We recently changed our phone and internet package, which provided hours of fun in french and I believe I may have mentioned it in passing already. Anyway, four reasons for changing it: to be able to provide Wi-Fi for our guests (they want it all these days - whatever happened to going on holiday to get away from it all?), to have faster internet access, to have free phone calls abroad and mainly, of course, to save money.
With this new package we are supposedly saving ourselves approx €15,00 per month. However, setting it all up proved not to be straightforward and involved several long phone calls to the helpline, on our mobile, which is pay-as-you-go (as we hardly ever use it, so normally this is cheaper for us, except when making long calls to helplines). The phone calls cost us approx €30,00. It also involved buying a long length of ethernet cable to use purely to set it all up, because it wouldn't set up on Wi-Fi. The cable cost us €15,00. We've also had to buy a range expander in order to boost the signal around the grounds (it seems that Wi-Fi does not like three foot thick stone walls and large trees) at a cost of approx €60,00. It will therefore be 7 months before we actually see any savings on the new package. Nothing like being frugal.
22 March 2010
15 March 2010
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14 March 2010
Spring! Well, almost anyway.
These pictures are supposed to be further down, but I can't figure out how to do it, I just keep deleting them, so I've given up!
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Well, spring seems to be on it's way, the daffs are starting to come out and all the bulbs and the seeds and what have you are out in the shops. I've put the potatoes out to chit (I think that's the term) and bought a few seeds that I don't have (mostly I'm going to use what ever's left over from last year, I think you're supposed to by new each year, but what a waste of money when I've already got some.) I was looking back through this blog the other day when I noticed that I started planting out the carrots on 14 March last year (a year ago today), but I think I'll wait a bit this year, it's been very cold and damp.
I did eventually manage to find some sweet pea seeds the other day and Georgia and I planted a few up in some toilet rolls to start them off. She was quite disappointed the next morning when she found they hadn't grown yet. I'd like a bit more colour in the garden this year. When we were in the UK we had a lovely flowery front garden, really nice to come home to at the end of the day and I do miss that, so hopefully the sweet peas will add a bit of colour and attract a few butterflies and bees maybe.
We also had a couple of old ceramic belfast sinks lying around the place (see photos). Unfortunately they are very shallow and not easy to plant. They used to have alpines in but they don't do it for me; I tried salads, but they didn't work, so we splashed out (€5,00) on some violas, hopefully they will be happy there and again, provide a bit of colour.
Although we've added an extra raised bed for this year, I don't think we're going to fill it. The winter has been very wet and it seems to drive the moles away, so no mole hills to provide soil for my veggies. They will be back at some time, (they never seem to go far, perhaps it's the top facilities that we offer here) so the beds will get filled eventually, but I've had to re-think the plans for this year a bit at not grow as much as I would have liked; but whatever, it will be more than last year.
I did eventually manage to find some sweet pea seeds the other day and Georgia and I planted a few up in some toilet rolls to start them off. She was quite disappointed the next morning when she found they hadn't grown yet. I'd like a bit more colour in the garden this year. When we were in the UK we had a lovely flowery front garden, really nice to come home to at the end of the day and I do miss that, so hopefully the sweet peas will add a bit of colour and attract a few butterflies and bees maybe.
We also had a couple of old ceramic belfast sinks lying around the place (see photos). Unfortunately they are very shallow and not easy to plant. They used to have alpines in but they don't do it for me; I tried salads, but they didn't work, so we splashed out (€5,00) on some violas, hopefully they will be happy there and again, provide a bit of colour.
Although we've added an extra raised bed for this year, I don't think we're going to fill it. The winter has been very wet and it seems to drive the moles away, so no mole hills to provide soil for my veggies. They will be back at some time, (they never seem to go far, perhaps it's the top facilities that we offer here) so the beds will get filled eventually, but I've had to re-think the plans for this year a bit at not grow as much as I would have liked; but whatever, it will be more than last year.
11 March 2010
New Car
I just have to say that I do like our new car. In fact I never knew that it was possible to have such a good ride in a car (in the driving sense anyway). I'm still having issues driving round build up areas because of the size and being on the wrong side of the car, but out on the open road as it were is very nice indeed. I always thought that cars were things that got you from A to B and nothing else, but now I think I might have to go out driving just for the sake of it - be one of those annoying Sunday drivers, with nowhere to go, just enjoying the drive, no idea that there's ten cars lining up behind them. Well, that wouldn't actually happen over here, because french folk are bred with an inability to stay behind another car, they always have to be infront and there is nowhere they wouldn't overtake.
We keeping finding new things that it has and does, which is most exciting, although it doesn't have a handbrake or a key, but apparently that is Modern Technology and perfectly ok. In fact, got in the old car the other day and was revving it so much, wondering why it wasn't going anywhere, when I realised that I needed to take the handbrake off. We did check before we bought it however, that it's not a completely french car and that it does have indicators all round. They are optional extras on cars over here, and most of them don't seem to have them. But it's ok, because they know where they're going.
The new car is still a bit flash for me, I keep thinking that really I should be some gorgeous immaculate woman driving it, not some haggered old mother running late on the school run in comfortable shoes and practical clothing and paint-stained hands. (Current colour of choice - bright aqua-blue. I'm painting the wall in the garden of one of our gites. We really wanted a darker shade, but you can't get blue exterior masonary paint, so had to dye some white paint, but it can't be more than 5% dye in the paint, hence we have the lighter, brighter shade. I'm sure it will be fine when it's got some plants in front of it.)
Still waiting for a call from the DIY shop to say they have the part in for the cupboard. Tomorrow is Friday; I expect I shall be popping in for a chat.
Yesterday we were walking past a jewellery shop and Adrian offered to buy me something 'sparkly'. (I think he'd forgotten to take his meds in the morning.) Actually, it was lovely to be asked, but I refused on account of having turned into Mrs Practical Person these days, saying that there are far better things to spend money on for me (my current wish-list: a bike, a greenhouse, a bathroom) or even has he thought of saving it? Luckily I always carry a paper bag around with me for such occasions as this when he starts to hyperventilate at my radical 'money-saving' ideas.
We keeping finding new things that it has and does, which is most exciting, although it doesn't have a handbrake or a key, but apparently that is Modern Technology and perfectly ok. In fact, got in the old car the other day and was revving it so much, wondering why it wasn't going anywhere, when I realised that I needed to take the handbrake off. We did check before we bought it however, that it's not a completely french car and that it does have indicators all round. They are optional extras on cars over here, and most of them don't seem to have them. But it's ok, because they know where they're going.
The new car is still a bit flash for me, I keep thinking that really I should be some gorgeous immaculate woman driving it, not some haggered old mother running late on the school run in comfortable shoes and practical clothing and paint-stained hands. (Current colour of choice - bright aqua-blue. I'm painting the wall in the garden of one of our gites. We really wanted a darker shade, but you can't get blue exterior masonary paint, so had to dye some white paint, but it can't be more than 5% dye in the paint, hence we have the lighter, brighter shade. I'm sure it will be fine when it's got some plants in front of it.)
Still waiting for a call from the DIY shop to say they have the part in for the cupboard. Tomorrow is Friday; I expect I shall be popping in for a chat.
Yesterday we were walking past a jewellery shop and Adrian offered to buy me something 'sparkly'. (I think he'd forgotten to take his meds in the morning.) Actually, it was lovely to be asked, but I refused on account of having turned into Mrs Practical Person these days, saying that there are far better things to spend money on for me (my current wish-list: a bike, a greenhouse, a bathroom) or even has he thought of saving it? Luckily I always carry a paper bag around with me for such occasions as this when he starts to hyperventilate at my radical 'money-saving' ideas.
05 March 2010
Ordered a new kitchen for one of the gites recently. Well, a few units anyway, it's not very big, although it's costing a small fortune for what we've got. Anyway, placed the order at the end of January and was told three weeks for delivery. Three weeks came and went and heard nothing. Went into the shop to discover that they had lost the order. Eventually they found it, then they couldn't find the items, so I had to go out back into their warehouse to show them which were our items. Then they said couldn't deliver that week, would have to be the following week. Yesterday they turned up, five weeks after placing order. Tried to put it all together today. It must be the worst flat-pack ever, the instructions are terrible, the screws are the wrong length, there's no dowels, no holes screwed where they should be, and so on. Worst of all however, is the lack of a side panel on the tall cupboard, which means we can't put the cupboard together and can't therefore put the kitchen together.
Went back to the store this afternoon, expecting the usual french shoulder shrug of dismissal, but the guy was actually quite helpful and is ordering the part 'urgently'. Well, I did tell him that the kitchen was for our only gite and we had people arriving in two weeks and so it was a desperate situation. A little white lie, but we can't afford to wait any longer, we need the kitchen done so that I can update the photos and advertising and also, the weather should be getting warmer soon (fingers crossed) at which point we need to stop working inside and start sorting out the mess that is the garden. He says he'll have it sorted next week....
Went back to the store this afternoon, expecting the usual french shoulder shrug of dismissal, but the guy was actually quite helpful and is ordering the part 'urgently'. Well, I did tell him that the kitchen was for our only gite and we had people arriving in two weeks and so it was a desperate situation. A little white lie, but we can't afford to wait any longer, we need the kitchen done so that I can update the photos and advertising and also, the weather should be getting warmer soon (fingers crossed) at which point we need to stop working inside and start sorting out the mess that is the garden. He says he'll have it sorted next week....
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