I processed all these photos yesterday, so I might as well post them. I took them 22 years ago this month when we quit camping in our new house and started putting furniture in place. Our container had arrived. Little did we know back then we'd still be here all these years later. Neither one of us had ever lived in one apartment or house for so many years.
Three pictures of our living room in 2003. We sanded and re-painted the walls in 2005,
and it is still in remarkably good shape. That was a big job and I hope we never have to do it again.
We got some good news yesterday. The landscaping contractor submitted his bid on all the yard and garden work we need to have done this year, and it was much lower than we expected. He and his crew have been working with us for a dozen years now and they have always done a good job. This is work that will be done between this October and next spring. All the rain we had between the spring of 2024 and the spring of 2025, plus my cataract operations last year and the bad cold that both of us had from January to April this year made it impossible for us to keep things under control outdoors.
Little plums, dark red on the outside and yellow inside
Green grapes — Sauvignon Blanc I think
Blackberries, called mûres in French; I wish they were plumper
The little town of Selles is six miles south of Chémery (featured in yesterday's post) and just 10 miles upriver from Saint-Aignan. According to Wikipédia its population is 4,250. It has a big château, two bridges across the Cher River, a big outdoor market on Thursday mornings, and an impressive church.
Villesavin was built a residence for the family of King François 1er's finance minister in the the years (1527-37) following the completion of François's "hunting lodge" — that's him on the right above.
Other parts of the château complex at Villesavin are not so grand. I like the shot of the woman taking out the trash. I just read on Wikipédia that the family that lives at Villesavin now is the third generation of the family to occupy the place. More tomorrow...
The building itself
Reflections of the building
We had the crew carry all the heavy heavy pieces of furniture upstairs, saving ourselves from that chore. We had them set up the bed in the living room because the bedroom we had been sleeping in for a month (on air matresses) was being stripped of of ugly wallpaper and painted (by us). We were also waiting for and carpet installer to come and put down new carpeting over what we thought was an ugly asphalt time floor.
We had been buying appliances — fridge, stove, washer/dryer, TV, microwave, telephone, VCR, CD player, etc. — while waiting for the container. We had been using patio furniture in the house, but now we would have a real dining room table, our own bed, and other familiar stuff. I was happy to have my desk and my desktop computer. I had taken the hard disk out of it and carried to France in my carry-on luggage to make sure it arrived intact. The rest of the computer — replaceable things — had been packed in the container. We traveled with a laptop.
