24th January

Well, the weather here can certainly change quickly from one week to the next. 15deg last weekend to -3 deg this weekend!! However we have only had one overcast day this week, otherwise it has remained clear and sunny-absolutely beautiful! See view from the bottom of the garden above

We have made progress this week. We have finished laying floor tiles in the entrance hall which looks so much better than the original concrete floor. The pool has had to be put on hold for now as the next job is to lay the concrete screed and we can't do that until we are fairly sure there will be no more frosts. Laurent and Pascale are continuing with work in the 'Pyrenees Suite' so we will soon be able to start putting the bathroom units in and laying the floor. Meanwhile, we have been working in the attic. This is a large room which is already plaster-boarded and just needs a new floor to provide another living/bedroom/bathroom area -an 'escape den' for us when we have paying guests!! So yesterday was spent on hands and knees - drill in one hand, hammer in the other. See Dave laying the first floorboards in photo above

We (Dave!) have also put a ladder up into the attic from a cupboard on the landing as the only current access is from our bedroom. I returned home from shopping to find Dave very shaken up after a cartoon -like tumble from the attic, through the hole in the floor, bouncing off the cupboard shelves on the way down. Thankfully the shelves helped to break his fall, but he is still a bit battered and bruised. He has promised to be more careful in future!!

January sunshine

I couldn't resist putting this photo up! Work continues - but such lovely weather for January.

January 2011

Another snowy picture - but this time we were glad to see some of the white stuff! We have just returned from the first of what we hope will be many skiing trips to the Pyrenees. Daniel and Lucy were here with us for the week, so we spent a long weekend in Soldeu, Andorra. The drive up there on Saturday morning took just 90 minutes - so it would work well as a day trip as well. We were on the slopes by 9am and soon started to find our way around the large ski area of Grandvalira, which goes right over to Pas de la Casa. The slopes were a bit icy on the first day, but welcome snow showers overnight and on the second day gave way to clear blue skies on the final day, and some fresh snow on the ground as well - perfect!

Daniel and Lucy were lucky enough to enjoy some winter sunshine while they were at La Maire with us as well, so were happy to give us a hand in the garden, clearing leaves and continuing with work on the pool.

We had a good drive back here from the UK on 29th December. We arrived late evening to a very cold house, but soon got the boiler fired up and everything warmed up. We spent a lively and fun New Years Eve with friends at Sara and Jeff's lovely house.
More photos can be seen at
http://picasaweb.google.com/lesleyolver/January2011

4th December

We arrived back at Priors Way safely on Thusday evening after an interesting drive through a very cold and snowy France. The country was blanketed in snow from the Dordogne northwards, but thankfully there was not too much of it so we were able to keep going at a reasonable speed. The photo above shows the worst bit - blizzard conditions for an hour or so!

After a slight delay at the tunnel we hit Kent with trepidation, having heard about the chaos on the M20 and M25 over the past few days. However the entire population of south east England appeared to have gone into hibernation - we have never seen the M25 so empty (see night photo above), or had such an easy drive to Maidenhead from Dover. We were very thankful to get home to a warm house, cold beer and hot pizza - and Daniel!

Tuesday 30th November

We have been watching the snow and cold weather in England with interest - and are wondering whether to bring the car chains with us when we drive back on Thursday! Here we have had several dry and sunny days - frosty in the morning but quite warm in the afternoon. As a result, we have made good progress with the pool and now have the structure firmly in place. We are pleased to have reached the stage where we can leave it for a month. In the meantime, Laurent has been working on the 'Pyrenees Suite' and it is starting to take shape.
Dave has enjoyed spending an afternoon pottering in the garden, which has made a welcome change from wading in the mud around the pool. I am busy writing newsletters and Christmas cards.

We can hardly believe it will be a whole year ago tomorrow that we signed contracts and became the new owners of La Maire.

We have added a few more recent photos to the album, so if you would like to see them, just click on the link below
http://picasaweb.google.com/lesleyolver/LaMaireAutumn#

Pool Progress

It has been a busy week but we feel we are making good progress with both the pool and the 'Pyrenees Suite'! It has been quite tiring physically, but working in the garden in the midst of this beautiful countryside certainly beats going to the gym and it has been very satisfying to see the pool structure slowly take place. It still requires some imagination to visualise sitting on the pool steps this summer, or taking an early morning dip - but it will happen!!

The floor in the guest suite is now laid, ready for Laurent to start work this week, and we have also ordered the patio door-another job done!

The other two photos above show a beautiful sunrise from the living room yesterday morning, and a view of the first snow on the mountains from the paddock.

15th November 2010

Work in Progress!

It has been a mixed week weather wise - some sunny and beautifully warm autumnal days, but also a fair bit of rain in between. We have started laying the foundation slabs for the pool. This is probably the most critical part of the installation as they all have to be absolutely level with each other. Lots of patience required, but its going well so far!

Work has also started on the 'Pyrenees Suite!'. Neil and his Dad have been helping Dave lay the screed on the floor (see photos above) in preparation for Laurent to start the plaster-boarding later in the week. It is actually starting to look like a room already rather than a garage!

On Friday morning I gave my first watercolour class in French. Laurent the plasterer is a keen artist and has been wanting to try watercolour for some time, so asked for a lesson. It was fun, and he is quite a natural with a paintbrush - but after 3 hours of teaching in French I must admit I was ready for an activity that was less mentally taxing, so spent the afternnoon digging!