During the confinement we, like many others took the opportunity to get on with some house repairs and decorating, getting ready for the season if it were ever to happen. Well I’m happy to say that after all our bookings being cancelled this year, once restrictions were eased people quickly started booking their holidays again. So we’re now back in the rhythm of the summer season, but changeovers have to be 24 hours instead of the same day, and everything has to be disinfected within an inch of it’s life, including us.
Just as it’s difficult meeting up with friends and giving them a hug, so it’s difficult meeting and greeting exhausted-from-their-journey holidaymakers, it’s impossible to show a welcome smile with a mask on, even if you do have a smile painted on it like Graham’s! Anyway I just hope they can see that I’m smiling by crinkling my eyes up into slits….what strange times these are.
Here’s the new decor in the apartment shower room:
and the bedroom for the apartment, with a new ceiling rosace and cornice, and a new tiled floor, a nightmare of laying recuperated terracotta floor tiles of varying thicknesses and sizes, still, it was worth the angst!
meanwhile I was also trying to get on with art, (as well as the veggie and flower garden), but that’s all in my previous posts, so I’ll just show a couple more pics:
and last but definitely not least, this is a truffle I found the base of one of our trees, it had been unearthed by some creature and was laying on top of the soil, I found it when I was gathering plums. There was no mistaking it’s strong powerful scent. I put it in the fridge so I could just double check with our friend, a chef, ( just in case!) he confirmed it was a summer truffle, so I rushed home and made some truffle butter with it and put it in the freezer. We’ve had a couple of delicious plain pasta meals with truffle butter and a little garlic and salt, absolutely divine!
lizkingsangster 
Glad to hear that bookings are picking up again Liz. The house looks so beautiful and dreamy, what an amazing place to go through lockdown!
I do the same thing with the masks, crinkling my eyes up to try and communicate something smiley 😃
😷🦠😄 !
Love it all Lizzie! xx
Thanks Vivvy! Hope you have emerged from it all unscathed……like a butterfly from the chrysalis of confinement….xxxL
Glad to see you still have the field of wildflower! The work is exquisite and beautiful. A big spread in a holiday magazine would give you bookings into the next decade!
Thanks Nancy! Sadly we had to cut the wildflowers down about 3 weeks ago, they had eventually become leggy and unsightly, they were so desperate to follow the sun they insisted on turning away from the house. The ones in the rear stalls ( can’t get away from theatre terms) were 2m high with naked spindly legs, however, as the photo shows they looked spectacular from the field!
Hello Sangster Beings, Love the decor,glad you are back to the “New Normal”–mon dieu thats an annoying phrase—anyway much love to you both,all is well here with our French mob (daughter and family) coming over next week—we hug,but no Kissing—following government mega confusing information ie grandparents can hug one grandchild—what –a day?–for how long? etc,etc.—Alice says the south coast in France is gung ho and masks are worn around the neck.
Stay well David.
Hello dear David, lovely to hear from you.
Annoying phrases…..how they’ve invaded our language of prose. It’s not only newly invented words now, like staycation or Brexit, it’s stupid punch lines thought up by phrase committees which seems to be all the uk government spends their time on, and when they run out of ideas they plunder and plagiarise historical sayings …grrrrr.
Ha, yes masks around the neck….or hanging off one ear Bolsanaro style! Rather like when wearing motor bike helmets became law in Europe, those glamorous classy Italians, men and women, wore them on their arms as they threaded through the traffic thus managing to make themselves look super cool! XxL
wowsers, it all looks amazing – especially the TILES!! (I know what went into achieving that, when G was recovering… so huge well done…) gosh you two work hard! so pleased it all paid off and people booked up again… and love the garden sculptures too! I really should put down my needle and thread soon!!!
j xox
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Hi Judy, yes we did rather wonder what we were doing it all for whilst we were in the midst of it, we had planned to do it but, of course, then restrictions came in. Actually, as it happened, luckily so because as with every major project it took longer than we thought, xxL
Dearest Liz, it all looks so beautiful, love the artichokes, I only just discovered this year what a wonderful honey smell they have. And the new decor is quite gorgeous. Glad your bookings are picking up, people are gasping for holidays now I think, and glorious views. Franco v jealous of your summer truffle. Wd love to see Graham’s painted on smile. much love to you both xxxxx
Dear Ellen, so lovely to hear from you, I’ve been wondering how the lockdown’s been treating you? Graham’s smile faded long ago, he got fed up with painting it on the disposable masks! As regards my prize truffle, you’re cordially invited to truffle pasta supper, apparently truffle butter keeps for up to a year in the freezer, so you have until next year to accept, we’d love to see you anyway, truffle or not! xxxxL
That’s a fabulous guest apartment. I would love to be there!
Thanks! So far the reactions to staying there have been positive, although the first reaction was wanting to sleep in the bathroom!
That’s hilarious.
Hi Liz – the apartment is looking fab! Have you got rid of the washing machine, or will it be going back in?
Can’t wait to visit again – hopefully we can book up for summer 2021 if things all go to plan! Love to you both K&A
Well spotted Alistair, this pic was taken when the door was off and before the washing machine was put back. Here’s hoping the worst will be over and we’ll see you in 2021 ! xL