It's been awhile

I can't believe it's been more than two weeks since my last post!  Things have been extremely busy around here what with trying to get the kitchen done before my in-laws left on their vacation as well as some other administrative stuff (because it never ends) and attempting to have some semblance of a social life here in Bordeaux.

Unfortunately, we were unable to complete the kitchen before my in-laws' vacation so we have to wait until they return to install it.  There were various unforeseen circumstances that prevented us from finishing, some of them good, some of them bad, but nothing I particularly feel like going into on my blog.  But, looking at the bright side, at least I am fairly certain that I will finally have a kitchen before the end of September!

What we were able to complete, however, was the floor.  We spent two long, hard, back-breaking days ripping out the old floor and scraping the 30-year-old glue off the original tiles with hammers and chisels.

removing the old kitchen floor

 

We then went shopping and finally settled on this dark gray flooring that, in fact, could have been installed without removing the old linoleum.  So we lost 2 days for nothing, and this is why I prefer to plan ahead, but no one listened to me.

 

our new kitchen floor

 

We also finished all the work in the entryway and finished painting the kitchen so once the new floors were installed we made our final decisions on the layout of the new kitchen and went to Brico Depot to purchase all the kitchen elements.  We just didn't have time to build and install them or to shop for an oven or stove top, so all of that has to be done when my in-laws return.  But here is our new kitchen, still in boxes, in the garage:

 

Rasteau curled up on top of our kitchen

 

It has served one purpose though - it is Rasteau's new favorite bed!  He literally spends almost all his time sleeping on top of our kitchen.  He's going to be devastated when we install the kitchen and he loses his preferred sleeping spot!

 

Other than that, there hasn't been much of anything going on here.  Nothing that is particularly blog-worthy at least.  We got our carte grise for the car, after naturally having to deal with more administrative red tape.  I got everything set up to be able to declare my revenue and pay mes charges online, and Lionel was finally able to go to the CAF to see about getting aid until he finds a job.  He's also found a few more positions to apply to now that summer is over so hopefully he will at least get an interview soon.  We spent a Friday evening out in Bordeaux with one of Lionel's friends (our first night out in Bordeaux) and discovered this great little Vietnamese restaurant in the centre ville and we have dealt with Rasteau's flea problem.  That's pretty much it at the moment.  I know, I know, it doesn't get much more exciting than that!