Omnibus Edition

On Thursday we went to Toulouse, ostensibly to look for tiles but the sales are on and we did a bit of "other" shopping. We had seen a site on the internet that looked as though it might do "good deals". We have been searching the "net" as we need upwards of 200 square metres of tiles and we thought that there just might be some one out there prepared to give them to us cheap. Unfortunately it wasn't the shop in Toulouse. The builder has pointed out that we need to choose tiles which have compatible tiles for the steps, as we have a lot of different levels in the house. We are rapidly coming round to the view that we will have to buy them locally and pay the proper rate. (For those of you familiar with Wisbech, we sorely miss Elses).

We had seen that the kitchen we like is half price in the sale so we went to make enquiries and obtain a quote. You dont just walk into a shop here and they say "sit down madam and we will plan your kitchen". We had to make an appointment and go back four days later! The shop is an hour from us but I guess when in Rome...... In the meantime we had second thoughts, storage would be a problem and it may be cheaper (although a lot of hassle ) to get it in the UK. We rang to cancel the appointment but they said that they would store it until we wanted it. So having nothing to lose we drove another hour back to Montauban and came away having bought the kitchen.

You may think that all this looking for tiles and kitchens means that the builder is moving on a pace. Wrong, its just to keep us going. The builder returned on Thursday and we have gravel down in the kitchen so that the plumber and electrician can lay their pipes before it is concreted.

However, we can increasingly see the rooms developing as more and more work is done.

Bad News! All good things come to an end, "the Caff" has surreptitiously put it's prices up. Wine is no longer included in the price. So visits will have to be curtailed (just a little).

You will recall that we were very proud of the Birch Copse and I was delighted with the progress of the bulbs which I had planted in it. We had a lot of rain on Friday night and the boar obviously found the birch copse the perfect feeding ground. He rooted his way across the field and then dug all over the copse uprooting a tree and the bulbs as he went. Did I say I liked being close to nature??



Today being Sunday was a day of rest. We had a lovely day with all the friends we have met through the book club. Lots of intellectual stimulation before we return to the mundane manual labour tomorrow.