The end of a rather long week!

I am sat at the fold up table in our livingroom typing, as there really isn't anywhere else. The painter has been working on the kitchen all week. It was yellow. Very, VERY bright yellow. And not exactly well painted either. There were brush marks of the yellow paint on the white(ish) cornice, and the doorway didn't escape the torture either. But now, a week later, it's looking rather spiffy! Off white and a white ceiling. All the light and plug covers were removed and cleaned, and the light fitting was also taken off and cleaned. The radiator was removed, primed and gloss painted - BOTH sides!!! Yes friends, this man is an ARTISAN! Here, reputation is everything! People talk. Unlike in the UK - people talk to each other, and if you do a rubbish job, you may as well not show your face in the village again.
The garden is dry as a bone, but hopefully some rain in the near future will bring it back to life.

School - it seems every day the kids tell me of yet another item that they need for school. I find myself saying 'That wasn't on the list!' quite often. But we're muddling through, and I'm sure we'll get there in the end. The weight of their school bags could sink a small ship! All that paper in there - no wonder my son has shrunk a few centimeters.
There has been yet more paperwork from the school - oh yes, there are still a few more trees on that sacrificial pile to be used yet. Forms for responsibility of the school, responsibility of the bus company, should he be allowed into school if he's late (er YES!! Why wouldn't he?!!!), and what to do if he misses the bus.
Yesterday, was the first time on the bus to school and home - poor boy was so nervous, he looked like he was going to throw up. But, he did it. He got there, and back, without losing anything, or getting off at the wrong stop. Of course he made it LOOK effortless, but inside he was a tornado of emotions. He's finally manged to sort out his book bag on his own too - a huge activity in itself!

AND, we have a FRIDGE!! Yes, a full size proper fridge! The little fridge in the caravan can now be switched off. YAY!!! For the first time in weeks, we had properly cold Coke! And Ice-cream too! Love it!

Soon my husband will be returning to the UK to fetch our things and the cat. Then we'll be able to live again! But, in the mean time, we need to find two beds. One for us, and one for the girl. Her bed would never have survived such a move - chipboard 'wood' is only so strong. And our bed was given to my brother in law who was desperate for a new bed. So the hunt began yesterday. We drove to Bergerac. And came home with .... an iron. The beds were ridiculously expensive! I will NOT pay 600 Euros for a bed frame. But fortunately, we've found one online for under 100 Euros.  Just need to get it ordered now, and one for the girl.

One has to remember that in France - everything takes time. Lots and lots and LOTS of time. Nothing happens very quickly. So if you are of an impatient disposition, then this may not be the country for you. Everything closes at 12 for lunch and reopens between 2pm and 3pm (if you're lucky!). Even supermarkets! Restaurants close at 2pm! So if you want to eat lunch out, you'd better get there early. But there are benefits to this way of life too. People work fewer hours, but they work harder in those hours. People feel like work is not their whole life - they have a life outside of work - there is actually TIME to have a life! Lunch is a civilised affair, not a quick stop, where you throw some stodgy bread and bland filling down your throat, in the hopes that you've enough time to swallow before the shift restarts.

Many French schools only have a four day week, and some four and a half (like ours). Usually either Wednesday or Thursday is a half day, or no school at all. It gives the kids a chance to pursue other interests outside of school - which is great, given that they are at school until 5pm for secondary school.

On the whole, the French way of life is good for us. It's what we wanted. More time with our kids, (although 5 weeks in the caravan might be taking the Mickey!), good schools, and a better work environment - just to name a few things. While things are hard for us at the moment - language barrier being the greatest of the hardships - but those will all change, and things will get easier. I still feel that we've made the best choice for our children, and family as a whole. There would be challenges no matter WHERE we lived, but I feel that these are worth going through for the life we will have in the very near future.