Here comes 2013

And so another eventful year draws to a close hopefully culminating in a splendid party tomorrow night. So far winter has failed to touch upon the Norman countryside and, instead of the gentle crunch under foot, there is a continual squelch of wet mud.

It's always nice to make resolutions for the coming year, lay down plans, touch on dreams and attempt to self motivate yourself into a better place. So here we go.

Last time we travelled about was in 2007. The kids don't really remember much about it but, as I look back to my own childhood,I have fond memories of Cornwall, Spain, Tunisia, Greece and Denmark. With this in mind from 2013 onwards, we are going to visit a different country every year with the kids. We're already looking into the trip for 2013 when we shall be driving to Switzerland to visit some virgin expats as they start their great adventure.

You may believe that during the days when I'm kicking around the house on my own I actually work quite hard. This is totally not the case and I have become an expert on "Homes under the hammer" and shed loads of true movies. 2013 will see a stop to this lethargy and an attempt, every day, to achieve something constructive and beneficial.

It is not unusual for those quite close to me to comment on my drinking habits.I am in full agreement that half a case of beer and two bottles of wine is a slightly excessive daily consumption. We have a New Years party to attend on 4th January after which I shall attempt to take some time out, only drinking when we go out or have guests.

Wishing all my friends and family a happy and prosperous New Year.

Love me XXX

Merry Christmas

Another year is coming to a close at Chateau Larcombe, that’ll be five we’re up to now, and once again I find myself looking back over the last 12 months and trying to consolidate the years events onto one side of A4 paper. Normally I have no struggles to fill a side of paper with stories of great adventures, mad inventions and humorous interactions with the locals but this year, and on attempt number 5 to write this I am, to say the least, lost for words. I may be able to sell a couple of the other attempts mind you as the first read more like a vicars sermon and the 3rd would have been a mean speech for a presidential candidate.

At the beginning of the year, after a fair few nights of insomnia, I came across an idea for one of my biggest projects to date. Those following the blog or friends on facebook will have seen the roundhouse progress from conception to reality and I must thank all of the numerous people who gave up their time and energy to assist in its construction. There’s still a little work to do on it but it can all wait until the weather is a little more forgiving. On the 9th November, we had the official opening party where “Erics Bar & Grill” played host to over 60 guests for a delightful evening drinks and partying. The roundhouse has been dedicated to my grandfather who sadly passed away this year. He always loved to entertain and was in his element surrounded by friends and family.

Our annual party, normally over the bank holiday weekend at the end of May, split this year into two separate events because the Queen decided to hijack our weekend for her Jubilee. For the planned weekend, we had numerous friends over from the UK and France and, as always, had a complete blast of a party. The second party was very close to my heart as we managed to get over 30 members of my family together for a long weekend of drink and conversation. Judging by the bottle count for that weekend, there is no doubting that alcohol consumption is hereditary. For those interested in joining us next year, the dates will be 24th to 27th May.

The softball has been condensed to one tournament a year and, apart from some stressing about hay and the numerous downpours in the run up, this year has been the biggest success to date. Friends flew in from the States and Malaysia to join us, as well as the usual crowd from the UK, plus a fair few new faces. 2013 dates are 2nd to 5th August.

Fortunately there have been no more additions to the livestock here however we have been suffering an insurgence of moles and mice this year. The usual methods of trapping have had minimal effect and even the poison seems to do little to dissuade the new super mice.

The kids are continuing to progress well at school scoring above class average in all subjects. Their French is exceptional and Peter regularly corrects daddy on his poor vocabulary and accent.

Jane has had a year crammed full of exams which created a small amount of stress on occasion. Her job at the bank is going well and she even managed to get a couple of days experience in the local branch in Aunay.

As always, I have a head full of ideas for the coming year here, swimming pool, lake, hot tub, giant aerial runway. All highly practical and of long term importance in my mind, however I think I may have to focus some more time on the house itself as roof repairs should really be the number one priority. Only time will tell.

Chateau Antoine

The more I think about it the more I am convinced that bringing this decrepit old beast back to life should now be high on my priority list. If it's allowed to decay any further, we may struggle to get permission to rebuild it.

Although it's possibly not the ideal time of year to be starting work on a project like this, the initial task of clearing the collapsed walls is only costing the price of fuel for the dumper and progress is being restricted to the days when I can actually get traction in the wet mud. My first attack was on a decidedly frosty morning when the ground was suitably hard enough to be able to drive every where with ease. Day 2, which I started in glorious sunshine, rapidly turned to torrential downpours but I persevered until I could no longer drive into the building.

My intention is to clear the site completely freeing up access to both sides of the walls and digging down the internal floor as far as is feasibly possible without disturbing the outside walls. Then, subject to saving enough money, laying a structural slab of concrete so facilitate building internal walls providing an insulating cavity and a structure to support the first floor.

Five years went quick

It was December 10th 2007 when we signed our completion contract on Chateau Larcombe and parted with our hard earned cash. The years have raced by and yet, as I look back, I wonder how we have managed to cram so much in. Not only have we achieved an awful lot, but we have managed to do it all on a shoestring budget.

At present we are undecided on what the coming year will produce for us and although I have great dreams of lakes, swimming pools and hot tubs,none of these are really likely to materialise in the next 12 months.

I was fixed on the idea of setting up my own business in 2013 but the more I read up on it, the more I feel that we would actually end up being worse off than we are with me not working. For instance health care costs me nothing at the moment because I am covered through Janes work. As a self employed person I would immediately be faced with anything up to 1000 euros a year in taxes for healthcare regardless of whether or not I actually made money. Add to this the cost of insurances and 30% tax on any money I do make and the negatives really start to weigh the positives.

I am now contemplating throwing all my energies at Chateau Antoine, developing it into a proper, rentable house for the local long term market. Mission one will require my darling wife to have a chat with the mayor in order to check the feasibility of what we have in mind. Given the nod from him, we can look into borrowing some money and returning the building to the house that it once was. Watch this space for news.

The first snow of this winter has been falling making everywhere look clean and fresh along with motivating me to light both fires and keep them going throughout the days.

Holidays are coming

After spending a month here mother-in-law has finally left the building meaning that the washing and cooking have returned to my list of chores. Fortunately while she was here it facilitated me getting a few more jobs done including moving the living room around, decorating and finally building Janes shelf for the tea and coffee stuff.

The winter is now properly closing in on us with the onset of frosty mornings and a requirement to wear jeans and a jumper instead of shorts and t-shirt. With this cold spell I have decided it is time to return the green house fish back to the lake where they came from. Although my aquaponics experiment has been successful, barring the loss of one fish, the productivity was not as great as I would have liked so the system will be retired and no doubt transformed into something else in the future.

The greenhouse was a complete failure this year, not just in poor productivity levels, providing a home for more flies than you can possibly imagine. The olive tree has been suffering because, with all the rainfall, the humidity levels went through the roof and it is now covered in mildew like mould. Come the spring it will be relocated to the garden somewhere freeing up the space for my hot-tub project.
I have been helping out with bits for the schools Christmas market again this year. Possibly the worst job to date has been cutting out a pile of little Christmas trees with the jigsaw. Temperatures in the workshop were just hovering above freezing and, after 3 hours work, I could barely feel my fingers or find my tackle to use the toilet. All I have left to do now is to knock out some samosas or Krusti for Fridays big event.

With Christmas rapidly approaching Jane is struggling with the usual present problems for the tiddly peeps. On the brighter side however all of our cards have been written and the UK pile has been dispatched already. Just a few international ones left to post before it's too late.