We have been making the rounds of the flea markets, called brocantes here, that pop up in every village near and far. Some are just a block, others fill the town square, and some take up several streets of the village. The offerings range from shoes, baby clothes, and toys to antique furniture, homemade jam, tools, car parts, and unusual bric-a-brac. I love going and our calendar is full of them every weekend. There’s even a website that keeps a record of when and where they are happening. Bob is a good sport and goes along, but not quite as enthusiastically as me.

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I’ve started a few collections – it’s more fun to have something particular to search for, something that is not so ordinary that you’ll have no trouble finding it. I’ve decided to collect small copper vessels, particularly ones with feet or stands. Not your usual copper cooking pots.

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Most brocantes offer a fixed-price lunch, usually a sausage in a baguette and fries. But one we attended recently offered a lunch of moules frites, mussels and fries. For 14 euros, it was a fantastic meal, and the experience of sitting there, eating a pile of mussels under a big tent with a hundred French people happily chatting and enjoying themselves, was one of those pinch-me moments.

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After lunch, we continued browsing the stalls. This brocante in La Celle Guenand was huge and went on forever. It was a super hot day so we finally left without seeing it all.

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And today’s surprise:

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After a few months of destruction, finally, we are seeing some actual construction happening. Now that the area next to the house has been cleared of bushes and chicken coops, it was prepped for building the addition that will be our bedroom and bath.

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The bedroom will be separated from the house by a 10 ft hallway connecting it to the corner of the living room, and in front of the bedroom, facing the courtyard, will be a large covered patio.

We had to get permission from the Maire (Mayor) to close our street while the cement truck delivered its goods.

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The footings were poured, and the rock wall in the back was removed, which exposed a wall of dirt precariously standing without support. The first order of business was to build a cement block wall there while installing a waterproof barrier and drainage system behind it.

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Once the wall is done, work will continue on the rest of the outer walls and the door opening from the side of the house.

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And inside…

Things are moving along, slowly. Early on, it was discovered there had been a slow leak in the bathroom just above the entry. Once the rotted beams in the entry ceiling were exposed, it was clear they had to be replaced. Now we have a big hole where the bathroom was.

Sometimes I feel like this house is a giant Jenga game, the one where there is a big stack of sticks, and people take turns removing them until the one stick that was holding it all together is removed and the whole thing falls down. Our guys keep taking stone walls and beams away — what if they reach the one that holds the whole house up?

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Meanwhile, a drainage trench has appeared in the living room and kitchen.

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These clay floor tiles, tomettes, were removed from the bedroom on the 1st floor. We hope to reuse them in one of the outbuildings.

And sunflowers!

Around this part of France this time of year, fields of sunflowers have been blooming. It’s a spectacular sight, and so tempting to stop and take photos of them often. But as they grow to maturity, they turn to face the sun (this is called heliotropism), so if you are on the wrong side of them it can be a challenge to find a spot where they are looking at you for their photo op.

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