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.

roller-COASTER!

my life is like ... a rollercoaster, baby baby. my life is like ... oo, ooh, oo oo!

you'll have to do with that since I couldn't find the play-a-vision button and none of you ever watch those YouTube videos, now do you? DO you? (just in case, I might throw one in here...)

so. I have had a hell of a few weeks. I've been up and down and over and out ... and I know one thing! (yes I guess this is a musically influenced post, it is shaping up that way...) (( in fact, my writing has always been that way. I sit down and see what transpires, just run with it. that applies to non-fiction and fiction equally! no wonder there have been so many times when I've totally lost the plot ... hmmm .... ))

but anyway. each time I find myself laying ... flat on my face ... I pick myself up and get - back in the race!!! that's MY life. My motto has always been, 'keep showing up'. sometimes it takes me a spell longer than others.

I also confess that I can overreact. every twist, every turn seems so life-altering. this I think is due to my severe case of arrested development. you know how WE know so many teenagers do really stupid shit like kill themselves because they think that life will not evolve? that this is THE most important thing that will ever occur, and they just cannot go on.

well, I've had a touch of that all my life. part of it is because so much really awful shit happened to me before the age of 21 and I think it imprinted me for life. I mean, like all those impressions of bad things and bad people led me to expect rinse and repeat ... and probably those expectations helped me attract that reality.

ok, enough with channeling dr. phil

for once in my f'g life ... some ups and downs have not led to my expected finality. they have just been ups and downs. but a fun, gut wrenching ride.

We have amended our plan for a full on restaurant to capitalize on everything we have completed thus far and incorporate some of the temporary projects we were considering. So, we are looking to have a really cool atelier with a salon du thé and bijouterie (jewelry, accessories, gifts). There is considerably less red tape with this approach, we don't have to do a full kitchen etc. and have all the materials pretty much ready to stage. Maybe a week or 2 of work to finish the space and we can probably be open by the end of June.

This means (hopefully) a small income stream that can build ... and we can then complete the restaurant plans in winter and open that in Spring!

So it wasn't a flake out. And how insulting of me to have even gone there, given everything that Jean Yves has done for me and with me to date. I wish I could find the way to purge myself of my dubious past .... sigh.

but I'm back in the queue for my next ride! bring it on, life, bring it ON!

back to being beat again!

Lots of labor is progressing our projects. The week-end was a brocante whirlwind ... but no purchases to speak of!

I went to three open markets / vide-greniers ... nothing really rocked my world but then I did find a nice chest of drawers (commode) at a brocante. It is pine, but that old, faded pine ... not the yellowy American stuff. Monday JY arrived after his week away and I was so (actually WE were so) happy to see each other and fall back into our routine... some of it anyway. I guess absence can make the heart grow fonder ... there of course is more I'd like to say on this subject but it is complicated...I'll have to leave it at that for now.

But in the afternoon we worked on the café...I cleaned stone and JY began laying out the kitchen area. This means preparing the section where walls and a ceiling must be installed. It has all been very interesting to me to what the various processes associated with building and remodeling. Because of standards for kitchens, we have to install a ceiling over the kitchen area vs. the exposed wood and beams which will be in the rest of the restaurant. These beams are ancient and hand carved, so preparing them to accept a level surface has required some skill (which JY possesses, I do not - obviously!). He has affixed metal brackets and strips to the beams which the 'plaque' (drywall) will be affixed to. We have devoted a lot of thought and discussion to the kitchen layout. We are making the kitchen as small as we possibly can (galley style) to maximize the rest of our space. And we are trying to maximize the functionality of the kitchen space as well. Hopefully it will come together in a way that works ... we are not experts in this regard ... but learning together!

Today we spent the morning researching various pieces of kitchen equipment. After lunch, we decided to work in the garden vs. the café interior and capitalize upon the sunshine that showed itself. It was a good decision, all and all. It was revitalizing to be outside and see the end result. JY strimmed the ENTIRE large garden and treated for ortilles (nettles). Lastly, he tilled and prepared two flower beds where we have decided to put dahlias and other flowers that we love. My job was to rake the ENTIRE large garden, piling the remains into countless wheelbarrow loads and deposit them into the far corner of the garden where we have designated a compost area. I also shovelled and moved 3 barrow loads of charcoal which the former monsieur had stored out in the yard. At some point they were bags ... but had been there so long that soil had accumulated, bag material had decomposed and hordes of ants had set up shop. erghh! We both love gardening and particularly, this garden, so by the end of the day we were tired but relaxed and peaceful and re-charged! It was definitely a good day's effort. I'll upload some pics tomorrow to share.

After JY headed home, I also worked in the potager. when he inspected the garden on Monday, he told me the lettuces were planted too closely and so tonight I relocated every other lettuce, creating 2 rows where there had been one. I also began a sort of a fence. I took willow branches that I had stripped and retained last year, and made a little spike fence surrounding the garden. I then put some chicken wire intermittently since I don't have enough for a continuous fence. Basically, I'm just trying to give my dogs the message to keep out. If I need to ward off other critters, I'll have to do a more thorough job.

I also puttered about, making a little stone border for another flower bed, gathering all of our various tools and implements from the day and returning them to the gardening room ... in case it rains.

By 8:00 p.m. I was worn out. I heated some leftover vegetable curry and, too tired to bother with rice, just ate that. After a hot bath and a bit of this and that ... I've retired for rest and tomorrow's projects ... c'est ma vie!

pfft.

I'm dissatisfied with the recently whiny direction of my blog. I've thumbed (figuratively) through my archives and I used to be a lot more interesting. AND entertaining. what's to come of me? harumph!

Well, instead of whining about my whininess, I'm just going to forge ahead with another activity update. Last week was spent in continuation of the café. Not as much progress was witnessed but if you check out the flickr account, you'll see we did finish retexturing one wall with a golden plaster, including the fireplace. The stones on this west wall were smaller and not very pretty, although two larger pieces were left uncovered. JY also fashioned a new window sill.

I helped with the mortaring, which led to some problems. In fact, I don't think there was a day last week that didn't behold a Kim misstep (le sigh, oops! more whining) but I AM a novice and couple that with I am a novice who isn't fully fluent in the language.

Case in point, JY gave instructions on mixing the plaster in a big cement mixer. Now I could fit inside this thing and tumble, and it has this big mixer thing spinning inside (technical term) which makes it kind of scary.

Standing side by side, he demonstrated the formula. "First three sand" (he shovels 3 spadefuls of damp, coarse sand into a bucket, skims the top like he is measuring flour, and heaves it in the whirring mixer. "Then two cement", he dumps white cement powder into a separate bucket, "wait and add some water, let it mix and then five more sand". He hands me the shovel and grabs the powdered tint, a bright ochre ... and measures some in as I shovel the cement. I toss that in and start shovelling sand as he comes back. The bucket of sand is HEAVY and hard for me to lift, let alone empty into the mixer. But I'm determined to do it. He continues shovelling and I watch, noticing that this time he is not putting just 3 spadefuls. I realize that he meant 3 buckets-ful not spades-ful and I have to tell him I've gotten it wrong. A storm gathers on his brow but quickly passes as he corrects the amount in the mixer, shrugs and says he isn't sure if it will be okay. I of course am devastated at my failure. But now I have it right and the first mixerful is depleted and we are on to the second. This time I'm shovelling and he adds the color. By the third round, I'm on my own. I've got the three buckets sand in, the two buckets cement, the water ... feeling pretty frisky and then I realize JY wasn't there to add color. I get it in and add more sand...but it doesn't mix thoroughly and the next day will show what Kim's handiwork produced ... two lighter streaks as the wall dried.

Sigh. but its done and now as I look since they are kind of symmetrically showing on either side of the fireplace...maybe it won't be awful.

The plaster continues its way out the door to the garden and eventually the sun room will have all new walls. For now, just the wall the clients will pass is rebuilt and looking swell.

Also completed this week was a BricoDepot run for electrical and plumbing supplies. Because JY was sidelined with a sick child, the shopping was done by me, which meant sorting out the list with JY and then braving the world of bricolage (DIY) in French. I survived. Feeling accomplished, I decided to tackle the Chambre de Commerce on my own and see about getting a vendor's license for the markets/brocante. I am now enrolled (hopefully) as an auto-entrepreneur and will be able to pay tax into the system which should result in qualifying for a carte vitale (health card)! We will go through a similar process together when we complete the paperwork for the café later in the month ... but I'm now going to be official...this week or next.

Friday JY tilled a huge space on the property and we began our potager. The soil is good but it hadn't been turned in some time and the tilling was difficult at first. I followed behind, hauling big armfuls of weeds and matted overgrowth into the wheelbarrow, creating a big pile in the back corner which will house the compost pile. The second and third passes were easier. We (well mostly he ... I was rather scoffed at, I mean instructed from afar :/ ) planted rows of carrots, radishes, mache, and haricots. I rather deserved scoffing at, I inquired about watering the seeds and ran off to get my homemade watering can, an old plastic milk bottle with holes gouged in the top. JY looked askance at this American city girl and rolled his eyes. When he later stood for 15 minutes or so and soaked with the hose, I was rather embarrassed. Secretly satisfied later though, when it rained into the night (and all day today). Harumph, guess he doesn't know EVERYTHING! ha!

I'm on the look-out for tomato plants to embellish the starts underway in my kitchen. I've got all the seeds ready and the small bed prepared for the herb garden which will be right outside the sun room. And two window boxes of flowers are now sprouting, indoors still. Oh and my new climbing rose to plant. Tomorrow I may hit the trocante (thrift store) in search of a used mower. And there's a brocante/vide-grenier (flea market) I'm considering. And coffee with a new friend.

Next week, no partner here as it is spring school holidays and JY is taking his son to the beach. for some kind of 3 wheeled beach sailing? he sketched it for me and I'm sure it happens in the states too, seems like I've seen such out in the desert. but anyway. I'm going to be continuing on preparing things for the jewelry stand. and working in the garden. and trying not to be too lonely but instead busy; not too whiny but instead more reflective.

Look at this picture of a potager until I take some of my own tomorrow. There were lots of photos of pretty potagers, but this one is more like mine at the moment. I even have the makings of that little fence you see, if I decide to do so. We were in a hurry to get things in, no plan was developed. I've still a lot of open space so maybe I'll look into that (a plan) too next week.