[Mariask]

Hello!

My name's Maria and, although I'm English, I live in France. We don't have a huge amount of land (about 1.5 acres), but we do have vague plans... They're on a back burner for the moment, as we have to focus on getting the house into a decent state first, but once that's done, I shall be asking questions...

In the meantime, I spin, I knit, I crochet, I paint. I've been loaned a loom, so I can have a bash at that too. I make our own soap, and we're vegetarian.

Anything else??

Maria x

[Mammyshaz]

  hello and welcome from Durham, UK
that's a nice bit of land, are you planning any fur or feather to join you. Or homegrown produce?
There are a couple of peopele on here living in France, they will be along soon hopefuly.

I don't have land but rent a couple of allotments and it's amazing how much you can get out of the land. Fruit, veg and hens. It's a continuous learning curve but fun too.
I am also learning to spin and have plans to knit with what I make but it will only be for working outside or walking the dogs as there's much more practice needed 

Look forward to hearing how you get on with your plans 

[vfr400boy]

hello from cold east yorks x

[MAK]

Hi Maria,
Bienvenue ! J'habite à La Creuse (department dans le Limousin).
Beaucoup de neige ici. Où habitez-vous?
Bon courage !
Martin and Christine

[darkbrowneggs]

Hi there and welcome to the forum 

[Lesley Silvester]

  Hi, Maria, and welcome from Shropshire.  I also knit and crochet (Occasionally), weave and sew.  I have goats in my garden and grow fruit and veg.

[happygolucky]

Hello from cold dull wet central scotland.....we watched Monty Don last night and so loved the idea of France    but its all just a dream for us, welcome Maria

[Karen Holt]

Welcome from the north rim of the Grand Canyon, USA.

FRANCE!!!! You have an older house? lease tell me more!

Karen

[NormandyMary]

Hi Maria, Mary here. I too live in France, I have done since 2005, and our house is still not finished. We have the same amount of land as you. We live up country from Martin, on the Pays de la Loire Normandie border. Where abouts are you? What do you think of life over here? Any gripes and groans? You can PM either of us if you want to ask us anything specific, Im sure Martin wont mind!
Mary.

[Mariask]

Ooh, lots of lovely replies! Thank you for the welcome, kind peeps!

@ Mammyshaz - we'll definitely be growing some of our own food. The house/land used to be run as a plant nursery - growing fruit trees and shrubs. So we're lucky enough to have about half a dozen cherry trees, some pears, quite a few walnuts, a quince, loads of raspberries and some currants. But most of the land is on a fairly steep slope, so it's difficult to cultivate (or rather, we'll have to terrace it to use it efficiently, which will take quite some effort to do, so it's not a quick job!). At the moment one of our neighbours uses the pasture (again, largely sloping) for his horses/donkeys/sheep/whatever), which is great as it keeps it vaguely under control but doesn't require input from us.
@ vfr400boy - hello! I'm from Yorkshire myself originally (Castleford)...
@ MAK - Merci beaucoup! C'est sympa! On habite à Beaulieu sur Dordogne, qui est dans le sud du département de la Corrèze. Il y a des flocons de neige ici en ce moment...
@ darkbrowneggs - thank you! (And boy, those eggs really ARE dark brown. What are they from??)
@ MGoMadeley - Hello! Goats... yes, that's definitely an option for us in years to come. I think. Though I know next to nothing about looking after them...
@ Happygolucky - It's very lovely here. And it was a dream for us for several years before we could afford to make the move!
@ Karen Holt - Yes, we have an old fermette (ie a small farm). It's a little house (2-3 beds) with a barn attached. Some land (with a ramshackle stable), a spring, and plenty of wildlife. The barn and oldest part of the house are from the 1800s we think. Then the house was extended in the 1940s, and a bathroom/loo added in the 1970s. So it's a bit of a mishmash. I've attached a couple of photos to give you a vague idea.
@ NormandyMary - we've been here for just over two years now (so nearly ready to get to grips with the garden!) and we absolutely love it. Very happy to have moved here, and very glad that we're lucky enough to be able to! No, so far no real gripes and moans. It would be nice if we could buy decent wood (to build things from), which wouldn't warp and twist. And decent paint. But apart from that, nothing!

I think that's definitely enough from me for now. Thanks again for the warm welcome...
Maria xx

[Carl f k]

Hello

[MAK]

Looks great and how lucky you are to have all those fruit trees. I hope that you collected jam jars before the move here.
We too live in a fermette - built in 1912. Our land was used by a neighbour before we moved in but he was happy to move his stock with no gripes and now we share garden and livestock produce and generally help each other and swap receipes. We were lucky enough to have an indoor toilet and 1970s bathroom when we moved in 
We had to upgrade the house a bit but it remains a working fermette and we spend most of the time working outside or processing all our own produce rather than on the gin terrace.
Good luck with the veg garden - hope it will be near your spring ! Gets a bit hot here dosn't it! Martin
   

[Mammyshaz]

 :your place is lovely  I don't know about 'small', that would make our house a mouse house in comparison to yours 

Your garden sounds a dream with all those fruit trees 

[Karen Holt]

Maria,

What a charming house! It does look that is was built piece meal...the way it should. The house looks as if it is so comfortable sitting on that hill in the curve. Like a mother hen sitting on her chicks.

Thank you so much for the photos.

Karen