I’m pleased to report that Anne and Andrew had a very successful visit. On Tuesday, Will took them to the bank to get their account sorted, and this came through later in the week. They spent the morning at the house getting started on clearing it out and tidying up the overgrown grass and ivy on the outside. They returned for lunch and then we all went back in the afternoon. We were joined by Mathilde who helped clear things, and she found a few items she wanted. It was the last hot / humid day so we stopped at the lake at St Saud for a swim and to introduce A&A to their nearest watering hole. Speaking of which, we then stopped off in town and had a beer at the local bar. We had leftovers that evening, and went to bed on the early side.
Wednesday and Thursday were more of the same – clearing out the house including most of the furniture, all the clothes, linens, food and multiple chamber pots. Some of the stuff went into the barn and the rest went to the dechetterie. They also took down a wall between the kitchen and what will be the bathroom, and that too went to the dump. The only real treasure was a very old bottle of cognac that was wrapped in paper and stored at the back of a tall cupboard. Andrew, Will and I each had a glass at the end of every evening, and it was divine. We ended up finishing the bottle on their last night here. We also tried a bottle of red wine from the cellar. It was a ’94 Castillion so it could have been superb, but it wasn’t. It hadn’t gone off, it just didn’t taste very good.
We went out to eat at the Hotel de France on Wed eve. It had turned cooler, but it was still ok to sit outside. We all ate well and left feeling very full. Will and I had a second reason for going there and that was to make arrangements for the wedding. We have an appointment to see them tomorrow afternoon to work out the menu for the dinner after the official ceremony. Sam was working that night, so it also gave us a chance to invite him around to discuss details. He has agreed to work and has also sourced a friend to be the second server. Also on the subject of wedding progress, we ordered all the table decorations and related items and our rings arrived (and they fit).
We had Bryan and Carol over on Thursday evening. She wanted to have us over, but they can only host a large group outside and the weather wasn’t quite good enough for that. We did have aperos outside and then came in for the meal. Carol made a veggie quiche and her red onion tart and I made chicken tortilla roll-ups and a salad. Lucien had dropped off another large box of peaches so I made a crumble, and gave most of the remaining peaches to Carol. I saved just enough to make a cobbler, which I brought around to them yesterday as a sort of revenge.
On Friday, I collected a PA system from Lewis who was leaving that day to head back to Paris. It’s portable, and much easier to set-up than our receiver, so we’re very glad to have it. We’re still working on our playlists, one for the early evening, and one for the dance portion later in the evening. Anne and Andrew finished up at the house in the afternoon. They discovered that the roof over one section of the house is leaking fairly badly, and water is coming into the kitchen below. So Andrew ordered wood and roof tiles and will return in October to do some repairs. We went out for pizza that night in St Pardoux. The restaurant was full, and with only one server, it took a bit of time for her to take our order. Once she did, everything arrived very quickly so it wasn’t a problem.
The results of the soil test came back, and Steve, the fosse guy has drawn up plans. It’s going to cost a bit more than was budgeted for, but only by 10% or so. Since it means digging up the lane that runs between the house and barn, they need the maire’s permission. Will took them to see the maire on Sat morning and he was largely indifferent to the whole thing. He said they need to contact the people who deal with the roads to ensure there is nothing buried where they want to dig, but Steve was already on top of that. So they will start working on that in the coming weeks and the plumber/electrician will soon be making a start as well.
If all that progress weren’t enough, Andrew accepted an offer on selling his business while they were here. The buyer had already made an offer that wasn’t enough, and had gone quiet since. Andrew was thinking that he’d gone away for good, but he came back with an improved offer so that sealed the deal. The idea is to have it all handed over by the end of the year. So this will help finance the works on the house and hopefully, will mean they can move out permanently much more quickly. Anne is planning to quit her job next year. She is fed up with it and now they’ve decided to change the company pension scheme so she must resign in order to keep her current one.
Saturday was much like the rest of the week – A & A made the last run to the dechetterie, closed up the house and then saw the maire. I stayed home and worked while the rest went to Super U for supplies. We went for a walk in the afternoon, and I made dinner when we got back. This was rice and bean pie, served with salad and brownies and ice cream for dessert. We played cards for a bit that evening, the only time this trip. The folks had an early start the next day, so it was an early night for them. They left around 9am the next day after a lovely and successful visit.
On Sunday, Sam came by in the afternoon with a delivery. He knows someone that sells weed, and since we’re between harvests, we were out. I’m pleased that last year’s crop lasted us until the end of August, and I hope this year’s crop is equally as bountiful. There is one plant that’s nearly ready, but the rest will need many more weeks. We ended up having a fairly big one that evening. We got a call from Benoit to let us know that his dad had died that night. He was 91 and had Parkinson’s, but kidney failure got him in the end. Benoit invited us around on Sat, but with A&A here, we went on Sun instead. We had numerous vodka tonics on the terrace before going next door for dinner. Afterwards, we went back to theirs for another vodka or two so I was feeling it by the time we left. We’re going to the funeral tomorrow.