I agree the roof quote seems awfully high. He saw a woman, American, who doesn't know much about how much things should cost in France. Definitely get another quote or two. To me pressure to sign right away is a big, big red flag.

No good roofer can start next week.

Welcome back home. Water lilies in the fountain would be perfect to keep the green at bay, and good for the fish to shelter under

On the roof: 1. For a serious roofer here in France you have normally a delay of between 6-8 months before the work starts. In some regions a year. 2. 12.6k for cleaning and minor repair is quite steep. 3. I have had redone my roof here in Luberon, might be 1/3 to half of yours. For your house I estimate 70-100k for a new roof at best. This is always one of the problems with old properties here in France, if the roof had not been renovated within the last 20 years, add 25% of your purchase price to get it done.

That’s the best welcome home! Chloe is adorable!!!

Love the fountain! Maybe you could get plastic lily pads for the fish to hide under so they won’t get eaten

Being back at Chateau really makes u happy. Good to be home.❤

I have a pair of young koi in my outdoor water feature,it turns green also, just part of nature. They know feeding time and recognize me. One is white,one orange.

In the US a roofer would have sent a drone to take pics and measurements. Slate roofs are extremely expensive. No way to evaluate the repair proposal without knowing exactly what will be done. In any event, I would make sure to get references and also check with the building authority (I do not know what is the appropriate agency in France) for which permits are required for repairs of this type of roof, and whether you roofer is appropriately licensed and insured. (20+ yrs experience as insurance adjuster :)

U mentioned renting out the whole property for a Wedding or Family gathering or Event is 1 of the uses for the Keeper’s Cottage. That’s gonna be really nice. Even if a Tenant lived in it…that would be a steady income stream.

Hopefully you put a screen over your fountain's pump intake so the fish don't get sucked in or stuck.

Cloe so excited to see you loved the fish addition so relaxing to watch them 😊

My dog got excited while listening to you arriving home and calling Chloe 🎉😂❤So sweet!

Welcome back! Love the fountain! 👍

Sorry about the roof, hopefully you will find a reliable contractor soon 👍😊

The fountain is glorious. Nice with the goldfish

Thank God you made it back safely ~ ❤️✝️🙏🏻

Chole was so happy to see you! My roof 2 sections was 8,000. A shock. So glad you are back home. Fish and fountain awesome.

Welcome back! From a very jubilant Rennes on voting night. :)

3:07 an expressive, breathless welcome from Chloe!!!!

What a great feeling to return home🎉where your heart lives!❤

I have similar surreal feelings of home and distance. I live between Canada and Mexico with travel in between to visit family. I have sad feelings of leaving one country for the other. Both places are important to me.

7:06 that fountain is fantastic!

Some of the other chateau owners are on a private what’s up group together. You might ask Stephanie about this? You also might check to see if there is any grant money for major projects like roofs. I know of at least one chateau owner who’s gotten help from the local government. Networking with other chateau owners could prove helpful.

Years ago I had a large pond on my property. We got koi, which we enjoyed a great deal. Neighbors recommended we plant water lilies and other plants so the koi have a place to hide from predators. You may want to inquire about predators and, also, about transition to wintertime. Of course in a pond they have more protection and the temp varies as opposed to a concrete or stone vessel.

House of Fish 🐠 I love it. Looks like you gots some cuties!

Add troff clear tablets to the fountain it’s what we use for the horses water troff and it safe for animals to drink 😊

I place one 1" chlorine tablet in the top tier of my fountain once a week to keep the majority of the algae away. It's a small enough amount to not harm birds that might drink the water. I do not have any fish in the fountain.

That was fun. Thanks!❤

That was such a nice ride to your home with the full song playing. Cleo was a super super excited (Mommy is home!!!). I see the vote below for real water Lillies and other plants for the fishes. Welcome back Abby.

awww CHLOE!!!! 😍

I love the fountain! What a beautiful addition to your outdoor space. I believe you can get a UV attachment to help control the algae. Also I have a suggestion for the outside wall where a window was closed up. An espalier of jasmine growing up that wall would be beautiful and fragrant! The diamond pattern is unique and perfect for a chateau. You are doing an amazing job!

Cottage looks like it is coming along nicely hope you have a great summer

Maybe some aquarium outdoor plants would help too!

Measure the marble and go to stone yard and find a scrap, I've done it lots of times for projects 😊 hello from las vegas

The video on the plane showing the view of the clouds and land was beautiful. Then, the trip to the chateau was beautiful, especially the field of sunflowers. Thanks for helping us feel like we were there. Adorable Chloe's excitement was special. I love the fountain and the fish. The workmen are getting a lot done. I would be very nervous about the roof quote, also. Hope everything continues to go well. Janice from Arkansas USA

hi Abbie, happy to see you home. Lots got done while you were away in the field and the cottage! Looks great. Love the fountain and fish. It was so great seeing how excited Chloe got when she came down steps❤❤❤. I loved the video of the plane coming into France and the drive to the Chateau. I got all excited too😅. I always loved your song and it was nice to hear full thing. Glad to hear France did good in voting! Vive La France!🥰🥰🥰

I loved hearing that whole song. Thanks ❤

Just loved hearing more of la belle epoch 🎉 its such a charming theme tune to set the scene 🙏🌻

Welcome back, Abby. The fish are lovely. You made the right choice nit going with that so-called roofer. The boys got a lit done.❤

Cloe was up in mom's bed for sure she is happy her mom is home but sure she had a good time when you were gone Abby ! Tomas spoiled your sweet girl ! Great way to be welcomed home ! Do more research on the roof how can someone be ready to work in the busiest time of year! Talk to the Pethericks the are very knowledgeable and extremely helpful Very kind British boys ! Glad had a safe travels!

To many beautiful things are happen for you, is wonderful. ❤Cleo, was very happy to see you... The fountains is a touch of life with the beautiful 🐠...I pray 🙏toGod in the heaven for great and honest people for work in your 🏡 so they will appear more companies the best will be the one...

Love the opening song.🙌🏻💃🏻🕺🏻. The fountain looks beautiful.

The fish will be in a state of shock!

So delighted to see your return journey! Then I was 'welling up' at Chloe's reaction to seeing you! Awwh 😢 The roof bandit was surely taking the p!ss with that quote. The fountain looks fabulous and so do you Abby now you are back.XX 💕

Cute little Chloe! I think she was sleeping and didn't know you were home at first. Love the fountain! It looks better all the time and did I see a palm tree in your garden? Are you going to have the gardeners trim back all the dead fronds? I had neighbors in southern CA who had date palms over 100 yrs old in their front yard. One day they were trimmed and it was amazing. They looked like an entirely different tree and beautiful. Fish for the pond are perfect, but does France have racoons or similar critters? Fish are sushi for racoons

Finally home! It must feel good driving up to your beautiful home ❤

Welcome home ❤

Enfin vous êtes de retour parmi nous

Good luck on your civic class 🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀That roof quote seems high and definitely pressuring you to sign is a red flag. Hope you find someone reasonable 😍😘

What a pretty drive to your home. Great vlog❤

That field of sunflowers is gorgeous! 🌻

Loved seeing Chloe greet you.

Good you had a safe journey

Girl! Look how far you’ve come!😊

Ears perked up, hearing the first bars of your theme song...and then we got the whole song?? I loved it!! Wonderful opening of your homecoming. Woohoo I am a happy girl!! I love that song, and it is so YOU, Abbi lol I felt like you did that just for me! (Since I did "complain" more than once about the opening being too short hahaha!) Chloe is so darned cute! Welcome home indeed! Lots of progress happening!

Interesting Love that you show the difference in countrys

Yeah we got the whole song! 🎶 💃 I watched the intro twice. 🥰❤️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You are doing wonderfully at your house and it seems you are almost finished that is if a person ever finishes their large home. I have been following many chateau restorations and the stories of repairing the roofs is always a terrible and drawn-out event and it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars considering just how complicated the roof design is. May God bless and protect you in you lovely French maison, amen!

W welcome home I like the fountain and the colorful fish for the roof keep shopping around be careful and hope you will get your visa soon nice view with the trees all clear and good take care seeing chloe so happy that lovely bye

I always love the greeting I get when I come home too.❤

Great video❤❤❤❤❤❤

You need to start buying/making benches for sitting beneath the trees in the field.

Chloe is so sweet , glad you are back , fountain is so pretty , my father has a koi pond and his Koi are 16 years old and are huge , cant wait till the next video, God Bless

Look at chateau de la lacelle and see what they used for to clean their roof and hire a cherry picker and get Bruce or Thomas to replace the missing roof slates

I was so excited to hear the theme song played in full ❤❤❤

Hi. Yes, quote is too high FISH: I highly suggest you add some floating plants so your fish can hide when there's alot of sun (you'll find them at the fish store). Also, it helps keep the water clean. Cheers

Hoping for a better quote on your roof! Glad you’re back in France. Looked like Chloe missed her Momma.❤

Beautiful fountain

Very interesting about the electoral 18:32

W elcome back, Abbey

Good luck with your card.

Chloe was really pleased to see you , it looked like she was saying, come and see the garden Mum ❤ It will be interesting to see how they lay the cottage floor. Cheeky roofer trying to charge all that money, some people have no morals.

No, wrong. It's more for illegal migration and the migration who wants to get money.

Hello, Abby, it’s great to see you back in France, though I did enjoy your last couple of posts from the US. The fountain looks fantastic as does the field. Do you have landscaping plans for that area? I’m sure you know how fortunate you are to have people who continue working in your absence. The cottage floor looks to be coming along really well. If the chimney is unused, it might be easiest to remove it rather than repair it? I’ve a question about the shutters: how does one close them from within? Is there a tool of some sort to reach out and “grab” something on the shutter to pull it closed? Merci et à la prochaine!

Welcome home to France….🥰 Adding the fish .. nice touch …. Comments about a screen and plants in fountain..:: helpful …! Roof … get more estimates. ! Ask around to get ideas from others about a fair cost ! Good luck 🥰

when getting quotes for work do you find that you are discriminated against and overcharged for being a foreign homeowner?

Ask the local major to recommend a roofer !

You can prevent algae growing in the fountain, by adding some water hyacinth. Just pull out the excess if it over crowds the fountain. It will provide cover for the fish and it makes great compost. Loved your new intro BTW 👍🏻

Well I bet you’re glad to be back in France and out of the Seattle heat wave. ClaudiaSJI

I love hearing the water falling in the fountain, which is very therapeutic. I understand that waterlilies do not thrive in moving water. Just check that out before investing. What happened to the other fish you released into the water near the cave?. The roofer is definitely a cowboy ( what's that in french?). Your strimmer hunk is doing a great job, It's going to be glorious.❤

As far as elections go, France seems to have it figured out..there no way to steal the paper votes! Electronically are where we have fraud. Also some ferns would look lovely around your beautiful fountain ❤

Abby you are in solidarity with those that are destroying your host country France. I will give you free advice to keep politics off your vlog. Your subscribers will appreciate it and choose to continue viewing your content.

My heart goes out to France and their voting outcome. ❤❤❤. I would love to live in France but their government scares me.

Im sure this question has been asked and answered, but how many acres does the Chateau sit on?

Are you thinking of putting some plants in the fountain for the fish to hide under? So lovely the fountain is now. Gorgeous🙂

Perhaps the roofer was trying to get it done since most of France is on holiday in august- just a thought

Are you considering putting in a few aquatic plants in your fountain? Something for your fish to hide under. I love the fountain !one day hope to have one in my garden.

Those Dutch tiles on your roof will last many lifetimes. I think it is good news that you only need some tile replacements, some repairs, and a cleaning. I wonder how much a pressure wash cleaning would cost? And do they use a special formulation to clean those beautiful roof tiles? $12,000 is very high cost, maybe one of the owners of the antique stores you love browsing in, would know of a local company you can trust. Word of mouth is one of the best recommendations. And perhaps look for some Utube videos about the history and upkeep of those lovely roof tiles. Best of luck to you, your fountain is beautiful, I can’t wait to see what you do with your cottage and garden, have fun!

Mercy its hot on the west coast! Too hot! Love the shoes happy feet are best! Get ball rolling cause its summer then Fr goes on vaca then Ger ... Brits try find space that works for you. Yea you voted!

You were wise to say "it's a no go" Abby. By all means get some more quotes and references. I'm a widow and I needed new fencing...got 3 quotes and went with the people had great references (not relatives) and it was almost half the cost of one of the quotes prior. The fence is still standing strong and it's been 3 years with no sign of it falling down...lol. I'm praying you get 'just the right person' to do this.

You should have your French guy get the quotes. That's outrageous.

As Barley Straw slowly breaks down it ferments and releases a natural extract that can help keep your water clean & clear. Aquatic Barley Straw Bales offer a slow-releasing compound that can keep your water clear & balanced naturally.

Abbey, Can you add a little bleach to the fountain to keep it from growing the green stuff, like a swim pool, or does it run off and would contaminate ,kill other things. I can't remember if it is just reusing the same water or if it goes out some where. OK, Not if you put fish in it. The fish poo will always make it get dirty fast. I hope the fish make it-But if they don't, Another idea would be to make the water blue. I think that would be pretty too. Thank You . I so love watching having iced coffee wishing I could be there. Can some one come that does not paint or draw? Never been out of US.

I think you should look for another roof quote from somewhere else. But the fact that he said clean the roof and a few shingles repaired means that the roof is in good shape. Maybe also find someone who could cut some small pieces somewhere else. But I know there is prob not alot to choose from. Glad your back with your puppy. The outdoors is looking great!! Best.

Get rest and eventually you’ll find an honest roofer. ❤

So - I walked into a shop to pick up a bass guitar I had had refinished, and the guy behind the counter says, "OMG! When you walked in I thought you were a person whose KZfaq channel I watch all of the time!". So I looked you up. ;) Hello! I'd attach a photo if I knew how. If you are curious I'm fairly easy to find online or on facebook. I'm a musician in Florida. I'm sure some photos make us look more alike than others, but I see it ... a little. Anyway, I'll check out your channel! Have a great day! Elizabeth Roth

It might not be unreasonable depending on the techniques, material and rental of equipment, for example, not the mention the extremely high business contributions in France. However I agree with those who have suggested that it's always a good idea to get a quote from at least two professkonals and to go on recommendations from locals. No need to stick to professioanls working with native speakers of English, but a good idea to have Thomas or another trusted person to be predent and/or to go through the terms and conditons with you. (Agree entireme that the request to sign quickly is a potential red flag).

All OURS lives are up on the air.

Fish multiply like crazy and fish poop fertilizes the water which makes more algae. The fountain base is too shallow to keep them alive in winter. Plants also add nutrients which grow algae. All from my ponding dats anyway. Maybe it will work out. Orherwise, see what is used in fountains to keep them clean in public places. A little green algae adds to the beauty of an old garden fountain.