Life of an American in France

It is seven years now since we bought the old farmhouse although there have been times when we have felt slightly overwhelmed by the amount of work that we have taken on, we wouldn’t give it up for the world.

It is situated in a tiny village with about forty inhabitants. All the locals are wine makers and we are fortunate to have Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre on our doorstep. The only noise we hear is the occasional sound of the tractor going up the road. My husband and I have done all the work ourselves, having only had the help of some friends from time to time. The electricity is now modern, the roof is mended, the central heating is fitted and the downstairs is almost finished. We have just finished installing the four bedrooms and bathroom upstairs!

This area of France is very rural and soon I was falling in with the lifestyle of those around me. It really is living in the past. The pace of life is unhurried, family life is important and wives play a role that is much more traditional.

Cleaning chimneys is definitely a forgotten art. The first year that we had to do them we found ourselves up to our eyeballs in dust, dirt, birds’ nests and electricity wires the previous owners had run electric cables through the chimneys! Can you remember how it was done? Well, we had never done it! We learnt through trial and error. First we covered the chimney area with an old sheet with a hole in the middle for the brushes to go through. Then my husband found his old motorbike goggles to protect his eyes! Finally, he started pushing the brushes through. There was thick, black soot everywhere. The kids began to sing, “Chim chimery, chim chimmery chim chim cheree,” my husband panted with the effort and I collapsed with laughter. After what seemed an age, he asked me to go outside to see if the brushes had finally come through. Walking out into the front yard I found a large crowd of neighbours pointing up to our roof with giggles and muted voices, discussing, once again, the folly of being born British! Looking up, the reason became clear. At least 20 meters of pipe, with a very sad looking brush waving on the end, rose above the chimney. It looked as though he was cleaning the sky!

Getting the chickens for the first time caused talk in the village. My father-in-law was staying and loved seeing them arrive. We had an old shed down in the orchard that we put nesting boxes into. We buy dual-purpose hens so that we can have eggs and meat. The first night both my husband and father-in-law were seen trying to shoo them into their shed. The neighbour, with great patience, gently explained that the hens do not need to be shooed in; they know how to go in by themselves!

Last year we grew about every type of vegetable that you can think of including some more exotic ones like aubergine, chilli and melon. The vegetables last right through the year. Most of them I freeze. The pumpkins I turn into thick, creamy soup and bottle. It is very handy to have it pre-cooked on cold winter nights. Pruning takes a whole week. Cleaning all the pots and making sure the greenhouse is ready for the spring are the children’s jobs after all, I can’t do it all! The children have to help out, as there is always so much to do. We find, though, that they have much more freedom here. They take off for the day on their bikes and Josh, the eldest, often goes fishing in the Loire River. He brings his catch home for dinner.