Why does working at a hare's pace end up looking as though we're going at tortoise pace? Bah!

The work at Cousein Bas is continuous, and it takes much longer than we expected to complete each stage. We drew up a long term plan in a horizontal graph format for each phase/job, and we're behind after only three weeks. Not much, but enough to make us feel edgy... Thank goodness the weather's dreadful; it means we're not tempted to sit in the sun or go for a walk. Talking of dreadful weather, I used to enjoy the sound of the rain on a caravan roof, but not any more. Not when I'm trying to sleep! Now we have the Midwife Toad beeping and the constant drumming of the rain, and then the bigger drops of water from the overhanging trees- shingle then pebbles. The rhythm of life. Not impressed.

 Still life of my life

I bought some new French paint stripper for use on wood and metal. I applied it to the window frames in the sitting room. Its odour is rather overwhelming! I nearly fell of my steps! I'm not sure if its paint removing skills are as potent as its odour. I'll admit that there's a little rash of blistering to ease the removal, but, my goodness, it's like going in raw with a blunt instrument every time. We've been warned that the paint is lead-based, so I'm trying not to ingest it. I've journeyed through a rainbow of paints, the base one being a bright blue. Scraping off old paint is time consuming and not very rewarding.

 

Kevin measures up one of the last panels of plasterboard for the sitting room.

I quite liked the idea of an open plan downstairs, but Polly's passion for clawing soft furnishings and piddling on rugs has meant that we need to put a door on the sitting room. This is the space. That is the bad cat.

 There's something quite mournful about the electrical 'waitings'...

 Wiring in place for outside lights!