We Finally Bought A House

Good News!!  We finally found a house. It had only been on the market for 6 months so the owners, The Salters, are a bit surprised by the quickness of the sale. As we have viewed so many houses in so many different villages and changed our priorities too often, we  are thrilled to both fall in love with this one.  It was built in 1896 and renovated between 2000 and 2006. It has an over an acre of land which encompasses three sides of the house. It has everything we wanted in a house except a pool, which Brian is happy not to have. It even has a built-in dishwasher.



Our house and attached barn. Grape vines arch over the living room windows, next the entrance way door, driveway to the right.

Photos by the estate agent.

                      





       Back of property garden which ends at a farmer's field

         
                       















           Front yard: house on left and outbuildings on the right looking out to driveway

We will have very little work to do except for an unfinished upstairs bedroom which we will make into a master with en suite and a walk-in closet. Like all the rooms, the three bedrooms are large  and have much desired high ceilings so no bumping of our heads on "low beams."  The house is situated at the edge of a small hamlet, near the village of Villemain (Veelman), population 175 and surrounded by fields. Across the road and down a little way is a newly planted orchard which will be for the people who live in the commune. The other inhabitants of the hamlet are all French so we will now be able to immerse ourselves while still having our new English speaking friends. The sellers are English, of course, but they are not moving back to the UK as most sellers are, but going to stay in their mountain home in southern Spain.

The procedure to purchase property is quite different from other countries. We verbally gave the agent an offer and he verbally relayed it to the Salters. They countered, we re-countered and a deal was struck. Still nothing in writing at this point. Certain inspections, relevant to this area, had to be completed before we signed the "Comprise de Vente" (Sales Agreement)


Gas
DPE:  energy efficiency rating (which was done at time of listing)
Lead
Electrical
Asbestos
Termites
Risques natural:  flooding
Fosse septic: septic tank. 

No boundary survey is required -  probably been in the same place for centuries.
 All inspections were complete within a few days and the house passed each one.

 At the estate agent's office on Friday the 25th,  we and the Salters signed the Comprise de Vente. We have seven days to change our minds. The Salters do not have that option. They, should they die in the meantime, and their heirs, are bound by law to sell to us. "The French love paperwork" is an understatement in the extreme. Copies of our passports, birth certificates and marriage license were put into the mix and the two hour ordeal of signing or initialing, which included statements handwritten in french by us, gave birth to about three pounds of papers. Having had 25 years experience in Florida we don't quite understand the French focus on septic systems but, we solemnly swore we would care for our fosse septic as if it were a sacred vessel holding royal "merde", not just ordinary....Well, you know.
 At the end of the seven days the paperwork will be sent to the Notaire who will contact the Mayor of Villemain to ensure that the village does not want to buy the property, ensure there will not be a disco or train line or any other detriment in the planning which will affect our property value, that there are no liens and finally calculate the taxes and fees owed by each party. This costs the buyer 7% of the purchase price and includes the government's pound of flesh. We expect to have the closing on January 19th and have our stuff delivered soon after that. We can't wait!!

By Brian

I am in the habit of walking with Angus before the sun rises as I have always enjoyed the dawn; the best part of the day. In this area of France the morning mist lies over the winter wheat like spun silk and the rising sun paints a watercolor sky.            Oh, Anthony Whiting* where are you?

On one occasion  a large doe emerged from the mist about 30 meters away ambling towards us. As soon as she felt our presence she bounded off to the safety of the woods, after all this is still hunting season.

Robert Burns wrote:

 I'm truly sorry man's dominion

Has broken Nature's social union

An' justifies that ill opinion

Which makes thee startle

At me, thy poor, earth born companion

An' fellow mortal!

So pleasant has our French adventure been in almost all respects our adjustment so far to this new life has been quite seamless. Let's hope home ownership will be the same.

Our Thanksgiving was not as planned. Poor Brian had a miserable cold and sore throat; dinner was a bowl of chicken soup. Next year we will celebrate in our new home the first of many Thanks Givings.








Colors of the season just outside our gite.......








   



*A remarkable Florida artist    www.whitingstudios.com

November 11th, 2011 
        (11/11/11)


Local History:
The Cockleshell Heroes were twelve Royal Marines who were assigned the mission of blowing up German supply ships in Bordeaux harbor from "cockleshell" canoes which they had to paddle 75 miles the their targets. Two team members didn't take part as their canoe was damaged while being readied on the submarine. It was December 1942 and within twelve days two men had died of hypothermia, four were captured, tortured and shot, two captured (later shot) and two were making their escape. They had managed to blow up 5 or 6 boats and disrupt the shipping lines. The two surviors travelled 100 miles north in six days to the town of Ruffec (6km/4 miles from us) to the still standing La Toque Blanche Hotel where they were helped by the French Resistance and eventually made it back to England. This is a very short synopis of these extremely brave soldiers whose actions Winston Churchill said had shortened the war by six months. For more information read the book, watch the movie or go to: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cockleshell_heroes_of_1942.htm
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Frankton


Did you know that in the D-Day rehearsal 946 American service men were killed, some by friendly fire and others,  after their ships were torpedoed by German E- boats, by drowning as they had put on their lifebelts incorrectly? In some cases this meant that when they jumped into the water, the weight of their combat packs flipped them onto their backs, pushing their heads underwater and drowning them.


Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, Veterans Day, "Jour du Souvenir"




The Ceremony:

We were invited by Scottish Mike and his wife Helen to attend their village remembrance ceremony. It was a sunny day with a slight autumn wind. The villagers and guests gathered in the square in front of the war memorial etched with the names of the fallen from World War I and II. There were four flag bearers - three french flags and the British Union Jack. With the color guard leading, we walked around the church returning to the cenotaph. There was a speech by the Mayor (Mairie) and then roll call of the 34 names of the dead soldiers and after each name a woman answered "Morte pour la France", two minutes of silence then taps was played and 3 wreathes were placed, each accompanied by a soldier.  A dozen orderly children each solemnly placed a single rose in front of the memorial.  Another speech by the mayor and the crowd was dispersed. There were old soldiers proudly displaying their medals and I am sure these men become fewer and fewer each year. Most French villages and towns have memorials to the dead which were usually erected immediately after World war I with locally collected funds. After World War II, the names of the hometown soldiers who had died were either added to these monuments or a new monument created. Many towns also erected monuments to honor members of the French Resistance and the allied countries have memorials throughout France to honor the thousands who died in both wars on French soil.

The Meal:

We headed over to a building where Sangria and little squares of flaky pastries with different toppings were served.

We then went into the village hall (Salle de fêtes) where over 120 linen tableclothed place settings had been laid. The meal was phenomenal with 7 courses (soup, paté, fish course, sherbert, meat course, cheese plate and desert of a light, fluffy Black Forest Cake (Hmmm...that's in Germany isn't it?), then coffee with Cognac! Rosé, white and red wines flowed throughout meal. Wow - thank goodness this was over a period of 5+ hours. During the meal an older gent welcomed and recognized the attendees from New Zealand, Scotland, England, Belgium, Canada and America and I believe they were all seated at our table! A raffle was held - 3€ per ticket - and each ticket won a prize. How democratic! It was a thoroughly living-in-France experience.

Instead of selling poppies in France (a tradition started by an American woman but which is not widespread in the US) stickers are sold which are then displayed on lapels.  I had my poppy from Canada, which is different from the British ones, and somewhere that day I lost the black center.

Translation: The memory is passed on giving hope

 

Below is an email I received from our friend Pat who lives in northern Ontario, Canada in reply to my request for a new poppy, just knowing she would have bought one...

Hi Joanne, it's funny that you would ask for a poppy - a Remembrance Day poppy.
I didn't get one this year . . . don't know why or how I missed getting one but I only know that today as I walked up to the Town Centre to participate in the ceremonies, I felt like something was missing.
I wore all black except for my red wool scarf and red tam.
The event was well attended by 3 schools, soldiers and cadets from Base Petatwawa and other military dignitaries. Prayers were recited along with "Flanders Fields," and a wonderful original song written and  played by a local guitar talent.
Then the laying of wreaths by all of them began. My feet were becoming numb from the cold but I was determined to stay until the end out of respect for all the people, some now long gone, who gave their very lives just so I could express my freedom and attend a public demonstration like today.
There were 2 wreaths left. The speaker asked if there was anyone who would like to place a wreath on the 2 white crosses that stood empty on the lawn. A man came out from the crowd and accompanied by a soldier, laid the wreath.
There was a pause.
Then an unseen hand pushed me forward to lay the last wreath.
I did so fighting back emotion and teary eyed, proud at the same time.
I also looked at the soldier who went with me and after he saluted the wreath I laid, I thanked him for being here.
My conscience is clear now that I didn't get a poppy this year.
I laid a wreath at the cenataph instead . . . .

Lest we forget.

Houses, Holidays and Celebrations

 We have been active in our search for "that" property and we did find a very well done barn conversion but when we called the owners for a second look they had already accepted an offer. So much for a slow market! Recently though, we have seen a 12th century monastery belonging to a man from Martinique who decorated the bedrooms with the bright colors of "the islands" invoking an unusual mix in setting and culture; a house built in 1895 which had been converted into two homes for family needs and in doing so upset the balance. It included a never ending set of seven outbuildings, one barn storing 5 caravan/motor homes;  a house built in 1845 with original pigsty walls! still inside one of the two to-be-renovated buildings. All appeared to be in  need of quite a bit of work and, therefore, overpriced. The land was amazing at the last two and as we have found, land is cheap so houses usually come with an acre or more. Another house was charming, great grounds with a beautiful detached rental cottage, ground floor beautifully tiled, kitchen adequate. Then the upstairs. So disappointing. My worst fear -Low Beams!  Some of these renovated properties were never meant to have a living space on the 2nd floor - it was the hayloft or for grain storage - consequently, the structurally necessary beams cross the rooms  at  4 1/2 to 5 ft heights. Can you imagine getting up in the middle of the night and BOOOF! BANG!! WTF!!!!? This one's beams were in the middle of the bedrooms  at a height of 5 feet. Some houses have beams in the hallways and again ducking would be obligatory for adults. One house even had yellow cushion pads tacked on to the beams to prevent head injuries. The only way to correct the height is by an expensive raising of the roof...........


Poor wee Angus was in desperate need of a grooming. We had put it off and off and finally contacted Gloria at Mucky Pups Mobile Grooming, a woman Linda had found on AngloInfo, a community newsletter and forum with all sorts of things advertized for sale.  Since we didn't have a large space to bathe Angus we thought a Mobile Groomer would be best. So, much to our surprise a week later up drives Gloria in her small car........where was the big van with the mobile washing and grooming station? Oops!! That is not how it works here!

   The Indignity of it all!

 After receiving permission from Linda, Gloria set up shop under the shade. She relieved Angus of his longish hair then we took him inside for a wash in the shower stall. Gloria was very good with him and did an expert job. She is a kindhearted person giving complimentary grooming to rescued dogs.  She finished the cut with scissors  and a brush  and - Voila - a new dog!

One Sunday we went to a village vide grenier literally translated an "emptying of the attic" and  bought 1 kg (2.2lbs.) of chestnuts for 1€ ($1.40) and gave them to Roy to roast. I bought a fuzzy/borg-ish hat for 2€ to keep my ears toasty for when the weather deteriorates, although now it is mostly sunny and in the mid 60's but coldish at night. We've had to purchase some winter woolies in anticipation of the dreaded cold.

And so October is on it's last day - Halloween or All Hallows Eve. The American/Canadian style of celebration , "Trick or Treat" is gaining more popularity. From what I have read, Limoges, which is fairly close to here, has the biggest Halloween party but the celebration seems  sporadic throughout the country, not on the same level of commercial madness as USA/Canada. 

Our little group decided to dress up, with one caveat, you must use whatever you have in your home or from nature. Susan was the most creative making a witch's hat plus cape from garbage bags and a broomstick from twigs. Add a sense of humor and you have one very good witch!

One could very much celebrate Halloween well into the night as November 1st is a National Holiday - All Saints Day - (La Toussaint) a Catholic remembrance of all saints known and unknown which is also celebrated in predominantly Catholic European countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy. All the stores and businesses were to be closed for the day, however as we drove through the village the butcher and baker were open. This holiday also starts a two weeks off school vacation for the students.

Flowers at Barro Cemetery November 1, 2011

 La Toussaint is celebrated by attending Mass then the lighting of numerous candles in cemeteries and the decorating of graves with plaques and chrysanthemums the flowers associated with death and therefore never given as a gift or on Mother's Day as is custom in the USA.   
The Père-Lachaise in Paris is one of the most visited and decorated cemeteries in the world, and the final resting place of many famous people, including Honoré de Balzac, the French novelist; the Polish composer, Frédéric Chopin; Jim Morrison, the American singer with the Doors; and Oscar Wilde, the Irish writer. One can only imagine what kind of a wild bash these famous dead must have on November 2nd -  The Day of the Dead (Le Jour des Morts).

Salads have given way to fall and winter dishes most made with our organic vegetables. Soups and frittatas, roasted chickens and juicy pork chops all just oozing with flavor.

One night Brian made chicken fajitas with El Paso seasoning - not nearly as good as Taco Bell-make-at-home or Jacksonville Beach's Campeche Bay's but the tortillas were excellent and it pacified the Tex-Mex craving. With no sour cream available we checked the Internet and it provided the method to make our own. 

 There is a woodpile in the back for our use and Brian brings wheelbarrow loads in and stacks the wood next to the burner. Thank goodness he is a very good fire starter as this is our main source of heat augmented by portable electric heaters.

 Now doesn't that look warm and cozy??