A slow Saturday in Corrèze

An often asked question is "what made you move to France?" and if I'm honest it's hard to give an answer as there's not just one reason. First let's get the whole house thing out of the way. For the British, French houses are cheaper and beautiful renovation projects are much easier to find, so if you're serial renovators like us then France is paradise. But the decision to move to France was much more complex, a large part being to live more slowly and make less impact on the planet.

We chose Corrèze village as it has everything we need for day to day living within walking distance, we only need one car. On average we make three journeys a week in it (and one of those is my Friday trip to Emmaüs!) We have beautiful dog walks from our house and friends within strolling distance, which has the added benefit of not having to toss a coin to see who gets to be 'designated driver' on an evening out.

So what about slow living? The concept of slow living came with the emergence of the slow food movement in 1980's Italy, a reaction to the growing fast food market. It doesn't mean we spend our time loafing about, we've finished the barn conversion and have just started work on turning the Old Notaires House into a bed and breakfast, but we appreciate the need to prioritise and take time over things that are important to us. Yesterday was a perfect 'Slow Saturday'.

The boulangerie was the first port of call to buy bread for scrambled egg and toast. It was a beautiful day, cold but sunny so a long Mortimer walk was a definite. We were just on the home stretch when we heard a disembodied "bonjour" from behind a hedge, peering over the gate we saw it was a French friend sitting in the sunshine, de-eying potatoes. We spent a good hour chatting with her and her son, catching up on village politics, discussing the merits of different mushrooms (apparently cèpes are cooked with garlic but girolles are definitely not - they need parsley). We left with a bag of potatoes, a jar of preserved girolles, bunch of parsley for said mushrooms, two pots of jam (myrtille and plum) and a large pot of apple purée. I'm pretty sure she still doesn't trust me, an English woman, to cook as I was given strict instructions as to the use of the purée. I certainly cannot have it with yoghurt for breakfast, nor in a sponge cake, it's definitely for apple tart.

We could have left feeling a bit antsy, after all we had 'wasted' an hour gossiping and our to-do list is quite long, but we didn't. We felt pleasure at spending time with kind and generous people, learning more about our village, and the country where we have chosen to live. We added a few words to our vocabulary and the realisation that we understood a lot more French than we did a year ago. And when we did get home we took a mug of coffee out into the garden to enjoy the sunshine and the view.

Coffee in the garden

The rest of the afternoon was spent outside, Andrew digging out a drainage ditch and planning the new steps to the kitchen doors and me, well pottering really. I relocated a few rose bushes and lavender plants, dead headed some hydrangeas and planned. A friend popped by and we discussed our newly discovered old water pipes (the excitement of village life!) Weekends are also a time for us to try out new recipes, and remember some old ones. Nearly 18 months without a proper kitchen really limited our repertoire. Yesterday I spent an hour or so making aubergines with a sweet and sour tomato sauce, which proved a hit.

Aubergines with sweet & sour tomatoes

I appreciate that this is winter and life is naturally slower, and I know when our gîte and bed & breakfast are up and running we will be busier. I really hope though that we can continue at a pace that suits us, I feel more balanced and more appreciative of the small things. A full life not necessarily a busy one.

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Last week at The Old Notaires House

Well actually if I'm honest probably the last ten days or so but we embrace slow living here so I'm not really counting!  We're in a bit of a limbo at the moment, building ourselves up to start work on the house. The plan is to move into the barn conversion over the winter, and probably spring, while we gut the house and make it beautiful again. However even though we're only going next door it's not as simple as it seems.

We've lived in the house for nearly two years now and we've spread! There are still boxes yet unpacked from our UK move because we have had nowhere to put them, as just one example our current kitchen is not big enough to even house the fridge (which sits in the corner of the sitting room) and only contains a counter top mini oven and a single induction ring. I'm trying to only take across the absolute minimum we need to live in the barn so am having to do a lot of packing and working out where to store stuff. Meanwhile there are still some small furniture projects to finish off and planning for the work on the Notaires House.

Andrew has decided to ease himself back into physical work by constructing a small decked terrace at the end of the garden. It's a favourite spot of ours and guests. We'd noticed that as soon as people come through our gates they would start walking down the garden to look at the river, it's only when they walk back up that they spot the view of the old town of Corrèze. It's also a shady spot to sit in, very welcome as we still have temperatures in the low 30's. Like all our projects it took a lot of planning, and a lot of digging for Andrew but we love it. I need to soften the edges with some planting but that will have to wait until we have some desperately needed rain in the forecast.

Close up - needs some planting to soften it

View from the balcony

Apart from the clearing and packing I've polished off a couple of small restoration jobs. I had previously bought a pair of small tables to use in the Phileas Fogg bedroom but wasn't entirely happy with them. They were a little small for the space and too feminine. I happened upon a pair of more substantial cupboards at Emmaüs, nothing special but a much better option. After running the gauntlet of "What do we need those for? Haven't we got enough small tables?" I cleaned, sanded, painted and waxed and then wallpapered them and they look much more in style. However me bringing home yet another small table (although this time for the barn sitting area) on Friday didn't go down terribly well...

Before

After

The weather here is still really warm and dry. The préfecture keeps reminding us about water consumption as the rivers are so low, we haven't had rain for weeks and there is nothing in the forecast. The trees around us started to gain their autumn colour from the middle of August and some of the conifers in our garden are shedding quite a lot of crispy, brown needles.

A dry Corrèze

A highlight last Sunday was the pilgrimage of Notre Dame du Pont du Salut in our village (and I have to thank our friend Andrew for the photographs). Each year the statue of Mary is taken from the tiny chapel to the church in the old town. Masses and adorations take place during the day and in the evening there is a candle lit procession as she is taken back home to rest for another year. Crosses are lit and the path to the chapel, and the bridges, are lit by hundreds of candles. I'm pleased to say that I understood a lot more than I did last year.

I'm hoping that by my next blog post we will be resident in the barn, but I'm not promising! Meanwhile if you want to find out more about our daily life in France then you are welcome to follow  or friend us on Facebook

Barn/10

It's been two months since I lasted posted on our barn conversion, at that stage we on a deadline to get some basics done (bathrooms especially) in anticipation of family arriving. Since that point work has been sluggish. There was a celebratory family holiday to enjoy in the Lot et Garonne as well as friends visiting us. France is 'en fête' during July and August with so much to see and do - more of that in my next post! We also realised we were worn out, more mentally than physically and just needed a break from large restoration projects - in the back of our minds was the realisation that just because the barn was nearly finished our work wasn't, we have the main house to tackle next. So it was a few easier weeks for us, I even managed some hammock time!

Kitchen in La Grange

Progress did continue though, finally the kitchen and dining area were completed. Regular readers may remember that we were aiming for a Mid Century Modern vibe to these areas and I think we're getting there, although I still have some furniture to source. Andrew has done a terrific job (as always) even when I go all designery on him, insisting that the oak work top wraps down each end of the units. And the large format tiling for the splash back meant nearly every one had to be cut, and not just simple vertical cuts but holes for sockets and around the hob upstand.

One of the reasons for the U shaped design was to take advantage of the view, I wanted guests to see across the valley while making breakfast. It's really hard to take a photograph as it's always bright so apologises for the poor quality, but it is followed by a close up so you can get feel for it.

View from the kitchen

Better photograph!

Originally we were going to have panels that matched the kitchen doors for the back of the peninsula but I changed my mind. I did think about painting a MCM design but really didn't have the time so I found some wallpaper that worked. It had a bit too much contrast with the wall tiles so I made up a paint wash and gave it a couple of coats to tone it down.

Originally the wallpaper was more intense in tone so I gave it a paint wash

Planning the ceiling lighting was quite tricky in the open plan space. We wanted to maintain the light and open feel to the room but also create three zones - kitchen, dining and relaxing. In the end we chose a selection of black wire shades, they complement but are different in each area. Over the dining table I managed to find a vintage suspension which works perfectly.

No escaping a napkin shot!

I've completed some upholstery projects and am particularly pleased with a pair of 1970's furry chairs a.k.a. the bunny ear chairs. No longer covered in a faux fur that sparked when you sat on them but a vintage style tweed.

We did a little more styling in the bedrooms although I'm still on the search for decorative items for the Phileas Fogg suite.

Bedroom of the Phileas Fogg suite

Exotic animal bedroom

Apart from some snagging jobs there are just two things to finish in the barn, the guard rail at the top of the stairs is just a temporary one and needs a permanent solution and we need to create a small terrace. Next year the barn will be a vacation rental and our guests will have full use of our park garden but we also want them to be able to enjoy their own space for that early morning coffee or evening apéro.

Thoughts have turned to the main house, we've drawn up the plans and have started to pack things away in anticipation of the 'move' into the barn and work starting. Meanwhile Andrew is getting back into the swing of things by creating a terrace overlooking the river. Everyone gravitates to this part of the garden so we thought it would be nice to create a proper seating area.

A before shot of the new terrace area

As always you can follow our progress, and life in France on Facebook. If your particular interest is French barns then why not join this group.

Well we didn't expect that!

An August Sunday morning in France. Weekend treat of croissants for breakfast and a discussion about what to do today. I wheedled a bit and managed to get Andrew to agree to a short drive over to Sarran where there was a vide grenier happening.

Not what I expected at a French vide grenier!

Now Sarran in 2016 had a population of 275 and I'm not sure that there has been much movement since then. It does however punch a little above its weight as in 1969 the Château de Bity was purchased by future President Jacques Chirac and his wife Bernadette, but nonetheless we are not talking about a grand metropolis. We arrived to organised parking, signs for the vide grenier, several coaches and rather surprisingly a large stage, sound system and huge screen - all a little odd.

Although there were probably about 30 stalls we didn't buy anything but as we were about to return to the car we saw a procession of American looking cowboys and red skirted ladies. Afraid of nothing we followed them. Sidling between the wall of the town hall and a large marquee we entered a large courtyard full of colour, music and half a dozen different languages.

Spanish guitarist tuning up

Waiting for his turn

Chinese dancer

The group 'Coros y Danzas de Granada' from Spain

France represented by L'école du Mont Gargan

The American Footworks Dance Company - Rocky Mountains, Idaho

The ensemble 'Miqesia' from Albania

I loved the Albanian music

Unbeknown to us the vide grenier was part of the 28th Festival de Sarran and today was the last day, a day of international dance and music from five nations. We settled down in a shady spot and enjoyed the spectacle. An unexpected Sunday treat!

As always if you want to see what else happens as we learn to live in France then you can follow us here on Facebook

Barn/9

There's nothing like a deadline to motivate. With guests arriving from mid-June and nothing quite finished we knew we had to get a lick on! The non-exhaustive list included:

• 2 bathrooms to tile and fit
• Full decoration downstairs
• Bedroom floors to be laid 
• Hall floor to be tiled
• Staircase to be revealed from under it's protective covering and oiled
• Banisters up
• Guard rail to be built on the first floor
• Furniture buying

Did we make it? Well sort of...

Bathrooms, still need towel rails and proper hooks

Bathrooms (after and during)

Bedrooms had new floors

New flooring

Decoration is finished downstairs although there is still snagging to do, plus a lot of styling needed

The exotic animal room

Hall floor has a big tick although the understairs cupboard and hot water tank area need 'tidying'

Staircase & hall

Staircase is finished and banister done. We are still not sure about the design for the guard rail at the top of the stairs so Andrew built a temporary one. We've got used to the big hole in the floor but guests may not.

Furniture buying - ongoing. Although I've been buying furniture over the last few months we still need more, and what I did buy needed work. The summer kitchen in the main house became my workshop while I worked on two chest of drawers, two dressing tables, four bedside cabinets and assorted chairs. New beds were ordered and linen sourced. We still need wardrobes but as we didn't want to rush into buying furniture we were not entirely happy with we made do with a couple of temporary clothes rails. We bought a sofa but I still have a few chairs to reupholster. The fabric for one of the bedheads didn't arrive until day two of our friends' visit so I had to sneak into their room while they were out to finish it off!

Before & afters

Upstairs in the open plan living, kitchen and dining area we were finally able to reveal the lights. The kitchen isn't yet installed but we did get a refrigerator and set up a small table to enable morning tea and coffee making. Regular readers may remember that upstairs has a Mid Century Modern vibe and I was really pleased with a vintage aluminium and orange light we found for over the dining room table.

Vintage MCM light

So what's next?

Snagging has to be done and the two bedrooms need styling. Upstairs the kitchen needs to be finished and some more furniture sourced. We will probably move on to some landscaping (once the current heatwave has finished) as we want to provide a private terrace for the barn gîte guests.

Progress - 29th June 2019

It's difficult to show the scale of the barn, which I was trying to do in the photograph above. The black wire light in the centre is just over a metre across but it doesn't look it here!

As always you can follow our progress, and life in France on Facebook. If your particular interest is French barns then why not join this group.