My dear readers - Splashed across the pages of CNN was an article about a couple, Joanna McIsaac-Kierklo and her husband Ed Kierklo, from the Bay area that moved to France. Everything went wrong. Read the CNN story here. It would appear that every message-board, blog, and comment section exploded with negativity and backlash about the choices they made. I thought it was time to add my two cents to this discussion.

Dear Mark and Phillip,

I have to ask a question. It may be tres gauche (that’s about it for my French), but did either of you expect this large of/expensive of a project when you purchased the chateau? I have read the posts and watch the videos, and think OMG, did they know what they were getting into?? For instance, it had plumbing, did you know it needed to be completely replumbed? It had floors, did you know you would be removing/repairing/replacing the floors? The list goes on and on: the electricity, moving stairs, having the wainscoting re-carved, the doors, the windows…

Carol Ann (possibly the original)

Dearest readers, I hope that my missive finds you well. Spring has come early to the Gers and we could not be happier. As we move our construction from room to room we are quite often puzzled by what there is, or what we find. Case-in-point, the beautiful scraps of wallpaper found behind the behemoth of a cabinet in the butlers pantry. We must put on our Sherlock Holmes Deerstalkers, grab our magnifying glasses, and examine the mystery from all possible angles. The walls of the room had had a new coat of plaster applied at some point in the past and a fresh

The end of 2023 saw a very quiet Château with almost everyone that was working here having gone on vacation for 3 weeks. Work ground to a halt as the tools went silent, and the halls of the castle echoed with emptiness. We snuggled into our petite living quarters to wait it out and celebrate Christmas and the coming new year. We were fortunate to have two dear friends with us for the holidays, and we passed the weeks in the French countryside quietly in front of the fire. The quietness of December continued tenfold through the first week of 2024. In a pandemic like way the countryside had closed its doors.

Dear, dear readers. We are in the midst of the holidays and destructive renovation at the Château, with shouts rebounding off of the castle walls with questions. Can we put a Christmas tree in the salon when the Electricians are still working in there? How many people for Christmas dinner? how are we going to heat the room?

Dear readers, salutations from the south of France. As promised in my last entry today I am presenting you with our latest renovation of a Château film. A seasonal entry that includes interesting information, some spooks and…

Dearest readers, in a torrent of dust and dirt, and a cacophony of the deafening sounds of construction the summer has come to an end at the Chateau. How is it possible that time slips so quickly? I have not meant to be silent in my communication, and a sit-down with a glass of wine is long overdue. Life at the castle is face paced for us both. For me, 3-4 hours of physical therapy, seven days a week, followed by the madness of design, construction drawings and details, product research and procurement, branding, the new online shop (more about that later), social media, and the one thing that is taking up so much of my time, YouTube…

Dear readers, as always it is a pleasure to reach out to you and update you on the grand adventure known as Château Avensac. Spring has come to the south of France with flowers in bloom and the breath of leaves beginning to unfurl on the trees. Restaurants are dragging their lunch business out onto the streets, and the open market days are abuzz with…

Dear readers, spring is on the verge in the south of France. We have weathered the winter holed up in the west wing, with just enough heat to get by. Rumor has it that Marks legs are both moving now, the right leg much more than the left but slowly, slowly he is regaining the use of them…

Dearest readers. Phillip and I want to wish all of you a wonderful and joyous New Year. 2023 will be a busy year at the Chateau as we see me back on my feet, and work on the Chateau going full steam ahead…

A small Christmas wish from our Château to yours…

Dear readers, as I write this it is officially the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! And although my legs will not allow parties for hosting, there will be marshmallows for toasting, and hopefully some carolers out in the snow. I jest, it doesn't snow in the south of France. Infrastructure is slowly appearing room by room. Electric lines being cut into the plaster work, and snaking their way between stones…

Dear readers, as always it brings me joy to write to you. Life at the Château is certainly very different than I anticipated due to my legs, but we are making great strides at getting me back on my feet. The house is singing with the sounds of stone walls being chiseled and jackhammered as evacuation pipes are being snaked across the the upper floor, and brought down to the ground floor. The incredible feat of…

Dear readers, it seems that I have blinked and summer has sailed by. The days are slowly getting shorter, and the nights cooler, which brings to the senses the thoughts and dreams of autumn and the coming holidays. Much has changed in the last few weeks, mostly highlighted by my permanent return to the Château. I spend four hours a day in physical therapy, and the rest of my hours are spent managing the restoration work going on here, and planning and scheming for my impending return to the physical labor of love that this immense Maison is. Electrical and plumbing work has commenced!

Dear readers, I am always so happy when I get to sit down and write to you all. There is so much happening at the Château right now, well I should say ‘was happening’, it’s August, and everyone in France seems to think that they do not have to work during the month of August. How do you drive an American crazy? Hand them the keys to a Château, have them hire a whole load of French workers, and then have the workers say…

Dear readers, it is so nice to see you all again. First I want to welcome everyone who has recently joined our family after having read the article that CNN published about our great adventure. We have received such lovely comments and support from all over the world and this has bolstered my faith in humanity once again. Many of you are asking about the project and about my current health status. Fear not, we are carrying on with restoration and my health situation is improving in tiny increments everyday. I have found that I can project manage from a bed by being very clear and concise, requiring tasks to be written down, and lots of photographs, video, and FaceTime.

Dear readers, the story circulating around the Château is that the show must go on. Despite what has transpired work is continuing and I am doing my best to keep one step ahead. There is of course much to tell about my current condition, but I have decided to separate that from the Château restoration and as such I have started a blog within a blog titled ‘The rest of the Story’ and you can always visit it by clicking the said titled link at the top of the page

Dear readers, I awoke yesterday morning in a complete fog, confused, knowing and yet not knowing where I was, tears rolling down my face as I cried uncontrollably, I was thrashing left and right in frustrated anxiety trying to make my legs move. In my dream I was paralyzed from the waist down. We just bought a castle in the south of France and there I lay with half of my body immobile and so much work to do. My incessant sobbing woke Phillip up and as he did his best to comfort me, slowly reality came into focus…

Dear readers, the weather has turned at the castle and we find ourselves on the proverbial leading edge of spring. The flowers of the season have been with us for a few weeks making a dramatic showing, as are the rapeseed fields that surround us, vibrant swaths of neon yellow as far as the eye can see, matched side by side with redbud and the youthful green of brand new leaves. The tree surgeon has finally arrived, and although a bit late in the season…

Betty is Home, join us in a warm welcome!