon.  Just hard enough to support our footsteps on Sunday (wearing slippers, of course) as we begin to fathom the next step towards moving in.

We waver between calm happiness and panicky stress, on how we will manage to move in without mental breakdowns. 

Thank goodness that Patrick bought a container to store our "lovely crap", which will save our skins, I do believe. 

The kids are already taking charge on packing boxes. 

And Patrick is busy finishing the plumbing, learning as he goes. 
We're both crossing our fingers that everything works as planned, that moment when we turn the water on inside the house.   

I'll be busy taping and mudding the joints, and he'll be busy building up the walls so that the electrician can finish his work. 

We're all so excited that our dream is so close now: 
to live in our own home. 
More pictures soon, and love from Pertuis.   Liz

Chappe liquid is what was poured on our floors today.  Yesterday, Tringali and his helper came and laid plastic over all of les gaines. 

Today, the cement mixer came twice with the magically smooth mixture which was pumped into our house and onto our floors. 
Quite a process. 
Now, the house sits quiet while the cement dries and hardens over 48 hours. 
I'm really OK with taking a little break.

Perhaps in the photo to the left, you'll notice what the tracto-pelle (backhoe loader) was up to, pushing dirt around the house; scraping here and dumping there. 
Everyone has been so busy! 

To the right, we see Tringali smoothing out the cement. 
Ooooo, I can't wait to walk on it!





Christian and Catherine came to Pertuis with a borrowed broyeur (wood chipper) which we used to make wood chips from our numerous and obnoxious stacks of branches littering the land.  We fed that monster, all of yesterday and today; the noise it made was horrific, but OH is it efficient. 
Wood chips for heating systems and wood chips for clean paths.  I am very happy. 

More pictures when the floors are walkable. 
xoxo
Liz

Your French vocabulary for the week: 

les appuis = door sills or
window sills
(which Sanchez added yesterday)

les gaines = the tubes which hold the wires for electricity (which the electricians put everywhere on Monday and Tuesday) or plumbing
(which Patrick has figured out on his own).
Concrete guy comes on Wednesday to pour 5 cm of concrete over les gaines, for the sub-flooring.
Get it?  Got it?  Good.