the before and after continues

Now let’s go inside…here is the entry from the terrace.

 

Remember these are the “during” photos; we had already torn off the mint green wall paper but before we had removed the pasteboard to find the beautiful “colombage” (half-timbered brick wall) and the well.

 

The well is in the wine cellar and when we broke down the pasteboard it was evident that, at one time the well had been here. So I put it back. 

This what it looks like today.

I don’t have a before picture of the staircase.  But boy we were surprised when we ripped up the rug, thinking to find cement and found this wonderful wood.

But wood burns…      

The living room during.  Here we had stripped off a dark brown stringy wallpaper, took the pasteboard off the lovely beams, and torn down the red brick fireplace.

 I found the stone fireplace in a nearby village,

 my handyman, Gus, made the fire bender.  I was so proud of this room.  I would sit for hours in front of the fire sipping a brandy and chatting with my guests.

 Oh, no, another maudlin moment. Don’t worry I’ll get over it.

Because I don’t want to sit on the fire bender any more… 

And,I don’t have my kids paintings to look at anymore.

The TV room was, if you can believe it, one of the hotel rooms before.  Six rooms shared the same toilet and bath. There were, however, a sink and a bidet in each room–remember we are in France! 

The after renovation becomes the before fire.

And the after fire becomes the before renovation.

I will continue this tomorrow, Samantha is back from being with her dad and we are going out for dinner.  I am still trying to master the art of the stove and oven in the apartment.

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea and Tattered Pages and until February 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l’église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

TheAmericanFrog@aol.com

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea and Tattered Pages and until February 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l’église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

TheAmericanFrog@aol.com

The Befores become the Afters

In November 2009 I wrote a post …and I’ll never do that again! showing the “before & after” photos of the renovation.  Unfortunately I didn’t even think of taking the real before photos showing it as a dilapidated restaurant and inn so the “before” photos are actually the “during” photos.

 Never mind all that because the fire has changed everything. Well, not everything the “during” photos stay the same but the “after” renovation photos have become the “before” the fire photos and the “after” the fire photos will become the “before” photos for the renovation to come! Complicated non?!  It is easy if we just look at some photos.

 The house 

  ….way before I bought it

                                                                     When I bought it     

….after new windows, doors, shutters and roof

                                                                                   During the fire

 

And this “after the fire” photo becomes the “before renovation” photo

Going through these photos have brought back all the blood, sweat and tears that went into the five years that it took us to renovate the house.

  And, Samantha Alexandra and I lived in it during it all!

 and Raggy!

 With both Alexandra and Samantha at college next year 

at least they won’t have to live thru it again! 

And I am not quite if I will be up to it! Oh, no, I’m going to get maudlin…..now where is that French therapy….?

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea and Tattered Pages and until February 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l’église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

TheAmericanFrog@aol.com

Sushi and her new friends

Now while the washing machine doesn’t work–it shoots out water from the seams! And the electric stove/oven is erratic at best, just 25 little, tiny meters –I think about 60 feet is this…

and this…

So I don’t complain that much when I have to take Sushi on her walks–and, yes, I also carry a doggy bag.

 But guess who loves it, whines at the door, and wags her tail like I haven’t seen since the fire. YES  Sushi!

 First because there is water.

Where there is water there are      Ducks!

Who spots the ducks?

and who spots Sushi?

I am just sorry I couldn’t get them together in one photo it was pretty funny.  The ducks just didn’t give a hoot about Sushi and I.  So we went on our merry way.

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea and Tattered Pages and until February 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l’église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

TheAmericanFrog@aol.com

Pissing cows and missing me

Has been anybody truly missed me?  I hope so.  Anyway tell me so I feel good.  This is the first day that I am in the new apartment and with internet!  It has taken this long to get organised!

 Since I have been back in France I have been on a roller coaster of, not only moods, but temperatures as well. 

When we left France on February 26th we left behind freezing temperatures of -6°C to arrive to a balmy 18°C in Santa Barbara.  Granted we did have two days where it rained like vaches qui pissent–we would say cats and dogs but, really, don’t you think the idea of pissing cows much more picturesque? –sorry couldn’t find any clip art for that image.

 When we arrived back on March 6th it wasn’t just the march winds that hit us  in the face

 it was the -8° C!

  But finally Spring has sprung!  The birds are chirping, rabbits are frolicking (wish I were!) and flowers are blooming!

                               

  The first thing on my agenda was to find Samantha and I, and, of course, Sushi, a place to live. It wasn’t so easy.

 Samantha goes to school in Orléans which is a 20 minute drive from our Coin Perdu, she is a Senior and will be taking her  BAC (Something like our SATs to receive your high school diploma).  It is an extremely difficult examination and with classes from 8am to 6pm I wanted to find something in Orléans where Sam wouldn’t have to get up at 6am and come home at 8pm.  I also didn’t want to buy any furniture as I don’t know where I will be living in six months.

Sooooo….Orléans isn’t exactly Paris, there isn’t a whole lot of choice with furnished apartments.  I was finding only furnished studios.  I do love Samantha but the two of us in 25m2…thank you very much but no.

 But that wasn’t the only problem; the French are very big on justicatif de domicile (proof of address)–why, when you are looking for an address to live you have to prove you are already living at an address?! and we were SDF-sans domicile fixe (homeless). They also like proof that you have revenue, etc, etc all of which I had none. 

  I tried showing them the picture of my office.But that didn’t even work.

 That I called in the troops, in this case, AXA, my insurance company.  They wrote a letter guaranteeing the lease, then I wrote a check for four months in advance then I had the key!

 It’s not exactly le coin perdu but it will be our home for at least four months.

I’ve “planted” my herb garden. 

I finally have internet and now it isn’t letting me download my photos!!!!!  Am I allowed a gros mot – swear word!

It’s working!!! Voila my herb garden!

And the two armchairs I “saved” from the fire.

and of course, Sushi’s cushion in front of the fireplace.

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea and Tattered Pages and until Februrary 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l’église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

TheAmericanFrog@aol.com

Last Night Raggy saved my Life

Raggy saved my life.

I need to do this; to talk about Raggy. Raggy, full name Ragamuffin, was the epitome of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. She was them all.

I bought her on the Quai in Paris (so she was way overpriced!) ten years ago for my daughter Samantha. I bought her because she was so ugly I didn’t think anyone else would. A cross between a terrier and a toy poodle she was prognate thus bad breath, so hairy most of the time that she strongly resembled a dirty mop and bad, oh she was bad! Barked all the time, must have been the poodle part in her. Her nickname was the sonnette (door bell) because she announced everyone and everything.

 

But she was good. Although I bought her for Samantha, due to a terrible no-good divorce she wasn’t allowed to take Raggy with her when she was with her dad. It was inevitable that she would become attached to me. And she did. That dog ADORED me like the men  my life never did ! And, in return, I loved her.

Saturday I had 6 dogs with me. Laurent left Pearl and Aya to do some work at a friend’s house. I was taking care of Petrus and Aimer for a family taking a week’s vacation in Santa Domingo.

When I went upstairs with the dogs I thought Raggy was with us, but no she was shut in the kitchen. She has a bed there and often stayed there rather than climb the stairs. (She was 10 years old and stair climbing was no longer fun) I shut the door as usual so that the larger ones would not do « betisse » (mischief) like stealing the bread off the table.

Raggy was the one that signaled the fire by, guess what, barking. Because the living room doors were shut (another reason why I am still here typing) the smoke arrived slowly giving Raggy time to smell it. Had she been upstairs with us the smoke would have arrived in my room probably at the same time that she smelled it. And, probably too late to have successfully exited the house. From my room to an exiting door was approximately 80 meters of turning hallways.

When I was awoken by her barking I thought she was with us. To say I was a little confused would be correct. I saw a wafting of smoke outside my window. I opened the window and looked below to see that there was smoke creeping around the walls. It looked as though it was seeping thru the walls. I couldn’t figure out what was going on but I knew I had to call the firemen. Reached for my cell phone and god forbid that I could remember their number!!! Thought it better to call from the café across the street. With the dogs behind me, still thinking Raggy was among them went down the hallway. When I reached the staircase the smoke was thick and starting to climb the staircase, Raggy was still barking but I thought with us!!

 

 I opened the living room door and a blast of smoke hit me in the face, and, I thought at this moment that maybe this was a bit more serious than I thought. I turned and quickly left the house leaving the door open. I ran out to the street yelling for someone to call the firemen and saw that everyone from the café were already there and had already called them.

 What happened when I first opened the door to the living room and then the back door that gave the needed oxygen to the fire. In the street I heard the first set of windows explode and looked to see the flames hurtling up the outside wall straight into the window of my room which was the next to explode. My room is located above the office and was destroyed within 15 minutes from the start of the fire.

 Someone asked if there was anyone else in the house, I said no but there were 6 dogs. Patou, who knows all the dogs and Jean-Marc helped me gather them up and we took them to the café. At that moment I could hear Raggy barking, Patou tried to get back in the house for her when flames exploded from the back door. It was too late.

 

 Thank you Raggy, I love you.

Ok, that was my American style of therapy, write it down, get it out. I did, it helps.

Now I am going to do the French style of therapy, pour an extremely good Cognac, slug it down and then get on with Life.

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea & Tattered Pages and until February 6th ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l’église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

TheAmericanFrog@aol.com

The Burqa and the Marquis de Sade

After reading Dedeene’s post today about the burqa http://soyezlabienvenuechezmoi.blogspot.com/ I started delving into the “art” of slavery. Came across this amazing quote which really sums it up in ONE sentence. (yes, read it again, it is one sentence)

What is more amazing is the man who said it. No matter, I am putting it on the frigo!

“Never may an act of possession be exercised upon a free being; the exclusive possession of a woman is no less unjust than the possession of slaves; all men are born free, all have equal rights: never should we lose sight of those principles; according to which never may there be granted to one sex the legitimate right to lay monopolizing hands upon the other, and never may one of the sexes, or classes, arbitrarily possess the other.”

-Marquis De Sade

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea & Tattered Pages and now runs a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l’église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

Sologne Loire Valley

France

TheAmericanFrog@aol.com

Saint Valentine in a Coin Perdu

 

 

 

 

 

 

Samedi 13 février 2010

20h au Coin Perdu à Ligny le Ribault

 

Venez en Ange ou en Démon écouter les poésies angéliques et les contes diaboliques de Diane et Jean-claude tout en savourant un festin aphrodisiaque!

Menu 25 euros

 Kir Valentin Oeuf poché “red & black”

Poulet au miel et gingembre Riz safrané

 Saladade d’endives aux noix

Olivet proivré

Tarte au chocolat noir

 1/4 vin Café ou Thé

 Soirée organisée par Kristi Anderson et l’Association Caméléon

http://www.TheAmericanFrog.com TheAmericanFrog@aol.com www.cameleon45.fr

 

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea & Tattered Pages and now runs a bed and breakfast in Sologne, Loire Valley, near Orléans.

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l’église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

TheAmericanFrog@aol.com

Hello world!

 

I have arrived! At least with WordPress that is.  I am going test out this blog. I have had so much trouble trying to edit the others.  For this one we will see…  so far, I like my photo in the header and wasn’t  so hard to put it there.

 

a fall day in sologne, loire valley

        Flower shop window in winter                                      

I am now trying to see how I insert my photos……hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…..not so easy.  I am losing them, they are flying off to unknown places…..back in a sec, I am off to my dashboard!  …back and I realise  what you don’t see and I do is the “fall photo” is at the bottomof the page while I am editing but when I publish it is just where I want it!! How am I supposed to know that? I am outta here for the day.  France is normal, a train strike and grey clouds!

kristi anderson

bed and breakfast

15 place de l’église

45240 ligny le ribault

sologne loire valley

france