Living and Gardening in Brittany

Looking  back not just recently but over my life I realise I have experienced episodes of near insanity. It starts with panic and in the panic I try to resolve a problem quickly without taking time to think through the options. This then leads to more problems and more panic and episodes of near insanity.  So the situation which caused my state of imbalance was accelerated one day when Gwen , the buyer turned up with an "expert" to inspect the beams for parasites. I lost it. He hadn't asked if he could come and I was in the throes of dealing via emails ( always stressful for me) the cancelling of all services. I told him to leave saying, "It is not your house, the beams have been treated and you saw and accepted the diagnostic."   He said that the diagnostic had only dealt with areas that were visible. He didn't leave immediately but his wife came the next day and  apologised. Apparently no parasites were found. Marie-Pierre had the cheek to imply that I ...

I spent the week mopping up, ringing plumbers, paying plumbers, contacting insurance company and peeing and pooing in the garden as the water was turned off. Then the nightmare commenced. I awoke on Friday morning and listened for the drip,drip dripping. Silence.  I went downstairs to find this -- The ceiling had collapsed. I can't remember exactly the sequence of events but it involved more plumbers, experts to find the leak, insurance investigators and finally informing the buyers of the catastrophe which of course led to delaying the completion date again this time for two weeks.

I sold my house- well I thought I had. We signed the compromise and I was delighted. I searched for properties in the UK. There was nothing that I could afford to buy with the proceeds of the sale. I remembered that my son owed me money. If he could repay me then there was a possibility that I would be able to buy something. I discussed possibilities with my son. He proposed that I should buy a house that he owned which was let. I was sent photos of the house which looked good. I thought I would be able to make it even better by adding a window and creating a beautiful garden. I booked a flight to see the reality. Unfortunately, as the tenant was still in residence, I cancelled the flight and the buyers agreed to delay the completion for 2 weeks. I had been prepared to move. I had been steadily packing bags and boxes and giving things away, taking stuff to the dechetterie and the charity shop. Patch seemed undisturbed by it all as she could sleep comfortably in her favourite spot. O...