Our French Week: Sweets, Sawdust and Small Victories

Another busy week for us, starting with Halloween to end the school half term. Halloween is not as big a thing as it is in say the UK or US, but it is starting to be a thing. This was the first year we embraced it in our hamlet and Lici (4) wanted to do it and now gets what it is about, well sort of – you knock on a neighbour`s door and they give you sweets if you are dressed up….Ted (2) just followed what his sister did. It was a really lovely time with both children dressed as skeletons and we went around the 6 houses.

Our French neighbours are so lovely and all gave sweets and invited us into their houses. It is great for Lici as well as she is now speaking French and conversing with the neighbours.

The weekend was more chainsawing for Kirsti getting our wood ready for the winter, although as we only have the one woodburner we keep it ticking over through the day and into the evening. These old houses have such thick walls, you need to keep an ambient heat going otherwise it is so easy to get cold and a nightmare to bring up to temperature again. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the woodsheds full of wood with more to go – the kids get involved as well with their wheelbarrows.

Lici was back to school this week and a change for her in terms of a lunchtime siesta. She is now old enough not to have a lunchtime nap for 40 minutes. Her teacher gave all of her class the option to continue with sleep or a quiet playtime – Lici and all her friends agreed they are big children now.

School is great and parents evening is coming up soon and we can see where we are – Ted is excited to start in the Spring. After school there is a lovely playpark in the town where Lici and a couple of friends love to play to wind down after school, then it is time to head home.

Kirsti has been busy in her shop working on some new pieces to go on display and sale. It is difficult with a two year old to get much done without additional paint appearing.

Kirsti will be celebrating 7 years with her shop next year, taking her business from renting a small shop to then purchasing a large old dentist’s building and the renovation (there will be a completely separate piece on that – as Kirsti was heavily pregnant with Ted at the time). The shop, Le Hibou Chic, goes from strength to strength but Kirsti is looking forward to really getting stuck back into everything next Spring.

I have been on the road with For Sale in France looking at properties and even getting recognised as the man from YouTube when I was out in Confolens in the Charente midweek. I filmed a property that had caused a bit of a stir on social media so I headed out to see what the noise was all about. I spend most of my time working on A New Life in France and growing For Sale in France. The nice thing it does do is give us an excuse as a family to travel around France at times, plus get to know areas better and share that with our audiences.

A highlight for Lici this week was a fire engine with a long ladder turntable in action across the road from her school. The fire broke out in the attic of an old building that had been empty for ages, so the fire engine was there most of the day and great for Lici to see up close-ish after school. In most of rural France you have the pompiers (firemen and women) but they also act as first-line paramedics in many cases – again, that will be another feature in time. In December the pompiers will come around with their annual calendar where you make a donation.

As November is well and truly here, thoughts do move to Christmas as there will be Christmas craft markets and all the local towns will have their Christmas markets, usually on a Saturday, but the big cities will have full-time Christmas markets including ice rinks and rides etc. I think the first market we will go to will be on November 21st.

More again next week.