Welcome to Le Shack and my blog about life in an off-grid cabin in France. The subject this week is not for the squeamish for we are going to talk about composting toilets. That’s not a phrase you hear very often for the simple reason that we don’t talk about toilets, or certainly not whatContinue reading “Let’s talk about composting toilets”
Author Archives: maryjane678
Sinks, showers and sunsets
Welcome to another week in our off-grid life at Le Shack on Friday 13th November – an unlucky day for some but let’s hope that won’t apply to us. Autumn has arrived on the valley floor as all the summer crops of maize and sunflower are being cut and the fields ploughed over. The photoContinue reading “Sinks, showers and sunsets”
A beginners guide to an off-grid system and a new feature for the winter – come for a walk with me.
Welcome to the latest news from Le Shack on November 6th 2020. We’ve been here for seven weeks now and our off-grid power system is largely finished. I thought you might be interested in a potted version of how it works and what it actually gives us. Also this week, something completely different. As everybodyContinue reading “A beginners guide to an off-grid system and a new feature for the winter – come for a walk with me.”
In praise of hand-washing but sadly back in to lock-down
Welcome to the latest instalment of our lives in Le Shack on October 30th 2020. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that we don’t have a washing machine. Or a tumble dryer. This is not to say that you can’t have both these appliances in an off-grid system but it requires more capacity, andContinue reading “In praise of hand-washing but sadly back in to lock-down”
The importance of trees
Welcome to the latest news from Le Shack on October 23rd 2020. I know the title of this blog is about trees but first of all I have a question for my female followers. Would you let your husband cut your hair? Until recently I would have answered that question with ‘over my dead body’Continue reading “The importance of trees”
Meeting the neighbours
Welcome to the next installment of our adventures in Le Shack on October 16th 2020. We met the neighbours today. It didn’t go particularly well. We only have one neighbour. Their entrance is the opposite side to ours, across a tiny lane that leads up to our two properties and then stops dead in theContinue reading “Meeting the neighbours”
Our first night in Le Shack – but it doesn’t go quite to plan.
Welcome to the next instalment in our off-grid adventure in Le Shack on October 9th 2020. Our first night in Le Shack! A symbolic event that needed to be celebrated with the bottle of Prosecco I’d been saving for the occasion and a special meal. By the time we’d finished the bottle, having had aContinue reading “Our first night in Le Shack – but it doesn’t go quite to plan.”
Off-grid living in Le Shack – first impressions
Welcome to the 21st blog of the The Olivia Rose Diaries and 2nd blog on The Shack on October 3rd 2020. We make a habit of buying properties that are falling apart. Our previous home, an old stone cottage in the hills in Snowdonia in Wales, was a fine example of this. Every small jobContinue reading “Off-grid living in Le Shack – first impressions”
Moving in to Le Shack – the off-grid adventure begins
Welcome to the 21st blog of The Olivia Rose Diaries which I have now combined with our off-grid adventures in Le Shack. Well we’re in! Le Shack is officially our new off-grid home for the six months of winter each year, before we return to our boat Olivia Rose for a summer of carefree cruising.Continue reading “Moving in to Le Shack – the off-grid adventure begins”
Driving to Le Shack
Welcome to the 20th blog of The Olivia Rose Diaries on the 19th September 2020. I realise these diaries are in need of a new name now that we are splitting our lives into two halves each year. However I think that might be too complicated so the name stays, but I shall amend theContinue reading “Driving to Le Shack”
The Olivia Rose Diaries 