La Maison Temporaire #2

We have moved into our second (and hopefully last) rental place, a petite ferme (“small farm”) in St.Avit-St.Nazaire.  The house was built in 1840; the barn (grange) in 1858 and there is also a sechoir de tabac (tobacco barn) and about an acre of land (fenced for dog purposes). The house is small and

would be considered a “shot-gun shack” in the U.S.–open the front door and you see the back door, bedrooms and kitchen and living room are on opposite sides of the main hall.  It is very workable and RoSallie has done her magic in making it “homey” and comfortable.

One of the big (literally and figuratively) selling points of this place is the grange/barn…a magnificent structure that used to be the home/feeding area of cows, chickens and pigs (in various sections) and now is the repository for our stuff and boxes/crates.  It will also be the place that becomes the temporary shop, once RoSallie starts acquiring “outiles” (tools). To say that it needed some cleaning up and maintenance is a SERIOUS understatement…but the indomitable spirit that is my wife will not be cowed by spider webs, detritus and filth!

Happily, we now have internet (ADSL) and have “bricolaged” (French for “DYI”) a desk together from a counter top (plan du travail) and a couple of saw horses.  The office is HAPPENING!!  But that will wait until the next installment…along with the many houses we have looked at (and mostly rejected).