Over the years we have been in our new apartment, we have begun to make a list of renovations we some day hope to make to the apartment in order to make living a little easier for us. The building is now over 40 years old, as are all the appliances. So some changes are very necessary and some are simply cosmetic.

The radiator in the hallway was the first thing to be replaced, as it was falling off the wall. We also replaced the clothes washer a few times, but that is to be expected. Then the little heater, the chaudiere, which heats our water and gives us heat in the winter. was always a problem, so one year we went up to the city to visit the gas company service center office and picked out a new chaudiere. That has been wonderful, as it is so much easier to start up every year when we arrive. Then it’s just the matter of scheduling an annual maintenance visit, for which we pay a yearly contract fee.   Thankfully I can schedule that by email. The results of this visit are given to me and then I have to go downtown to the tabac to have two copies made: one for our insurance company and one for the co-op association, to prove that we have had the annual check completed. This is the law in France.

Next to go out the door was the horrible electric oven, dating from the construction of the building in 1976. The door never did stay shut on it and the temperature was never accurate. It was a real chore to use it. We replaced it with a nice convection electric oven that includes a rotisserie, so I can cook my own Sunday roast chicken on the spit! And it’s (drum roll!) self-cleaning! When the workmen replaced it, they ended up with a four-inch space above the new oven and said they would return to close that up with a grill plate. That never happened (just because a Catalan workman says he will do something, doesn’t mean it will ever get it done), but that turned out okay because that space is now where I store my cookie sheets and pizza and broiler pans.

A few years ago, we became tired of dealing with our leaky toilet that one workman had jury-rigged back together with putty and a ten-centime piece. So we started to look around for a new toilet. We enjoyed many an afternoon in Castorama, the huge DIY store in Perpignan. There we found a combination toilet-sink. The tank on the back of the toilet is topped with a sink. That seemed really ingenious to us, since our toilet (typically French) is in a separate WC—much like they are now doing in new houses in the US. When I told our local plumber about the toilet we wanted, he said he had never seen such a thing. So his wife looked online and found one from Italy and ordered it for us. It took several weeks for it to arrive, but finally we got a call from her to say that someone would bring the toilet the following day. Her brother arrived about 2 p.m., then a young helper arrived, and finally, the plumber himself arrived! Four hours and three plumbers later, we had our new toilet installed. Unfortunately, one of the workers had kinked the water pipe into the sink faucet, so the plumber had to return and repair that.

This was the year that we also decided that we needed a new sliding glass window and new metal roll-down shutter in the living room, which overlooks the sea. This is the window that gets the brunt of tramontane when it blows. There were numerous leaks around the window frame and the shutter was old and difficult to raise and lower. So we sprung for a lovely double-glazed window (avec le gaz dedans). The workmen who did this job for us were superb! It was interesting to stand at the opening, overlooking our fabulous view, without any glass in between!

We thought maybe they would have to raise the window from the garden below, as we are on the third floor, but no. They came right up the stairs with the window, removed the old one and the old shutter from its box, then installed the new window and shutter.   They worked all morning on removing the window and frame and the shutter. I fed them water and rhubarb cake in mid-morning.

Then they left for lunch for two and half hours. An hour after they returned, they were all done. They even cleaned up pretty well after themselves. The difference in no longer having cold air leaking in during the Fall and spring and the ease with which we can now shut up the apartment at the end of the season, made the expense well worth every centime.

Last year, we decided it was time to tackle the bathroom. As we have aged, it has become more and more difficult to climb in and out of a tub to take a shower. This was to be a major job as the tub had to come out and be replaced with a walk-in shower. In addition, the bidet was leaking underneath, because the porcelain had disintegrated over time. So that had to be replaced, and we wanted a double sink with a cabinet underneath.

We returned to our plumber and his wife to discuss options. They sent us to a showroom in Perpignan where we picked out a bidet, a shower, and faucets for shower and bidet. It took a while for the quote from the showroom to arrive at the plumbers’ because of a computer problem, but a week or so later, our estimate arrived in Banyuls. Then we waited for the plumber to have time to come and measure the space, and then we waited another week or so for their estimate to be ready. At last, after several trips downtown to inquire after the estimate, a quote from the plumber was ready, so we could see what we would need in funds for the following year. The devis (estimate) included the items we’d chosen plus the cost of the installation and the “eco tax” and the dechetterie fee. The latter is a recycle/trash fee charged to dispose of the old stuff they take out. The “eco tax” is fairly new French tax, which is attached to almost everything.

We decided that the new sink would have to wait until the following year, as it was really expensive; besides there was still the quote from the tiler to come to us. He wasn’t available to give us a quote until the following year.

In addition, we had ordered a heated towel rack from our gas company, to replace the old radiator in the bathroom. Bills were piling up! We had the heated towel rack installed, but of course it’s not heated unless we have the central heating turned on. It was fun figuring out to hang our towels in a new formation. We’re still trying to figure that out!

As for the rest of the bathroom, we had the plumber order everything ready to be installed when we returned the following year.

The following spring, we took a ship across in order to spend spring in Banyuls. Driving through the Col de Banyuls, over the mountains was like driving through a wild flower garden!

We were scheduled to start renovations on April 28, but still had to wait for the tiler to return from vacation to give us a quote. But that got further delayed when the plumber’s wife got ill and she couldn’t reach the tiler. Then we found out the tiler’s brother was very ill, and the tiler was with him at the hospital up in Montpellier. He took time to come to us one afternoon and give us a quote. Then a week or so later, the brother died, so we waited through the funeral and mourning period before the tiling could be done. Work finally began May 11. We decided to move out of the apartment while the work was being done, as we would need to shower sometime during the construction!

Of course our first thought was to go to our friends’ hotel in Cerbere, and that is what we did for two or three nights. It was nice to walk around the village once again and to enjoy our meals at the hotel restaurant. Every day we returned to our apartment to check on the renovation progress.

One day we found that the bath had been removed and the wall prepared for the new shower, only we saw that they had prepared the wrong wall! So a quick call to the plumber the next morning brought a return call to us as we enjoyed our lovely breakfast at the hotel. “Monsieur,” I said, “you have prepared the wrong wall! The plan I gave you calls for the shower to be on the left wall, not the wall straight ahead.” “Oh, no, madame, it’s much nicer this way.” “But, it’s not what we planned and what we discussed with you!” “Oh, madame, but this is the way it should be. It’s the French way.” Well, okay, how can you argue with that! I threw up my hands, said “D’accord!” and continued to enjoy my breakfast.

The following day, we got a reservation at a fairly new hotel on the north edge of our village and stayed there for two nights. The first room we had was a lovely suite with a nice view of the sea. But the hotel was obviously having some maintenance problems, as the clothes rack on the back of the bathroom door was broken off, the sink stopper did not work, and the shower did not work! Since we were there only so we could have a shower, this room was not for us! We changed to a different room, this one on the ground floor. Once again the sink stopper did not work and clothes pegs were missing and the door handle was loose. But we did get a shower of sorts, although this was a handicapped room so the shower was low and not adjustable. By this time, we gave up and just returned to our apartment, taking sponge baths in the kitchen until we had the use of our lovely new shower.

The plumber gave me a choice on the placement of the hand shower, and although he said he thought it was prettier on the same wall as the waterfall shower, I insisted I wanted it on the right-hand wall. “D’accord, madame,” he said. No argument this time! We’d also requested a sliding door on the right side, by the bidet, but, thankfully, he suggested a corner-opening door. This has been a wonderful idea, as both sides slide open so we can easily get in and out! I have learned to choose my battles with the plumber, as he is invariably correct!

When we returned to the States, we went to our nearby (2 hours away) Ikea and found a double sink with cabinet, smaller in width so that it would fit better than the French one we’d chosen at the store in Perpignan. We hoped that the Ikea in France would have the same sink or one like it, as it was much cheaper than what we would have ordered locally.

The following year, we arrived by plane in early July. This was a busy time of year for our village as it multiplies its population by four when the French go on vacation in July and August. It is these two months of the year that determine the annual income of our merchants, restaurants, and hotel owners. This also meant that, if possible, we would have to wait until after August in order to schedule any renovations. During the last week of August, the plumber arrived to discuss the work we needed done this year. In addition to our plans of installing a double sink in the bathroom, we had bought a new kitchen sink faucet at Lidl. That had to be inspected and passed by the plumber as “okay” to install. He wasn’t too happy about installing an inexpensive faucet, but I explained that it was just to carry us over until we could renovate the kitchen!

Two weeks later, I had succeeded in scheduling a trip to Ikea in Montpellier with the plumber’s wife. We had met several years previously when I volunteered to assist at the village English class. I was delighted that she would be able to accompany me for the day, as my husband’s health would not allow him to walk all over the showrooms at Ikea. However our trip got delayed a another week, and we ended up going to Ikea just two weeks before leaving to return to the States.

Meanwhile, she arranged for an electrician to come and install small spot lights in the bathroom, to provide more light for the shower, and a ventilating fan. Often in France the bathrooms have ventilating pipes, allowing air to flow in and out, but the fan part at the bathroom opening relies on the wind coming into the bathroom to make it move. Over time these little fans get stuck and are really completely useless. We have the same device in the WC.   Our electrician sent us to the lighting store in Perpignan, where we chose spot lights for the shower, and then we saw a lovely ceiling fan, which we could not resist purchasing, for the living room.

The electrician arrived, very promptly, and worked solid for three hours. Then I asked for his bill, and he said he would drive up from Cerbere some day and put it into my mailbox. “Oh!,” I said. “You are from Cerbere? Perhaps you know my good friends who own the hotel?” “Yes,” he replied. “In fact, I am their son’s godfather!” Small world!

The night before our trip to Ikea in Montpellier, I slept very little. So when it was time to awaken at 7 a.m., I was already very tired. I made coffee and cut the almond cake I’d made to take along for the journey.

By 8 a.m. I was at the plumber’s office to pick up his wife. It was a two-hour journey up to Ikea. The GPS in my car worked fine until I actually got near the store; then the voice (we’ve named her MABL—“most annoying British Lady) said, “You have arrived,” when we weren’t really at the parking garage at all! Several U-turns later, we found the entry to the garage. This was a new addition from the last time we had been to this Ikea, when we’d been able to park in a lot right outside the front door.

We walked all around Ikea without finding the bathroom displays, until a worker told us they were all in the Marketplace. We finally got to the right department, but had to go through the checkouts in order to get back into the Marketplace. We wanted a 100 cm double sink to fit into our space but didn’t have the 100 cm sink on display and the 120 sinks were too wide for our space. My friend talked with a clerk and found that they did have the correct sink in stock, so the clerk printed up our orders for us, and my friend made sure I had all the bits and pieces we would need, including the faucets. Then I treated her to lunch in the cafeteria where we had long discussions about our daughters, about our village, and about the differences of life in Banyuls vs life in the States. After a little more shopping and buying some Swedish food for my kitchen, we went next door to pick up the cabinet and sink. It took us two piled-high carts to get everything to the car and a lot of lifting (mostly by my friend, bless her!) to get everything into the car! The two-hour drive was further exhausting. By the time I returned home, we unpacked the car, and I drove my friend home, I had been speaking French for NINE hours! When we arrived at her house above the village, she invited me in to see her house. This is a house which is literally built into a steep hill. From the garage, we climbed several steps to a garden, then another dozen steps to a second garden, then another dozen steps to a third garden and the front door. There were further steps up to the second floor of the house. I sat a while in her lovely kitchen and we continued our conversation, but by this time I could hardly put together a sentence, nor could I concentrate enough to understand any of her very rapid French.   Finally I had to excuse myself to return home, but first we exited the house and climbed another dozen steps up to the summer kitchen and outdoor dining area, then another dozen steps up to the swimming pool!   Talk about total exhaustion!!!! That night I slept eleven hours.

Many years ago, after a trip to Ikea in Pittsburgh, I returned home, exhausted, and created a recipe I call “Exhaustion Chicken.” Whenever I go to Ikea, I think about this easy and delicious recipe.

Over the next two days, my husband and I put together the bathroom cabinet. When it came to constructing the drawers, I found I’d confused the handles with the corners and the long poles with the handles! Anyone who has put together Ikea furniture knows what I’m talking about! We got it all straightened out in the end and the next day I arrived home from town to find my lovely husband had already installed the sliders for the drawers.

A week later, the plumber arrived with his helpers. It took them almost four hours to remove the old sink and install the new double sink, plus installation of the new kitchen sink faucet. They were delighted to see that we’d already put together the cabinet! What a treat it is to finally have our bathroom completely renovated!

Three days later, our neighbor downstairs came up to tell me that we had a water leak in the kitchen, as there was a slow drip from his kitchen ceiling! I frantically, once again, removed all my cleaning supplies from under the kitchen sink, pulled out the stack of drawers beside the washer, in short, I looked everywhere for a leak, but found nothing! So it was time to recall the plumber, who came over and found not one, but two leaks under the sink!

Apparently some joints were loosened inadvertently when the new sink faucet was installed! This was also the day that our friends from Cerbere were to arrive for dinner, so I ended up doing most of my food prep on the balcony! When the plumber left two hours later, I had only 30 minutes to finish my preparations before our guests arrived.

We celebrated that year’s renovations, and celebrated the life of my good friend, the patron of the Cerbere hotel who had died suddenly at the beginning of the summer, with a lovely meal shared with his family.

We started with herring on toasts (another good reason to visit Ikea) and olives,

then salade au foie gras (a recipe I’ve duplicated from a restaurant in Perpignan),

and then my own invention of what I call “Hashtag fish,” using interlaced cod and salmon, served with a beurre blanc sauce,

spinach soufflé and sautéed fresh girolles. Dessert was pumpkin-walnut bread pudding.

So now. after four years, our bathroom was complete.   Three days later, we were on the ship, bringing us back to the US.

We are ready to move on to other projects, and the list is long! The kitchen renovation keeps slipping down the list, as other changes seem more important as we age. An automatic garage door is now at the top of the list, and the installation of air conditioning has moved up, as well. But these are two very expensive projects, so will happen one at a time. Meanwhile, maybe this year we can spring for a new fridge and a new sofa? And then there’s the new kitchen window….We’ll see. It’s always an adventure!