The call for volunteers has worked out really well, there has been such a response that we are now turning people away. We will have to see what the list of jobs will be for next year and perhaps we will do the same thing again in 2013.
There have been two lots of guests in the Gites so far this year and it seems that all the trouble we went to to insulate and heat them was worth while as neither couple complained of the cold. Some of the listed jobs will be finishing off the surroundings for the gites so for 2012 they will be even better than in 2011. Deni has already ordered 200 surfinia plants from the local plantsman.
TFor the first time ever we are going to put TV/DVD players in the gites. Having had a TV free house for nearly 15 years now this was a hard decision but we have taken it bravely.
We will also be changing our broadband provider in the next month and hope to be able to extend the wifi coverage out to the gites as well. As we can only get broadband via satellite we have a limited amount of information we can download in any one month. So its OK for browsing the web, downloading emails but if anyone were to download a whole film it would eat up our month's capacity at present.
Last summer lasted from about the 1st February until the end of November. Everything got a bit dry but it was great for all our visitors. We hope that 2012 will be as good. The winter has been incredibly mild with just one minor snowfall at the end of January, not enough to hold up the traffic or cause any other problems.
All the new furniture and furnishings have been ordered now so by opening day in April several things will be different. Not to sure about the choice of colours for the lounge and hallways but we shall see. We won't tell you what they are yet, just in case we change our mind. There will be three new sofas in the lounge to replace the old three piece and collection of odd chairs, plus a new carpet but we will still be leaving lots of exposed hardwood flooring.
The Master bedroom is getting a new bed. The old French bed with rounded head and foot-boards was a little short for some of our guests so the new one will be larger and hopefully more comfortable. So after a complete paint job the room will be completely refreshed.
In general the little world around Vidaillat and Chez Jallot is going on as normal, in other words not much is changing. There are some suspicious looking posts and a caravan that have appeared in a large field next to the Marie which probably means a motorcycle or quad bike event will be happening soon.
We have received a copy of the annual news letter from the Marie and it would appear that some work is going to be done on the walls approaching Chez Jallot this year. This might have something to do with our neighbour, Bernard, who is on the local council, who spent quite a bit of time last year shoring up a wall that was in danger of falling and blocking a passing stream. As long as they don't block our access that will be fine.
Deni is still going to her pottery classes every week but fortunately the pieces she makes are quite complicated so there are only a couple of bits to bring home each year, other wise the house would be full by now. The latest piece is a dragon which should sit outside in the garden somewhere and frighten off the local wildlife.
Dougs guitar is taking shape although slowly as he had a slight accident a couple of weeks ago whilst skiing. Nothing broken this time just a rather torn calf muscle but it has slowed him down. Anyway, the guitar looks a bit like a guitar now and is pretty much ready for final assembly. Then comes the long job of applying the finish, leaving several days between each coat of lacquer before sanding back and applying another. The book says up to 7 or 8 coats.
Jogi is still bouncing around greeting any callers with his big bark and waggy tail. He's looking forward to April when our guests start arriving again so he can bark some more. It is his job after all.