Open Thread - Homesteading in France
Rebuilding
During 2018 we lived in a nearby apartment while rehabbing and building went on. We made our second visit back to the US for the wedding of our daughter to her perfect partner. One of the happiest couples we have known. We were happily in the wedding, and visited with dear friends and family.
By the time we returned to our temporary apartment, we realized that we could not stay there as hard as it was to believe, it too had a severe environmental problem including an unvented gas furnace.
While the house wasn’t ready, we were sans abri while the builders continued on. We stayed in apart/hotels and gîtes. It wasn’t easy, but we made it until we just couldn’t afford to pay for three places to live. By March 2020 with COVID nipping at our heels, we bought two tents to live in on our property, which we called Camp Mussy. It was good to be home and in fresh air.
Our builder saw that we were distressed and made the calculation that he should look for other projects. Meanwhile, we bought the platform materials for the living tent which he built without pay.
Work we could budget for, continued at a slower pace while our project was fitted amongst other clients for our builder.
Our banker, who is truly a friend, tried to get our insurance to take a proactive stance on the purchase of a house with great problems we could not see or foresee. Although he was unsuccessful with the insurance, our one percent loans were very helpful.
Dear friends lent an extremely helping hand with a loan to get us a kitchen. We stretched the loan by having our builder make built in place Beech hardwood cabinets and open shelving, which saved us having a kitchen shop package. This part of the work also included finishing the walk-in shower and laundry room.
There were a lot of construction techniques and methods we had no idea about since we were from the land of Fir lumber and wood build.
An example is sandblasting the stone walls once the wallboard (placo) was removed to get rid of anything with mold munching and to expose the rock walls. This is called "sablage".
The Music Room is a mix of stucco (Crepi) and pointed rock wall. All this material breathes and lets moisture move in and out not leaving still, closed spaces for mold to love.
They then hydraulically push lime mortar into the spaces between the rocks. The whole point was to bring the house back to a building which breathes respire).
Italian shower/laundry and Kitchen
A friend, a retired Sotheby’s of Bourgogne real estate agent, came to visit and assess our progress. He was truly pleased at the quality of the work and the prices we have been charged. In France houses are not seen as investments, but in places to live. We look forward to A COVID break so we can have him return, now that much of the project is behind us.
When the weather turned cold and rainy in October, ready or not, we moved into our house after waiting so long.
In The Garden This Time of Year
France in the News
From Connexion
Mental health appointments to be made more affordable in France
Reimbursements of €30-40 will be available to anyone aged three and above with a prescription. We look at mental health care provision in France
By Joanna York, Hannah Thompson
France is to increase reimbursements for consultations with psychologists, making mental health care cheaper for patients in France, President Emmanuel Macron has announced.He confirmed the change yesterday (September 28) at a national meeting of mental health providers saying: “The pandemic has shown the importance of mental health. For a long time, the funding given has not been up to the task.”
From 2022, the Assurance maladie will reimburse costs for consultations with self-employed psychologists for people in France aged over three who have a prescription.
French consumer group demands VAT reduction ahead of gas price rise
UFC-Que choisir is running a petition for tax cuts and urges customers to choose a fixed price offer to escape the impact of repeated increases in the regulated rate for gas power
y Connexion journalist
French consumer organisation UFC-Que choisir has called for a temporary reduction in VAT following news that the regulated tariff for gas power will rise by 12.6% on October 1.Read more: Three million homes face gas bill rises of up to 12.6% in France
The price increase will affect approximately 3 million Engie customers, as well as households who are with other suppliers.
From Le Monde Diplomatique
‘Go with, not against, the grain of the local populace’
Tribal conflicts, made in America
by Adam Baczko & Gilles DorronsoroThe US military’s inability to verify the intelligence it received gave many Afghans a convenient way of getting rid of a troublesome cousin in an inheritance case, a neighbour in a land dispute, or a political rival. Many of those arrested or killed had nothing to do with the insurgency, which fuelled individual, family and community rivalries.
Century of revolution, Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping
What’s left of communism in China?
Capitalists, once detested, are now welcomed with open arms into the Chinese Communist Party — as long as they pledge allegiance to an institution which now has more professionals than workers.
From France 24
Europe 'must stop being naive', Macron says of submarine spat as he signs defence deal with Greece
Europe needs to stop being naive when it comes to defending its interests and build its own military capacity, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday after Greece sealed a deal for French frigates worth about €3 billion euros ($3.51 billion).
France Pushing for more European-centered Defense
Radicals vs realists: Should French Greens look to Germany for tips on electoral success?
Green candidates for the French presidency are often at pains to prove they are radical enough for the party’s base. But Germany’s “Grünen” have long opted for the opposite path: persuading the broader electorate that they can compromise and be trusted as a party of government.
NOTE: If there is a subject about France or the French you would like to know about, or a specific publication you would like highlighted, let me know. I'm just shooting in the dark here.
Bon weekend....(we say this all the time)
Comments
Remodeling is a jump into unknown adventures.
Never know what the will being ripped open will reveal. Grew up in a house of constant remodeling. My folks did not have the income or assets to acquire a builder's loan to demolish a 900 sq ft house and rebuild from the foundation up. The 30 year mortgage required the exterior livable space remain intact and the alternative was to slowly make changes as finances and time afforded. My Dad started working on the foundation before elementary school, doubled the exterior space in 4th grade, first Thanksgiving break of collage helped him sledge hammer the last existing interior wall and celebrated Christmas in the finished Great Room.
Last week I slipped off into the links, ran out of time to comment and say thanks. Enjoy the fresh viewpoints from European publications.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
We have reversed the normal US
process and gone back to the land of at least some of our ancestors. Hence the 'homesteading'. And of course finding a house to rebuild whether we meant to or not.
We are probably in your folks age group when they were finishing up. This was not the retirement plan.
So good to see you.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
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The homesteading adventure
Sounds like a fascinating journey. The camping in a tent sounds inconvenient but possibly fun. You are charmed to have found able workers and helpful officials. Resilience could be the theme.
Getting chilly here. Nights below 10 C with cool north winds. Getting the place ready for fall. Working on the wood racks, shutting down the storm windows, firing up the furnace, etc.
One of the French news items which interests me is the long parade of demonstrations in which the people get out in the streets en mass and clash with the cops. A simmering revolution?
Thanks for the OT and Bonne chance!
I suspect it may be more of a tradition, remember
Dany le Rouge?
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
May 1968 was a revolution, now the violence is just frightening
The last time Paris burned, his was the face of insurrection. Dany le Rouge (Danny the Red – a nickname that partly reflected his politics and partly his hair) was the hero of a generation.
Even when Daniel Cohn-Bendit, leader of the May 1968 student uprising, changed his colours to Danny the Green and went mainstream – representing ecology parties in France, Germany and Brussels – he never quite shook off his reputation as a rebel and political trouble-maker.
heh
Also the envy as in "now why can't we do that?"
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
May 1968, I came to Berlin and Rudi Dutschke
was shot at.
this clip is how I remember my first months in Berlin in 1968
[video:https://youtu.be/BnMadB1ABDY]
https://www.euronews.com/
Danke zehr, Mimi. Schlaf gut.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Hey there. The tent is a Sibley double door 600.
As long as it's not too cold or T-storms weren't around, we did pretty well. The tent is heavy canvas with a rain cover. Missed having windows though.
We had an infrared lamp for warmth and reading late evenings. Ran power down from the garage for computers and music.
The cop-clashing isn't typical. Many times they walk with protestors and make sure cross traffic is taken care of. Big demonstrations we have seen, a hand-sized sticky poster on a drain pipe was considered a very big deal.
Flash grenades are safely detonated inside wheel wells with a hand sledge, ear protection, other marchers pushed away and the cops standing around.
The more recent clashes are from what we can tell sometime Macron fired up cops poking at protestors or anarchists (?) doing their own poking.
A block away from most marches most people wouldn't know there is anything going on. It's been disturbing to see the press emphasizing 'clashes'.
Macron seems to be trying to separate the cops from the marchers. It just wasn't this way until the last couple of years. Sigh.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Macron doesn't sound like a peaceful man
But the elected rulers rarely are ..
The (or some) French say, we elect a king
for five years. The power is pretty comprehensive. But, the new president can reverse anything including expropriating parts of the commonwealth taken private.
We shall see. I am really disheartened to see how much military Macron has invested in and how many wars he has taken France into with his 'buddies' in the US. Also his apparent adoration of global corp.
He shows a contempt and disdain for the middle class, minorities and the disadvantaged that is not typical.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Thanks Dawn, yowtch, what an ordeal.
Thanks also for the news bits. The snippet from Le Monde Diplomatique was a great reminder and refresher. That stuff was known and reported in a few places back in the early days, but easily forgotten or lost sight of as the whole fiasco dragged on. Obviously those practices, having proved their utility, would've continued throughout the entire duration. Thanks for bringing it back into focus.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Yes, we feel too old for much of this. But it is
what it is. We are finally getting towards the end.
Glad you like Le Monde Diplomatique articles. I'm finally looking for topics we talk about here but from the 'French' perspective. You may have surmised that like any other group there are many opinions and ideas about why things are.
One thing we truly enjoy when we have an evening with French neighbors or friends, is the willingness to discuss subjects at length and true interest in others' opinions. Then there is the famous French drop it in the middle of the table...a way of saying something outrageous just to see what reaction they get. None of the competitiveness or oneupmanship we are used to.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Another exceptional journalist's life cut short by an
accident.
Indigenous filmmaker Myron Dewey, who rallied against lithium mine near Oregon border, dies at 49
from 4 years ago (4 min)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIZ09PS7mLM]
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
I'm so sorry to read this. We are losing good voices
much too soon. Thank you for bringing him to our attention. We have dear friends who follow the Native American protestors and wise ones. This person is new to me.
Been down to Steens Mountain so many times. You can see Nevada from up top. Still would like my ashes there.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Thanks for hi-lighting this soe
A huge loss. He fought the good fight.
Proud of his activism. No evils too large
for his spirit to challenge.
Dawn- I am enjoying your posts on the house adventure.
My daughter and son-in-law are about to close on a big old house (late 1800's) here in Helena. It is a strip down to the studs and wiring kind of project. Plus it has large art panels in one room with scenes of western bird life on them. It was almost a goner. They have a big task ahead of them, but we are all so excited about the preservation of a good piece of history here. The original owner also owned a downtown business called the California Wine Co.. They are finding lots of photos of both the house and the business in the local history museum. Really fun.
Thanks for the news from the POV of France.
Also, what is the plant in the photo with the butterfly?
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
It sounds like they will have support on
their house journey. They will need it. Historic and local legends are great. Maybe they will meet neighbors who can fill in the blanks.
That flower is clumping, looks like Sedum to start with, but it gets more rangey as it gets to blooming. So many pollinators and other insects love it.
Okay, I'm checking in my European plant book...
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
It sort of looks like a plant in my prairie called
Mist Flower. https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=coco13
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
So glad you call it a Prairie. Me too. Mini.
I need a more comprehensive plant book for France/Europe. Your choice is as close as could be. None of the options in my book are even close.
Thanks for sleuthing, that is way cool. We have loads of books on natural things in the US especially the West. But slowly building our references for where we are now. Many flora and fauna are familiar to both Western Europe and England.
Good examples are Herrisons (Hedge Hogs), Fox (Renard), many birds of all kinds. Our hedge rows look a lot like the ones in BBC productions.
Thanks again. It's one of the things we do for fun.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
I've never explored whether the native midwest prairie
plants grown on other continents. Another project!
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
We have many plants which are clearly in the same
family or closely related. I have seen Mahonia (Oregon Grape) and Solomen's Seal, plus Doug Fir everywhere.
Deciduous trees are different in that we see lots of Beech, Hornbeam, and Ash. In the PNW we'd see Maple of several kinds in the same type of understory.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.