Monday

Matt got up to find Meow and Grumps taking in the morning sun on the veranda.

Generally a busy day as expecting the new project to land and we have a bid due on Wednesday, seems however that it is now going to be delayed to the end of the week so looks like it will be an interesting weekend again. Matt did make a little time however to fix the new plug fittings in the workshop which is starting to look good.

[2 August 2021]

Tuesday

It’s widely acknowledged in gardening that you shouldn’t cut back hedges between mid March and 31st July [due to nesting birds etc]. We have followed this which has left our boundaries somewhat straggly, particularly around the footpath at the front. Seems that the Marie here doesn’t miss a beat. This morning we had a note from the Marie asking us to cut back the hedges, it’s the third of August!

We were rather busy with work to quite do that today but I did get into the veg garden briefly to collect some cornichons and take some photos.

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Matt meanwhile had a little go at deadheading one of the Hibiscus. I think it’s going to need a bit more but will be interesting to see if it makes a great deal of difference and how long it will flower for.

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[3 August 2021]

Wednesday

Weather has gone a bit rubbish too. So much so that Meow appears to have taken sanctuary in the wood shed that he’d left open for Grumps.

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I was mostly working all day but Matt was out cutting back the hedges with the petrol hedge cutter. After work I got roped in to help clear it all up though so while he swept I had to pick up all the thorny off cuts and put them in the compost heaps [we haven’t quite got round to making actual bays yet – fancy a job Janet?!]

We also met William. I think he’s quite young but he’s very interested in what we are doing and keeps following us around the garden. Meow is also quite interested in him though so need to keep an eye on that.

Preferring a more personal approach to gardening (and it being too late to use petrol stuff in the garden) I took to making a start on the back border. It was much slower going but very therapeutic [the large blister on my thumb afterwards was less welcome though.] Eventually Matt dragged me back inside for dinner.which was a shame.

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[4 August 2021]

Thursday

Apparently feeling oddly chipper this morning as Matt had me making calls to people in French before it had even turned midday. I usually like to leave it till the afternoon when the old braincells have warmed up a little. I was just about to start before I realised that I had a quick conference call so insisted he finished making the tea first, it was the least he could do.

I had success with the plasterer, apparently he is going to come on Tuesday. I also had a half response from the mason, not sure yet when he will actually come but he’s making the right noises. I then started to get excited that we might have a kitchen in September. Matt was quick to cool my boots however and remind me that we had been here before, 6-8 weeks ago at least.

The call to the swimming pool guy was less successful, he said that they would call us to arrange the visit. He did remember us though, clearly my broken French was a good indicator of who we were.

Generally working most of the rest of the day. Had a quick dip in the pool after work.

Dinner was outside which was nice.

It was still nice out so we decided to go for a quick walk to investigate the local building signs. It seems that you need to put something up once you have planning permission but we’re not entirely sure what it should look like or the required size.

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When we got back we were sitting on the porch when the cat decided to try to walk across the pool (with the cover on). She was not sure at all, it was hilarious, two feet, three feet, two feet, back and forth for ages. Matt and I were almost wetting ourselves.

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Rang mum.

In the evening I was back onto shredding all the random magazines/brochures that they put in the letter box every couple of weeks so that they could go into the compost and reduce the miles and energy to recycle them. It’s taken 9 months though so there was quite a lot to get through. This is about two thirds of the way through. One more evening I reckon and we’ll be done. It’s pretty annoying though and I’m tired so time for a quick TV show before bed.

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I got Matt to finally review some of the blogs while I was doing it. Good timing too as Mumma Camp was on the messenger asking where they were.

[5 August 2021]

Friday

Lots of work to do today, as always, but I was ready for it. As the plasterer is coming next week we are going to need to clear up the kitchen and get the plasterboard back up. Thankfully, as always, Matt was on it. I had to help lift the boards onto the lift but we’ve got a couple back up.

I took to the garden and picking up where Matt left off, testing whether dead heading the Rose of Sharon bushes will indeed help them to flower longer and how late, could they flower into late August maybe?!

Time for another tour of the house as Matt and I debate what needs doing and in what order. No matter how hard I try I cannot get him to put together a detailed project plan. [They don’t really work anyway as we are at the mercy of the local trades so we have no idea what’s happening or when.] Assuming we can get the kitchen done the next big job is the electrics, in particular working out how to run them to the first floor. The ground floor is pretty much done and the second floor will come from the attic. The first floor means running through one of the others and creating minimal damage… So that’s Matt’s second job for the weekend, work out how we are going to do it [and get sign off for any visual impact].

My jobs for the weekend are to help with the kitchen, finish the stripping in Room 6 [Tonia’s room], and (with a bit of guidance from Matt), potentially start to take down the wall to open up the ensuite for Room 1.

Time for a beer.

While Matt carries on with the plasterboard and clearing some of the rubbish from the kitchen I’m in charge of dinner this evening.

Before I can do anything the ‘kitchen’ needs to be cleaned, there’s hardly a cm of space anywhere. Job done.

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Time to finally finish the shredding. Once it is done we will be able to give the place a good hoover, it has made quite the mess.

With the TV on it’s time for me to grab a quick hour to start on the new project. I’ve got 15 docs to read, digest and summarise ready for Monday. My laptop ran out of battery though so couldn’t work any longer. Matt has heard something in the cupboard so apparently it is time to investigate. Suddenly a mouse jumped out at him so it he starts to pull a load of stuff out. Now while we all know that mice like cheese, apparently they also have a penchant for chocolate, oxo cubes, powdered chicken soup, asian dried noodles, and paprika.. Go figure!

Time to relax before Matt goes to bed and I crack on with the blog updates. But it is now nearly 3am so I have to love you and leave you. Night all.

[6 August 2021]