Where did the time go?

How on earth did life get in the way of this blog? Two and a half years since I wrote... so, dear reader, here is the precis of where we are:

• We completed the purchase on 1st February 2010
• The owners stayed in the house until they went to Israel in April 2010
• We bought a kitchen in England, bought a new car to transport it, and installed i t in May 2010
• We realised how daft we were in June 2010

More to follow......

01022010

A palandromic date - and the date we completed on the French project!

What a weekend - we traveled down on Sunday and managed to take a wrong turn. Paris was NOT our route of choice, so a detour followed to get us back on course. But we got there eventually.

Richard & Einav have been amazing. They are selling us their house to have a family adventure. We were greeted with Cremant de Loire and the most delicious almond Galette. (Apparently the local baker won the Loire prize for Galette making!)

Then neighbour number one arrived - more wine, more laughter. She runs a language school opposite the house so we can book ourselves in to get fluent. She left - and returned with her husbad! He's from Kent and is the local IT specialist.

Next it was a dash across the road to meet Sandrine & Olivier. They moved into Fontevraud in July (he is the commander of the local military camp). Offers of caring for keys while we are away, moving furniture for us when we arrive and a drinks party to introduce us to the neighbours when we return in April!! In 5 short hours we were welcomed beyond all expectation.

Dinner at the local Brasserie - and complimentary Saumar bubbly from the Proprieter to welcome us. It does help to be buying from a well-known & well-established couple.

Monday saw the final signing at the Notaire's. And now we own a house again - 400 miles away! Now where shall we call home????

New Year

How dids I manage to leave a month since blogging? (Not that it matters because no one is reading this!!!).

We are only 3 weeks away from the final signing. And it's fraught. Not because we have changed our minds (we went over at Christmas and still loved it!) but because of inheritance law. With stepchildren it complicates stuff - there could be all sorts of tax implications depending on how we chose to buy the property - en division or with a tontine clause.

It's all to complicated for me - and I tend to bury my head. It'll all come right - and if it doesn't, we 'll be dead & it won't be our problem!

But now we need to turn our minds to the important stuff - is there a letterbox? What happens if an important letter arrives while we aren't there? What sort of kitchen - fitted or free standing? How many bedrooms do we need to furnish??? Are there any dates in the next year when we can actually visit????

Questions, questions.

A moving sensation....

So - the day is here. The removal men are packing boxes with speed & efficiency while I'm relegated to coffee maker.
It feels so surreal - and I'm not sure how we will fit everything in at the other end! Why is is that when stuff is in boxes it seems so much greater than when it is in cupboards?
I just wish it was all being taken off to Fontevraud and we were starting afresh there! One day.....

A moving week...

In more ways than one! This is it - the week of the move. If I can get through it without tears it will be a miracle! I even got emotional when sorting out the electricity supply!! The poor chap on the phone asked if I was looking forward to moving and I almost started blubbing as I said, 'No'.

Looking at the boxes and boxes of things to be moved, and the distinct lack of any storage space in the flat, I'm in danger of just putting my head in the sand and hoping it will all go away. But it won't.

Of course, as we move things to France it will be easier - but at over £200 a time for travel alone, that's an expensive thing to do! Roll on this time next week - at least then the move will be over and I'll HAVE to face it all.

Signed, sealed and ......

So the answer is purely self-indulgent (and from the awful spelling in the last post, slightly the worse for wear!).

The 48 hour dash to France was great - though the Notaire was an eye-opener! Not quite up to speed - but we got through the hour and a half of reading through & signing documents!

Next deadline - the 7th for exchange on Roman Rise with completion on 11th. And we move to a tiny flast on 10th. GIN GIN GIN!!!!

So - we head for 11th DEcember.I can't put my head in the sand any more. I 4 weeks trime my journey from work will be very different. And we'll have boxeseverywhere.
Is ANYBODY out there following this? Or is it purely self-indulgent??