And there’s still a way to go before the forever home is finished. In fact, we could be tinkering away for years if we wanted to. We have been planning the work for some time and are well aware that there is a difference between what is essential and what is a nice-to-have. We have a phasing plan. We know how to get to our destination. Our neighbours are more than helpful. Everything we need is within a short car-ride. What we don’t have in abundance is time, yet.
Two years ago we signed one hundred and twenty two pieces of paper and were given the keys. A few weeks later we took another truck out (thanks Julian) loaded with furniture and useful things, clearing out the garage. We stopped at the Gatehouse of the Chateaux de Carrouges on the way. We will come back for a proper visit one day!
My good friend David and I spent the first weekend in the house stripping out the central bedroom/kitchen. The walls were covered in a film of sooty grease and took days to clean and the wallpaper was glued on with some kind of super-strength animal glue, likely made from the carcasses of chickens…probably…the partition for the bedroom had a nice little window in it for passing morning cups of tea through, perhaps!
We would drive the D3 back and forth through Argentan, then Trun, then Livarot and Liseux to le Havre in those days, but now we use the peage as today, time is of the essence, and our Sanef tag lets us roll through the tolls.
Christmas came, our first in France, and as you can see we have made some real progress. The Bollinger had been saved for such an occasion. In fact, we had kept it in the cupboard for more than seven years, waiting for the appropriate moment. This was it for certain…
14thcenturypoet 