Days 9 and 10, July 18th & 19th, 2025

Days 9 and 10, July 18th and 19th - I will use this post to chronicle the day-to-day updates of our French adventure. On a separate post I will cover the historical spectacle we attended last night.

Yesterday, Friday, July 18th I left the maison with Eric and we traveled to the village of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande to visit an antique shop (Brocante). He had gotten a recommendation from a friend of his in Bergerac for this antique dealer and Eric had called ahead of time to learn if they had a large table for our dining room. We went to see it in person and thought it would work. The owner, Michel, showed us another table so that if there was a large gathering more people could be accommodated.

I was looking through the store for a small table for our kitchen. I found one, but it was round and both Scott and Eric want to have a square table for the space. :shrugs: I could live with round, but the dudes want a square table and there wasn’t one being shown in the store. We saw the back room and there were stacks and stacks of inventory that potentially contain one. Or we just wait until later to get something that they really like.

During this visit I noticed china that I thought had a design with Joan of Arc or Jeanne d’Arc. I asked the owner and he confirmed that the design on that china is honoring that patron saint of France. In previous trips to France, every time I walk into a church, basilica, or cathedral I wind up doing a “where’s Waldo” exercise, but instead it is “where’s Jeanne d’Arc?”

I haven’t been in a church yet on this trip, so this was my first real “Jeanne d’Arc” sighting.

On the journey to and from the brocante, I saw that we were crossing the Lidoire River and was able to get a picture of the sign while we were driving. (I hope to get a better picture in the future).

We had deliveries of three different appliances. One was the clothes dryer. There’s a slight problem with the amount of electricity needed for that appliance where it is located. So currently we will need to have either the washer or the dryer plugged in and working at one time. That is until the electrician can come and fix the set up.

Following that theme, we had a new cooktop delivered and there is a problem with the gas line set up and functionality. We will need to have a plumber come and help to make sure that it is working as it should be.

The new dishwasher was delivered, but the person who installed it warned us of the water line not being set up appropriately for the dishwasher to work as it should. He suggested only doing short washes until we can get a plumber to address the issue. We tried doing a load of dishes and, no, it isn’t working properly. So…back to doing dishes by hand. But hey, we have had hot water since Wednesday!

This morning, Saturday, July 19th, Scott was making coffee with our espresso machine and discovered that there was an electrical problem in the kitchen as he got an electric shock. Yippee! More problems to deal with. More for the electrician to address and review.

On Thursday, Eric and Scott went to the town hall (mairie) for our village of Gardegan-et-Tourtirac and talked with the mayor about garbage pickups. We do have poubelles (garbage bins) that are registered to our property, which helps us in a big way. The garbage is required to be separated into recyclables as well as - garbage - and it is only picked up every other week. So the garbage we have been accumulating is outside in an enclosed structure and getting smellier every day.

Eric is now getting a little obsessed with getting rid of the garbage and spotted a communal poubelle in a neighboring village. I think he plans on taking some there soon.

On a different note, Eric and Scott identified a peach tree on our property that they think is blocking the view of our vineyards from our patio table. They were suggesting that the tree be cut down to improve the view. I went up there and looked at the tree and saw that really, what was blocking the view was overgrown vines that had built up over years and was in desperate need of trimming.

I call it “foo.” I spent several hours working to remove the foo and discovered that there were layers and layers of dead vines that were surrounding a small bush and also some wild blackberries.

I will show you the before and after photos of the work in progress of restoring view of the vineyards. There’s still a lot of work to get that area so it looks nice, but I don’t think that the peach tree needs to be cut down and I am actively using my persuasive arguments in favor of waiting to see what it looks like once “the foo be gone.” And then making a decision. Yes, there are still some branches on the peach tree that need trimming because they are dead, but perhaps someone with longer reach should be doing it (or with a proper ladder).

So yes, we keep discovering new electrical problems, water line problems, waste line problems that need to be addressed. The house was built in the 1870s, making these problems not unexpected. Some of the problems will definitely cause a delay as to when this maison will be available to be rented out to others. We do not want to have to worry about the safety of our guests. Getting an electric shock first thing in the morning when you are making coffee can be a rude wake up. Let us not have that happen again.

To leave this post on a happier note, all three of us returned to Sainte-Foy-la-Grande to visit the brocante together. We had lunch first and there was a Salade Périgourdine which is all about duck. Yumm.

Enjoy some photos of the Dordogne River as well.