Vaucluse Dreamer

It seems strange to say, but this evening, the fire is lit and we’re cosy inside the house, watching the snow fall silently past the window.

It had been predicted, but even this morning, it seemed unlikely, as we woke to beautiful blue skies, without even the slightest glimpse of a cloud on the horizon. In fact, it seemed so unlikely, that Andy said he’d eat his hat if it snowed here, so as you can imagine, I’m currently planning recipes that will make a woolly beanie slightly more palatable for him!

The week has been very pleasant, with more of the wildflowers starting to unfurl their petals in the warm spring sun, adding bright splashes of spring colour to the verges and hedgerows….

And we’ve been starting to get on with bits in the garden, between little walks and the ongoing nurse visits, following Andy’s recent operation. Apparently, he should feel comfortable enough to start doing some walks again, after the stitches are removed tomorrow …. we haven’t had the heart to admit to the nurses that he’s been walking between 8 and 11 km per day for the last week! He just wants to get back on his bike again now.

After waving Tom off at Lyon airport for his trip back to the UK, we have been starting to get to grips with what we need to get done over the next few months, from beginning to pull together the paperwork that will be needed for the wedding ….To house-hunting with George, who is keen to buy a little home here, where they can settle after they are married.

We have been like kids in a candy shop, as there’s nothing we like more than looking around houses and making plans for what can be done. In fact, it’s almost a shame when the hunt comes to an end, but we’re keeping everything crossed that he has found something and that all will go well, and that in the not-too-distant future, we will be helping him renovate the little place, which should keep us busy… that is as if we ever have time to get bored at the moment!

The plan is that if everything goes through, they will rent it out for a few weeks, each summer, when they house-sit for us, looking after Millie and Pusscat. whilst we’re away, so watch this space for more information on that, as we’re really excited for them.

In fact, we’ve been so excited that we’ve already started hunting out bits that they may need and have been back to our local Recyclerie to look at what is there, just to get some ideas. Of course, that was never going to end with us just looking and walking away; it never does.

The local Recyclerie is a superb social enterprise that was established in Apt in 1995, to support people in need, following the death of a homeless person in the street here. Since its establishment, it has grown into a successful project that offers support and accommodation for vulnerable people, creating a number of sustainable jobs in the town too.

It’s also become one of our go-to places for furniture and bits for the house, with so many of the pieces that fill our little home here, having been found when we’ve just dropped in to see what’s there.

It’s been a while, since we’ve been and what harm could come of us just popping in, whilst we were passing to have a little look, with George’s new house in mind? We should have known better, as the first thing we saw was a rather beautiful sleigh bed…

Did we really need a new bed? Of course the simple answer is no, but this was a beauty and at the bargain price of 55 euros, it had to come home with us, and after borrowing a screwdriver from the chap in the workshop there, it was quickly dismantled and packed carefully into the boot of the car for the drive home….

By the end of the day, it was rebuilt in our spare bedroom, with a base and mattress from the old bed that had been there and looked superb. I think it’s fair to say that it won’t be going anywhere else in a hurry, so our plans of looking for bits for George and Beyza stumbled at the first hurdle….. We must try harder next time….

We tried again today, with an early morning trip over to L’Isle Sur La Sorgue for breakfast, before heading up to Carpentras for a fuddle around the Sunday morning brocante market…

We got diverted on the way across, by a small Vide Grenier in the pretty village of Pernes Les Fontaines and managed to walk back to the car with a heavy, marble-based cyclist sculpture, that simply couldn’t be left on the stall. Again, something for us, but it was a bargain, so that’s OK (isn’t it?)

Finally, we made it to Carpentras, and under the bright blue skies, wrapped up against a viciously cold wind, we set about exploring the stalls to see if anything caught our eye. There weren’t as many stalls as normal today, with a lot of talk about the forthcoming snow and stallholders carefully watching their stock to make sure that pieces weren’t sent flying or crashing to the floor in the strong gusts…

I was rather taken with a couple of birdcages (I’d rather like one for the terrace)

And of course, I’m always drawn to stalls filled with old zinc tubs and other garden brocante, to add more character and planters to our little garden….

But managed to resist temptation, until we saw a set of 4, very pretty. rush-seated chairs that would be perfect to sit around a new kitchen table. So after a little negotiation, we paid the trader and wandered back to the car, feeling rather proud of having stuck to the plan in hand and having finally found something that won’t just end up in our own little place.

So, now there are even more reasons for us to be excited about the next few months, and I have a feeling that it will feel as if our feet don’t touch the ground with everything that is going on. It felt as if January trudged by in slow-motion, but since then we have been on a roller-coaster ride that has whipped us this way and that & we’re already staring the start of March in the face.

In the blink of an eye, we’ll be on the final run into the wedding and there’s so much more that is going on between times too. All we can do is hold on tight and enjoy the ride…