Catching Up!
As you may have noticed, I have been silent since returning from our trip to Istanbul in March. If you have followed my postings for any length of time (I have been blogging since 2009), you know that I sometimes take long pauses. Generally someone reaches out to find out where I've gone (shout out to Saint Louis). And then I return. I do like to keep in touch and I often have some pretty photos to share.
The problem this time has been that I have changed websites again. Squarespace is a highly recommended website creator, but it does cost a certain amount to maintain a presence there and since we're on a quest to simplify our lives, I decided not to renew this year. I've gone back to Wordpress, which is free, but much more awkward to use and far less intuitive. It's a bother to learn a new system, but I am working away at trying to make a new home on the web here and add a blogging platform to my site. This is my first post from my new provider. The domain name, Nancy's Atelier, remains the same but the address is slightly changed. It used to be www.https//nancysatelier.com and now it is www.http//nancysatelier.com, so if you ever bookmarked the old site, you will have to remove the 's' in 'https' to get here.
Enough with the technical talk!
We have had some nice adventures since last we talked and I intend to catch you up slowly, week by week. I think I will start with giving you an update of the progress of our house projects. Plants grow slowly, contractors work slowly, we make our own improvements slowly, but eventually and definitely, change comes.
In September of last year I posted the following photo of our back garden which we had spent months to create. This was the culmination of that effort, a corner garden getting ready to grow up.
Fall 2022.
In less than a year this patch has certainly filled out. Most of the plants we chose found this to be a happy environment for them. When we moved in, this area was barren, used to plant vegetables directly in the ground durning summer, and left to weeds and mud during the rest of the year. Our next door neighbors thought our efforts here were a little futile and told me that this plot was going to be too hot to grow plants in the summer. This declaration surprised me, as clearly that isn't the case at all. We get only morning sun here.
August 2023.
I feel quite happy with this little area, although there are still things to refine and complete. I suppose that is always the case with a garden. The work is never really done.
The New Dawn rose on the arbor was much more extravagant earlier in the season.
It makes a nice place to enjoy an evening meal, to putter or just relax. Our vegetables this year are not as productive as last, although we do have tomatoes coming on, zucchini to spare and had a handful of delicious peas in June. We've had strawberries and blackberries in moderation, and a fig tree full of fruit not quite ripe.
Photo by Daniel
.
The front garden went through waves of color starting in the spring, first with the pink cherry blossoms, then the purple irises, afterwards the orange lilies and finally white herbaceous plants that I didn't identify. But June and July were very hot here, as was true everywhere, the hottest in at least 125,000 years, as I heard, so the lawn turned brown while somehow the weeds thrived. It was more than we could keep up with. We now begin to contemplate adding more shrubs and trees with less dependence on grass and high-maintenance seasonal blossoms. Yet another improvement to add to our list.
The hibiscus in the front yard is a summer winner.
James and Daniel were in France, as usual for the summer. Daniel taught in Paris all July, while James went back and forth between the capital and Burgundy, trying to wrangle their contractors to get going on their place.
The first big change to the little house was having the window openings enlarged. James and Daniel, both being tall, felt this to be their greatest priority. Our mason, Sylvain LeGrand, is our very favorite contractor. He is so reliable, so prompt and such a good craftsman. He had the holes for the windows created by spring, but the windows themselves were not installed until mid-July, so with wide open walls, the house became a favorite nesting site for the swallows.
It wasn't until June that the carpentry got under way. The ground floor was to be made into two rooms and a second bathroom was to be added. The electrician got his installation done just before James and Daniel arrived to take up residence for three weeks. Each contractor promised that their part would be complete before mid-July, but not one actually met that deadline. Still, they all finally did arrive, but James and Daniel had to do a bit of camping out while work continued around them.
It is only within the last couple of weeks that the walls have all been up, and only a matter of days since the plumbing has been functional. Their kitchen remains to be built, promised by the end of the month. Despite this, the work has gone on, with James and Daniel taking on the painting.
Photo by Daniel
.
They actually took a great deal of gratification in doing so much of the work themselves and I was impressed with how quickly they learned the skills required to do a professional job of it.
Photo by Daniel
.
Although there is still much to accomplish to create the home they want, it is well underway and they are quite pleased with what has been accomplished. They have now returned to California, and we won't see them again until February.
Photo by Daniel
.
August has been very mild in our area and despite all the work, James and Daniel managed to entertain some friends and take a few short day trips during the time they were here.
Vézelay,
Photo by James
.
Rick and I had a fun adventure in the South of France early in July, seeing some dear friends, which I will tell you about next time.
Emily and her family have spent six weeks on the west coast of the U.S. this summer, driving from Los Angeles to Seattle and back again. They are on their last leg now. Before they left, however, they spent a few days with us. Quinn, Zinnie and I made a little art together. I really loved what they created so much. Collaged images, turned into an accordion book.
Quinn's panorama of San Francisco
.
Zinnie's Big City panorama
.
Until next time...
