Sunday 22 September 2013

So much to show you.......!

What with Tony & Alyth's (my brother and sister-in-law) visit followed so closely by a visit from our old neighbours from England (Ron & Barbara) I simply haven't had a chance to sit down and update this blog.  And all the time, the new kitchen was coming along very nicely thank you!

So, I think without any further ado, let me show you where we are with the kitchen and how we got there!  It's quite a way off being finished and in actual fact, the final piece of the jigsaw which will be the new door out to the garden, won't be done until February 2014.  No matter, we now pretty much have a new kitchen!!

Let me first remind you that the old kitchen looked like this.....




Danny and I have, between us, taken loads of photos as our friend Les was installing the new kitchen and there are far too many to include here.  But hopefully, this half dozen pictures will give you a flavour of how it happened...


In that last one, it looks like Les is trying to hide in the cupboard!  I wouldn't blame him as he had no end of problems with the kitchen yet he overcame each one with good humour and of course, his expertise meant that he was never fazed by anything.

So, this evening, I have taken some pictures to show you how the kitchen looks right now.  There are still a number of jobs to do, not least all the painting! 




You might have noticed that there are lights under all of the wall cupboards.  Well, there are lights inside those cupboards too.  And all of them were fitted by my very clever husband!

Having a friend to fit the kitchen had its advantages especially because he always ensured that I could use the kitchen throughout the whole process.  And as soon as the new oven was installed and working, I couldn't resist using it and naturally took a photo of the event!  Here is a "toad in the hole" being cooked as the very first meal in the new oven!!

 
 
By the way, the old cooker hood has a new role to fulfil in Danny's hobby room. For those of you who didn't know, Danny makes models (aircraft, cars, boats etc.) and he bought a paint sprayer to use on these models.  Now he has created a 'spray booth' in his hobby room with the old cooker hood as an extractor fan.  This is what it looks like....
 
 

 
On top of all this excitement with the kitchen, we also now have the wood-burner installed in the new fireplace in the lounge.  Last week, the weather turned decidedly chilly and we thought we'd better get on and put in the wood-burner.  No sooner had Danny done so, the weather completely changed and we've had a heat wave for the last few days!  Still, never mind.  I don't suppose it'll be that long before we start needing it in the evenings.  Here is the finished fireplace and wood-burner...
 
 

I think it looks really nice and I'm almost sorry it's not cool enough to use it!!!

As I mentioned at the start, our old neighbours from England came for a week long visit and it was lovely to have them here.  They are dog lovers and keen gardeners so they fit in well!  As they did last year when they visited, they did a lot of the 'big' jobs in the garden for us; things like hedge trimming and cutting down the invasive ivies.  I was enlisted to move the cuttings from around the garden to a pile ready for burning in October when we are allowed to have bonfires again.  I had to have a 'crash course' in driving the tractor mower and when I eventually got the hang of it (!) I rather enjoyed it.  Here are a selection of photos from Ron & Barbara's visit....

 
And here you have it...recorded for posterity!  Me on the tractor mower!
 
 
And to finish off, just a few bits and pieces.  Firstly, we have a gorgeous flowering shrub outside the front door.  It didn't flower last year but has been glorious this year.  Even my visitors who are keen gardeners have not been able to identify it so I'm hoping that by including a photo here, someone will put me out of my misery and tell me what the plant is called...
 
 
And on the subject of plants, those of you who follow my blog avidly, may remember that I cut down our pampas grass quite harshly last autumn.  Well, it certainly seems to have done it the world of good as this is what it looks like now!


And finally, I'm going to leave you with this rather nice photo (even if I say so myself!) of Finn and I on the swing seat.  Danny took the photo a few evenings ago and in case you're wondering why I'm wearing jeans and socks when it is so obviously warm and sunny, it's because I'd put on these clothes before I realised we were going to have a heat wave!  By the time I was out and on the swing seat and had realised quite how warm it was, I couldn't be bothered to go and change!!


This will probably be the last blog for a couple of weeks as I am swapping the quiet peaceful French countryside for the noise and lights of New York for a week long trip with a couple of my old school friends! (Going to a city that never sleeps from a village that's always asleep - ha ha!).  I'm due back in France on 7th October so hopefully you'll hear from me soon afterwards!

Until then... au revoir!
 




1 comment:

  1. Hi Roz lovely to hear your news. The kitchen is going to look fab when it is finished. Mine has a hole in the ceiling at the moment, the shower has leaked above and as all the pipes etc are in a wall or in the floor, the plumber thought the best was was through the kitchen ceiling. The trouble is we are having trouble stopping the leak. Whoever thought of putting bathrooms upstairs!

    You really do sound as though you are not regretting any minute of your decision to move to France. I must say it is lovely to hear you have settled in so well. I cannot imagine doing anything half as interesting as what you and Danny have done.

    I came across his notes this week that I took for him and thought of you both. I deleted them and thought how much better off you are having left Alexander House. No regrets there.

    I am training to become an Employer Compliance Officer now except it will be harder as a trainee going out to large companies rather than starting off with one-man bands. Well, I will do my best and just go with it, not much else I can do! Not quite what I was expecting at 57!

    Apart from the leak, home life is good, Melvyn and I have been married 4 years this year, hasn't the time flown. Perhaps one day we will get a chance to come out and see you both. Don't forget to let us know when you are back in the UK and you need somewhere to stay. Love to you both Linda

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