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Glorious Autumn in Lonlay l'Abbaye

11/3/2019

The ostensible purpose of our visit to Lonlay l'Abbaye near the end of October was to receive a shipment of boxes from our storage unit near Paris to our tiny house. There was vague talk of beginning to sift through the photos and memorabilia the boxes contained, but the quiet magic of the country village redirected us to wander and ponder.

Because our village house still has no furniture, we stayed again at Sarah and Geoff's "Cobbler's House" (AirBnB), which is delightfully situated between the abbey and the commons area, close by the stream that runs through the village. The small commons orchard was full of apples, some still on the trees, and others piling up on the ground.

The owners of the Cobbler's House have collected old reminders of the original occupant's work. Old wooden clogs and shoemaker's tools are used as decorative elements, some inside and some outside the house.

The village commons area has been extended and improved, from what I last recall. There is a sweet new playground area, more picnic tables, and a gravel path that winds all the way up the hill past green lawns and chestnut trees. The people of the village, and their indefatigable mayor, Monsieur Derouet, make the village more attractive with each visit.

The view from the top of the hill is stunning and unspoilt. Makes me so happy! You can see the reddish roof and wooden frame of the old cider press in the center of some of the lawns, with the abbey behind.

This is the approach to the cider press from the other side of the commons.

Inside the cider press is the enormous stone wheel that would have crushed the apples into pulp and juice - much of the juice to be turned into cider - and some eventually used to make Calvados, my favorite digestif.

After a few sunny days, we had some clouds and rain, but the grey skies made the greens even more lush. This is the path that leads around the back of the abbey.

With the school closed for the "All Saints" holiday period, the village was in repose, but the delicious butcher/charcuterie shop was open, as well as the bar/tabac and the bakery.

Our banker, Monsieur Bouillaux, at Crédit Mutuel, was kind enough to spend nearly an hour with us, sorting out a problem with Électricité de France (EDF). So we were especially pleased that the bakery had a nice selection of eclairs and fruit tarts we could bring back to his office for him and his staff.

Everything we needed was within walking distance, including the general store. Once again, we did not bring a car. The ever-welcoming Monsieur LeBlond of La Bergerie in Sainte Opportune arranged for us to have drivers to and from the train station in Flers. It seems much more restful to us once we are there, to just stay within the village, though I know we will soon want to explore further parts of Normandy and Brittany we have not seen.

Three days in a row we had lunch at the charming village restaurant "Le Relais de l'Abbaye." The tower above is part of a residence that faces one of their windows. The Relais food is quite tasty, and a very good value with a quarter carafe of wine included with your meal. A couple of days we also had a "kir" to start. Kir is an aperitif of dry white wine with a few drops of cassis (blackcurrant liqueur).

This drink was already known in the Burgundy region of France as a "blanc-cassis" from the 19th century. After World War II, it was renamed the "kir" after Félix Kir, a Catholic priest and Resistance member who became mayor of Dijon. He delighted in serving this cocktail to visiting delegations to promote both Bourgogne Aligoté, the dry white wine of the region, and crème de cassis, also made in Burgundy.

Well, this is not our table at the Relais - just the only free photo of kirs I could easily find. A very pretty drink, and nice aperitif. After our second day of ordering them to start our meal at the Relais, I noticed two other tables that asked for them as well. Such trendsetters we are!

The abbey itself was open and welcoming, so we also made a visit inside.

In existence for many centuries, it has elements from the 11th century to the present - and a fair amount of mystery and dignity.

Joseph had read that the oldest part of the abbey was the transept, which is where I believe these finials atop their columns are located. Most likely they are restorations, but true to the originals.

The rams on the left remind me a bit of "Shaun the Sheep" from the Wallace & Gromit stop motion clay animation movies. On the right, could that be an image of wind or a fire-breathing lion? Whose tiny head is up in the corner there? Perhaps next summer we will take a guided tour of the abbey and see if there are any answers to these questions.

"Alright, but what about your house?" you ask (or perhaps you don't, but I will tell you anyway).

Électricité de France (EDF) has installed a thicker and more powerful electric source cable to give us the power we need for our appliances, but I did notice some new cracks in the mortar on the face of the house that seemed to emanate from where they drilled to put in the new line. Hmmm.

The dear little swallows have gone, but left behind their mud nests and a spattering of poop to remember them by. We are looking to find someone to clean this up before they return next spring. A tall ladder will be indispensable.

We did succeed in having our stored boxes of mementos, books, and family favorites like old toys moved into the study. The door to the bathroom here still opens, but this takes up much of the room. We will reduce the volume soon, and store the remainder in the attic once our builders have put in a floor up there. They are working on it now.

A few things got unpacked, and we took measurements and photos of the interiors of all the windows, so we can order curtain rods. We'd like to come back for a longer stay next time, perhaps to take delivery of some basic furniture.

We love every season in the village.

Below are several short videos from this visit that we've loaded to Youtube. We hope you will enjoy these moments too.

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Coming Together

7/30/2019

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Our tiny house is coming together! (note: curtains in most of the windows), and as you will see below, on our last visit to Lonlay l'Abbaye we had the opportunity to visit a beautifully renovated chateau where we got together with some very nice people.

Fabulous barn conversion!

Rear of Chateau St. Cyr

We were delighted to receive a surprise invitation from Americans Wendy and Ashley Lane, the owners of Chateau St. Cyr. Their charming home away from home is located in St. Cyr du Bailleul, a village about 20 minutes from Lonlay. Wendy and Ashley Lane operate a full service vacation getaway with curated side trips from their lovingly restored 19th century manor house. chateaustcyr.com Self-described "Franco-fanatics," the Lanes are from New Orleans, where they have a home in the French Quarter (of course!).

We were invited for aperitifs in their restored barn along with several other blogger/expats from the surrounding area. (Sadly, I did not take photos of the gathering. The photo of the amazing barn with its long table is from their attractive Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ChateauStCyr/.) When we were there, the ancient fireplace was lit and provided a cozy corner for all of us to gather and talk while cider and wine were poured. Delicious appetizers grilled on the open fire as we enjoyed the lively conversation. Ideal.

The photo above is a quick shot of the back of the chateau taken on our way out. You'll have to go to their websites to see the gorgeous interior restoration work they did and the perfect rose garden they lovingly brought back to life.

Ashley and Wendy are wonderful hosts, and we fully enjoyed meeting the other bloggers, Dawne and Dean from www.instagram.com/french.blessings/, and Julie and her friend from www.thefrenchmanoir.net.

Dawne and Dean are talented professional photographers and teachers. In 2014 they starred in a House Hunters International episode about the search for their home in the Perche region of Normandy.

Julie is from South Korea originally, lived in Melbourne, but has now moved semi-permanently to France with her Scottish husband. A very impressive person - English is her third language after Korean and Japanese, and now she is learning French, of course. She just had a book about her French manor house published in Korea.

Back in Lonlay l'Abbaye, Joseph and I had lunch with some new American friends, Deborah and Rand. The couple had looked at many properties in Normandy and are now in the process of buying "Katie's house" across the square from us. While they do want to remodel and redecorate a bit, the house is basically already good to go as it has been an AirBnB rental. We hope they will have many happy days each year in Lonlay, though they may still spend much of the year on the Oregon coast.

Coincidentally, Katie's house was where I first stayed when I came to Lonlay l'Abbaye in September 2015 to complete our house purchase. The wonderful view above is from the top bedroom in Katie's house. Two months later, in mid-November 2015, Joseph and I were staying there when we learned of the horrible terrorist attacks in Paris. We were so grateful to be able to stay an extra night before we had to return to the city. Lonlay was a haven.

Speaking of havens, we were happy to see our new kitchen in real life...

We were "chuffed" (as our friends the Brits would say) to see that our tiny house is now habitable. While we did not take the time to read through all those appliance manuals and test out everything just yet, we were assured by our builders that all was in working order.

We have hot water, a functional bathroom and kitchen. They helped us label the circuit breakers for our major appliances, and showed us how to turn the electricity on and off, as well as the main water supply.

To celebrate the milestone of habitability, we even persuaded our usually camera-shy builders to let us take their picture. Here are Jim, Barry and Nicola in their work garb. Good sports.

Joseph took a few wide angle shots of the main bedroom, as well as the smaller study at the top of the stairs with the door to the bathroom. These will help us figure out furniture placement. For now, we may have to fill the study with boxes of our belongings that we want to take out of our storage space near Paris.

We plan to give ourselves time during our visits to Lonlay l'Abbaye to sort through and condense all the papers, photos and memorabilia. Maybe we should ask Marie Kondo to come and help us!

The new water heater has pride of place in a corner of the still precarious attic. I say precarious because there is currently no flooring over the main beams.

Top of the stairs looking into the old attic.

Our next project is to have insulation and a basic floor laid down in the attic that will make it possible for us to move around up here. The French word for attic is "combles," which makes me think of "shambles" - in its current state anyway.

We may use this level of the house for storage until we are ready to finish it off with skylights and wallboard. Eventually, it will be a second bedroom for visitors who don't need to stand upright.

The new custom-built doors seem well-fitted and sturdy. We are glad they are nearly identical to the old wooden ones we had to replace. The only difference is that the front door does not have a mail slot, so we will have to figure out how to attach a mailbox onto the solid granite next to the front door.

We do not have curtain rods yet, but Joseph devised a way to hang some lace panels inside most of the windows. I miscalculated how many we would need, so will have to order more and measure for the rods. Lace curtains are not mandatory, but they do fit the WWII era feeling of the village, and are evident in most houses.

The village looked better than ever to us. Roses were blooming and the commons grass was deep green. Mayor Derouet has had great success obtaining government support for improvement projects.

The ancient abbey facade has been cleaned and its statues restored.

The most impressive restoration has been the extension wing of the abbey where the monks and priests used to live. Once vacant, it now houses the mayor's office (mairie), a media center (mediatheque - a kind of modern library), and a tech center (espace numerique). All open to the public.

With so many small villages dying in France, it is good to see that Lonlay l'Abbaye seems to be thriving and that the mayor is doing so much to make it a welcoming and prosperous place. Even the local cookie factory is expanding.

At dusk we watched swifts and swallows flying in groups to catch the summer insects. The old mayor's office has been renovated into a new hairdresser's place with three employees. The red and yellow sign on the building reads "Lon'lay Cheveux." I think this must be a play on words of some sort, pronounced phonetically the same as "longs les cheveux," or "long hair," but that's just a guess.

Closing for now, from "cheveux" (hair) to "chevaux" (horses). While we were waiting for our ride back to the train station, three riders pulled up to the bar/tabac and bakery. Now that's the way to travel in Normandy!

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American Heroes - Crew of the Chow-hound

6/6/2019

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Today is the 75th anniversary of D-Day, always a day for reflection and appreciation for all the men who were part of that great invasion which turned the tide of World War II on the beaches of Normandy. Such a bloody tide. Joseph and I have been often to the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, always grappling with that sense of loss mixed with honor and gratitude that comes over us as we cast our eyes over thousands of white markers.

The village of Lonlay l'Abbaye was a battleground as well in 1944, well into August, both on the ground and in the air. When we first saw the French war monument that stands in front of our village house, we were moved to see that part of that memorial was dedicated to nine Americans. They were the young men who all lost their lives when their B-17, nicknamed the "Chow-hound," was shot down in a field near Lonlay on August 8, 1944.

Over time, I learned more about the incident, and how a battered wing of the Chow-hound was repatriated to the U.S. Air Force with ceremony and respect just a few years ago. More recently, I came across a website dedicated to the Chow-hound and her men.

I hope you will all have a look, because it tells the tale much better and more concisely than I could here. www.chow-hound.org/OUR-STORY.html

Astonishingly, the villagers of Lonlay l'Abbaye have never forgotten or put aside the sacrifice of these men. I was surprised to see that there have been several ceremonies over the years. The crash site was excavated, remains transferred to Arlington National Cemetery, and relatives of the Chow-hound crew have made pilgrimages to Lonlay.

The 1944 crew of the Chow-hound, an American Army Air Forces B-17 bomber. Pilot Jack "Tex" Thompson and his men. This is believed to be the only photo available of the Chow-hound's third and final crew. With the exception of Frank Bolen, who did not fly that day, they all lost their lives on their 14th mission, August 8, 1944.

Front row, left to right: Sgt. Gerald F. Gillies, Tail Gunner; 1st Lt. Jack R. Thompson, Pilot; Tech Sgt. Henry F. Kortebein, Engineer; 2nd Lt. Frank Bolen, Bombardier [not aboard on the fateful flight]; 2nd Lt. Charles Sherrill, Bombardier.

Back row, left to right: 2nd Lt. David J. Nelson, Co-Pilot; Tech Sgt. Blake A. Treece, Radio man and Gunner; 2nd Lt. Charles F. Bacigalupa, Navigator; Sgt. Warren D. Godsey, Lower Ball Turret Gunner; Sgt. Richard R. Collins, Waist Gunner

This photo shows a different brave crew, the "Newquist" crew, who were the very first assigned to do bombing runs in the Chow-hound in May, 1944. They had all finished their tour of duty and most were on their way home before D-Day. I'm including this photo so you can see the plane, along with these lucky guys.

Dolly, Jody, Jana et Jill, daughter and granddaughters of Sgt.Gerald Gillies. (©.Le Publicateur Libre)

Pilot Jack Thompson and his men were the third crew assigned to fly the Chow-hound. They completed many successful missions before they perished. Last August, the daughter of Sgt. Gerald Gillies, the Chow-hound's tail gunner, came from Houston, Texas to Lonlay l'Abbaye with her three granddaughters. The mayor, Christian Derouet, responded by arranging a touching tribute just for them.

I only recently became aware of the event when I came across an article about it by Nathalie Guerin in Le Publicateur Libre online: actu.fr/normandie/lonlay-labbaye_61232/a-lonlay-labbaye-roses-blanches-le-sergent-gerald-gillies_18191068.html The article is in French, but I took the liberty of translating it as best I could to be able to share it here with you. Today seems like an appropriate day.

In Lonlay-l'Abbaye, White Roses for Sergeant Gerald Gillies

Posted on August 17, 2018 at 17:57
By Nathalie Guerin in Le Publicateur Libre

A ceremony was held Wednesday, August 8, 2018, in honor of Sergeant Gerald Gillies who was aboard the American bomber shot down by the DCA [German anti-aircraft] August 8, 1944.

Coming from Houston, Texas, to pay tribute to Sergeant Gerald Gillies, their father and grandfather, Dolly, Jody, Jana and Jill were welcomed by the Mayor of Lonlay-l'Abbaye, in the Orne, Christian Derouet who had instructed his assistant Christophe Pellerin to organize this day rich in emotions.

Associated with this ceremony, Jacques Paris, President of the Association Normande du Souvenir Aérien, recalled the circumstances in which Sergeant Gerald Gillies died.

9 Crew Members

On August 8, 1944, the B17 "Chow Howard" [sic – should be "Chow-hound"] bomber, belonging to the 91st squad with 138 elements, was tasked with bombarding the axis between Caen and Falaise. On board 9 crew members including Sergeant Gerald Gillies in charge of the rear machine gun. They flew at 15,000 feet. A relatively low ceiling for this type of plane. The ["Chow-hound"] receives its first impact of the DCA [anti-aircraft fire] over Mantilly.

The debris of its cabin will extend over more than 400 meters in fields in Lonlay-l'Abbaye. No survivors.

A Vibrant Tribute

After a poignant speech of thanks followed by a minute of silence in front of the memorial to the plaque dedicated to the 9 crew members, it is in procession that the descendants of Sergeant Gillies go to the exact place where the rear turret of the "Chow-hound" was found....

In the Le Guédier Field

An American flag stands, lost in the grove among the weeds. It is precisely in the Le Guédier field, midway between the villages of La Houdière and La Guerche Midi, that the rear turret of the ["Chow-hound"] crashed.

Christophe Pellerin points out: "You see, at the end of the road, 400m is the farm of my mother Thérèse Pellerin born Lebreton ... They saw everything ... "

Solemnly the flag is lowered.

The American flag will be folded in the rules of the art: "The American flag never touches the ground," confides Jacques Paris. It will be offered to members of Sergeant Gillies' family.

The Sergeant's Wedding Ring

One regret, however, for Jacques Paris: "The sergeant's wedding ring was saved and passed on to the Resistance. We did everything to find it. It may today still be in a forgotten drawer of a chest of drawers from Lonlay-l'Abbaye ... We would so much have liked to offer it to his daughter Dolly! ".

There are four white roses at Le Guédier field, amid tall grass that the August wind stirs up. Four white roses that must hum in this Norman grove: "If the 'Ricains [Americans] were not there ...".*

[*This last line is a reference to an old pop song by French singer Michel Sardou]

The war memorial sits on the square, on a diagonal directly in front of our house. Ours is the last house on the right. We are proud to share the memories of these American heroes.

D-Day is not just about Americans, and the Americans did not win the war alone. We feel enduring gratitude to the men of every country that joined to fight fascism in World War II, but these names are precious to us, and to the people of Lonlay l'Abbaye.

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From Concept to Kitchen

5/28/2019

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“I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and say to myself "well, that's not going to happen.” - Rita Rudner

Yes, we finally have a kitchen!
With limited wall space (about 300 cm or 9 ft 10 inches) to dedicate to our kitchen in Lonlay l'Abbaye, we had some doubts as to whether or not we could fit in all of the elements that we deemed essential, and not have it feel cramped or cluttered. So when the kitchen planner at the Leroy Merlin store took our wish list of cabinets and appliances and created the above schematic, my first thought was, "well, that's not going to happen."
But somehow....

Jim and Nicola started to put the pieces together in March, and it began to look possible.

Fitting the countertop, and pre-made cabinet walls and doors into this corner cannot have been easy, as I had, as always, insisted on leaving the "charm" of the uneven wall angles of the house.

By May - Voilà! Our kitchen is installed! We'll have to think of something to do in the odd corner wedge - maybe fit in a wine rack, and we may buy another small table or island to have more work space, but this one wall has all we really need.

The tall cabinets on the right contain the refrigerator. We have not been out to Lonlay yet to test out the appliances, but we do plan to visit in June. It will likely take us three days to read and decipher the appliance manuals!

The clothes washer is also hidden behind a cabinet door. It is a "lave-linge sechant," meaning that it is a washer and dryer in one. Depending on the program you set, it can wash or dry, or wash and dry the same load. Theoretically that is, as the similar machine in our Paris place interprets "dry" to mean "damp."

We opted not to put in a dishwasher, as we normally don't have a lot of dishes to wash, and space is at a premium in the tiny house. In France, every major appliance also has to have its own dedicated electrical outlet.

The main kitchen storage space will be in the overhead cabinets, under the sink, and in the four drawers. The cabinetry is a soft-white painted wood. Would be curious to see your suggestions for wall color and backsplash tile.

Not sure yet where we will store pots and pans, but we will work it out. Our meal preparation is typically very simple, and we rely more on knives and whisks than on specialty appliances.

Our Paris apartment kitchen is similarly compact, but built in a "U" configuration, with cabinets up to the ceiling. I have to use a step stool to reach up to the top shelves.

BEFORE

AFTER

For now, we are looking forward to stepping into our very own "After" version of the kitchen.

And we'll be stepping in through our new door as well!

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Hungry for Progress

1/11/2019

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Copious breakfast at Le Presbytere

During an internet search in 2014, I first saw the tiny "half-house" that would be one day be ours on a British property website called "Cle France" (a website I would still heartily recommend: https://www.clefrance.co.uk).

Actually purchasing the village house in Lonlay l'Abbaye took more than a year, but in the autumn of 2015, we had the keys in hand. Around that time we sought help for what was surely to be a somewhat extensive renovation, but we had no idea that it would eventually involve rebuilding most of the interior of the stone house from the dirt floor up!

So it is that it is now 2019, and we are hungry for progress - more anxious than ever to see the place finally habitable and capable of sustaining life, liberty and our leisure pursuits in Normandy. The early part of 2018 did see some progress: walls and floors were finished upstairs, interior doors were hung, and some heaters installed.

By September of 2018, we had reason to celebrate with another visit to Le Presbytère, the lovely B&B run by Toinette and Tom Jack in nearby St. Bomer les Forges. Le Presbytère was the perfect stopover for us and our daughter, Andelys, as we enjoyed a glorious breakfast there before heading over to see the newly installed bathroom (!!) at our village house in Lonlay.

If you can believe it, this is the BEFORE and AFTER!

BEFORE - 2015 - Soon after we bought the house

AFTER - 2018 - Nearly complete!

Here is a slide show of some of the intermediate steps:

To jumpstart the bathroom work, Joseph and I had travelled to Castorama outside of Caen in June, where we met with the builders and ordered all of the fixtures, tiles and bathroom fittings that they estimated would fit in the miniscule space, giving us a functional bathroom.

The floor plan was reworked a few times, but we were very happy when they sent us photos showing us that the basics were in. By the time we stopped by with our daughter in September, they had added a heated towel rack and the only remaining work to be done in the bathroom was installation of a light and fan/vent on the ceiling. Of course it needs painting, but we may do that ourselves.

Downstairs on the main level, we could see that the electric panel was nearly complete - no more medusa-like wires waving out from the wall as before. The hot water heater we had purchased along with the bathroom materials was still downstairs waiting to be muscled up to the attic level for installation.

The wall that the hot water heater is leaning against in this photo is where our small kitchen will be installed soon. In October we met Nicola at the Leroy Merlin superstore outside Caen and ordered all of our kitchen appliances and cabinets. That visit became something of a comedy of errors when we could not summon an Uber to pick us up at the suburban store and were worried we would miss our train back to Paris.

Nicola bravely volunteered to drive us back into Caen - the roads around the city being a snarl of highways, industrial develpments and connecting routes. There was only one catch, and that was that Joseph would have to ride in the back, if he didn't mind. Well no, except (ahem), there were no seats in the back of the van, only tools and building materials, paints and her sweet dog.

I sat in the front passenger seat and turned on my phone for navigation to the train station. Due to construction and dead ends however, Google maps was taking us in circles, the minutes were ticking by until the train would arrive, and Joseph and the dog were sliding around in the back with levels, lumber and the like. At last, we saw a sign that showed us where to go, and Nicola made a hairpin turnaround on the highway, qualifying for the next Fast and Furious film. We made it back to the train station with a few minutes to spare and Joseph upgraded us to first class as a reward for our jangled nerves!

The Grand Tour

To get back to our September visit though, this was the first chance that our darling daughter had had to actually set foot in the house. She was supposed to come with us on a prior visit, but a Lufthansa strike complicated her plans. We do like to consult with her about everything we do here, because this will be her house one day and always a place she can visit and retreat to if she wants to write or needs a break.

Upstairs in the bedroom we had a huge surprise! Swallows had built a mud nest right outside the window in the corner under the eaves, and it was full of chirping little heads popping up and down. The photo on the right is from another blog and approximates what we saw, but we could not get a clear photo of ours as our window was streaked with mud and bird doo. Well, no matter.

The swallows are amazing and intrepid creatures who make a long pilgrimage every year from Africa to nest in their preferred locations. Their habitat is shrinking, so we are pleased to welcome them. We may have to have someone come to clean those windows again before the spring though, and perhaps install a removable shelf under the nest to catch the droppings. It's always something...

Overall, our trip was a good one. Being able to show our daughter the house, and the magical village of Lonlay l'Abbaye, was something we had long joyfully anticipated. She was charmed by the place as well, though she exclaimed that the house still needs "a lot of work!"

Speaking of construction work, we also met a lovely and fearless woman who has taken on the project of renovating a "maison de maître" with a fascinating history in the hills of Lonlay l'Abbaye. She gave us tea and a tour of the wonderful place. Perhaps more about that next time as well.

For now, enjoy the view with us!

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Skipping to the Good Part

7/15/2018

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Two hares lamp from Belgium

The best part of home renovation has to be shopping for the items that fit just right once all the hard work has been done. A good deal of the hard work has been completed on our tiny house in Lonlay L'Abbaye. We have walls and floors, and doors are on the way, but the house is still not habitable. We seem to be missing a bathroom and a kitchen, for starters.

Nevertheless, when Joseph and I passed a curious shop on the street in Paris recently, we stepped inside and wound up buying a few things we could not resist. We rationalized this by telling ourselves that they will certainly be put to good use in Normandy.

First up, a table lamp with two hares (photo above). Not sure if this is vintage or a copy of an older lamp, but there was something inextricably appealing about it to both of us (at least it has new wiring!) We are enjoying it right now in the city, but nothing says "country" like a lamp with two rabbits. Please note that one of them may be wild, and one tame. I say this because the one on the left has a collar. Her nose has a bit of extra shine, as if the bronze has been rubbed for good luck.

Early 20th century wine glasses

Joseph spotted these wine glasses before I did. They are not as large as they appear in the photo, but hold about 6 oz., suitable for red, white, rosé - or even orange juice. You can have whatever you want when you come to visit. The young lady in the shop said they were likely from the early 20th century. No markings I can see, but they do not appear to have been machine made. The style reminds me of the 1920s or 1930s.

Quatt hedgehogs

Last, and maybe least (but don't tell them), are these ceramic hedgehog salt & pepper shakers. They are new, not vintage, and have a stamped label that says "Quatt." If anyone knows where they are made, I would be interested to know, as I forgot to ask in the shop. There were several other animal pairs, but I have long had an affection for hedgehogs, so the selection was easy for me. I was surprised that Joseph liked them too. So I can put them on the table and not just hide them away in the cupboard to use on boiled eggs.

The Castorama brochure: the "Essential" sink & mirrored cabinet will fit - but not the additional side cabinet

Now back to the basics. Last month we made a quick train trip to Castorama just outside the city of Caen to meet Jim and Nicola, our builders. Castorama is one of the huge warehouse type stores that sells nearly everything you could need to renovate or remodel your home (but no hedgehogs, wine glasses or hare lamps). The "big box store" concept is very American, so one we are familiar with, as is the somewhat quirky suffix "orama" added onto anything commercial. Back in the 1950s and 1960s in the U.S., advertisers and sign makers had a field day with it. There was a "Food-o-rama," "Car-o-rama," "Skate-o-rama," and "Burger-o-rama" around every corner. At about the same time, the idea that every store should be a "carnival" took root. So there would be "Carnival of Books" next to "Drug Carnival" (a pharmacy, rather than what you were hoping for). The carnivals and "oramas" preceded the duller spate of "(Blank) R Us," as in "Toys R Us" and "Mufflers R Us." But I digress. Castorama is a cute play on the "orama" form because Castorama has to do with building supplies and tools, and a "castor" in French is a beaver.

There is a Castorama store in Paris, but with space at a premium, you cannot view most of the selections in person. We had seen some items online that we thought might work in our very small bathroom-to-be, like the sink and mirrored cabinet combination above, but we wanted to actually see the materials and get a better feel for the dimensions. We also wanted to purchase everything for the bathroom in one fell swoop, so our builders would have everything they need to install a working toilet, shower, and sink, along with the tile for the floor and shower stall.

The "Essential" sink in real life. Ours can only be 60 cm across.

Our choices were quite limited in terms of the bathroom sink. Jim had originally told us that we could only have a sink that was no wider than 60 cm and no deeper than 40 cm! The only sinks we could find that were 40 cm or less in depth were more like shallow lavatory sinks however, and we could not picture having that as our main bathroom sink for any lengthy visits to Normandy.

The Castorama "Essential" checks in at 45 cm in depth and does come in 60 cm width. Jim allowed that we could fit in the 45 cm sink on the left wall (the extra 5 cm is only 2 inches more, but every inch counts in a tiny bathroom). The sink can still only be 60 cm wide however, as otherwise we can't fit a shower stall against the back wall. I think the sink and under cabinet pictured here is probably 70 cm. Depth is more important than width when you are splashing around washing your face!

So while we might have preferred a less modern style of sink, this one will work for us. We ordered it, along with the matching mirrored medicine cabinet, a slightly old-fashioned faucet, a generic toilet, a generic clear glass sliding shower door, light gray tile for the floor and plain white tile for the shower stall walls. Because it is so small, we'd like to keep the bathroom space simple, even if it is a bit plain vanilla. We can always paint or wallpaper the remaining wall space to bring a touch of color if it lacks personality. Or the hedgehogs can visit and sit on a shelf. I've decided that hedgehogs work wonders in every room.

We also looked at kitchens at Castorama, but will discuss that next time. Meanwhile, we are waiting with bated breath for the devis and a schedule for fitting out the bathroom!

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Winter Into Spring

5/26/2018

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Commons green at Lonlay l'Abbaye

Our last visit to Lonlay l'Abbaye was at the end of February. While it was chilly and rained a bit, the sun came out some days to promise Spring was not far off.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=13AVqj0XGfw&feature=youtu.be

Misty morning view

The old cider press in the commons area

But even in bleak midwinter, Lonlay was picturesque. We always enjoy spending time in the village, even if we sometimes spend more time indoors. We stayed again in the charming AirBnB run by Sarah and Geoff, cooking up cassoulet and enjoying some of their carefully selected red wines. We also had a few satisfying lunches at the village's restaurant, Le Relais de l'Abbaye.

View of the abbey and mairie from our AirBnB

Lichen on the walls of the abbey

Rather than take the train to Caen and rent a car there, as we had for previous visits, this time we opted to take a train from Montparnasse station to Flers, a town that is only about 20 minutes drive from Lonlay l'Abbaye. Joseph arranged to have a driver pick us up at the train station and take us to Lonlay for a reasonable cost. The downside was that we did not have a car to explore with, but we were happy not to have to drive at all, and planned to spend most of our time checking on the state of the tiny house, reading and relaxing at the AirBnB, and walking about the village anyway. That all worked out so well, we will likely travel this way again.

Our tiny house on the corner of Place Jules Levée - February 2018

Wide angle shot of bedroom looking out into small study and bathroom door

So, on to the house. We were very pleased to see that the walls, ceilings and doors had all been put in place on the upstairs level. The bathroom door was sticking a bit, but no doubt that has already been remedied by our builders. All of the electrical outlets are in place now too, and two electric heaters have already been installed - albeit they are not functioning yet because we need a new electrical panel.
Some of these pictures are darker than others as they may have been taken on different days. The weather was rather fickle.

Far side of bedroom with electric heater

The two bedroom windows with our new walls and ceiling

Window bay in bedroom just inside and to the right of the door from the study

Another view from inside the bedroom looking out into the study

We chose to have the door into the bedroom open inwards because the bedroom is bigger than the study. Conversely, the door to the miniscule bathroom will open out into the study because otherwise we probably could not fit a sink into the bathroom!

Looking into the bathroom-to-be

Top of the stairs looking into the study and further into the bedroom

Recessed wall in the study to the left of the door to the bedroom

Study

The slightly widened study now has room for shelving or a library on the right. We were constrained in this area by common walls that belong to our neighbor's portion of the original larger house - and also by the fact that some of the floor here is part of their downstairs ceiling.

We plan to have recessed lights in the study, but likely only a chandelier overhead in the bedroom. Lots of "prises" (electrical outlets) in each room for additional floor and table lamps, and the ubiquitous electronics. The outlets in the study are not actually red, they just have a temporary plastic covering over them.

Ground level - the decrepit door to the side street

Water damage at the foot of the decrepit door

The only bad news we had to face related to our doors. The main door into the kitchen from the square was no longer holding securely and had to be screwed open and closed. It looked very much the worse for wear. And we had already known that the other old wooden door to the side street had to be replaced as it was rotting out, but now we could see some water damage into our ground level living room. Time and the elements, particularly this past harsh winter, made it more clear to me that both doors would have to be replaced.

Our builders, Jim and Nicola, had previously gotten a bid for a replacement door in wood, but the cost was exorbitant. After speaking with our mayor and seeing what other villagers had done, Nicola told us that the only alternative would be custom-made aluminum doors. Not my first choice, and they will still be very expensive, but at least they are better than PVC, and the tiny house will be very secure with new doors.

Because our house is in close proximity to the 11th century abbey, a listed historic site, we had to request planning permission to change out our doors not only from the mayor, who is always helpful and reasonable, but also from the architects of the notoriously demanding Bâtiments de France. At the same time, we took advantage of Nicola's suggestion to have them approve two skylights for the roof as well.

We recently received the official blessing - really more of a statement that no one opposes what we want to do. It looks wonderfully formal and came in an envelope with a nice photo of the village. I'd keep it as a souvenir, even if we did not desperately need it.

So now the doors have been ordered, but will take some time to be custom-made and fitted. We are anxious, as ever, to complete the rest of the inside of the house and have made a plan to meet our builders again in early June.

This time we will meet in Caen and go directly to the building supply stores to pick out workable materials for finishing the bathroom. I have found it too difficult to tell whether something will work just from looking at it online, and only Jim and Nicola can tell us if our selections are realistic.

Meanwhile, as we always do this time of year, we are remembering the sacrifices of the Allied soldiers and the French resistance - particularly those who fought and died in and near Lonlay l'Abbaye in 1944 - a great turning point in the war. We will always remember how much we owe them for this beautiful and free corner of France.

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Back to Work

1/24/2018

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At the end of last year, work stopped completely, for a while, on our tiny house. The builders were engaged in a large building project elsewhere, and Joseph and I were away in the U.S. and Australia for family matters - the happy graduation of our daughter from university in Melbourne being one of them! In the interim, the builders presented their "devis" (estimate for a contract offer) for the next phase of work in Lonlay l'Abbaye: building out and insulating the walls on the middle floor of the house, including electrical lines and outlets, heaters and doors.

We accepted the bid, but heard nothing for awhile. Then near the end of December, we received a set of mysterious photos with strong shadows cast by a work light. The days are short in December, but at least this meant that work was underway. Still, those dark shadows were kind of creepy.

We could just about divine where in the house each photo was taken, but I could not help but be reminded of the lighting in the Netflix series "Stranger Things."

The stuff of nightmares!

Plumbing photos can also be troubling to contemplate when you have no idea which end is up.

BEFORE - Exposed attic beams and old fireplace opening

AFTER - New ceiling and walls

We recently received a few new photos that cheered us quite a bit, as it seems a lot of progress has been made this month. Our builders told us that the walls were taking a bit longer than usual to sand down and finish because the damp and chill was adding to drying time. In this photo above, you can see that the nonfunctional fireplace near one bedroom window has disappeared, and we are having plenty of electrical outlets ("prises") installed for lighting, computers and maybe a tv.

BEFORE - Tiny narrow study between bathroom and bedroom (wall to right removed)

AFTER - New wall expands storage and living space in the study.

As promised, the builders have expanded the small room that we are calling the "study" at the top of the stairs to include an indented wall we can use for bookcases, cabinetry storage, a working desk area, or a combination thereof.

BEFORE - Bathroom or storage shed?

AFTER - Lovely new seagreen water-resistant wallboard, ready for its closeup

Even the dreaded bathroom has been given a new outfit and prepped for the next stages. Looks smaller than ever, but somehow we believe we can fit a shower into the left corner, toilet in the right corner, and sink on the right wall.

BEFORE - Just inside the bedroom door

AFTER - Looks brighter already with new walls and door!

I'd like to think that the house is happier by the minute as it gets restored and refreshed.

(Inside joke for "Stranger Things" fans)

So, lots of good progress and some transformation. We are looking forward to seeing Jim and Nicola, the builders, in the near future to thank them for this work and to plan for the next steps. Next up: Lighting?

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Festive Times at Lonlay l'Abbaye

9/3/2017

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The end of August is always a splendid time to be in Lonlay l'Abbaye. Not only is the countryside green and fulsome, the weather mild, but the village has its annual "vide-grenier" and festival. We were lucky to be there this year for some of the best fireworks I have ever seen.

We stayed at Sarah and Geoff's AirBnB, a restored house near the small river that runs through Lonlay. In this picture, it is the brick and columbage house with sea green windows and door and the open skylight. Velux is the best known brand of skylight in France, so rather than use another word, a skylight is usually referred to as a "velux," the same way we might ask for a "kleenex," rather than a "tissue." Their renovation was very well done. They have kept much of the original woodwork, including an old hardwood staircase that is similar to the one in our house. Perhaps the houses are of a similar era.

At least some of you are thinking of commenting right now about how great our place in Lonlay l'Abbaye turned out. Hold that thought, please. I must remind you that the lovely spaces depicted above are of the AirBnB we rented in August, not our place! We are still on the proverbial slow boat to China, but...

... our hardwood floors are in! These are photos from opposite ends of the long ground-level room that will be our kitchen and living room/lounge. We are pleased with the rustic look and color of the wood. The finish is brushed and oiled in a natural way that is compatible with a country village house. The slight color variations give it some character.

Upstairs: If I look pensive in this photo, it's only because I can see lots more work to be done! We are anxious to get the attic insulated and finished off as well. The hardwood floor on this level for the main bedroom and small study is a bit darker and more formal. Stained but not varnished, the solid oak planks have a slightly reddish tinge. They are slightly more narrow than the honey-colored oak planks downstairs.

Our builder Jim was clever enough to use some of the extra oak from upstairs to build us a first step that was needed on the ground floor.

The next step in renovation will be to put in framing, electrical and plasterboard walls to finish out the middle level. Above is my amateurish sketch done to show the builders where we would like electric outlets (lots!), lighting, and the dividing wall between the study and the bedroom. Two electric heaters with internal thermostats will be placed here under windows to combat the cold.

And, of course, the bathroom must be tiled and outfitted. Because it is so small, we are asking our builders to have the door open outward, rather than into the bathroom. That should leave us room for a sink on the right with the toilet in the righthand corner. The shower will be built into the left hand corner, and we will have a heated towel rack (a necessity, not a luxury, in Normandy) on the left hand wall.
Now, let's go back outside!

Lonlay l'Abbaye, at the end of summer, was in its glory. The apple orchard that surrounds the old cider press near the center of the village was beginning to bear ripe fruit.

We took Bullet for a walk across the old wooden bridge that spans the Égrenne river to the ancient abbey. There were flowers everywhere and the river was splashing along happily like a stream.

This ancient crucifix is so weathered that it seems more of a pagan representation. It is very close to the old abbey. On another visit, I will try to find out how old it is.

The Abbey at Lonlay l'Abbaye was first consecrated in the early 11th century. Its doors were open to the public all during the festival weekend.

Inside the abbey, it was peaceful and cool. Recorded choral music added to the atmosphere. The church has many treasures and surprises.

Some of the statues are over 400 years old.

Outside in the village square, a kiddie carnival ride was set up, food booths were opening for business, and the main street was turned into a mini-midway.

The warm-up band had to play during the daylight hours and attracted a small, but growing fan base. As darkness fell and we got closer to fireworks time, another band took the "stage" and the village got more lively. There was beer and wine, grilled sausages, a "guess the weight" raffle, and a team of dedicated village volunteers who kept everything running smoothly. We saw Mayor Deroüet, but he was surrounded, so we did not get a chance to say hello.

Then suddenly, the fire department marching band appeared...

The children were given paper lanterns on a stick with lighted candles placed carefully inside (would not happen in the U.S.!) and of course, they were enchanted. Then the marching band led the children away into the dark like pied pipers, along with most of the village adults as well. We had no idea where they were going, but could hear them winding away down the narrow streets.

We followed the sounds and caught up with them all on the village green - just in time for those stupendous fireworks!

After the fireworks, we went back to the house to check on Bullet and relax, but we could hear the merriment and could look out the window to see dazed tiny kids whirring around on the lighted ride until way after midnight in the warm air while their parents laughed and talked with each other.

The next day, Sunday, found every street and corner of the village turned into a huge market, mainly of second-hand goods, vintage items and antiques - the famous "vide-grenier" (empty attic) type of rummage sale. Even our own house - in the photo just above - had squatters with a yellow sun umbrella in front. I did not spot anything I could not live without, but it was good fun, and we had a delicious steak at the village restaurant, Le Relais de l'Abbaye.

View of the abbey and Mairie from Sarah and Geoff's AirBnB

Besides the charming village fête and vide grenier, we also had time to let Bullet explore the orchard (whilst wresting her from wormy apples she was determined to eat), and we drove to La Fosse d'Arthour, a small natural site close to Lonlay l'Abbaye, associated in legend with King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere - but I'll write about that another time.

We do hope to be back soon.

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Working in August - Floors going in

8/4/2017

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New oak flooring being installed in the bedroom - August 2017

I answered my French phone last month and heard a man's voice making a rather strange proclamation: "Bonjour, c'est Le Parquet." My first thought was that I did not know anyone named Parquet, but then it dawned on me: it must be the nice salesman from the flooring store! Parquet=flooring. Quite rightly, he assumed that I would have been even more confused if he had introduced himself by his last name, so he identified himself as his product. So much of our transaction had been through email to that point. Email is a godsend for language cowards like myself, because I can use iTranslate or Google to correct the written word as best I can before I hit "send." He was calling to let us know that our special order of solid oak was ready. He would tell the delivery company to call us so we could set a date for delivery to Lonlay l'Abbaye.

A few days later, after having heard nothing, I had nearly given up on the delivery company, and was about to make the first move to call them, but I delayed out of abject telephone fear. Finally, a cheerful man called and we chose a date. Then I gave Nicola, our builder, the delivery company number so that she could call them and coordinate a time. The boxes of flooring were duly received, but then needed to be opened and acclimated to the ambient humidity in the house. Typically, this takes from one to three weeks, and we knew that would take us to August.

Ah, August, when time stands still in France! Despite the internationalization of so many other business customs, the great majority of French workmen still take month-long vacations in July or August. Office workers as well. Our vet and his staff have decamped. The butchers and cheese shops and the fishmonger are closed, and we hear very little morning traffic on our street. A few days ago, we were having lunch at a tandoori restaurant and stood to greet the owner of our local laundry and dry cleaning place who was there with a friend to kickoff her "vacances."

Our builders Jim and Nicola thought that their team could begin installation of the floors near the end of July, but I had visions of brakes being applied to the project as soon as August rolled around. So it was a pleasant surprise to hear that they had started on the upstairs floor this week. And we got photos to boot! The photos are so reassuring, because we can see that the wood is the color and finish that we had wanted.

Main beam and older floor to the left

Our upstairs (middle level of the house) is where our bedroom and bathroom will be. The French refer to this as the first floor. The ancient beam that supports the original stone walls had to be sanded down so that the new floor could be laid level.

New oak floor to the edge of the stairwell

While the wood flooring is brand new, it has the look and texture of the old floors we had to tear up. We're trying to retain the feel of the original house as much as possible. Looks like the new flooring complements the built in linen chest that our builders worked so hard to preserve too. We're very happy about that!

Built-in linen closet as seen September 2, 2015

Above photo is a picture of the old built-in linen cupboard as of September 2, 2015, the day after buying the house. While I was still hoping then that the floor on this level would not have to be replaced (the downstairs wood was riddled with a zoological compendium of insect damage), I knew that I definitely wanted to preserve this cabinet. Fortunately, the harder wood that the cabinet was made of (perhaps chestnut or mahogany) was resistant to the insects. The same was true of the staircase, so our builders were able to save both. All the wood flooring had to be replaced, however, as did the electrics and plumbing. Fortunately, the whole house is a relatively small space.

In the video above you can see the whole of the "premier étage" (French first floor) of the house, including the built-in cupboard and the "vétuste"(decrepit) pine floors, as I did my walk through back in September, 2015. Yes, the bathroom is definitely next on the list!

From August 24 through August 28, Joseph and I will be visiting Lonlay l'Abbaye. We are very excited to make this trip because we will get to see the new floors and make plans with our builders for the next steps: bathroom and kitchen. As a plus, the weekend of August 26 and 27 is a celebration weekend in Lonlay l'Abbaye with its annual "vide-grenier" (literally, the "empty-attic") where all sorts of vintage goods will be up for sale. The village will be abuzz with food stalls and visitors from near and far. We've found a lovely AirBnB rental that was just recently renovated by some folks who live in a nearby town. We love their sympathetic renovation of the ancient cobbler's house, and hope to meet up with them during the festivities! Here is the link to the rental if you'd like to stay in Lonlay l'Abbaye sometime:
www.airbnb.fr/rooms/18046218?location=Lonlay%20l%27Abbaye%2C%20France&s=BGpqBU5l

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