Beginnings, Middles, and Ends

I quote from Gilda Radner who died of Ovarian Cancer.

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.”

and 
I quote from Robert Frost from 'In the home stretch' who died as a result of prostate surgery.

“I don’t want to find out what can’t be known. But who first said the word to come?”
“My dear, It’s who first thought the thought. You’re searching, Joe, For things that don’t exist; I mean beginnings. Ends and beginnings––there are no such things. There are only middles.
"What is this?" “This life? Our sitting here by lantern-light together Amid the wreckage of a former home? You won’t deny the lantern isn’t new. The stove is not, and you are not to me, Nor I to you.”
“Perhaps you never were?”   “It would take me forever to recite All that’s not new in where we find ourselves.
New is a word for fools in towns who think
Style upon style in dress and thought at last
Must get somewhere. I’ve heard you say as much.
No, this is no beginning.”
“Then an end?”
“End is a gloomy word.”

Restless in France is sure she doesn't like endings, nor does she like ONLY beginnings. Middles are vitally important!
Chinese philosophy foretells that when we close an opportunity, we open another... just like opening and closing doors and windows. THUS THERE IS the heading of my blog created three years ago, whilst grappling with trauma I felt was sprinkled upon me!

Rabbits!

What a week! It started with the later than anticipated arrival of daughter and granddaughter who were diverted to Limoges on account of an airstrike. Dear Ryanair arranged 4 buses to bring the passengers to Poitiers for 7pm. It was a long day as the two started their journey at 5am and landed chez moi at 20h! Usually my daughter brings the hottest of weathers but this time the rain arrived for their full 3 days although we managed a dry spell on Wednesday. The sun arrived as they departed for more rain and storms in UK!  Ho hum. We've had the most glorious of June weekends. The house was re-arranged to my liking after their visit, mowing of one lawn was essential and I know two more await! The courtyard flowers needed tending and it was a long job to dead head the rambling rose and spray for blackspot and now my Evelyn rose has been infected!!!! Today was Patrimoine and I've thoroughly enjoyed the day. If only I could remind myself of optimism and a lovely world when the Black Spots arrive in my daily life! 
Activity reports will arrive next week.
Meanwhile, isn't this sweet...I wish I had small panes onto the outside world!!!!!! I've just replaced them but when the wooden battens get installed onto the double glazing then I shall hang some small rabbits.  Shall look out for them from now on!!!!!!

Irons not in the fire

I can't believe I've walked past irons in panes of glass at least more than 100 times and never seen them!  Must develop better observational skills!
I wonder why this pattern was created. 
Since then I saw another iron pattern .. must re-locate it as I didn't have the camera with me! 

The Small Room and the Oval Room

TWO SMALL ROOMS

Work for both of these rooms was done at the same time. 
The smallest room is destined to be an office or bedroom. 
The oval room on account of the ceiling moulding will become a living room.

ELECTRICITY

Electrical points and switches all had to be corrected. I removed the central ceiling light and installed two wall lights in the smallest room. I would like the telephone point to be in this room as it arrives on the exterior of this room but for some reason the wire travels through the attic of this part of the house to the furthest room in the building!

WOOD AROUND THE DOORS AND WINDOWS

It was decided to remove the very French brown, varnished tongue and groove boarding around the windows and doors. The rooms felt as if they could breathe. The revealed stone walls were then covered with plasterboard, filled and sanded, filled and sanded! This was the treatment for the cracks in the ceilings as well.

DOUBLE GLAZED UNITS

The window and doors (four units) were removed, woodwork lovingly repaired and double glazed units inserted. They were made draughtproof. It was complicated and took time.

SHUTTERS

These had all been sanded and painted by me in May 2010.

CUPBOARDS

The wallpaper in the corner cupboard was left on the walls but painted. The existing doors were sanded and painted but two of the four doors were missing so my friend built new ones so perfectly that no one would never know.

He built a small cover to conceal the water stopcock as once this room was a kitchen. I now need a cupboard to hide the electrics …. but later.

THE OVAL ROOM and the CHIMNEY

This room became a disaster when the stone chimney was opened to find out why there was damp.  I attempted to replace it with a similar aged fireplace but the price seemed prohibitive as in addition it would have required a woodburner. In May 2010 we had solved the problem by correcting the problem outside. Inside we removed the stone chimney by ingenious means and fortunately I managed to sell it.  Note how the clean water, waste water and gas pipes run along the back wall of this house from the kitchen!  I could not possibly afford to re-route them! 
The story is in photographs. 

Original 18th century stone chimney

The damage is evident...it had to go!

Think of the Ancient Egyptians!

The distance to the door is about 3½ metres

First the headstone!

The beef bone amongst the rubble.. Was this the French version of a medieval cat or shoes being left in the chimney?

Lovely dust as the last of the stones are removed

and laid outside for a buyer

and protected against wet weather

All cleaned up! Witness the pre-1985 wallpaper on plasterboarded polystyrene and the stone wall beneath.  We kept the chimney hole!

We replaced the plasterboard with fireproof board and all walls required a lot of filling and sanding to make them flat. My friend who’d had experience with woodburners before managed to work out the measurements of everything and I know that I could not have had such a beautifully finished room without him.

REMOVING FLOORING
I spent many hours each day on my hands and knees laboriously scraping off lino which left behind paper and glue. 

Not quite the last of the paper and certainly not the glue!

I then used various chemical products to soften the paper and glue and scrape it off the cement floor.  Towards the end we used machines to grind off the last stubborn remains.  It took weeks as I wrestled with the pain in my wrists and spent hours on my knees sobbing because of the difficult work and the emotional stuff that continued incessantly in my head and heart.

After I/we had lifted every scrap of lino, paper and glue from the cement and made the decision to lay oak it then transpired that it didn’t have to be removed and we could have leveled the floor over it. However, my mind was comforted because I know that it doesn’t exist and have photos to prove it!

Eventually we discarded the old skirting board. Under vigilant guidance I sanded and painted repeatedly brand new cheap skirting board and with careful drying out and weighting down it turned out well.

LAYING A SUB FLOOR, THE OAK FLOOR AND SKIRTING BOARDS

          I'LL FINISH WRITING ABOUT THIS LATER_____     Once the floor was laid, the radiator was replaced and the glass hearth and woodburner installed.

NEW INTERNAL DOORWAYS AND DOORS AND LIGHTING

One door way had to be widened and made higher. I chose two new doors and it was my task to sand and paint these. We bought the glazing from UK. 

INTERIOR DECORATION

I haven't yet added curtaining or hung photos / pictures on the walls.  LATER!