Monday, April 20, 2009

NAME REDACTED


Rob has revamped his web site (about time) and I must say it looks really good. He seems to be marketing the whole Morzine experience. So check it out at LINK REMOVED.

He also mentioned I should get a move on and finish my chalet so I can earn some money. Well Yes that is the general idea.

On a more related note the kitchen arrived on Friday, 83 boxes of stuff (and that not everything) I have sorted it all out and need to decide what I can take with us next week. God my brother and I have a load of work to do!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Easter Holiday

So the family spent Easter at the chalet in a camper van. It was small and cramped but we managed. I took my eldest son snowboarding and even got some work done on the chalet! The main point of this trip was to order some of the materials Eddy and I will need at the end of April, not only that but also to get a little boarding in as I haven't been out on the mountain for ages and what is the point in having a chalet in the mountains if you spend all your time in the chalet and never actually get out into the mountains!

So I was a little worried about the camper van and where we would park it. I was a little concerned we would not get it up the drive and onto the flat bit at the top. Typically, it was not this aspect of parking the camper van that caused the problems!

Strangely I had not thought to ask Slow Chalets if I could park there. A bit inconsiderate of me I think but I was to be honest more worried about actually getting the van up the drive and I really did not consider getting permission to have it there. This was to cause some problems during the weekend.

So on Thursday evening we pulled up at the chalet and easily parked at the to of the drive in front of Robs chalet, noticing as we did that they had some clients or rather that Slow Chalets had some clients, as their car was parked out side. Well we plugged in the camper van and went to sleep. The next morning we moved the van back so that slow chalets guests could get out with their car. (embarrassingly It had still not occurred to me that anybody would mind us parking out side Robs chalet.)
We came back from snowboarding on Friday evening to Slow Chalets asking about what we were doing here and that we were not expected until the end of April and could we move the camper van as this was not the kind of thing their clients expected. Well maybe I was tired or just stupid but I still did not get what they were really talking about. We shifted the van back a few meters so the clients could get in and out past us.
Saturday I spent fixing the toilet. Breaking a hole in the hot room wall, digging a trench along side the chalet to the box and connecting the two together. I also discovered that I have no idea where the sewage goes after it leaves the box out side my chalet. The out let goes off in a completely wrong direction towards the old septic tank and not towards what I think is the sewage connection.
The sewage connection or what I think is the sewage connection has two pipes coming in to it one appears to be from my roof down pipes and was happily dribbling the last of the melted snow from my roof into the chamber and the other comes from the general direction of the what was the septic tank that Rob installed....

Actually I have just had a look back at some of the photos I took when Rob and I discovered the connection, here and this hole does not look like the hole I was looking at so maybe I was looking at a soak away and my sewage is actually going the right way after all. (yeah and pigs fly south for the winter!) I need to check when there is less snow about and I can see the other manhole cover.

I also started on the stairs to see if my design would work. It seems to be suitable so I will continue when I have more material.

Sunday We went snowboarding again and my son and I had a great time in the sunshine on the mountain. Came back to urgent texts and phone calls with Rob who Slow chalets had talked to demanding I get my camper van off the drive, well I was tried and hungry and by now understood the problem and realized I was in the wrong but slightly embarrassed by the whole thing for not thinking it through properly So I moved the van on to my own drive (which slopes) I could not figure out how to jack the van level (if indeed it would have gone that far) so we all slept on the slope and the van stayed there until the guests left on Monday afternoon.
Monday I was doing electrics in the kitchen and figuring out what stuff I had not ordered. Tuesday We were waiting for the order to be delivered from Voirons and at 14:30 my wife advised I go down to the shop and find out what was going on. I was sceptical that this would in fact do any good but as usual my wife turns out to be correct (I must remember, my wife is always correct!) Voirons had misplaced my order and needed reminding to deliver. So at four o'clock my wood and flooring turned up and had to be shifted into the chalet ready for Eddy and I to shift it in a couple of weekends. In the mean time I had been tidying up I had even opened up the garage door in anticipation of the delivery.

I am looking forward to the end of April with Eddy.

My kitchen arrives on Friday 17th, should be fun and a lot of boxes!