Wrapping up projects in California
After plugging a leak in the hot tub, new steps were in the making.
Next was...
The kitchen window: out with the old...
OK, so we got the must do's done and we were ready to leave for France...
Then, it happened.
I was minding my own business, taking a relaxing in a 2 person Jacuzzi tub in our master bathroom, working out the kinks in some sore muscles, when I noticed water on the floor. Hmmm.... no water had splashed over the tub but wait! ...There was water on the floor of the bedroom also....and in the laundry room on the other side of the wall!!! What the $*&^#@ was going on??? I could not determine the source of the leak but Houston,.. we have a problem!!!
We were 5 days away from catching our flight to France, renting clients arriving in a few weeks and me having time to deal with this like I have a hole in my head. Still, we decide that clearly this project that we had planned for next year (removing the Jacuzzi tub and turning the area into a walk-in shower) was now an EMERGENCY and had to be pushed up to NOW!
So, with 5 days to 'we are outa-here', we tore out the tub and gutted the bathroom area and prepared it for a total remodel. Janice was in 7th heaven. Then, when we left, the final touches were in the hands of our friend and former renter Johnny, who is a tile guy by profession to wrap it up. The irony is that we will not see the finished product until our return in 8 months.
The start of a relaxing season in France
This is the property we finally bought next door to ours. No, not terribly large but it does add a 3rd ocean front lot to our property. Just big enough to add a pool and a phenomenal increase in value to what we have. When we are pushing up daisies, the kids will thank us. Besides, while it is hardly the point, most villas here have a pool and not having one is not just a downgrade of sorts but puts you in the Jed Clampet category.
How we started
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And so it begins...
The next step was to dig a hole big emough to put a house in. As of this writing, this is as far as we gotten.
A mere 12 hours after our arrival, the grading got started after 12 trees had been cut and the stumps removed prior to our arrival. Next came the rock wall and the pool location traced, and the hole dug.
The Abbey of Le Barroux
The monastery of Le Barroux is a taditionalist Benedictine abbey located about 3 hours away from us. We first stumbled on it several years ago quite by accident and we were so impressed that this was the 3rd time we have returned. To hear the monks sing in Gregorian Latin chant is like listening to the angels. It is incredibly moving. The first time we entered the chapel the black robed, hooded monks walked in and sat in the dark church.See the Epistle https://starfireproductions.blogspot.com/2019/06/june-2019.html
It was so eerie. At first, I thought we might have stumbled on some kind of demonic offering. Could they be getting ready for a ritualistic sacrifice? Offering a virgin to the gods?
No, these monks live, eat, work for the sole purpose to pray and worship. They get up for first prayer at 3:15 a.m. and meet 7 times during the day until bedtime at 8 p.m. to pray. They are self supporting with the sale of bread that they bake, and olive oil from the olive trees that they grow and press, but are solely focused on the next prayer time. They make the Muslims look like amateurs. It is for us, for all of us, that they pray.
Now, some unrelated stuff
A view of the snowcapped French Alps from our terrace today.
A French baguette. The absolute best bread in the world. I could eat these all day long. Well, actually, I do. The price ain't bad either.
The infernal subject of taxes
As long as we are on that, we might as well talk about that other unavoidable one. Death. I was reminded the other day that by the actuarial tables, I have about a year and a half to live. Really? I am not amused. Do I look like I am dying? We had better hurry to get this pool finished so I get at least one swim in. I may have to bump off some younger guys to get the averages up. I sure hope the grim reaper does his work alphabeticaly or that at the very least, he got the memo that I am bullet proof.
Every year at this time, I spend at least 3 days working on preparing our taxes. (I am now on my 4th) It is at least as bad as going to the dentist. The fact that I have to deal with 3 homes in 3 countries on two continents doesn't make matters easier. I know that you feel my pain, but seriously, I know this is our own doing, but I have to whine to someone! I say that I must prepare our taxes because our accountant takes all the numbers I provide and fills out the forms. Way above my pay grade... I had a friend who would hand his accountant a shoe box full of receipts and let him figure it out. I can now see why.
Last year's tax forms came in to over 100 pages. They call it 'tax simplification'. And I am just a little guy who is all but broke. We recently had a tax lawyer look at what we were doing and he marveled at how much of our laughably paltry income we manage to shelter (legally) and our ability to write off with our rentals (legally). He immediately spotted just how allergic we are to paying taxes (legally). Did I mention that I what I do is aggressive as all get out but legal? I rest well knowing that, if need be, I am prepared to face an audit at any time. Over the years, I have been audited only twice and came out smelling like a rose each time. I think they have just given up on me.
Yet another public education success!
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