Breathing Space.

We've had a chance to take breath in more ways than one. Clive and Mary came to stay with us for a couple of nights, and, even though they were insistent on doing some work for us, it still became a bit of a break . We had, however, been a bit concerned that we were going to have problems as John and Lesley were due back to their house (the one we've been staying in) on Friday. Unfortunately for them (but perhaps not for us) John had a bad cold and was in bed. So they'd cancelled their passage over to France and now aren't coming till next Wednesday. We were therefore able to enjoy our time with Clive and Mary without having to keep thinking about getting John and Lesley's house ready for them.

Luckily for everyone, the weather improved with the arrival of Clive and Mary. So, Cyrille has been able to carry on with the roof. He and JP even worked today, Saturday, until they got stopped by a thunderstorm this afternoon.

If the weather holds (which looks doubtful!) Cyrille says that the roof will be finished by Tuesday. However, we'll see.

With the arrival of Clive and Mary we've been sleeping in the downstairs bedroom in the house. Our plumber is struggling to get all of the parts for the boiler. He's now laid on the water to the downstairs bathroom and the kitchen but we won't have hot water till about next Wednesday. That is if we get a jerry can with some "fouil" in it . No sign of the oil tanks, he assures us that this jerry cans worth of oil will heat the water for a considerable time - Sue is not convinced!

Last Thursday, we all set to stacking the rest of the old roof tiles which the builders had dumped behind the barn.

It was nice to be able to see a job done and the area behind the barn looking a bit more tidy. That evening, just as Mary and Clive were leaving our house to go off to bed in John and Lesley's house, we looked up and saw the owl setting off to hunt for food. However we soon realised that it was more involved than that! We could hear the young chicks calling for food. We waited to watch the owl return but the next thing we knew, an owl flew out of the pigeonnier. We think that there is a pair of owls, hunting and feeding the chicks. I am so relieved that they haven't been scared off by all of the building work.

Friday saw more activity. The window men turned up and fitted the last two patio doors.

Although they've not finished, we can at last shut the rain and wind out of every room and secure the property. To my relief, Sue loves the doors in the stairs passage. She loves the feeling of being outside although you're actually still inside. However there is one small problem, a pair of Black Redstarts are raising a family in the wall just to the inside of our "front door". They work tirelessly from dawn to dusk, perching on the beams in the passage way with beaks full of grubs and squawking at us to get out of their way. We sincerely hope that their chicks fledge before the glass is put in over the patio doors or we will have to leave the doors open and be back to square one.

Finally, all of this water that is in the ground, plus the relative warmth, has meant that the vegetable patch is growing prolifically. The potatoes are nearly 60 cm tall although still no flowers! I think we'll be eating salads till November!!!!

Sorry that this posting has been so long, but so much is happening just at the moment. We'll actually be pleased when things slow down a bit!