And, just like that, it’s fall.

Okay, I’ve been getting some comments about WTH happened with the blog. Can hardly believe my last post was in April! My apologies. It’s not that I don’t have ideas running through my head all the time, I just don’t seem to seize the moment and put in the work that comprises a post. Anyhoo, I’ll try to get caught up…

We returned to France in late June, when it seemed safe to do so, in relation to the Covid situation. When we got to the Spanish/French border, we saw tons of blue lights flickering in the distance and I started digging for our documentation to prove that we were domiciled in France and were qualified to enter. As we got closer, we realised that most all the enforcement was on the SPANISH side! There were just a couple of French gents at the turnstile having a casual smoke and conversation. We flew right through. No questions asked.

We left the Spanish house with just a few outstandings—a bed frame to be delivered in August, the delivery of the olive wood kitchen island countertop, shipment of some lighting pendants, and a few more paintings. We also left the workers to repair the upstairs patio tiling after there was a mystery lake in the living room below after a big storm. We kept an eye for any dampness the rest of last winter and never had a drop, but thought it better to just replace it and do it right. Of course, the size of tiles has changed in the last sixteen years since the house was built, so we had to redo the whole damned thing!

But the work on the house is basically finished and the only thing left is small decorating details. You can be assured that the next trip in the car will be full to the gills again, as I have so much stuff here in France that I can put to use in Spain. Good thing we bought another house! Heehee!

Summer here went by quickly, but we enjoyed lots of time in the pool and a couple rounds of visitors. From Germany, we enjoyed a visit from Theo’s cousin and her daughter’s family for a couple of weeks. We thoroughly enjoyed them, and the girls spent every spare second in the pool between sightseeing and other activities. We enjoyed having their dog, Ludwig, in the household as well. Pure doggie satisfaction, now that we are dogless.

We had a second visit from Birgit and Alex, with lots of laughs, good food, and brocanting. We easily got into the daily habit of afternoon cocktails, swimming, more cocktails, dinner, more cocktails. Oof, my middle is wider than ever, but what fun!

I’m blaming it on the ‘kids.’ They led me astray (kicking and screaming, as you can imagine…) and I found this new addition to our living room while out ‘hunting’—a great find on a 19th century mirror that is in amazing condition. It’s what I was looking for all along, but forgot to keep hunting for. I’m so pleased. Cheap thrills!!!

Didn’t even attempt a vegetable garden this year, as we returned to France so late in the season. Have big plans for next year though. Isn’t that what fantasy gardeners ALWAYS say???

To be honest, I’ve been super busy with Theo French Vintage, our online Etsy store. I obviously shut it down last winter when we were in Spain, so had to get it all going again in June and I’ve had a very successful summer of sales. With many of the vide greniers being cancelled due to corona, my inventory is dwindling. I’ve been doing some online auction shopping, but that pushes my costs (and subsequent prices) up, so I try to keep that to a minimum. But I’ve found some really great art pieces for sale, with a few more on the way. I’ll keep the store open until early November to cover the holiday shopping season, then we’ll be off to Spain again.

We’ve had such a great time with friends here in the Dordogne this summer. Lots of small gatherings, new memories made, and daring dishes attempted! We so cherish our friendships here. (Sorry no photos…gotta get better about that!)

Now with fall weather here, it’s time to figure out once again how the chauffage (heater) for the house works, do some postponed garden maintenance, and generally start buttoning things up for our departure to Spain.

We have to pinch ourselves with the realisation that we have two such great properties to enjoy. People ask, which do you like better, and we honestly can’t answer—they are so different from each other, we just enjoy every minute wherever we are.