What a Difference a Week Makes…

It’s been a whirlwind of activity since taking possession of the house last week—

Cutting off the seller's À Vendre signs. Ugly. Now it's OURS, peeling gate and all!!!

Cutting off the seller’s À Vendre signs. Ugly. Now it’s OURS, peeling gate and all!!!

 

We started immediately with the garden. Had a super duper gardener lined up who has absolutely ATTACKED the garden. I’m so thankful, not only for his hard work, but for his vast knowledge of local plants and what to do with them in the state they’re in! The results to date have been beyond amazing! Thank you Christian!!!

Attack of the chain saw and weed whacker ala Christian.

Attack of the chain saw and weed whacker ala Christian.

Other than getting started with the garden cleanup, we had a company come through to haul away all the leftover furniture and garbage (paid for by the crazy seller. Heehee). We were fortunate enough to find local folks who could use all the sofas, the bedroom furniture, the fine clothes left by the deceased, the fridge, and the washer. Sold the pool table from the Maison d’Amis this weekend. So I’m looking forward to having a fairly clean slate by Monday. Then I can take some true ‘before’ interior photos.

Moving some of the furniture pieces around.

Moving some of the furniture pieces around.

And I KNOW you're all wondering what became of the Range Rover. Here it is on it's way OUT! Some guy took it for parts.

And I KNOW you’re all wondering what became of the Range Rover. Here it is on it’s way OUT! Some guy took it for parts (but not the guy standing there…that’s my Theo in tears! JK).

Joy comes in little packages these days:

We signed a contract for propane today. Currently the house uses an oil boiler, so both the furnace and the oil tank will need to be removed by the plumber. FinaGaz (previously TotalGaz) has a promotion that, with a 5-year commitment, they come out and bury the gas tank, provide a reduced gas rate for two years, and give rebate incentives that are pretty darned amazing. So we are expecting our new tank to be installed the last week of February.

The plumber came for another walkthrough yesterday to fine tune his proposal and help us make a couple of decisions on placement of new radiators.

The electricity was switched back on this week, and it’s interesting to finally see the house with some lighting, even though the seller took most of the ceiling fixtures with them. Funny how exciting these baby-steps of progress are. All moving in the right direction!

Annie surveying her new kingdom...

Annie surveying her new kingdom…

We’re still waiting for proposals from several craftsmen: the second electricity bid, the second window bid, the second kitchen bid, and the second pool bid. SO many decisions to make, but I’m ready!!!

Happy Papa in front of the walls of the secret garden.

Happy Papa in front of the walls of the secret garden.

The timeline is now our paramount issue. Things simply move slower here in rural France. We’ve not met one person who has agreed that we can expect a finished house by July 1. And so we bravely move forward with high hopes, but secretly knowing that we may have to live in a construction zone for a month or so this summer. And so it goes…

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4 Responses to What a Difference a Week Makes…

  1. Rhonda says:

    So happy for you guys. I can imagine the fun you are going to have making the place your very own. Can’t wait for pics. 🙂

    • Cindy Loevenich says:

      It’s such a mess now, but I have a vision. Or visions. I have so many great ideas for the place, it’s hard to choose just one (like only one direction for the master bath…soooo many amazing materials…)

  2. Paul says:

    Fantastic, congratulations. Let the demo begin.

    Hope this doesn’t offend Theo but he even looks French!

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