Monthly Archives: November 2011

So, Where is Chez Mirabel?

Posted on November 16, 2011 by chezmirabel

I just realized that we haven’t shown you where this adventure is taking place! Here’s a link to Google Maps with a green arrow on our roof top terrace Show on Google Maps. The Impasse des Fleurs walkway to our front … Continue reading →

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Perfume from Provence

Posted on November 16, 2011 by chezmirabel

Laura, our friend from Piégon, suggested a delightful book about remodeling a house in the south of France.  In the 1930’s Winifred Fortescue and her husband, Sir John Fortescue, left England and settled in Provence, in a small stone house … Continue reading →

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Dick and Laura in Piégon

Posted on November 15, 2011 by chezmirabel

One of the wonderful things about living in a small village is getting to know the interesting people who live here. We’ve come to know Dick and Laura, who live in a beautiful home set amid a grove of olive … Continue reading →

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Day 16 — Bathroom Demolition

Posted on November 14, 2011 by chezmirabel

Martha tackled the upstairs bath today, removing all the wall tile. Before & after shots below (unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of her standing in ankle-deep debris):   Unfortunately the before shot doesn’t capture the tub area’s very low … Continue reading →

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Day 15 — Back Bedroom Tiled!

Posted on November 13, 2011 by chezmirabel

After almost a day of measuring, calculating, re-measuring, and snapping countless caulk lines, I started laying tile on the bedroom level. Since none of the maison’s walls are anywhere close to square, we decided to lay the tile on the diagonal, which … Continue reading →

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Day 14 — Tile Delivery & Local Exploration

Posted on November 12, 2011 by chezmirabel

Today we decided to proceed with floor tiling and picked everything the local tile store had in stock (48 sq. meters, about 1/3 of what we need). I used the store’s truck, parked it on our Rue du Bourg and … Continue reading →

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Day 13 — Jean-Philippe Richard, Sculpteur (& Kitchen Design)

Posted on November 11, 2011 by chezmirabel

Chez Mirabel has a very interesting neighbor to the south: Jean-Philippe Richard, a world renown sculptor (http://www.richardsculpteur.com/atelier.htm). Next to our garage is his finishing studio, where Eric puts the finishing touches on his bronze castings. And one of his sculptures now graces … Continue reading →

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Day 12 — Lunch on the Terrace

Posted on November 9, 2011 by chezmirabel

France closes down every day for lunch between noon and two, so we have to remember to run to our neighboring bakery in the morning to procure our sandwiches and a treat (we also have to remember to not do … Continue reading →

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Day 11 — Oil Delivery & Demolition Status

Posted on November 9, 2011 by chezmirabel

Although it has been windy and wet, it has been quite warm so far (“storms from Africa & Mediterranean”). But we fear that cold weather could blow in from the north at any time. So we had our oil tanks … Continue reading →

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Day 10 — Furniture Move-In

Posted on November 8, 2011 by chezmirabel

Today our furniture was moved in and it was an amazing spectacle since our street is extremely narrow and the path to our front door even more narrow and a little circuitous. So instead of trucking items by hand to … Continue reading →

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