Family Visit

Audrey’s family spent a few days in Paris, then took the bullet train from Paris to Agen.  We picked them up at 12:30 yesterday afternoon.  Dan is staying until Tuesday and Audrey and the girls will be with us until June14.  There will be adventures ahead!

Watching the Sunset

Most evenings, we go up to our 4ème etage balcony to watch the sky as the sun sets.  It is peaceful, with beautiful views.  These were some of our views from last evening.

Apéritifs with Neighbors

Several neighbors have been very kind to us since we arrived in Lectoure.  We invited them for aperitifs this evening.  Everyone came bearing house warming gifts, Lectoure kitchen towels, locally grown and dried prunes, candy, and a matted photo taken nearby by a neighbor that is a professional photographer.  We gave them a tour of the house, and then filled our glasses for a toast in the garden room.  We ate and drank wine for a couple of hours, watching a hot air balloon take off downhill of our house.  It was a beautiful evening.  We’re grateful to have wonderful neighbors!

House from the Garden

I am enjoying working in my Lectoure garden.  We have grape vines growing on the arbor above our terrace.  The two stones in the garden were on the terrace and we moved them, to use for sitting.  Both stones are carved, likely for water uses.  There are about a dozen rose bushes in the garden, most just trimmed over the weekend after their first big bloom.  I took this photo this afternoon.

Thank You Soirée

We hosted a small party this afternoon, inviting people that helped us over the past few months.  Several we invited couldn’t come because of work - from Hotel College des Doctrinaires, but they received the invitation and knew of our thankful gesture.  The main paint crew came - Mouss, Adriana, Johnny, and Adriana’s grandson - Dennis, along with her husband.  Our insurance agent, Romain, came.  He was very helpful last fall when we were in the contract phase of buying the house and needed insurance prior to closing.  Jean and Don helped us with translation and setting up meetings with the painter back in November, before we closed on the house.  

I prepared a spread of food.  We gave a tour of the house, then went to our garden room to load our plates.  We sat in the garden to eat.  It was a beautiful afternoon!  We are very grateful to everyone that has helped us over the past months, renovate our home, buy furniture, and feel more a part of the Lectoure community.

 

Our Maison is Becoming Our Home

We had a big week, with a delivery of more furniture and we bought an antique Baktiari rug from a neighbor.  Somehow the rug was a turning point for us, as we’ve had several Baktiari rugs for 35 years.  They all have the same woven border and colors, and we love them!  Our furniture delivery on Thursday included five French chairs, a library cabinet, three desks - a large one, a small one, and a secretary, plus a side table that we’re using as a nightstand.  We have a few more things to find, but we are comfortable in most rooms now.  We also bought a round table for our terrace, and had a picnic supper last evening in the garden.  All good!

    1er étage guest room

    3er étage hallway office

    Garden room - ground floor

    Secretary in master bedroom - 2ème étage 

     1er étage  bibliothèque 

 1er étage salon

  Garden

 2ème étage master bedroom

  Ground floor “green room” - reception room named after green Chesterfield sofa and chairs

     Kitchen on 1er étage 

Enjoying the Views

We’ve gone on walks around the village with Alan and David almost every evening of their visit.  They have gone on long drives each day of their visit, then come back and tell us all about them.  So interesting!    Last evening, we walked down Rue Nationale, then past the Brocante Village, to the overlook, where we took these photos.  It was a cloudy evening, and the countryside is beautiful.  We’ve enjoyed Alan and David’s visit!