Autumn news

It is now mid-October, and we have been working quite a bit on a number of projects (and succeeding, in fact!), so maybe now is time to get the blogs up to date.

Vehicles

We came very close to getting the truck registered, but the last hurdle here in France for a foreign vehicle is the dreaded DRIRE, which make decisions about whether a vehicle confirms to French (and EU) safety standards. New vehicles intended for the EU market a supplied with a certificate of compliance with these standards, and older vehicles within the EU that were originally registered here before the standards applied get grandfathered. But vehicles from exotic places like the US need to be scutinized very carefully, because non-EU countries are known to produce vehicles that do not meet important EU standards.

These indclude (1) the color of the turn signals (they MUST be yellow, not red), (2) the fact that the turn signals cannot be the same light as the stop light, (3) the need to have the serial number of the vehicle stamped (with a metal stamp) into the body some place, (4) the need to have a metal plaque with the VIN and weight info riveted to the body, (5) a rear fog light. We got the first two fixed for a significant fee, with the addition of 2 new turn signal lights, and are in the process of getting the plaque and number properly affixed. The fog light will also be installed soon. But what is left? A formal study, of course, by a properly accredited institute of such studies named UTAC.

This organization does a lot of homologation work in France, not just for vehicles, and is evidently well-known in the standards field. However, they only have one facility to test vehicles, and it is up in Paris. AND, when we called in mid-July to get an appointment for a test, they told us to call back in September, and we would probably have to wait till December(!). This caused a major panic, because our insurance company informed us, at just about this time, that they would not insure us for more than one year with our PA plates. So, we were faced with losing insurance in October and having (1) no way to get the truck up to Paris in December, and (2) no wheels at all.

So, we went car shopping, and after a few visits to some nice dealers, we found a nice Peugeot 207 station wagon that had just come off of a lease, with 10K kilometers, and the price was 3000 euros off the list price. A genuine good deal, which we snapped up, and now we have a nice vehicle for everyday use, which really just sips diesel, and which can be used to haul some stuff, but not quite as good as the truck. We used it to go down to Agen for the canal trip (described elsewhere), to Toulouse for a few days (also described elsewhere), and for a recent trip to the boat to do some last-minute cleaning up (see the boat blog for this info). All-in-all a good deal.

However, we lost the truck insurance on October 1, and it is now a garden ornament till the first of December. At that time, the local Ford dealer in Bergerac has kindly agreed to let us use their temporary tags (WWs) for a few weeks to get the vehicle up to Paris for the tests. The insurance company will insure the truck with WW plates, so we are good to go get tested for (1) pollution, (2) rear-view vision, (3) noise, (4) brakes, and (5) EMI from the ignition system. All we have read about this indicates that we should have not problems passing, but it will be a tad expensive - 1500 euros, for a half day set of tests. We think we will also go to the boat show while we are there, and maybe have some fun in Paris.

Once this is done, UTAC will send a report to the DRIRE, and we will have to present the vehicle to them in Bordeaux (we will have to figure out what to do about insurance for this), and then we should get our registration for the truck. Only takes about a year. The Administrative life.

Gardening

We planted some veggies this year, but did not have a great crop. The weather was wet in the spring, and cold during the summer. The wine this year also suffered(see the wine commentary). We did just harvest a watermelon, though, and the leeks seem to be set for the winter, so maybe we will have better luck next year.

Cartes de Sejour

We are still waiting for our official green cards. rxc had a medical examination in August, and the doctor pronounced him "impec". Now for the administration to get around to issuing us cards.

House projects

We have hired an architect to do a study of the house and the barn and the grounds, and come up with some suggestions to improve all of the above. He and an assistant did a lot of measurements and we hope to have some drawings soon. Then we can decide where to start and the sequence of events.

One important thing that we have decided to do sooner, though, is the roof, and we have one estimate from a roofer recommended by a friend. He also proposed installing insulation, which we agree is needed. As soon as we hear from the architect we will try to get the roofing started.

Since we had the truck till mid-September, we decided to do some work on the area to the west of the house, where it looked like a lot of construction debris had been dumped. It was clear that this area was intended to have a terrasse, so we used the truck to bring in loads of first, large rock, and then pebbles, to level it out and set the base for a flagstone patio. Luckily, Point P (a local building supply place) was running a special on flagstones during the summer, so we bought 4 pallet-loads worth, and used almost 2 of the pallet-loads to put together the patio, which is very nice. It is not under the willow tree, which had been our favorite sitting-out sport, but it turns out that the patio is better because the bugs like to fly over the grass, and we do not get many, if any bugs, sitting on the patio. We have a spot there for the big BBQ and the Weber smoker, and it is a great favorite for both the humans and the kitties.

Inside the house, we have been working on restoring the walls, by patching cracks from the great secheresse event of 2004(?). The house seems to have settled back into position, and the cracks don't seem to be either growing or shrinking, so it now looks like we can fix the walls. In France, drywall mud is not nearly as ubiquitous as in the US, and it is certainly MUCH more expensive. Instead, the builder-supply places sell a bewildering variety of powders that you mix with water to make your own mud, and the varieties of powder are stunning. Every different type of masonry work requires its own mixture, and for things like tile work, there are underlayments and water-proofing, and adhesives and grouts that are flexible or rigid or waterproof or permeable, with every possible combination. And also many manufacturers of each of these different types.

After some experimentation, we finally settled on something for the cracks in the walls, and we have re-painted the dining room and cleaned and sealed the floor so that it is looked quite good. We are even starting to hang artwork. We also made good progress with tiles, finally installing finishing tiles on the steps in the living room and on top of a knee-wall between the DR and LR. We also lucked out and found exactly the right number of replacement tiles to fill in the holes near the bath where the foundation people drilled their holes. With the exception of the bath and the front BR, the cracks are now all patched. Next will be sanding and painting and repair of the mosaic in the bathroom shower stall, for which we discovered some replacement tiles in the barn. This effort will continue thru the fall and the winter, and we think that the house should look quite good, at least on the interior, for the Thanksgiving crowd.



Kitties

We are sad to report that we are now down to only 3 kitties in the house. We started with 5 (4 Nauticoons and Clovis) in April, but Clovis finally moved to his new house in Exceduiel in September. And Siren succumbed to kidney failure the same month. She never had a sick day in her life, and only visited the vet for the detested shots and checkups, but her kidneys were good for only 14.5 years, so she is now resting peacefully in a sunny spot near the well.

The devil kitties are having a great time hunting in the house for frankies (little lizards, like the salamander symbol of Francois I). They probably catch 3 per week, and they usually take off their tails before we can save them from death by being batted around. Cats really like to play with their food...

Zabelle is still doing quite well, for an 18 year-old cat. She sleeps in the loft bed and comes down the steps several times/day to do what needs to be done, and she also likes to go outside and take the air every day. She is quite amazing.

Dante and Calypso really love the outdoors here, with all the interesting places to explore. Dante has figured out how to get thru the (almost) impenetrable thicket to get to the pigeon rook, and has to be watched like a hawk. Calypso is a bit more sedate, especially after she was frightened down a row of vines by the dogs one night, and ended up falling into the source down by the road. She came back wet and bedraggled and desparately needing a bath, which we provided, and she has been more circumspect in her travels since.

I think this is enough for now. We will include some more details in posts about specific subjects, over the next few days.