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welcome home

After changing our plate number four times & two weeks of many, many boxes, scrubbing & pulling furniture with our trolly, we survived the moving to our home. We're really growing up!


Same but wider view from a different kitchen window.
Every morning I open my window shutters, this view still makes me smile & no matter
how cold it is now, I stay at least a good full minute gazing at the verdant valley below

Home now is a typical 19th century French village house. Around 1835 to be exact and the line of previous owners were tracked down until 1926. We were told they can still scrape a few more years but paperwork & ownership back then were a little bit more complicated. Our old village house, although it shares a wall with the neighbors, is full of charm and answered almost all of our wishes for a house. I would choose a garden over a parking space anytime of the week.


The steps to the garden.
Just learned that a garden is not that necessary for sun & air drying your laundry during winter

Still in the same neighborhood, Spéracèdes is a small village of 1,029 inhabitants nestled in between more touristic villages in the border of the Alpes Maritimes & Var regions. So it gets pretty quiet the whole year round which suits us perfectly.

Despite of some surprises on the first few weeks we moved in and the never ending work to be done, there is forever a quest of improving your home anyway. More of an opportunity than regret. Afterall, it's about a 175 years old but most of all, we are finally home!



A robin accompanies me everytime I'm in the garden.
When I sit, he gets closer watching me as if to wait. Now, I never go to the
garden without a few crumbs of baguette. I figured he got the habit from the
former house residents & I'm happy for it. 



November 30, 2011 -  Addendum
One day after all the moving in, I was surpirsed after opening our front door to see a woman standing by our little gate, staring at our house. She said not to worry because she used to live here about 30 years ago. She told me stories about our house & apparently, this house goes all the way back than 1835. According to the woman, it was built during the French Revolution (1789-1799). It is good to say that it is a 200 year old house. She also mentioned that the stones on our front door arch are stones shipped from a very old England church. It does have a different stone compared to the rest of the wall. Then they all planted the hedges which explains why they're dying. They're like 30 years old! Including the boungainvillia full of flowers to which she felt a little bitter telling me that the whole time they lived here, it never bloomed. 

Makis

From Manila to Paris, then to Marseille & to the Côte d'Azur, now in Singapore, clinging to a map of three worlds, where everything becomes all relative.

6 comments:

  1. And what a beautiful home it is! Congratulations on your cozy new-old nest, Makis and A! Looking forward to seeing you and your new home this summer!

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  2. Your room is already reserved! Looking forward to having you guys here :) 10 more months! *sigh*

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  3. Congratulations on your new home! Such a nice view... You are right home improvement is never ending.

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  4. It is neverending until you move again to another house :) We're taking things slow with all the budgeting needed. Thanks, Malor! Hope all is well.

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  5. With that view every morning and a garden to tend to and a visiting robin to join you with your garden chores, you must be in heaven, Makis. I so envy you.

    I'll have a piece of that too...in Pinas nga lang with manok instead of robin to accompany me in our garden.

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  6. Thanks, Nebz! i am really happy to finally have a garden. I'd love to have a manok around here!

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