An American in Sologne

Santa Barbara - Parting Shots

We're outta here!  Today the sun tomorrow the ashes!
One last look at lovely, but very expensive Santa Barbara

So sunny even the cherries need umbrellas!

In the 70's I went out with guys that looked like this!

Corey with Marley

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea & Tattered Pages and until Febuary 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.
kristi anderson
le saint jacques le coin perdu
15, place de l'église
45240 Ligny le Ribault
[email protected]

the before and afters continue

Now let's go inside...here is the entry from the terrace.

Remember these are the "during" photos; we had already torn off the mint green wall paper but before we had removed the plasterboard to find the beautiful "colombage" (half timbered brick wall) and the well.

The well is in the wine cellar and when we broke down the plasterboard it was evident that, at one time the well had been here. So I put it back.

This what it looks like today.

I don't have a before picture of the staircase.  But boy we were surprised when we ripped up the rug, thinking to find cement and found this wonderful wood.

But wood burns....

The living room during.  Here we had stripped off a dark brown stringy wallpaper, took the plasterboard off the lovely beams, and torn down the red brick fireplace.

I found the stone fireplace in a nearby village,

 my handiman, Gus, made the fire bender.  I was so proud of this room.  I would sit for hours in front of the fire sipping a brandy and chatting with my guests.

Oh, no, another maudlin moment. Don't worry I'll get over it.

Because I don't want to sit on the fire bender any more...

And,I don't have my kids paintings to look at anymore.

The TV room was, if you can believe it, one of the hotel rooms before.  Six rooms shared the same toilet and bath. There were, however, a sink and a bidet in each room--remember we are in France!

The after renovation becomes the before fire.

And the after fire becomes the before renovation.

I will continue this tomorrow, Samantha is back from being with her dad and we are going out for dinner.  I am still trying to master the art of the stove and oven in the appartment.

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea and Tattered Pages and until February 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l'église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

[email protected]

Before becomes After

In November 2009 I wrote a post ...and I'll never do that again! showing the "before & after" photos of the renovation.  Unfortunately I didn't even think of taking the real before photos showing it as a dilapidated restaurant and inn so the "before" photos are actually the "during" photos.

Never mind all that because the fire has changed everything. Well, not everything the "during" photos stay the same but the “after” renovation photos have become the “before” the fire photos and the “after” the fire photos will become the “before” photos for the renovation to come! Complicated non?!

It is easy if we just look at some photos.

The house

....way before I bought it

When I bought it

....after new windows, doors, shutters and roof

During the you know what

And this after photo becomes the before photo

Going through these photos have brought back all the blood, sweat and tears that went into the five years that it took us to renovate the house.

 And, Samantha Alexandra and I lived in it during it all!

and Raggy!

With both Alexandra and Samantha at college next year

at least they won't have to live thru it again! 

And I am not quite if I will be up to it! Oh, no, I'm going to get maudlin.....now where is that French therapy....?

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea and Tattered Pages and until February 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l'église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

[email protected]

Sushi and her new friends

Now while the washing machine doesn't work--it shoots out water from the seams! And the electric stove/oven is erratic at best, just 25 little, tiny meters --I think about 60 feet is this...

and this...

So I don't complain that much when I have to take Sushi on her walks--and, yes, I also carry a doggy bag.

But guess who loves it, whines at the door, and wags her tail like I haven't seen since the fire. YES  Sushi!

 

First because there is water. Where there is water there are

Ducks!

and who spots Sushi?

Who spots the ducks?

I am just sorry I couldn't get them together in one photo it was pretty funny.  The ducks just didn't give a hoot about Sushi and I.  So we went on our merry way.

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea and Tattered Pages and until February 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l'église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

[email protected]

Missing me and Pissing cows

Has been anybody truly missed me?  I hope so.  Anyway tell me so I feel good.  This is the first day that I am in the new appartment and with internet!  It has taken this long to get organised!

Since I have been back in France I have been on a roller coaster of, not only moods, but temperatures as well.

When we left France on February 26th we left behind freezing temperatures of -6°C to arrrive to a balmy 18°C in Santa Barbara.  Granted we did have two days where it rained like vaches qui pissent--we would say cats and dogs but, really, don't you think the idea of pissing cows much more pittersque? --sorry couldn't find any clip art for that image.

When we arrived back on March 6th it wasn't just the march winds that hit us  in the face it was the -8° C!

But finally Spring has sprung!  The birds are chirping, rabbits are frolicking (wish I were!) and flowers are blooming!

The first thing on my agenda was to find Samantha and I, and, of course, Sushi, a place to live. It wasn't so easy.

Samantha goes to school in Orléans which is a 20 minute drive from our Coin Perdu, she is a Senior and will be taking her  BAC (Something like our SATs to receive your high school diploma).  It is an extremely difficult examination and with classes from 8am to 6pm I wanted to find something in Orléans where Sam wouldn't have to get up at 6am and come home at 8pm.  I also didn't want to buy any furniture as I don't know where I will be living in six months.

Sooooo....Orléans isn't exactly Paris, there isn't a whole lot of choice with furnished appartments.  I was finding only furnished studios.  I do love Samantha but the two of us in 25m2...thank you very much but no.

But that wasn't the only problem; the French are very big on justicatif de domicile (proof of address)-why, when you are looking for an address to live you have to prove you are already living at a address?! and we were SDF-sans domicile fixe (homeless). They also like proof that you have revenue, etc, etc all of which I had none. 

 I tried showing them the picture of my office.But that didn't even work.

That I called in the troops, in this case, AXA, my insurance company.  They wrote a letter guaranting the lease, then I wrote a check for four months in advance then I had the key!

It's not exactly le coin perdu but it will be our home for at least four months.

I've "planted" my herb garden.

I "saved" two arm chairs from the bar.

And Sushi has her cushion in front of the fireplace.

We're okay.  But, hey, why not a little glass of that French therapy!

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea and Tattered Pages and until Februrary 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l'église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

[email protected]

Burnt out in France - Burnt out in Santa Barbara

Sitting in the cafe across the street watching my life go up in flames I called my brother Corey. He would know what I was feeling more than anyone else. He and his family lost their home in the Painted Cave fire that swept the Santa Barbara canyons in 1990. They lost everything including their walls!

 Only thing standing was the fireplace. And, as proof of his macabre sense of humor here is their 1990 family christmas card.

My sister Robin wondered what the odds are that two people in the same family would lose their homes to a fire. Have no idea. Don't even want to go there. In anycase the result is the same. A whole lot of ashes.

Corey was stocking the Anderson family photo archives, all our childhood photos, gone.

So my kids had already experienced a sense of loss in that there are very few photos of their mother as a child. Now they have very few photos of theirs. Here is what I managed to save.

I am here now at their rebuilt home. Talking with Jill who was forced to evacuate as the flames swept the canyons, we found that our thoughts at the time were the same--that the fire couldn't be all that important--that the firemen would come and put it out--that we would be able to resume our lifes as before--walk back into our homes.

Jill and Corey lost several pets also. We both suffered guilt feelings that because we didn't realize the importance and thus didn't react in time to save all our pets. 

I don't feel so alone now.

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea & Tattered Pages and until February 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.
kristi anderson
le saint jacques le coin perdu
15, place de l'église
45240 Ligny le Ribault
[email protected]

Burnt Out in France - a Break in the USA

Yes, we have them, our passports! In a record breaking one hour, 54 minutes we were in and out of the American embassy, passports in hand.

Considered a hardship case, we had no problem getting them. But it seems they keep changing the rules. Just last year emergency passports were valid for a year. No more. Just three months but that is long enough for our week long trip.

This trip had been planned since December. My daughter Samantha and I went for 10 days in august but because Alexandra was studying for the Science Po examination she didn’t come. This time Samantha is in school while her sister has a week-long vacation. The timing is perfect and will use the opportunity to replace our clothes.

We usually visit my parents once or twice a year. With my mom 90 this year and my father 94, it is important we go. But this is the first time in 39 years that I am arriving with a bag of dirty clothes. The last time was when I was Alexandra’s age, 19. Oh, well, 39 years later I am back to the same, bringing dirty clothes home. There is a lot less this time. Three pairs of undies and four pairs of socks. And they aren’t even mine! However, I am the one that dirtied them.

I was explaining to Alexandra that I am such a Cro-Magnon I remember traveling before needing all those security measures. I remember arriving at the last moment running up the stairs of the plane.

At that time people wanted to travel not to kill.

Have you noticed that you pay more to go to the states now and yet there are no longer non-stop flights? I don’t know when it happened, I only noticed when I went in August.

 So today we went Paris-Zurich, Zurich-Los Angeles. I passed thru like a breeze in Paris, not even my newly installed hip didn’t sing out. In Zurich it wasn’t the same song. First my hip passing thru….sung out. And, the Swiss don’t want to hear about a changed hip, they want security so I ducked into the “frisking room” for a major “frisk”. I wasn’t so frisky when I left, but my hip was pronounced secure.

Arriving in Santa Barbara after traveling 30 hours, We discover there is a "warning" about possible strong waves due to the earthquake in Chili!  But I am a California girl and undaunted.  We have already gone to Target and I now have clean socks and underwear!

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea & Tattered Pages and until February 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

Burnt out and Deflated in France

 To say that today I am slightly depressed.....yes, you can say that, maybe more than "slightly" depressed. Sophie doesn't like to say "depressed" she thinks it is better said that "I am deflated". Either word, I think it is because I have just arrived in Purgatory.

Sitting in my “office” in Cybercafé just opposite where my home was I was amazed to see that my only door left intact, that of the bar le coin perdu, wide open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I immediately thought that, being prematurely senile, I had completely forgotten to shut it when searching for photos yesterday. On entering I found several men upstairs! Nobody had told me that workers were coming to take down the unsafe chimneys.
 At that moment it hit me like a flame out of my office window; something was wrong here, something was not right. It was no longer my home! It was, is, the object of an inquest. My home is no longer a home. There is just a burnt out carcass left. Its guts, its heart its everything is gone. And, right now so is my spirit. (and, this time we are not talking about the bottled kind)

I am about ready to peter les plombs (go “ballistics”)

The Insurance is demanding detailed lists of absolutely everything in the house and they want that yesterday.
I need a furnished appartment for Samantha and I.

Alexandra and I planned a trip February 2th to March 6th to see my parents in Santa Barbara. You got it, want to see the picture again, where the passports were?

First try, Tuesday after the fire. Train station, no train. No, it wasn’t a strike, an “obstruction” on the rails. Second try, 2nd Tuesday after. Arrive at the ambassy to find that an “important” meeting was taking place, thus no consulate services. Did have a nice Paris lunch with my kids.

Third try will be tomorrow February 24th. With a little luck we will be considered a hardship case and will have our passports the same day.

But wait…..what do I see…. Yes, the French have done something NEW AND DIFFERENT! They have announced a strike! And, not just any strike, we are talking about an AIRPORT STRIKE! Starting today and lasting at least three days. We will see. In any case, getting stuck and sleeping at the airport can’t be worse than where I am sleeping now.



Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea & Tattered Pages and until February 6th ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans in Sologne, Loire Valley.
kristi anderson
le saint jacques le coin perdu
15, place de l'église
45240 Ligny le Ribault
[email protected]

 

Burnt out in france - Survivors and Refuges

Saturday morning the 6th of February there were six dogs, one cat, one ferret, one rabbit, two water turtles and a dozen goldfish.

Saturday evening there were five dogs, one cat, one rabbit AND one water turtle.  This is their story....

Pookie is a cat and, being a cat was quite able to get herself out of the house.  Her whereabouts were unknown until midnight.  When the firemen had left (two stayed the night) and things were calming down Pookie came back. She wanted to go back into the house and was not happy to be in with the rest of us and let us know by yowling. .

 She finally found some comfort in a new home

The dogs, being dogs were just happy to have a bed.  Pearl and Aya had left with Laurent so it was just Sushi and the two guests, Petrus and Aimé.
   Pookie decided to join them.

And, yes in the corner,what? A bottle of wine.  A very nice Cheverny Domaind de Huards which I served at dinner for my guests. I had to test a few to confirm that they, indeed, were survivors also.  AND, YES!!  The wine has survived!

Bunny, now Bunny’s survival is a mystery, at least to me.  We are having CSI Ligny le Ribault Monday and I will ask him the question. In the meantime look at this.

 

Bunny lived in the small greenhouse just above the dark door in the photo.
Which is just next to where the fire started. 
The firemen didn’t bring her out until late in the night and her fur wasn’t even singed!

This is, or should I say, was my office, where the fire started. To the right is Bunny’s “house”, look at the blue pot; there is not even any smoke damage! The fire completely melted the radiator that was under that window!

  Here is Bunny in happier times in the pot that survived.

Now I have saved the best for last. For those who read my “Feeding time at a tiny zoo…” will recognize 
  Franklin 

   and Caroline

 

Their pots were in the dining room situated just next to the library (my office) Here is Christine and Elton in front in better days.

Caroline survived!  Around 11pm when the firemen were finally able to enter the house one of them found Caroline outside her pot walking around! How? I will confirm with the expert who arrives tomorrow, but here’s how I look at it.

The pot was made out of PVC, the fire melted the border until it reached the water level.  It was probably about this time that the firemen started dousing the house and, above all, the library and dining area.
Both Caroline and Franklin made their escape.

Unfortunately we only found Caroline.
But that is already very fortunate for us!

Stinky wasn’t so lucky.  She was in her cage next to my room…..we miss her.

Here she is with her buddy Pookie.

The fish…. They did not want to jump from the pot into the fire.

 
Don't blame them.

Sunday morning Sophie wanted to take advantage of Mother Nature’s cooking techiniques. As I didn’t dare Sophie confirmed that they were perfectly cooked!
  But then again, Sophie has eaten every mushroom I have collected, raw or cooked. She has complete faith!

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea & Tattered Pages and until Februry 6th ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l'église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

[email protected]

Burnt Out in France - Cybercafés and Armagnac

It's snowing...again.

 It is day 15 since my life went up in flames (I now understand the this cliché!)

 And it has been freezing (-12°C), snowing and raining since.

Today I wanted to go buy some socks and underwear but the roads are so slippery best to stay in the Cybercafé and write.  Yes, this is it! Otherwise known as Kristi's Office.  But their WIFI is limited at best and so I am often offline. 

To make matters worse, I cannot live without a computer so I bought a small notebook computer; which did not come with Word and I couldn't even download the free trial!

I am up and running for the moment, Word installed and WIFI working.

   For the moment I am living in one of the guest rooms

 in the courtyard that were not touched by the fire.  

My "frigo"  please notice that those are bottles of water not bottles of wine!

 

 And, speaking of... the three rooms in the house that were not totally destroyed?  Come on and guess!  I will give you a hint........and another hint....

Easy Non?  The kitchen, bar and wine cellar were the least damaged!  

We were even able to save what was in the freezer and frigo! And from the bar here are some of the survivorsAt least we can Eat Drink and Be Merry!

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea & Tattered Pages
 and until Feburary 6th ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.
kristi anderson
le saint jacques le coin perdu
15, place de l'église
45240 Ligny le Ribault
[email protected]

Burnt out in France - The Village People

The Village People

And, I am not talking about from the YMCA but from Ligny le Ribault.

I was across the street, in the café, watching the flames eat up my life and spit it out in ashes. I was in my stocking feet. But at least I had time to grab a pair jeans. This was just plain luck. The fact that I was even dressed at all was chance. If it hadn’t been so cold….well, just to say I don’t own a pair of pjs. But Saturday was cold, cold enough that I kept on my socks when I went to take a nap.

Within an half hour I had a pair of boots and a coat. My new belongings given with such heart from people I don’t even know! It was like that all afternoon into the night, food, clothing and so many offers of help. One man from the village, who I didn’t know at all even offered his second house for as long I wished! And the number of beds to lay down my head….too many to count. And the best, I now six tubes of toothpaste with brushes to go with, four deodorants, four shampoos and two shower soaps. NOW, who says that the French don’t bath!

With the Coin Perdu lost in the fire I thought I would have to cancel the Saint Valentine's dinner that was organised for Saturday Feburary 13, but, no. Jean-Luc and Sylvie have graciously "loaned" me

their restaurant Auberge Sainte Anne and have even offered pro bona their services.

Here are the Christines decorating the Sainte Anne.

  The result

The dinner was a success but I have to admit it was hard for me. Not to be in my own kitchen I was looking all over for everything.

Just a few of the Angels and Devils who stopped by.

And, of course, every French village has a few of these....

The Christines with whom I was doing the dinner have also organized a thé dansant (an afternoon tea dance) without my knowledge and the benefits are for me. With all this generosity has come the discovery just how much I have been accepted by this village. In spite of my horrible no-good accent and strange ways they somehow still love me!!

But I can't accept the tea dance money. Yes, my life will never be as it was before; I will never have what I had before. But what I will have will still be so much more than so many others. I will be giving many thanks to those who will be dancing Sunday afternoon and I will giving the money to the woman who helped clean my house something I will no longer need and to a couple that I know are struggling to pay their rent.

But did I have a good time at that Tea Dance!! It was karoke and the music I love. I took great advantage of the fact that absolutely no one was going to tell me to stop singing because of my horrible, terrible, no good voice; they wouldn’t have the heart to say that to someone whose house just burned down. SOooooooooooooooooo I sang my heart out much to the chagrin of the listeners.

After the kids left...

At the end there a few of us still hanging on.

Kristi Anderson is the orignal owner of Tea & Tattered Pages and until February 6, 2010 ran a bed and breakfast near Orléans.

kristi anderson

le saint jacques le coin perdu

15, place de l'église

45240 Ligny le Ribault

[email protected]