Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Tempus Fugit

It has been over two months since my last post and that one was some time since the one before. I am finding myself doing what I used to secretly accuse bloggers of and that is no longer posting or simply stopping altogether. 
As you will have read, I have moved and it has been so traumatic and ongoing that I have no time for  myself and what used to make me tick. 
My relationship with the last house degraded and in the end it was a nightmare with me packing and sorting in the middle of legalities, doing everything alone, seeing my craft room and refuge being boxed up for goodness knows how long. I felt that my emotional backup had gone and I felt disraught and sad, something I am not victim of, being a really happy person most of the time.

I will not get into the number of trips, driving over 500 kms each time and sometimes there and back in one day. Our first trip to actually see the house, sign the lease and deposit stuff took us over 10 hours in the truck then six hours back. Each time it took me over a day to recover then we had to start over with only me packing the truck and trailer with what I could fit in. I am lucky in having some great friends who helped but in the end I had to lose quite a few things I loved and all my garden has stayed put or ended up in other gardens after years of caring for my plants.

I am posting some photos of the house before the mess came in to give you an idea of what I am dealing with. The house is in the Dordogne region which is very mild and even quite hot in summer, I hadn't actually realised just how much! I had never been to this region before if you can believe that. People ask how I ended up here and I reply ' well it seemed like a good place to be'. I have said the same thing in the past when I moved to Brazil, then China, when I got married in India, when I moved to the south of France, I just went for it each time, why not!

The first photos are off the garden, something that was very important to me and the dogs. The garden was bigger before but had been shortened four years ago when the owners died. The children tell me that their used to be a herd of gazelles in the upper garden and a wild pig in the middle. At the upper end there is a huge caged in section that held other exotic animals at one point.


The fountain that used to work, under the metal plate there is a twenty foot water well! 



The mysterious statue, very similar to a miniature one I had for Ramsay house.


There are a few small building here and there, all overgrown. This one would make a great little summer house as it has windows and french doors on the side.


This is where the wild pigs used to live and then became a play area until nature took over and the low shrubs became huge trees and ivy crept all over it. I am going to cut down all the surrounding cypress trees and turn the end part into a green house with raised vegetable plots beyond it. I think that once cleared and painted and lights hanging from the roof it can be a lovely spot.


This was a gorgeous old bench, it is now falling apart but with some care it can be lovely again.



 Above is the corridor leading to my bedroom lined in shelves which I am going to paint this summer. Below is the library with more shelves but sadly still not enough for all my books.


The next three photos are of the living room with built in cupboards and a huge fireplace although the photo doesn't show the scale of it all. 
The floors in most of the house are of stone.


A neighbour lent the garden furniture the first day so we could sit and sign all the papers.



This is one of the bedrooms, there are 6 in all although I have made the main one my workspace and another into a dressing room.
All the fireplaces in the house are gorgeous.


This wing of the house was added in the 70's and they found a huge cabinet to set into the wall. You can get an idea of scale by looking at the height of the door.


The kitchen has a large country style sink in the same marble/stone as the floors and bathrooms. The windows give onto an inner courtyard that I have filled with plants.


There are gorgeous sturdy stairs going up three floors. I don't count the top floor which has a bedroom and two other large rooms as it has to be modernised in the autumn.


On my list of things I couldn't live without was a fireplace, a garden, a good kitchen and a bath! The bathroom is great but the bath is quite intimidating to get into.


This was the main bedroom which had a repaint and is now my workroom. The light is great and it overlooks the garden. There are acutally 3 bathrooms, a shower room and 3 washrooms.


A fairly large washroom is off to one side with amazing 1930's washbasin and bidet and lots of cupboards to put all my paints and products for crafting.


This wonderul ancient chateau is nearby down a long alley of trees, it also has a 4 km2 botanical park which can be accessed for free and has lovely picnic area, dogs are allowed.



The house is now disturbingly full of boxes and bags and furniture and is not quite ready to be photographed but as soon as I get things sorted out I will let you in and show you around. Today I cannot move as I have thrown out my back and can only walk bent over and of course it's Bastille Day and doctors are not on duty! 

I'm not sure that this is a very interesting post but I felt bad about leaving you all with no news. I do hope that this is the last time I will move house until I go into the pine box but in life you never know. I have lived in over 30 homes in 30 years. Today I feel that I have found peace despite being sad about my miniature world taking back stage over real life. 

Wishing you all as much joy as the present situation allows.

Hugs xoxoxo


14 comments:

  1. Even a smooth move is a major upheaval but yours sound particularly emotional Stephanie, however I am SO HAPPY that you have found your "forever" home and that the worst of your transition is now behind you!
    Your new digs are utterly charming and SO BIG!!! Now you'll have space to display all of your finds AND with room to spare-
    WELCOME HOME! :D

    elizabeth

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    1. Thank you Miss E, I'm a bit late in replying to everyone, so many boxes and so much to do ! huggss

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  2. Oh your house and garden look stunning! Thank you for showing us! You should realise us miniaturists love architecture pictures and are happy for such a post! It looks like a perfect spot to stop in forever and hope you get everything sorted very soon! Start with your boxes of mini stuff! Haha!! Xx

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    1. Hi, well I tried but forst find all the components for the shelves then the relevent boxes, nothing doing, too many !! I do hope to get back into my 'other house' when the weather is cooler as we have a huge heat wave since ten days, impossible to do anything ! huggss

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  3. It is nice to see you, though I am sad to hear that you have been forced away from mini therapy so long! Even still, you are wiser and more empathetic for knowing what it is that can come up in life to keep a blogger away from posting. The house and grounds look incredible! So much potential everywhere! I hope you will get to live there for 30 years, completely settle in and make your dreams for the place come true! If the unpacking goes well, I bet you'll be back to Ramsey House before you know it! Best of luck and godspeed!

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    1. Miss Jodi hi , yes big and lots of rooms and still looking for stuff and where to put it and what colour to paint etc, will take months, but will be fun ! huggss

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  4. I have been eagerly awaiting any update on your move. I am myself in the middle of my 17th move in life, and I don't think that I can face another one. It is so much to handle. I find that it always takes some time to 'find yourself again' after a move. BUT, you now live in a beautiful place. I hope that the stress of the move ebbs away and that you find joy in decorating the house, finding a place for everything and being creative again!

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    1. H'Iris, well I think that I have counted over 30 moves over the years and several countries so it's nice to at last have ALL my things under one roof and begin to play around with stuff ,, huggsss

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  5. It is nice to hear something of you again, Stephanie.
    But WOW, this house and grounds look incredible, there are so much possibilities for your plans! I hope your body and mind will get to ease. I wish you lots of luck, rest and a great future in this gorgeous new home.
    Stay safe, take care, dear Stephanie.
    Hugs, Ilona

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    1. Hello Ilona, thank you, yes lots and lots of space, still no cupboards !! luckilly I can turn extra rooms into dressing and storage rooms. There is even a small office building in the back courtyard with two old desks and floor to ceiling shelves ! There is a small stone house in the garden for which I should get the keys soon to turn into a small summer reading and meditation space with luck. Will post photos, huggss

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  6. Dear Stephanie, it is great to hear from you and to see that the move is in progress. Sadly you have quite a few things to do before the move is finished.

    The pictures of the house and garden look stunning. It has so many opportunities to become a great if not spectacular home. I hope that you get beter soon!

    Good luck with the remake of the move.

    Huibrecht

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    1. Mr H, thank you, it will be a huge job especially since the house had not been lived in for years, I am still finding things all over the place left by the family including an almost life size african carving of a witch doctor woman with horns ! The garden will be my autumn project so as to have my own vegetables in the spring and summer which will be useful as since I moved in there have been so many visitors and stop overs, two just left this morning and two more arrive tomorrow ! huggss

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  7. Lovely to hear you have landed well, Stephanie. Moving is stressful at the best of times but this sounds more like an epic uprooting and shifting. The new house and garden looks amazing and I do really hope for you, you can now catch your breath and set root there.
    Take care of yourself,
    Anna X

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    1. Dear Ana, yes mixed feelings here, I am on one side so happy to have found this house and finished moving but I would love to go see my mother who is feeling very shut in as with all this mess she has not been out since 6 months and I cannot go see her for the moment. Difficult to be happy when others are not, take care , huggsss

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