Fixing the roof

We are expecting a crew of roofers (couvreurs or "coverers" in French) to show up early this morning. The job they'll do will involve taking tiles off part of the roof of our house, replacing the sheet metal in the "valleys" on either side of the dormer window over the kitchen, and then putting the roof tiles back on. That will, in theory, fix a leak that we've been dealing with for a month or so. Then the roofers will clean out the rain gutters and downspouts on the front and back of the house and to make sure that rain water flows freely when the rains come back.

The roofer says the valleys on either side of the dormer are not wide enough and not deep enough. This isn't the first time we've had leakage. We had a spectacular flood in the kitchen on one June day in 2007. By the way, in French a dormer or dormer window is called une lucarne or, strangely, un chien-assis. Yes, that's "a sitting dog."

Here's what the dormer looks like. The small dormer window is above our kitchen window.

And below is the result of the leaky dormer. It's a stain on a wall up in our loft space.

I was just looking at the Météo60 web site where information about monthly rainfall totals is posted. At the weather station closest to us, which in in Romorantin 15 miles east of Saint-Aignan, I see that we had more than twice the amount of rain in May than we would expect to get (120 millimeters instead of 50). So far in June, we've had nearly 150 millimeters or rainfall and the month is not over yet. That's three times our average rainfall for June. In April, we got about 50 mm, and in March we got about 100 mm.

Poitiers : l'église Notre-Dame-la-Grande

After our stops at Chauvigny and at the château de Touffou back in July 2006, Charles-Henry and I drove on Poitiers, a town I had only seen once before, briefly (in 1989). The main thing we saw and took pictures of was the church called Notre-Dame-la-Grande. According to the Michelin Green Guide for the Poitu region, it has one of the most famous façades in France, dating back to the 12th century.

The Michelin guide also calls this church shows off la perfection de l'art roman, par son architecture harmonieuse, aux lignes équilibrées.

Le château de Touffou

This is Touffou, the château near Chauvigny with the lions that I posted about yesterday. The Michelin guide points out that even though Touffou has buildings from four different periods and therefor of four different architectural styles, it forms un ensemble harmonieux that occupies a beautiful site on the left bank of the Vienne river (which flows northwest to Chinon).

The main building was originally two rectangular keeps (towers) built in the 11th and 12th centuries and then connected together early in the 15th. The round towers you see in my 2006 photos here were built in the 14th century. The château's Renaissance wing (on the left) was added in 1560. Since 1966, Touffou has been owned by a British advertising magnate, according to French Wikipédia.

Lions

I think the last time I drove a car was on June 10 — eleven days ago. Walt's been having to do all the shopping and running of errands, because I've avoided getting behind the wheel. That will change today. I'm going to the post office and the supermarket. Exciting, isn't it? It's all because of my eyes. I can't tell if the vision problems are caused by the cataract surgery or pollen allergies. For whatever reason, my eyes have been drowning in tears. Our weather is supposed to change this weekend. Maybe that will help.

I took these photos of lions on the grounds of a château just three miles from the town of Chauvigny, which I blogged about yesterday. The château has existed since the year 1127 and has been modified and enlarged numerous times over the centuries, in different styles. More tomorrow...

Chauvigny: ruins and rooftops

Chauvigny (pop. 7,000) is a very old town just 10 miles west of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe and 15 miles east of the bigger town of Poitiers (pop. 90,000). Chauvigny's old town, built on a rock outcropping, is the site of several châteaux and ruins. Views from the old town over the rooftops of the newer town below are panoramic and picturesque. The church in the old town is dedicated to saint Pierre and was built in the 11th century.

As usual, you can enlarge these photos by clicking on them or touching/tapping them,
depending on what kind of device you are using.

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I had an appointment with my ophthalmologist yesterday day over in Montrichard. He said my right eye, which he operated on on June 11, has healed nicely. Everything looks normal. He predicted that over time my vision will get clearer, especially after I have the cataract surgery done on my left eye. He said I'll still need glasses for reading small type or doing close work, but that I should be able to drive, read my computer screen, and watch television without needing corrective lenses. The surgery on the left eye is now scheduled for early September (at my request). I'm having pollen allergies right now that make my eyes teary and contribute to my blurry vision.

Le château de Boismorand à Antigny

The Château de Boismorand was built in the second half of the 15th century by a local notable who passed away in 1510. It was renovated and updated in the 19th century. One building, the chapel, still has its original decor. Antigny is three miles south of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, which I've been posting about for a week or so. A few years ago, Boismorand was bought by a wealthy Californian who wanted to have it as his vacation home in France.

More Saint-Savin wall paintings

These are photos I took in June 2009, after a major restoration project had been finished in the church at Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe. Charles-Henry was visiting, and we drove down there with our friends Susan and Simon to see the result and to take some pictures.

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Rumblings of thunder woke me up this morning at about 4 a.m. The distant lightning kept me awake. After nearly an hour of tossing and turning, I realized that Tasha was afraid and wanted to jump up on the bed. That was fine. Then I decided I had to get up even though it wasn't yet five o'clock. I knew I wasn't going back to sleep. Lightning was getting closer and closer. The thunder was much louder. Rain poured down for maybe 20 minutes, and then the storm moved off to the north of us.

La maison de Mr Edoux à Saint-Savin

I believe this is the house that my late friend Charles-Henry, his brother, and their mother stayed in when they were evacuated from Paris to Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe during World War II. The owner, if I'm remembering correctly, was a neighbor and friend of Charles-Henry's family in Paris. Mr Edoux was the inventor of the hydraulic elevator in the 19th century, and he coined the term ascenseur as its name. That's the standard French word for elevator today. All this happened many decades before Charles-Henry and his brother Pierre were born in the 1920s.

Again (si ma mémoire est exacte), Charles-Henry told me that they called the Edoux house in Saint-Savin le château. The old-looking tower was built as a water tower to supply the occupants with running water. An Edoux ascenseur was installed in the house itself, which had been built on foundations dating back to the Middle Ages. Edoux was a native of Saint-Savin and died in 1910 at age 83. Gustave Eiffel had ordered one of his elevators and had it installed at the Eiffel Tower to take people and freight up from the second level of the tower to the third (the top). That elevator stayed in service until 1983. I must have ridden in it in the 1970s.

Antigny, près de Saint-Savin

Just four kilometers south of Saint-Savin (département de la Vienne) is a village called Antigny with a 12th century church, Notre-Dame de l'Incarnation. Like the church in Saint-Savin, its walls are painted. The wall paintings at Antigny date back to the 14th century and were uncovered only in 1991; they had been painted over at some point in the distant past.

I would probably never have known about Antigny if I hadn't been touring around with Charles-Henry. He spent some time in the area during World War II with his mother and brother. He would have turned 20 years old in 1944.

In and around the church in Saint-Savin

Saint-Savin possède une remarquable église romane ornée de peintures murales de la même époque, qui constitue l'ensemble le plus beau et le plus complet qui ait été conservé en France.

— Guide Michelin Poitou, Vendée, Charentes

Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe paintings

Below are a few more pictures of the paintings inside the church at Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe. I don't have a lot to blog about right now, but I want to continue. I've posted photos of, and stories about, Saint-Savin several times over the years, including in February this year on the occasion of Charles-Henry's death.

I'm not sure, but I think my vision is a little clearer today than it was yesterday or the day before. I just wish that my right eye, the one that was operated on, was better. It makes me wonder if I should have had the cataract operation now or if I should have waited until later. My vision seems unchanged. I have a follow-up appointment with the ophthalmologist next Wednesday 6/19. I'll talk to him about whether or not I should go ahead and have my right eye done. Maybe the whole situation will have changed by the time I talk to him.

An afternoon in Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe

It was on June 13, 2009 — exactly 15 years ago today — that my friend Charles-Henry and drove down to the little town called Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe to see the church there. Charles-Henry had spent time there during World War II when his father sent him, his brother, and his mother there for their own protection during the war. I enjoyed the day there and had been there before with Walt. Saint-Savin (pop. approx. 800) is about 90 minutes south of Saint-Aignan by car.

If some of the pictures are a little blurry, maybe it's because my right eye is still blurry. The church in Saint-Savin is famous for its wall paintings and painted ceiling.