Project Gratitude #update 19

Well the worst bit of the roof is now sealed! No more rain pouring in, no more wind ripping off what ever tiles were remaining, no more lying in bed at night as a storm tramples over us hoping that the plastic sheet won't blow away! Ah...it's wonderful.

Without the help of the generous few who donated to Project Gratitude through GoFundMe it wouldn't have been possible...so our heartfelt thanks go out to all who made the roof repairs a reality - we're one third of the way there now roofwise and I can't say I'll be sad when the last tile is cleaned and replaced. But...that's a little bit further in the distance as we need to be able to put new insulation in as we go along the rest of the roof space. No point doing a job twice!

I've decided to reduce the amount of time spent online so I can concentrate on the important stuff...so I'm bringing the fundraising over to this blog. There'll be a 'donate' button on here soon.

NEWSFLASH!!!
Plus, if you're interested to see how we get on as we continue our journey then please do subscribe to the blog as I'm also going to follow hubby's lead and go cold turkey on FB very soon...eating up way too much time and without any benefit. It's time to concentrate on infusing light into the way we live. I seem to have many 'friends' on FB yet it all feels very superficial. I've found some great articles and gathered some useful knowledge via others posts, yet they simply end up distracting me and before I know it 2 hours have passed. It's not the same as it was years ago and I hate that they appear to be filtering what you see according to what they think you want...they even messed up Farmville 2 without asking, lol. So, after 9 years I'm going to close my account at the end of the month. If you're a FB freind and reading this, don't worry I'm going to send a message to everyone with my contact info very soon and hope that if you are a 'friend' you'll actually put pen to paper and send me a postcard or letter...yes a real letter!

Hoping to be adding some Mermie's Permie treats soon - recipes and things you can eat in the garden other than the usual fruit and veg.

Love & light for now!

Louise (aka Mermie)

Project Gratitude - Video Update!

A little bit about what we're doing permaculture style @ chez Gratitude :)

Thanks to Vladsilav at the Regenerative Institute for giving permission to share as this was made at their request after completing the 'Online Permaculture Design Course' ( https://www.openpermaculture.com/).

Enjoy!

Love & light
Louise (aka Mermie)

Project Gratitude #update 16 & 17 & 18

Some time in Early March...until now (ish)

Update 16

It's been a cold, hard winter and today the wind finally blew off the cover on the roof and then gleefully poured rain and hail in the gap onto the stairs and landing!

On a positive note I passed my online permaculture design course and received my certificate!

My 'Certificate' :)

Still waiting for the quotation for the roof repairs...this is the third man that's been so we hope this one will actually come back with a quote. We figured the other two realised we couldn't afford their prices so didn't bother giving the quotation :D

Jean Christophe has overworked himself repairing the boundary fence at the rear of the property. It was in a terrible state. We only had to buy new wooden posts, the rest was a patch and repair job and we're going to line the line with tyres (two up) in which we're going to plant trees and bushes to create a solid perimeter and reinforce the bank down into the communal fosse ( a big ditch that collects the rainwater run-off from the fields).

Seeding and planting preparations have begun in between drizzly, cold days. Salad has already sprouted and tomatoes look like they're going to pop up their heads tomorrow. Disappointed to find that almost all of the 1,000's of flower seeds I painstakingly collected last year are sterile! Unless I buy new 'organic' or 'heirloom' seeds I guess this is how they've got us now. At least the star flower has offered some fertile seeds as has a recently eaten red pepper :D

If you don't want to donate any cash we'd love some seeds (flowers, veg, herbs....). All is gratefully accepted!


Update 17

I've reduced our 'target' to a more reasonable 20K... for the interim future (aka the next 2 years) we really need to concentrate on the house itself before we can host others. So the roof, insulation and a fully plumbed bathroom are the top priority...of course along with the planting and growing and fencing and chickens to buy so that we can create surplus to sell! Oh it will be bliss to take a real shower! It will come I know it will!

JC has spent the last month single handedly repairing the boundary fence - we only had to buy the new wooden posts as all the rest is recycled materials including tyres and pallets... Thanks to another wonderful donor we were able to buy some conifers and a peach tree. A full update to come as soon as we get another sunny day so I can take the updated snaps.

Pallet Fencing...using tyres too

External view of the awesome pallet fence

New conifers planted in reclaimed tyres

Beginning to resemble a barrier at Brands Hatch...reclaimed tyre buffers with planted with conifers

Update 18

Rather long gaps between posts don't mean no work, lol. We finally got a 'do-able' quote for the roof so JC has been busy with that, with a short break for a family visit. The worst part of the roof has been dismantled (lots of firewood for next winter) and the new beams, tarp and boards are now in place. Next step is the tiles and fixing around the chimney.

JC in action

First new beam in place!

What a difference!

Yes, this was the passage to the loo for 2 weeks...rather tight squeeze or an acrobatic manoeuvre required

We were blessed to receive a gift of over 1400 used (but good condition) roof tiles on my birthday saving almost 2000 Euros!!! Truly a blessing from a neighbour we hadn't even met up until then.

Unfortunately the top beam which continues to the main roof is rotten so we've sheared it up for now and will address that next.

Slowly but surely, with faith and patience and the generosity of strangers, associates and family we're getting there.

Ps. Regarding my desperate need for a shower...well I got one! Not quite what I had in mind, but a shower nonetheless. While the main repairs were in motion, that is the roof was 'off' there was an unexpected deluge one evening and no way to get the cover over it in high winds and rain...the next day I had to don my wellies and rain jacket to go to the loo (which is just under the mezzanine of the bit being repaired). As I sat there...drip, splat, drip, splat, drip, splat! The rainwater had collected in the insulation and proceeded to trickle steadily through the ceiling above the loo. Couldn't stop laughing at the irony of having materialised my desire! :D The moral of this story is be very careful and very specific about what you wish for...lol...though I'm still visualising that 1 million Euros in the bank ;).

Love & light to all
Louise (aka Mermie) & JC

Project Gratitude #update 15

Well, winter's definitely here! The last week has been extremely cold and we had some terribly high winds too. The safety of the roof is quite worrying!!! The plastic covering billowed like a hot air balloon, the wood creaked and cracked, the tiles (those remaining on the end bit) shifted, then the rain poured and the barn flooded..not a drop came through the new roof though so that's something! Seems there's a source under the land which is fit to burst because of the sheer quantity of water falling, and while the swales around the house are working well there wasn't enough time or manpower to fix a drain around the barn.

A rare duo-selfie :)

Oh yes...and the wheelbarrow got a puncture! Can you believe they make them with inflatable wheels...most stupid idea ever unless you intend to only roll it across a well manicured lawn! A new, non-inflatable wheel is 35 Euros...it's daylight robbery.

The other day was so cold (-5 degrees) that the washing I put out in the hope of it at least dripping out the excess water so I could bring it in to dry (washing machine broke - lol it's been one of those months!) that when I went to collect it at 4pm my pyjamas could stand up on their own...literally. I laughed so much, waving a t-shirt with the arms standing vertical, it was hilarious, lol.

What everyone in the country is wearing this season, lol...

Yesterday was a lovely sunny, but frosty day and as it was also dry it gave us a chance to trim some trees and chop much needed wood. The log fire is our only source of heat so it's important to keep it going once you start it in the morning...it takes an unexpected amount of effort! I've taken to watching the old Catherine Cookson adaptations to see if I can get some tips on rural life, lol.

Home-made wood cutting stand (reclaimed wood)

My watchman in India taught me well...

The new pup is settling in well and in just a week she's learnt "bed', 'allez' and 'come'...she's bi-lingual now too ;).

So we remain in hope of help and that there are at least a few friends out there who would buy us a coffee...is that you?

Love & light for now and wishing everyone on GoFundMe a great deal of success with their fundraising.


Happy New Year!

Louise (aka Mermie)

PS. Don't forget to share the link after you've deposited your 'coffee money' wink, wink: http://www.gofundme.com/chezgratitude

Project Gratitude Updates 10. 11 & 12

I decide to lump the updates together seeing as they were relatively small. Lots of other things to write about at the moment, just not got the time for it all. It's very difficult to balance life with the things you love, especially when life is filled with so many things you love...feeling blessed that I have so many wonderful and enriching things to do :)

So what's been going on chez nous the last week or so?...Let's have look

Well to start off I had a little emergency situation! After not feeling well on and off for a few months (migraines, arythmia, moodiness and general weakness and fatigue which I put down to possible hormonal changes) I discovered the cause...my laptop is emitting EMF of 0.3 vm2 right in the centre of the keyboard, and that's with everything deactivated -wifi/bluetooth/mains power. This is a real problem because I recently managed to get some work and need to use a safe computer. This means that the priority for funds (in order to be able to create funds) is to buy a new PC. That's about 300 Euros for a basic wifi-free desktop. Fortunately a gentle soul took pity on my plea for help and donated 500 Euros, thank you Roger Hard!

JC and Denis spent the week dismantling an old barn in a neighbouring village. The aged owners said if we dismantle we can have all the materials...that means wooden beams and lots of stones (plus some free firewood) - restore, reuse, recycle and repair!

There was an exceptionally warm day the other day, before it plummeted again, and the council had been trimming the hedges, so a great windfall for me! The hawthorn berries I couldn't reach before, even with the end of the rake, were all around so I went collecting branches.

A perfect spot in the sun

Berry, berry nice!

As well as a huge bowl of hawthorn berrries for jam and a super rice sauce, there's lots of kindling. Got a few jabs though while stripping the branches and breaking them up for firewood, lol.

Feeling very blessed to be living in the countryside where neighbours leave fresh eggs on your gate post and where there is more of a sense of community than in the city...even though there are very few people around.

After the short spell of sunshine came rain, and lots of it, which is great because it's given us a chance to see where all the water flows, and it does...flow.

All the swales that JC and Denis dug last week around the new raised beds filled up nicely and so did a few places we weren't expecting, lol. You fix one place and then have to fix another - we like to call it the constructivism approach.
Anyway, it was a good time to get more planning done and rearrange the tool shed.

The guys have really done an excellent job with the shelves, all built out of the recycled wood from the old barn they demolished...hoping that these new carpentry skills will be put to use in the kitchen soon as the camping table isn't the sturdiest of worktops and I have no drawers! Come to think of it I don't have a real worktop either...maybe this isn't the kitchen, lol.

Keep the well wishes coming and donations too. They all get put to good use - one for motivation and the other for really necessary stuff.

http://www.gofundme.com/chezgratitude

Love & light
Louise (aka Mermie)

Project Gratitude - update #9

So this was how I started off today, 3 hours and 3 coffees ago...

12.11.14

Last month was really challenging financially. Fortunately the first donations have now been received in the bank and so we were able to go and stock up on cement and even buy a couple of tins of paint for inside.

I challenged myself to make a half litre of brick red cover what I needed...and it did, with a little left over for another place. When it says on the tin 'Do not dilute' what they mean is : there's just less than enough in this tin to cover an average size wall...which means you need two tins. However, having done rather a lot of decorating on a budget over the years I've come to understand that you can dilute the paint without losing the depth of colour and stretching it out just that bit further :) So, having already picked up a couple of mis-priced 10 litre pots of white paint for 7 Euro's each, plus the new paint at 40 Euros for 2 colours, I'll have managed to decorate an 80m2 space for less than 50 Euros (only half of one white paint used). Very happy! No photos yet as it's not quite done.

In between the drizzle we've had some more sunny but cool days and the grass verges on the lanes were cut by the municipality so I took advantage of some free biomass.

Essential garden tools - wheelbarrow and rake! That's it!

 
It took a bit of effort to rake it all and transport it by wheelbarrow but it's free so it's worth it.

First make the piles...

...all along the road :)

I decided to earmark the next area for planting for spring and a la permaculture style I did a bit of sheet mulching. We already had lots of cardboard boxes hoarded away for this. However, it's surprising just how much material you need for even a small space, incredible really.

Sheet mulching to prepare the spots for the Cherry tree guild and pumpkin nursery

Needless to say I didn't have enough of either the cardboard or the biomass to finish off and the rain spoiled the collection of any additional mulching material. It's a great start though and anyway we know this is a long term project so one step at a time is ok.

The boys continued with the barn conversion and chicken house (it's become much nicer than a coop, lol) and they used over 70 old tyres to create a raised bed area for planting in the spring, along with swales all around them to capture and retain water underground.

It's coming along nicely and we're managing to get a lot done without having to spend any money. However, if we're to realise the dream of a hermetically sealed roof, solar power, a plumbed bathroom...oh and some chickens...and then our extension to include the cabins for other EMF sensitive folks to stay - we need money!

I had a little VO work last week and some content stuff lined up for this week...but it's really not much. Being EMF sensitive is a real handicap...we can't work in offices or schools, we can't sit in restaurants or coffee shops, public transport (especially trains and planes) is a no-no, we can't attend meetings or seminars or open a shop to sell things unless we can do it in our own safe environment where we can control our surroundings aka keep it EMF Free!

Every euro you donate will be put to good use, we won't waste a single cent...and it will all be received with gratitude. So here it is folks...the link:

http://www.gofundme.com/chezgratitude

Love & light and forever hopeful,
Louise (aka Mermie)

I am ONE

I was musing over my tea early this morning about how to next approach the job of colouring my hair. I have a pack of natural henna for such an occasion, yet I enjoy very much the sun-bleached blonde which adorns the lower ends of my successfully growing tresses.

The henna, while totally natural, will leave everything presently white-blonde a little 'yellow' and as the sun isn't shining so much now I'm back in the throws of winter in France, and it's not likely to come out for another month or two either, then there's no chance of lightening it using lemon & chamomile tea.

Bleached

Nothing for 3 months!

Henna

Then I thought about going to buy a product from the 'Bio' pharmacy, after all they had colours which purport to be 'organic', and a little part of me said "Yes that would be good, do it!" - but the better part of me remembered that the reason I stopped buying wasn't just because of chemicals but because of the effects of the unsustainable use of all the palm products contained in the cosmetics. I also remembered that I had not taken on a job because of this stance of not wanting to support that industry, or in fact any of the conglomerates as much as possible (I am human and admit that from time to time I still reach for certain products when I'm not in a good state of consciousness, usually as a result of PMT ^^).

This took me along a whole other train of thought as I picked at the left-over salad from the night before and returned the piece of bread I had absentmindedly buttered and was about to eat. It was the bread and butter that woke me up actually, I don't eat wheat for many reasons (the topic of a whole other blog post to come) and yet here I was succumbing to my vital for what reason? Did I really want the bread? Was there nothing else that I could eat instead? Was I hungry? Why did I stop eating bread? Was it primarily because of the gluten, or because of the GMO's? If it was because of the GMO's was it because it was bad for me or because of not wanting to support the frankenstein comany that has created the monster crops which are dominating the planet at the moment? What's the point in trying to make a difference anyway, no-one else is bothered, why should I be? Am I doing it simply to make me look good, do I really care? Is my small contribution really going to make a difference and if not then I might as well carry on as before, it would make life a lot easier and cheaper...you see where I went, lol.

So finally, after refusing the bread and relegating it to the plate with the gluten-free and tasty Ginger & Sultana cake (own receipe ^^), and of course taking a piece of cake because I decided I was hungry after all the thinking, I reached a conclusion (not just that I'll go with the Henna, lol). This conclusion is something I think I need to print and stick on my fridge to remind me WHY.

I may just be ONE, but I am ONE all the same.

If my ONE means ONE less tree is felled

If my ONE means ONE less animal suffers at the hands of Man

If my ONE means ONE less drop of oil is used

If my ONE means just ONE breath of air is purer

If my ONE means ONE molecule of water is unpolluted

If my ONE means ONE less dollar in the hands of the adverse forces

If my ONE means ONE more soul on the path of truth

If my ONE means ONE more drop of consciousness on the planet

If my ONE means ONE more wave of love and hope penetrating the hearts of the enslaved

If my ONE means alienation from ONE other because I think and act differently

If my individual conscious actions change ONE small thing, every day...then I'm happy to be ONE

What are you? ONE or the other?

Love & light

Louise xxx