Number 42, Before Us
Under construction. Look at the workers on the roof!
Yesterday we had the great pleasure of being visited by a former resident of number 42. One who grew up here and loves the place as much as we do. We’d met before but never with enough time to really sit down and talk. We were fast friends. Sharing a house with someone is such a deeply personal thing, it’s almost like we’re related. They were kind enough to share these magnificent pictures.
Before the house was built. That wall and building at the back are still there now.
The house finished, no driveway yet
The steps I’ve now sat on many times myself. The kids with their nanny.
A very serious driver
Other than that all is well. We’ve had hectic beginning of the year with some excellent sales of large items. The blue screen I loved has gone to live in Barcelona. The impressionist painting of flower sellers has moved to Paris. A pair of gorgeous lamps has gone to Madrid. Also a couple of religious sculptures.
The pergola is finally in place! That means this coming summer will have a somewhat better tone. We’ll be able to sit outside – and on some new furniture. Now summer girls bring their brother, who’s a giant, so we’ve got some solid iron garden furniture (Tolix). Pictures coming soon!
My Mazamet 
I bought my home from an estate sale so I’ve made it clear to the previous owner that she’s not welcome here. 😉
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Is that an estate sale rule or a Canada rule?
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Neither. I just don’t want long dead people in my home. I’m a bit of a bigot that way
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Don’t you have a whole clan of Pilipinos defending the perimeter?
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No just the one but he’s tough as nails.
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The top photo shows that your home is built in stone (I had guessed brick)! Such construction is sturdy but creates modernization problems such as being able to run plumbing pipes and electrical wires. Should be cooler in summer and, if properly heated, warmer in winter.
Brilliant! And so cool to have connected with former residents!
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Absolutely! Because of the stone we haven’t moved any of the plumbing. Fortunately , and unlike most houses of the time, every bedroom is served by its own bathroom.
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Ah, the wealthy, they are not like you or I . . . actually my apartment has two bedrooms and two full bathrooms, so this middle class American has the same luxurious setup. :o)
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We have just met a very old gentleman who remembers there being a house here, on the site where we have built our new one. A complicated tale of a family fall out and various members removing building materials until there was no structure left. He pointed out where there had been a well – now dry as the springs have moved – and told us how the area had been shaded by massive trees until in the seventies all were felled to turn the land over to coffee when the prices were high and it was worth growing in a marginal area.
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My dear, I’m afraid to say, next week he’s showing up again with his grandmother’s handwritten will; which he handwrit himself. He will tell you anything built on that plot belongs to him. Also, you owe him for water, and trees!
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More than likely…some of the locals think gringos will come up for anything! And most of them will…..
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I truly believe that a house takes on some of the ‘feel’ of those who came before. Not in any supernatural sense, but perhaps in the choices they made which may live on in the present day. I suspect that’s one reason #42 feels like such a happy house.
Impatient to see the pics of the pergola. Grape vine? Wisteria? Jasmine? Passion fruit?
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Climbing hydrangea at the front and akebia at the back! And yes, of course, when you live in the same house you’ve necessarily shared many moments. Looked at the same corners and cracks. Laughed and cried in the same rooms 🙂
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Yes! It’s like a shared life across generations.
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How the other half lives…
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Half? That’s optimistic 😀
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