The past week has been a mix of fun and work. First for the work - Papa has been tiling our 6th bathroom, and the last big project of our renovations. I’ve helped a bit. It’s not the most beautiful bathroom, but “it will do!” On Friday morning, a crew of three men showed up to work on our east wall and the roof. They repaired a large hole in the stones on the east wall, then went on the roof to clean and reseal the structure of our skylight. They cleaned the inside of the skylight too, plus they put metal plates on top of two chimneys that we don’t intend to use. We still have a few other projects, such as painting the back stairway, but they seem small in comparison to the bathroom and the roof. We’re anxious to be finished with renovations, so we can enjoy more village events and exploring the region.
On Wednesday of this week, we had lunch with our across the street neighbors, Dominique and Romain. On Friday afternoon, we ran errands, to the decheterie, the hardware store, plant nursery, and the grocery. We had an invitation on WhatsApp when we got home at 5:40 pm, to meet neighbors Deidre and Vladimir and Abby for a glass of wine on Rue Nationale at 6. We unloaded the car and took quick showers, meeting them a few minutes late. Abby moved to France with her husband in the late 1980’s and to Lectoure about 10 years ago. Deidre and Vladimir moved to Lectoure 6 years ago from the US. She was raised in Zimbabwe, went to university in South Africa, then to Michigan and UC Davis. She founded an agriculture consulting business and travels all over the world all the time - Washington DC last week, South Africa this week. Vladimir is a retired professor and author, born in Cuba to a Spanish born father and American born mother with a Scandinavian grandmother. They decided to move to Lectoure after a 3 day visit about 10 years ago.
On Saturday, we went to a vide grenier in Lectoure, at the Municipale Rugby Stade. We bought a coffee table for our living room, and talked with the vendor, whose husband recently died, her house sold and she has lots more to sell. We agreed to get together in a few days, so I can look at more things.
Abby came for aperitifs in the evening, and we enjoyed sitting on our 4th floor terrace getting to know her. We had various other encounters through the week, with people we’ve met and neighbors. We rarely leave our house without running into someone we know. We’re enjoying Lectoure! We had a fun week!
