From someone else who has a house in the Perigord - where we have lived full time for 18 years now, most of this sounds quite normal. I have to go back to Toronto occasionally to remember just how different things are here. (I used to say to my mother 'we'd better get out early to do our shopping before the stores close' - and she would give me a look as if to say 'my daughter from the back of beyond needs to be in civilization more.')

We bought a house and moved here almost on a whim - hadn't seen much of the rest of France, but were ready for a change from multinational corporation life, fell in love with the Perigord, and decided we had to find a way to live here. Our first plan was to sell our house for megabucks and live on the interest. The market collapsed (and then interest rates did too) so we had to find some other way to earn a living.

But the main thing was that even before we sold in Toronto, we decided we had to buy something here, or we would lose our motivation. We did, managed to sell our house, lived in an apartment, worked for another 4 years, and came to France in June 1994 with two cats and two suitcases. Once here we went into vacation rentals and property management. Managed to make a living, although the first few years were hard. I remember standing in front of a restaurant in Sarlat (now unfortunately gone) and deciding we couldn't afford to spend 100 Francs for lunch. People who envied us our life in France probably didn't imagine that part, or the making of many beds, cleaning bathrooms, etc., in rental properties.

I can sympathize with stories of acacia trees sprouting, ivy and ronces everywhere. Our huge acacia had been heavily pruned before we bought,and when we tooke possession some months later, we had a forest of acaica shoots in our courtyard - the roots had fought back against the pruning. Had to go out and buy an axe to hack our way through. Then we found this strange plant everywhere with big black berries- never seen it before we thought. Turns out it's 'mature ivy'. Many more months of chopping it back.

And of course the ronces - actually blackberries in English. They thrive, cut your arms and legs when you try to get rid of them, and generally are a nuisance.

But after 18 years here, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. I look down on the ruins of our 12th century chateau from the garden, hear the church bells, see the wonderful golden light on our stones as the sun sets, and it's still where my heart wants to be.

(On a more prosaic note, St Cirq, do you really not have a copy of your Acte de Vente???? The Mairie, as you discovered, will never have this, but even an incompetent Notaire will. Although Notaires are still busy dealing with all the changes the current government is threatening to the inheritance laws. Everyone is trying to get one step ahead. Plus, when you are there, make sure that you ask about Capital Gains tax , which increased last year, and will probably do the same again soon.

Have to go now to welcome the geometre (surveyor) who's doing something on the land adjoining ours, and get ready to go out with the Art and History group from Sarlat to explore a romanesque church and historic village, despite the remnants of a hurricane swishing past.

StCirq, I am loving your non-trip report. It is nice to be reminded of our visit to the market in Le Bugue with the bridge with the geraniums and the tiny rotary with the big trucks. You sound like you will not be able to part with this property. I am all a quiver to see how this turns out.

Carlux- you have done what we dream of doing. Sometimes we think if we had taken the money we used to start our restaurant in 84 we could have had a place in France for all these years. Ah well...

Oh, St. Cirq, you have a winner with runningtab! I love his sense of humor!

Sigh...

<i>Our huge acacia had been heavily pruned before we bought,</i>

And I thought that only my parents had been crazy enough to plant an acacia on their land. For anyone who admires blooming acacias on public roadways: admire them there, do not plant them whee they will be invasive.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57623282383670

St. Cirq - I thought (from an earlier thread) you were going to a hire a garçon fort for the landscaping and rest your poor foot? No?

Well, bardo, we hired Franck, but SO and I weren't going to just sit around all day and watch someone else work - not our style, and there was enough to do to keep a small environmental team busy for weeks! Sitting on a chair ripping out ivy really wasn't much of a strain on my ankle - the heat was the worst part about it. The hardest thing, actually, was maneuvering around on crutches on overgrown stretches of land, and then on the cobblestones in towns!

And I did get to rest and soak my poor foot for at least a few hours every evening during "wall time."

Anyway, there's still plenty of work to be done, and we're working on that.

The foot's much improved in the past few days, btw. It just looks like the fat twin of the right one.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this! Thanks so much for sharing.

Carlux, I've got the Acte d'Achat and Acte de Vente courtesy of my agent immobilier, who got it from the incompetent notaire. Mostly I just wanted to see what was going on at the mairie and who the mayor's new girlfriend was.

Really enjoying this tale, and looking forward to the rest!
By the way, how long had it been since your last visit to the house? Just wondering how fast all those plants grow to take over the grounds. With that injured ankle, all that work couldn't have been easy for you - glad you have such a good (and willing) SO to help!

It had been four long years - incroyable, really, since I used to be there 3-4 times a year for weeks at a time, but stuff just kept getting in the way of my plans! Actually, given the length of time I was gone, it wasn't as bad as I'd expected.

In the midst of some hellish client assignments at the moment, but will get back to this the moment I can.

St. Cirq, 4 years - wow! Time goes by WAY too fast. I remember some of your great reports on here in the past - and it doesn't seem like that long ago. Anyway, again, looking forward to more of the story later.

<i>who got it from the incompetent notaire</i>

I'll bet that he's competent enough to collect his fees, which is what counts from his point of view.

I thought that you had sold the house. Weren't you trying to get the Acte d'Achat ASAP last year because of a pending sale?

No, Michael, I haven't sold the house, never had a pending sale, and wasn't trying to get anything last year. I started "communicating" with my notaire in late April of this year, and it's like pulling teeth to get anything out of him. He told me to go back to the original notaire in Sarlat, who appears to be deceased. Long struggle involved; anyway, all settled now and maybe I'll sell the house and maybe I won't....

<i>I do have a potential buyer, Michael, as of yesterday. The keys have been Fedexed to the notaire as of this morning, but I'm not sure he's going to run over to the house immediately (trying to reach him to confirm that today). </i>

I guess I jumped the gun.

Yes, key word "potential."

joining the audience for what promises to be an interesting story

Me too.

St Cirq - you manage to inject a certain style into even the most mundane of tasks

More, please. This is awesome!

More coming, I promise. Preoccupied with the Jewish holidays. Will try to resume tomorrow....