Category: Autumn 2009

Refuge Estagnous

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First time we have set an alarm this morning. Final packing of bags, making sandwiches and closing up shop before heading on our adventure.

Fantastic early morning drive over the Col de la Core and into the Bethmale Valley. The views going up to the col were fantastic with cloud in the valley and the early morning sun creeping over the mountains slowly unveiling the farms and forests.

Sun rise AriegeSun rise Ariege 

Parked up the van at the Cabane de Pla de la Lau 930m and set off in the shade up the wooded valley following the stream towards the Refuge des Estagnous.2245m. The waterfall below the Refuge de Caussis looked impassable from a distance but the path wound its way up the slabs to the left of the cascade.

   

We reached the Estagnous for our picnic lunch having taken in amazing views of Etang Rond on the way up. Over lunch however the clouds started swirling in and out but we decided to go up Mont Valier 2838m in the hope of catching a clear spell at the top.an hour and a half later we found ourselves at the summit in thick cloud. Had to take a photo and then wait for twenty minutes to see if it would clear. Once again Mother Nature smiled on us and the cloud receded to reveal amazing views and cloudscapes.

Etang RondEtang Rond  Ascent of ValierAscent of Valier On the SummitOn the Summit

Satisfied we trundled back down to the Refuge where we were booked in.

Having seen virtually nobody all day we were looking forward to a cosy, quiet night in the mountains. Descending the screes near the hut we heard human voices, though it could have been one very volumous voice having been plunged into very cold water. Hopes of solitude were dashed when we saw a group of 20 odd French teenagers on the terrace of the Refuge. The Guardians took pity on us and gave us a room to ourselves. The only reason we got the reservation was that the school group had booked as they would normally only open the Refuge at weekends this late in the season. We put our thermals on and played cards gradually getting colder in the unheated hut while we waited ‘til dinner.

Soup followed by Veal stew and rice, cheese and chocolate pots; all swilled down with a bottle of wine then straight to bed to warm up.

Categories: Autumn 2009, The Project Tags: Tags:

Ceiling done and lights again

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A bit of a cloudy start but dry so that was fine for us.

We cracked on with finishing off the ceiling which took about an hour. Alison and the gang turned up for elevenses and we showed them round up dating them with the progress. Coffee in the sun very nice. They trundled back down to Salau and we put the last few planks in and now we have a ceiling yippee.

Morning coffeeMorning coffee 

The rest of the morning was sorting out lighting and wiring, we now have 3 down lighters in the mezzanine ceiling, one main light and 3 flexi lights shing on to the mezzanine itself, all on different circuits so plenty of light for the evenings now, HUGE difference.

Al worked for quite a while re locating the battery up on to a shelf out of the way and sorting wires etc out. Sorted out wires for the solar panel so they now come through the back of the building which is a lot better saves us tripping over wires all the time. We put up another shelf and WOW the place really feels like a home, small and cosy perfect.

New shelfNew shelf 

I went a brambling again before showers and rose o’clock.

Time to pack and get sorted for our 2 day venture, very excited about that keep the sun a shining. Pasta loading for supps and cards and bed, early ish start tomorrow.

Categories: Autumn 2009, The Project

Funny Evening out

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Woke up to glorious sun shine again beginning to get used to this and so we decided the best plan of attack was to start on insulating the roof as it makes it a lot easier when the weather is dry, working from outside with all the cutting etc.

Firstly, Al solved the down lighter problem by hand drilling them with one of his Grandfather’s old tools worked a treat and now we have 3 lights in the mezzanine ceiling great, just need to wire them up, this will make a huge difference in the evenings.

We needed to clear things out from the area we were working in so things did not get too dusty before setting too with lining the roof with the insulation, basically layers of tinfoil with cotton wool like stuff in between but somewhat more expensive!!!

Firstly, we put some mesh in between the joists to keep the flies out and keep the ventilation working, a bit of a fiddly job but will be well worth it in the long run.

2 sheets of the ventilation stuff worked perfectly so very little wastage which was great news. Al luckily had a staple gun which made this considerably easier but it was quite hard work.

Sausage sandwiches for lunch in the sun it was not quite so hot today which meant we could sit outside in the sun rather than the shade.

Then full steam ahead in the pm. Recycling the old roof battens to use as battens for the ceiling and then started putting up the match board for the roof. I was in and out cutting the wood and Al was nailing it in. We got about 2/3rds of the ceiling done before calling it a day as we needed to get the outbuilding back to a state that we could get to bed that night without lights as we have disconnected them whilst putting up the ceiling, all should be back to normal tomorrow.

Insulation and matchboard ceiling Breezy bloggingBreezy blogging

Quick showers and we then sat outside and read our books for half an hour which was very relaxing before heading down to Alison and Peter’s for a very funny night with some excellent food. lots of giggling and we heard that La Chase is not allowed to shoot with dogs this year due to the problem with the bears in the area. This got us slightly concerned for our wander home, fret not Alison and Peter sent us off with a trumpet to scare the bear aware should he be up there!!!! Alison had a Yorkshire lass Helen over for the week end so might well see them tomorrow if they pop up and show her the waterfall etc.

Back up to the barn and strangely enough after all those bear stories I spent the first hour hearing lots of strange noises!!!! On to bears, forgot to mention that we feel the bear has been prowling, have a look at the photo of the barn door, now what does that look like to you???

Bears can't readBears can't read Bear scratch?Bear scratch?

Categories: Autumn 2009, The Project

Shops and Ceiling

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We had decided to go to St Girons and collect supplies, the most exciting thing about the trip was this time we would not need to make a trip to Maccy D’s for internet access yippee do da day!!!

We had a reasonably prompt start for us and were away by 8.45am and had a long list of things to do and places to go before midday.

Got loads of building stuff from the Forgue primarily for insulating the roof and putting the ceiling up under the mezzanine and also on the main roof in the outbuilding, plus some wood to build some stairs up to the mezzanine. Very quick and easy. We threw some laundry into the laundrette before picking up some odds and ends, making a few phone calls to sort refuges out for Monday night. We are planning an overnight trip away we were hoping for it to be into Spain but sadly the refuge we wanted to stay at is closed so we have booked at a refuge in the Mont Valier area for Monday night so looking forward to some exploring over there.

Collected the clean laundry before our next port of call to buy a door mat, very important!!!

A quick trip to Carrefour on the way home for a little bit of food, petrol and gas before heading home. Saw Lee briefly in Carrefour on his way home from his hols so will catch up with him in the next week or so.

We popped in to see Annie and Dominic on our way back, they are doing quite a bit to their place so that is good and it was back to the barn for lunch in the sun.

We had a productive afternoon and managed to get the ceiling up in the mezzanine, sadly the drill bit for drilling the holes for the down lighters did not fit so Al is coming up with another plan to solve that problem.

Had our usual prawns and aioli for starters (norm after a shopping day to have fresh fish) outside before moving inside for sausage casserole for supps. A few hands of Bezique which seems to have taken over from Piquet at the moment.

Insulation and matchboard ceiling  terraceterrace  Same terraceSame terrace

Categories: Autumn 2009, The Project

Stove swap

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Another glorious day and we have decided that the Godin stove which we got off Lee is not quite right for the out building, we have other plans for where we are going to put that. We decided to use the pot bellied stove that we had brought out from the UK in the corner. It is slightly larger and fits the space better.

It needed fettling, so we took it apart and re fitted it properly, re sealing it and blackening it up again. A good job to do in the sun. Mind you I think Al had a bit too much sun today and felt rather wiped out in the afternoon.

The pot bellied stove now looks fab and is in situ, next job for that is just to fit the flus etc and test it out. Having that and the insulated roof might be rather toasty in here, we will see. It will be atmospheric anyway.

We had lunch in the shade before having a leisurely afternoon.

We tried again to locate the roof problem by a process of elimination, slowly we will sort it.

Then since it is mushroom time of year we t Pot Belly Stove hought we would see if we could find any. We had a good rummage around in the woods behind, we found a few. Used Sauze’s book to try and find out what they were but still not convinced. We are in need of going with someone who knows what they are doing so we can learn. Sauze and Patrick please come and visit!!!!

A good chilli for supper and an early night.

 Pot Belly Stove

Categories: Autumn 2009, The Project

Sunshine so hot showers outside

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Woke up to glorious sunshine which was great news after 4 days of rain it was getting a bit tedious!!! The sun does not actually reach the barn at this time of year until 10.30am so quite fresh first thing.

Had brekky cereals and brambles from the land which although very small were delicious. We have lots of little bits and pieces which we want to sort this time which is good as you feel like we are making progress.

We spent the morning making shelves for the outbuilding. We needed 2 more shelves so found some more off cuts of Poplar, Al set too cutting and planning and then handed them over to me for sanding and varnishing in the sunshine!!! Also, had a few brackets to paint at the same time.

On to the next problem which is the leaking roof which is a pain as it is very difficult to isolate which slate is causing the problem. Luckily it is at the back so access is considerably easier. Al got on the roof and could find no obvious problem so it is now the bucket of water trick and trying to determine which slate to silicone to stop the leak….this could take a while I think.

Lunch in the sun on the bench, left over roast chicken sandwiches which were yummy.

We were then on to attacking the area outside the outbuilding which we had started yesterday with moving on rocks and levelling. We finished off levelling the area and then dug up some turf from the back of the barn and have laid it down  outside, we think it looks great and makes us feel like we now have a small outdoor area for a table etc with a fantastic view of course. We watered that all in before tidying up.

Chucked another few buckets down the roof still none the wiser re where the leak is coming from…..

Hot showers outside before rose.

I am still in shock with this satellite internet it is amazing and makes life so much easier.

All in all a top day, until tomorrow.

Categories: Autumn 2009, The Project

First couple of days back

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Flew out to Carcasonne on Saturday and were met by Von, Andie’s sister at the airport. Von and Mark had been looking after Vinnie, our VW van since the spring, a quick cuppa and catch up before heading off to Mirepoix to stay there the night rather than arriving at the grange in the dark and sorting ourselves out. At Limoux we called at the supermarket and stocked up with a few days food on the way.

Mirepoix is a fabulous small town with a lovely centre of old oak framed buildings around a central square. There was a fete of some kind with fairground stalls and live music so we snuck down a quiet side street for moules frittes.

Having caught up on emails in the morning and showered we set off for Salau. En route we called at the Auberge to collect our new satellite. The intention being to set up satellite broadband at the grange. Rain and drizzle with low cloud so we set about organising ourselves and discovering what we had left where. There is always an air of anticipation when we get back “what state is it going to be in?” All good and still secure. Though there is a new leak in the roof of the main barn. The outhouse was infestation free though we have a family of Loire living in a plastic bag of work gloves in the tool store. Fresh prawns and aioli, followed by baked trout for supper.

Monday was more of the same weather so we set about using some of the stock of off cut wood to make some shelves. One above the door of the outhouse and a couple on the mezzanine. Smoothing and sealing wood in the morning and constructing and installing in the afternoon. It’s amazing how much difference it makes having somewhere other than the floor to put things. Made us thing about what else we need to find, make, buy or acquire. A door mat for one. Early door we set off for the Auberge for a drink and to tap Freddie for some hints on satellite setup. Roast chicken dinner with mustard and fresh sage from the garden stuffed under the skin, yummy.

shelf above doorshelf above door  shelves on mezzanineshelves on mezzanine

Tuesday and its not raining. The cloud is low but water is not falling out of the heavens. I read the instruction manual (looked at the pictures) for the satellite installation over coffee. Anything I was unsure about I asked Breezy as the instructions were all in French. First off we needed to find something to mount the dish on. In the absence of the proper mount we whacked a post in the ground and used that, then meticulously followed the pictures until hey presto we were connected to the word wide web. It’s amazing, no mobile signal, no water, no mains electric, and you stick up a dish and run it off solar (currently cheating using a generator) and you are connected to the web. The inverter for the solar should arrive Wednesday.
 
 

We were so amazed that it only took the morning I left Breezy sorting emails and went weeding.

Weeding done including the veggie patch and we turned our efforts onto creating a terrace out the front of the outhouse.

Beef stew and baked potatoes for tea tonight after getting the generator running and uploading this. Absolutely amazing!!!

 

Categories: Autumn 2009, The Project