Storm Austin, or was it storm Boelo?

Yesterday, we drove back to the Netherlands from France in the midst of a gale which seems to have been christened either Austin or Boelo – I can never keep up.

We'd been in France for almost three weeks during which time the weather changed from golden and almost summery (apart from the chilly nights) to stormy and cold. The weeks passed so quickly I can hardly remember what we did other than stacking wood (Koos did most of that), cutting the grass (which I did in a tee-shirt because it was so warm), and re-finishing the bedroom wall in CCMk2, which involved some iffy plaster work from yours truly cleverly disguised by what is called 'renovatiebehang', which is special wallpaper designed to cover up sins like mine. We then painted it and the rest of the wall and I must say it looks a whole heap better than it did before. Sadly, I didn't record this achievement so you'll have to take my word for it.

Koos also started the 'cellar staircase renovation' project. The cellar, or 'cave' as it's known in France, is still a bit of a mess – full of tree stumps of logs that are too big to go in the wood-burning stove. It's also ankle deep in sawdust, and I assume this is because it used to be where wood was cut. However, quite a lot of the dust might be the result of woodworm, which has been merrily eating away the staircase into the cellar. It has clearly been neglected over the years and I couldn't help noticing a distinctly spongy feel to the steps as we descended to the dusty depths.

Worried that one of us would go a step too far and put a feet through the treads, Koos decided to take action. At home in the Netherlands, he bought 20 pieces of angle iron cut to the width of the stairs (two per tread) and ten new pre-sawn 18mm-thick triplex treads. We took half of everything down with us; we had to leave the other five at home due to space and weight limitations in the car. Koos then set about strengthening every other step with angle iron front and back and a new tread on top, after first spraying the old ones thoroughly with woodwom killer. He's done five so far, but I already feel safer going down to the dungeon below. It no longer feels as if the next time will be the last, if you get my drift!

Other than pushing each of these projects forward a little futher, we have been out for a few drives, spent some time in beautiful Joinville (see previous post), enjoyed some lovely walks in woodland away from La Chasse (the hunt, which started while we were there) and visited daughter #2, which is always a treat as the work she's done on her own house is phenomenal.  

By last Wednesday, though, the weather was already changing and since then, it has been pretty dismal, so on Sunday morning it was no suprise that the rain was lashing down and the wind was blowing its cheeks out with extra force. 💨💨 

Still, we'd decided we had to leave (I had an appointment to keep with a chimney sweep in the CCMk1), and Sunday is the day when there are virtually no trucks on the road.

Luckily, I could see from the radar images we were likely to drive out of the rain before long. By the way, who knew those radar pictures were just models? Not me 🙄. I thought they were real depictions of the weather systems... ho hum. Anyway, on Sunday, they were pretty accurate and by the time we reached Saint Dizier on our route home, the rain had stopped, the skies cleared and all we had to contend with was the wind. I won't say more about that except it was very, I repeat, very strong, and it made driving quite taxing as it blew into us broadside on, straight from the west as we drove north.

We made it back home in record time, though, so perhaps in some ways it helped; it certainly increased my own determination to just get there. So, Austin, or Boelo, or whatever your name is, thank you! But you can go away now. My garden looks like the furies have been through it and our poor Hennie H seems to have collected the debris from an entire forest. Please just give us time to clear up a bit before you send your siblings along...

Here are just a few photos of our village in the days before we left. In the last two, the clouds can be seen gathering.

If you click on this photo, you will see the cables over the road
as they should be and not as broken lines.

Have a lovely week allemaal, and I'll be back with news and views from the flatlands next week.