by Anita Weststrate | Jan 14, 2026 | The house
But whispers It’s New Year’s Day 2026 and we’re enjoying the peace and tranquillity. No visitors, just silence and time for ourselves. It is quite cold, but we can still do some odd jobs outside. Rob is looking forward to it! We are working at a...
by Anita Weststrate | Nov 17, 2025 | General, The house
And even more water. In the Drôme des Collines in general, but especially on our spot, there is a lot of water in the ground. It can rain heavily here. The rainwater then flows down the hills into the valley in huge quantities over the compact, heavy clay soil. And...
by Anita Weststrate | Nov 16, 2025 | The house
And about mud. After our experience with the roof (read this blog), we were ready for a project that runs smoothly. The next item on our list, though, was the paving on our property. Even though this house is from the 19th century, no resident had yet built a proper...
by Anita Weststrate | Jul 16, 2025 | The house
When things don’t go smoothly. When we bought the house, we knew that the roof of the outbuilding needed to be renovated. We had asked for advice and he said that it would be sufficient to replace the roof tiles and a few rafters. A considerable expense, but...
by Anita Weststrate | May 4, 2025 | General, The house
and saved by the neighbour. With a father who, as a farmer’s son, chose a career as a teacher at an agricultural college, three uncles and aunts who owned large farms in the United States and the Flevopolder(NL), and a younger cousin who runs the “family farm”,...
