w/c 19 February 2007

Monday 19th Neither of us are big on cats but last night we had an unexpected visitor. When we were out here in October last year a small black & white kitten, the spitting image of Felix off the TV adverts, followed us home on our last evening out here. Feeling sorry for it P & C put some food out for him & he slept, curled up outside the small circular window all night. When it came time to leave in the morning he was still about & we all felt very guilty about leaving him. Caroll asked I & V to keep an eye out for him but he was never seen again, until last night that is. Sat in the same window watching us prepare the evening meal there was a healthy, well fed, grown up Felix. The suns out and we're up and about early (no change there) to brush off the wall Barbara had been pointing yesterday. I'm on with sanding the floorboards I put down yesterday and Barbara is doing the pointing around the window which she says is very cathartic, whatever that means. Hope it's not me she needs the psychotherapeutic help with! The local boulangerie doesn't open on a Monday so today our sandwiches are made from the leftovers of the pain bought on Saturday. The bread is crusty at the best of times so you can imagine what it's like 2 days after it's been baked and with only Bovril, cheese & Branston (available in our local supermarket) in the fridge, lunch was hardly the height of French cuisine. Our friends Sidney & Gilly popped in at about lunchtime (for obvious reasons we didn't ask them to stay for lunch) and we showed them what progress we'd made since mid January when they were last here. It was reassuring that they were able to see things had moved on, or perhaps they were just trying to boost our morale. Called in at the local shop in La Fouillade on the way home to pick up something for our sandwiches tomorrow. With no fresh pains available we have to take a very expensive Brioche Tranchée. At €3.10 for an 18 slice loaf the butties tomorrow better be something special. Where's that foie gras de canard?
Tuesday 20th and it's more like cake than bread! Perhaps that's what Brioche Tranchée is! No wonder Marie Antoinette said 'Let them eat cake'. Anyway the sandwiches were a little different & a whole lot better than yesterdays. It was a beautiful day so lunch was taken out on the veranda and a chance to reflect on our efforts so far. It's hard to believe that we've been here less than 2 months & although sometimes we don't seem to have made much progress things are moving in the right direction. We're both looking forward to the day when we see the furniture van from Ramsbottom coming down the lane with all our possessions in it. It'll then be on with the barn, that's if we ever decide what we're going to do with it. Today it was 2 gites and a way of generating some income and tomorrow who knows what we'll be planning to do with it. Work was much as yesterday with us continuing to rebuild the end wall and then point it. It's been a real learning curve and, although I know I shouldn't say it, we've (and it has been mainly Barbara) have done a good job at our first attempt at pointing the French way. Off for a pizza tonight with I & V to celebrate.
Wednesday 21st and by 10:30 we'd finished our only scheduled job for the day, wire brushing the pointing down. With time to spare, the first time since 2nd January, we called into the local estate agent for the promised cup of tea. Had a good chat but unfortunately there was no job offer forthcoming. He did say, however, that once I had a reasonable grasp of the French language I should be able to pick up some work. No problem there then! Off to VDR this afternoon for a leisurely wander round & popped into the local bike shop & picked a leaflet up on mountain bike routes. Also had a chat with the owner (spoke very good English) who said there were a couple of VTT (MTB) clubs locally and next time I was in he'd look up some contact details. It would be nice to think that sometime soon I'd have the time 'get out there & ride'. On the way back to Najac we called to see Thierry the local farmer we met at the Quarter party. He has the same car as me and had mentioned that he had a contact that sold parts, including exhausts, for Mercedes'. He hadn't the number to hand and said he would call round later with it. Ninety minutes later there's a knock at the door and there he is with the details. He suggests that it's perhaps a good idea if he rings on my behalf as the garage owner does not speak English. Turns out they only have a E420 part in but think it will fit the E320. Thierry says he has another contact who he will call in the morning and verify this is the case. He is such a helpful & charming chap. Lovely supper tonight at Sidney & Gilly's.
Thursday 22nd and a lie in. We're off to Rodez later today as Barbara has a plane to catch. While I'm off on the piste skiing she's off back to the UK for the next 3 weeks so this morning it's tidy up time. I get my instructions on keeping things neat & tidy and how to keep the wood burning stove alight. It's not that I'm worried about, it's all that washing & ironing I'll have to do when I get back from Andorra! We head for Rodez for lunch & take the opportunity to collect a staircase banister we'd ordered a few weeks ago. Rodez is only a small airport, not much bigger than a bus station, and parking is free. It's amazing how many British registered cars are parked up, it's the same every time we fly from there. I'm able to drop Barbara off right at the door, wipe a tear from my eye & head back to Najac... all on my own. Just kidding but I am going to miss her.
Friday 23rd and it's very quiet without Babs. Worked all morning trying to repair yet more floorboards on the top floor. Didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped but will get there. Last night I emailed Pierre Segonds, the 'artisan' who is doing some plastering for us, to confirm that he's still on for starting the work on Monday. He turned up at lunchtime to say he would be starting on Monday as planned & had a revised devis (we'd made some changes to the original spec') and requested a deposit (normal in France). 'A cheque will do' he said. This will be a challenge, writing a cheque out & getting the words to match the numbers! 'OK I'll put it in the post' I said and texted Rebecca for help. Called in at the local builders merchant after lunch for 10 metres of 80mm field drain and amazingly he understood what I was after. Hope it's my French that's improving and he's not a closet English speaker. Several texts off Barbara just checking I was hard at it & not bunking off early.
Saturday 24th off to VDR for one floorboard to finish off! Located the the local Toyota dealer & called in to see if they could repair the Yaris's windscreen. Think they said that they don't do windscreens & pointed me in the direction of Auto Windscreens. Also picked up some information on mobile phones. Getting the right deal in the UK is bad enough, doing it all in French is going to be a real challenge. Back to the house & finished the floorboards, moved the plasterboards so Pierre can get on removing the old plaster, cleared up & put the tools away for a week. Off on the piste first thing in the morning & meeting the others at Toulouse airport. That's why the blog's a day early & there's no posting for Sunday. I'll have to see if I can remember anything from the week ahead & report back.