Welcome to the third edition of Adventures & Ateliers!

This week, there may have been a little bit of experimenting with the layout, much like when supermarkets shuffle everything around just for fun. One minute you're reaching for peanut butter, the next you’re heading home with Marshmallow Fluff. Helaas, pindakaas!

Since we’re still in the first month, a reminder that all subscribers are currently receiving every edition of the newsletter so we can get acquainted 🙃 Starting with the fifth edition, we’ll shift to the free / paid subscriber cadence outlined below.

A request… I’d be so delighted if you shared this newsletter with family or friends who might enjoy it! Every new subscriber helps grow our community, boosts the newsletter’s profile on this and other platforms, helps build the pipeline for the Ateliers business and ultimately supports all the initiatives at Les Plonges. So, in the spirit of sharing is caring - if you refer six subscribers using the button below (the tech brilliantly tracks it all), you’ll receive a complimentary annual subscription as a thank-you!

Now, onto one of my very favourite stories from life at Les Plonges in Illustrations, Boks and hero’s. Let’s dive in!

Alethea x

Illustrations, Boks and hero’s

Call me old-fashioned, but I’m a card-sender. Silly, wasteful, and with extortionate stamp prices as they are, but that’s how I was brought up (and yes, it shows my age!). A card for everything. They brighten the usual haul of bills and junk mail, but more importantly, they show someone you’re thinking of them.

Cheekily, I asked if she’d be up for adding some artistic oomph to this newsletter and much to my delight, she said yes! I now have a stack of her illustrations up my sleeve for your future enjoyment.

Living in the countryside, you become braver at randomly stopping people by the side of the road and inviting them to dinner. Certainly, a bad habit of mine. It’s a small commune so how else do you expand your social circle? I’d often see this couple walking their dogs, and one day, we stopped for a chat. Lo and behold, the dulcet tones of two Saffers! Here, in the same commune, in rural France. Now, while I’m not technically South African (I’m half UK, half Zimbabwean) I did spend a considerable chunk of my childhood in Cape Town. In general, I find the accents of Southern Africa comforting. So, this was a win! Braai buddies! Better still, we got on.

This proved handy when celebrating the Springboks’ victory over the All Blacks last year. My dad and sister were visiting mid-renovation (think bedroom curtain doors, dust, semi-functional bathrooms), and as welcome distraction, and by some miracle, a more technically minded friend had managed to not only fix up the TV but also stream SABC live rugby. Result! Rhodesian through and through, but a lifelong Boks fan, Dad was happy. After the epic win, a question: “Are there any South Africans around here?” To which, now of course, I could answer yes. “Great, let’s get them over for a dinner / jol to celebrate.”

Lara, her husband Pierre, and their visiting family joined us the next evening for a proper game debrief. While the rest of us moved on to other topics, Dad and Pierre remained deep in a Springbok player nostalgia discussion. This is how it transpired that Pierre’s all-time favourite Springbok player is the Zimbabwean legend that is Ray Mordt, and by happy coincidence, Uncle Ray to us! Small world. While Pierre was still processing this six-degrees-of-separation moment, Dad casually disappeared, then reappeared with: “I’ve got someone on the phone who’d like to meet you…”

And that’s how, on a random evening in rural France, Pierre ended up having a 15-minute chat with his rugby hero. Happiness all round! Actually, we may need an illustration of that moment!

Oh, and if you’ve admired the illustrations in this newsletter and even kindly commended me on my artistic talent, um, bisous, but alas, I can’t claim Lara’s brilliance! However, I am thrilled to be able to share her work with you here. 

Whether it’s discovering unique work by artists and designers from near and far or rummaging through vide greniers, brocantes, and hidden treasure troves, I’m always on the lookout! I’ll be sharing my favourite artists, designers and sourcing spots here 😄

French property catnip

Moving on up the newsletter this week for a reason: Let’s talk a little about renovation. It has been a big theme at this property and will be in some form or other for many years – so there are, and will be, some stories!

Let’s face it, property in France is like catnip to many of us. The world’s most visited country is also home to an astonishing array of beautiful architecture, unspoilt views and good bang for property buck. It’s VERY easy to be swayed by some charming stone ruin with heaps of land, or a crumbling chateau in the middle of nowhere - if ‘property porn’ had a leaderboard, I reckon France would top that chart.

While there are many balloons to be popped here, I’m kicking off my little Snapshots ‘Let’s talk renovation’ series (below) with some of the actual nice catnip truths rather than launching directly into mishaps and ridiculous moments. Because, let’s face it, those do tend to stick in the mind way more than say, another smooth, successful day of everything going exactly to plan.

In my view, there are three elements to the renovating in France ‘thing’: the dream, real life, and the renovation process itself with all that entails. That will most likely be the structure of all my renovation tales here. Not that any of this will be a surprise to anyone who has ever renovated, big or small or anywhere in the world. Or indeed for those who have watched that 80’s classic: The Money Pit.

After 18 months of non-stop work, the past few weeks have been renovation noise free and frankly, it has felt weird. An initial planned pause on some finishing of the last few essentials on the main property, while final materials arrived etc, morphed into an extended pause to enable convalescence following my stupid accidents. Yet, not having to be up at dawn, compus (!) and wielding one of my many lists (everyone LOVED 😉 these), ready to greet the day’s arriving artisans… I find myself both revelling in and missing their absence. Some form of Stockholm Syndrome, perhaps?!

Does this mean the renovations are complete? Haha, funny, er, no. But, on the main property, almost, yes. And certainly, I’m planning on re-joining life now, shifting focus to the ateliers, this little creative endeavour, and getting the business side rolling.

Not that I don’t have a plan for the next stages. Of course, I do. Always! Those injury-halted last fixes such as the boarding of the abri, will be completed at some point in the next month or so. Meanwhile, it’s finally starting to feel like home. 

Spring is approaching with blossom, leaves, and (drumroll, please) two freshly re-seeded lawns ready to sprout. Huge thanks to Anna for ensuring we will have lawns this year! Reclaiming the garden from its temporary life as a construction site is officially underway.

Let’s talk renovation #1 - Lunch

It’s not possible to encompass all the things I want to share about this renovation in one snapshot, so consider this the first of a series…!

It’s day eight of the big renovation, and I’ve been invited to lunch. At my own house. But this isn’t just a casual “join us if you like” situation, it’s a proper invitation, formally issued a day in advance by the husband-and-wife building team who have just started work on the project. Naturally, I accept with enthusiasm.

The first week has been a whirlwind of dust and destruction. Touring the day's progress after work is neither comforting nor comfortable, but it is that cracking eggs omelette analogy. I remind myself that the chaos is temporary, it will just be one hideous month of breakdown, and then things will start to take shape. I take lots of photos and thank my lucky stars that I can retreat to La Petite Maison while the main house is in full-blown disaster mode.

Old electrics, burned-out wires, outdated (and now illegal) filler, and mouse-eaten insulation are all jettisoned from the top floor, through the satisfyingly dramatic rubble chute now decorating the front of the house. The top floor, in particular, is a total destruction zone.

It’s also a period of adjustment for me and the dogs, Romy and Digby, as we settle into this new rhythm of reno life and get to know the team. Around noon, I take a break from work for a bit of dog entertainment. By then, the site has fallen noticeably quiet with tools swapped for forks, sawdust replaced by the aroma of proper food.

Because this isn’t a hastily grabbed supermarket sandwich scoffed between tasks! Looking at you, NL and UK! No, in France, lunch is serious business, no matter where you are. And I love this, it’s one of the reasons you move here, to embrace a slower, more intentional way of life.

With women still a rarity in construction, especially in rural France, I’m also delighted to have some female energy on-site. Perhaps the neatly set table, the tablecloth, the portable grill, all of it, is an exception due to this. But at this early, rose-tinted stage of the renovation, it feels charming. I take my seat with the team, and lunch is delicious.

More Snapshots of the Domaine Les Plonges ‘journey’ every week. 

Possibly you found your way here via Instagram? @domainelesplonges? If so, an extra Bienvenue! You’ll already know I love a good visual. So here I’ll share others and a little more context behind the images…

Acknowledging the march of time, does anyone else feel like they’re in a rush?

Maybe it’s my age, smack in the middle of life, maybe it’s my anxious temperament, or maybe the recent injuries have reminded me of my body’s fragility. But I’ve come to realise there’s so much I want to get done in life. My list is endless, and time is flying by. I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling this way! Whenever I chat with contemporaries, the demands on time, energy, and finances at this time of life seem endless.

To combat the early morning scaries / panic, I’m an inveterate list-writer. But here’s the problem, I now have too many lists! One of my closest friends recently swore by a new system and she spent a solid ten minutes explaining how it works: a multi-coloured post-it note system, where each completed task gets ripped off the board. Apparently, it’s extremely satisfying. On our next call, I admitted I hadn’t yet implemented the system despite her advice... to which she sheepishly replied that nor had she! 😆 

It reminds me of exam revision. Somehow, I always felt calmer when I had a nicely organised, multi-coloured, underlined, and charted revision schedule on my pinboard! Maybe this is just my adult version.

Anyone else have a fab way of organising your to-do list into a manageable format that isn’t overwhelming or too onerous? I’d love to know!

Why Subscribe, even though this Newsletter is free?

Simply put, for two key reasons:

1. Safety - it helps me know who’s reading.

2. Support - it plays a role in building the business side of Les Plonges.

• With a free subscription, you’ll receive a bi-monthly newsletter- just like this one, but different (obvs!)- every other Thursday.

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    • On these - where possible - I’m happy to help source if you’re on the lookout for something special!

Whichever way you subscribe, I’m delighted to have you along for the adventure - thank you 💛

Ps: If you discover Adventures & Ateliers is simply not your thing you can unsubscribe easily and anytime via the link in the footer.

Pps: If you’re interested in the tech I’m using for this, it’s Beehiiv. I did a LOT of research on platforms and I’m happy to explain why etc in more detail, just ask. They’ve also given me a partner link, and this gives anyone using the link a 30-day free trial and 20% off your first three months on any paid plan. Note, it’s an affiliate link and I may receive commission on any purchases made through it.  

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