coming in for a landing.

what a week. what a month. what a year... HA!

well, about the week. after all of the previous ruckus, we got down to business Thursday and Friday and put in two amazingly productive and satisfying days.

Wednesday was a bust. It is usually our least productive day because it is a half-day and JY spends the afternoon with his son. So no big projects are ever scheduled then. Couple that with another rollercoaster bump for monsieur with the ex and I was the productive one. Tuesday we had made a list of materials and we were planning to venture to Perigueux Wednesday morning to buy them. After he was unable to do so, I decided to go for it. I went and retrieved the list and then we ended up dawdling a bit... (ha, quelle surprise!) and when I looked at the clock it was 11am. ZUT! BricoDepot closes at noon for 2 hours and everyone is unceremoniously dumped in the parking lot ... tough luck for you! JY says - eh, 30 minutes there and 30 minutes for the list - ça suffit!

I drove like the proverbial bat and got there at 11:40! Merde! I had no intention of trying to converse in French or translate anything; I grabbed a Brico boy and surrendered the list. Even so, I had to phone JY three times. Miraculously, I got out of there with everything! we're talking, meters and meters of electrical cable, 'interrupteurs' and 'prises' and 'boites des receptions' et 'porcelaine' et et et !

Come Thursday we were able to commence work with everything so that was amazing! In the atelier are really magnificent windows, hand forged metal with long narrow panes about 2 meters high. (Check out my flickr box to see) The sad news is that many of the panes must be removed (broken) and nearly all of the putty stuff (mastik) holding them in needs to be replaced. This is a job for Michelangelo! the putty is old and dry and hard as nails. It has to be coaxed out with a hammer and chisel, all the while taking care not to break the windows that are good. but it ALL must be removed so that the new stuff will adhere properly. Three quarters of one wall has these windows. what can I say. it will be good for my arm muscle definition, no?!

JY has been installing a new electrical system. I'm trying not to drive him too crazy on it; but I've insisted we think of the future and avoid rework. So we have enough light and electrical supply for an operating room! bwahahahaaaaa!

We quickly returned to our lovely rhythm, we laugh and joke and work our butts off, all the while the iPod or his cassette player (don't get me started) is keeping us entertained. We have the same taste in music as well as having introduced each other to new sounds. So we always have something in the background. If we don't, you know we are in a not so good period. Today we listened to Sarah Vaughn, Louise Attaque, Aretha, Amy Winehouse, Otis Redding, Jacques Brel, Sanseverino, Pink Martini, Carla Bruni, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, to name a few.

Thursday we ventured into town for lunch. JY asked me what I felt like, and I said whatever - just something good. Well we decided to try a new place and we spent 26Euros and it was shit. really. a crap buffet cart for the entree (there was some questionable charcuterie, cubed beets and rapee, and some weird pea salad) and the plat du jour was overdry chicken and powdered potatoes. The wine was good. what a disappointment!

Today I made lunch. It ROCKED the house! Ha! I made a spicy lemongrass fish curry with veggies and rice. We also had Boursault cheese and bread, and the most amazing strawberries from the Perigord, finished up with coffee and chocolate. No wine, but we started with a rum aperitif and radishes picked the moment before from my garden. man, was it good.

then back to work! finished up with a chat about a trip we are planning to Thailand the beginning of the year. we'll see, one thing I know about this life is that it can change in an instant.

but for now, je suis contente. and trés fatiguée. So I'm off for a hot bath. after which I may upload a few new photos of everything for your viewing pleasure.

Next up, I've just GOT to tell you about my fun trip to the Aveyron to meet Notre Vie Juteuse and her husband. It was such a blast, I do wish we lived closer than a 3 hour drive ... but I can't wait to go again and the countryside is lovely.