The French Renovation

This was the delightful, typical-looking loft in cottage #1, where we now live. As is the French tradition, we emptied it, as it wasn't quite to our taste... That same space now houses our bathroom and the guest bedroom, which, in these photos, has been set up for a visit from the grandchildren! Much more comfortable, wouldn't you say?

August. Family members from the UK arrive, excited to be enjoying some sunshine and a splash about in the pool. You're guaranteed good weather in the South West of France, of course...  No. Clouds prevailed, the small pool was ice-cold. What to do? At times like these, Kevin reaches for his pencil and notebook and sketches a solution. And here it is... Et voila!  AUTUMN WATCH INTERLUDE Praying mantis  After spending hours every week since April trying to keep the seven acres mown, suddenly, it just stopped growing. The dandelion pretender, Cat's Ear, however, hasn't! Finally mowed it down yesterday after a three week respite... Hey! Where are you going with that walnut? There's very little renovation work to share with you... It's been a time of holidaying with family and friends! Upstairs, a landing is starting to emerge... And the master bedroom has received a little bit of attention s...

We built (I say 'we', but Kevin did more or less everything) the first dormer window last year to accommodate the bathroom basin, but, with other projects taking urgent priority, we left it unfinished on the outside; it was watertight, but 'raw'. We decided to make a 'push' on it before the Autumn rains and chills sneaked up on us. So, up went the tower again, and up went Kevin. We found a very cheap plastic pale plank-effect cladding material, which I think we just about get away with. The beautiful fish-scale slates, however, are originals. Our 'terrace' may be a mess, but, look, we have a drawbridge! I don't know why we both thought we would have completed the terrace by this week. I guess we're both optimists/rose-tinted spec-wearers/dreamers.  Our surreal world now includes levitating geranium petals! Okay, now back to the normal world. Cracking on with the guttering... And then the metal top ridge cap... ...

Our farm is very remote; there are very few people around. But there is a wealth of animal life! Our woodpecker explores the top lawn. We worry about his wood-pecking method- it's usually just a series of taps delivered at a slow rate of around one tap per three seconds. He needs to go to woodpecker school.   There are several wild cats in the area who look just like this one. They have ringed tails, like raccoons. We called our wild barn cat Ringtail, but our son chooses to call it Ringworm. Ringworm now has an identical friend. We call the new one Shingles. Ringworm and Shingles sounds like a nineteenth century firm of solicitors. Limousin cattle spend a lot of time licking their salt blocks; I find this disturbing to witness on hot days. As regular readers will know, we have visited nearby Gimel les Cascades many times, but, this time, we found a new path that eventually leads to an ancient church deep in a magical green gully... There is a charge for visiting...