Tuesday

Not a huge amount happening today as Matt was exhausted and so snored a lot. I got no sleep so I then slept when he got up and I should have been working but at least I didn’t have anything important to do today. Jet lag sucks, it’s even worse when you’re suffering from someone else’s.

Apparently I wasn’t going to be allowed to sleep all day as I was woken up by Matt with the French phone to call the Implant Dentist to check whether he has an appointment today. No answer, just answerphone, call back, answerphone still so left a message. An hour later, get out of bed a little more coherent, call again no answer. Finally got through. After a lot of confusion she realised she was looking at the wrong diary – Matt had no idea who the appointment would be with which didn’t help – she found the appointment and it is today at 1:30pm; it’s now about 12pm.

Matt still has stuff to do and is faffing about Lee style so we are late leaving. I however have a call with Rhys to discuss wedding invites so have to take it in the car. Not ideal but we made it work as best we could and I think things are moving forward. I’m aware how quick it has gone since the summer and Christmas is around the corner already.

Nowhere to park but finally at the dentist and eventually found somewhere, apparently however there is parking around the back, who knew! X-ray, chat, scan, x-ray, then booked for follow up in Jan. Just need to work out now how to share the invoice with the health insurance company to get them to refund us, at least the insurance will cover this.

Finally back to the laptop to create the priority list – I hate not having MSProject. While it seems like a thing to order jobs by floor and location it doesn’t work. You can’t see your priorities, it doesn’t make efficient use of time, and it skips all over the place. So I went through and colour coded, then created the list(s). Hopefully this will help Matt know what to do and Tonia will have plenty to chose from when she arrives too. Matt however has been a bit more productive today as he’s been working on the doorway between Room 3 and the Pink SdB.

That’s plenty enough for one day. Time for Matt to unpack before cuddles with the Meow and a nice chocolate pudding.

[6 December 2022]

Tuesday

Today we were back off up to the Troc to go and look at the mirror that I saw while Matt was away. The mirror is a beauty so we’ll take her, I did manage to agree a €50 discount which was something. It wasn’t easy moving it however and I was glad to have the help of the guys at the shop, I’m far less clear how we’re going to get it back out again once we get home though. Since we’ve got the trailer we also picked up a load of plasterboard and railings.

Back at home and Matt seems to have a work problem to deal with. I decided to focus again on marquees and hire, if there is any in Toulouse/Haute Garonne. I found 2. I’ve contacted both and we’ll wait and see. Poop, forgot to put the washing in the dryer, definitely too cold outside now – it would be like a sheet of ice. Done now, and looks like ghosts in the mirror.

Matt’s call/work issues is never ending, lucky that Business Meow is here to help. I decided to look at yesterday’s list and see if there was anything I could do. So off I went to crack on. It doesn’t take much skill to sand, although I did double check Google and YouTube for any good tricks/skills. While working I also listened to a number of tiling videos.

He’s still not finished and it’s nearly 9pm. Time’s flown tonight with Matt working so late so we’re really late to bed and I’d got distracted with blog updates.

[7 December 2022]

Wednesday

We’ve got to go up to Noz and Action to pick up a few bits first thing as it wasn’t really practical yesterday what with having the trailer on the car. There wasn’t a great deal to get but I did find some nice jars that I’m sure I can use for the wedding; not entirely sure what for yet but better to have them and work it out later. We can’t mess about today though as we need to get back to the house and get the woodshed prepped but I did find some nice jars that would be good for the wedding tables. Back home and there is a lot of stuff to clear out before they come sometime later today to drop off the wood delivery.

That’s a bit more like it and just in time as I’ve had a call and they should be arriving any minute.

And there we are, 6 stere of wood all ready to be packed into the woodshed. I helped as long as I could but Cressida is on her way to collect me as we’re due at Rane’s for Cressida’s haircut. Such a shame that I have to duck out and leave Matt to it.

By the time I got home Matt had really been cracking through the log stacking. I guess after all that I’d best muck in and get it finished.

Meanwhile Matt has been in the kitchen supported by his sous chef, who I’m pretty sure is actually only interested in getting her paws on any of the offcuts. It was a good dinner though and tasted lovely.

Crikey it’s been a busy week this week and we’re only half way through. I hope it slows down.

[8 December 2022]

Thursday

We’ve been so busy with all the other things that needed to be done I need to get on with some more work. I managed to make some time in the afternoon for some more wood stacking, the stuff that we cut and stacked has fallen over again and with the weather having turned it’s just going to rot if I don’t do anything.

Back to work and then time to get the fire going now we’ve got so much wood. Clearly the cat is loving it so here’s a little montage. Oh and some nice fancy chocolate’s that Matt got from work for his birthday 🙂

[9 December 2022]

Friday

Matt’s been on calls all morning and I’ve only got a few bits and pieces done before I got a surprise phone call. It seems that Rane’s at Montrejeau and her train to Toulouse has been cancelled. Being France there isn’t one for 2 hours – lunchtime of course. Marignac’s emergency taxi service is on its way to save the day!

It may surprise you however to find that is in fact me not Matt. Matt is in the middle of a call and has more later. The drive to the airport is however a trip that I’m used to doing, and I’ve had a lot of practice in the last few weeks. It may also be the most ‘lucrative’ as although I’m not getting the work done on the house she’s promised to give me a days lesson in taping and joining when she gets back so that will really help.

Back at home and Matt is still on calls. I got a bit of work done but nothing pressing, clearly people are cooling down for Christmas – unless they have one more trick up their sleeves, which the NHS usually does just before a holiday. Meanwhile the cat appears to be attacking Matt’s boots and Matt’s sending random pictures.

Since we have so much wood though it seems only right to put on the fire this evening. We had been warned that since we’d ordered so late in the season that much of the wood would be too damp for burning but we’ve got a few pieces that will work.

[10 December 2022]

Saturday

Been a busy day today. Matt was up working on the electrics, although soon decided that he needed to the next layer of plaster on the Pink bathroom doorway so woke me up. As such I’m now up and decide to go see what needs doing. Again his focus is electrics but needs my help to run cables through the old gaines in the walls to save having to dig out new channels.

It seems that I also threw out a couple of things that were new to Matt. I would like to use the old channels to have wall mounted bedside lights in Room 6 – replacing the ones that are currently there. I also considered whether I want a second set of recessed lights at the other end of the room but was gently persuaded that with the shutters fully open, a decent light and higher wattage bulb that it was unnecessary. He might be right. I think I’ll concede for now. My long term vision for that end of the room is as yet undecided and for the next 5 years or so I don’t expect we’ll need it.

We’ve run the cabling for the power sockets – and pulled out the old bedside cabling but seems that we won’t be doing those today, they’re not on the priority list. Now it’s over to Matt to do his thing. Since I can’t do much to help but need to be in earshot if he needs anything I’ve decided that today’s job will be going back to the insulation. There are still a few holes in the ceilings of Rooms 5 and 7 that need to be finished, as well as the eaves in both rooms.

The eaves of course are made up of triangles in the corners so without a protractor to draw them properly I’ve decided to make one. I think this old pizza tray should help do the job. The whole of the East eaves in Room 5 also needs the old insulation taking out and replacing, I’d left it until now as I didn’t want to leave it exposed until I was ready to replace it – something is better than nothing.

There’s a bit of an issue in finishing off the channel in the ceiling in Room 5. The addiitonal pieces mean that you can’t fit the 160 insulation that we’ve used on the rest of it. I’ll have to come back to that. With a bit of help to find the right holes in the ceiling and get the gaines through Matt has been doing a great job in the hallway and we now have hallway lights on the second floor – yes, lights plural, we have two – pretty fancy! He’s left quite the mess behind though and decided it’s time to get some last minute shopping and dinner.

I meanwhile continued to crack on with the insulation. I’ve got as much as I can done before I’m beckoned down for dinner. I’m not going to finish this tonight as there are a lot of little but highly difficult bits to do so I gave in.

After dinner however I had one more job to do before I could have a shower and that was to sand the doorway to the pink bathroom so Matt can check in the morning whether it needs any more work and get that layer done. There’s a lot of very repetitive jobs that takes forever to get them ticked off the list.

Covered in dust I really am done for the day and it’s high time I have a shower so I can get my jammies on ready to relax. Unusually however back in London it has been snowing, and it looks as though Lee and Vicky have made the most of it, even finding a nice open fire to sit by.

[10 December 2022]

Sunday

Matt was up and decided that to get the finish he needs on the wall that he first needs to take the electric sander to it – at 10am! Seriously, I’m not falling for this. It’s a small area so it can’t take long, I’m going to ignore him and get back to sleep as soon as he’s finished.

Once up I’m asked to check what’s next on the list. It seems as though he’s been doing well on his priority list [before Tonia’s arrival], so well in fact that the next job was on the ‘ideally before Tonia comes’. Plaster boarding the ceiling in Room 6. This is quite a moment as it will be only the second ceiling in the entire house that has been insulated and plaster boarded. Ok, so it certainly won’t be taped and joined before she gets here but I think it’s quite a moment and a statement as to how much we appreciate her help working on the house. While the plasterboard lift is a god send (or expensive gadget), he does require my help to load it each time a board goes up so again I need to be up on the second floor and close at hand to help manoeuvre into place. He can then crack on with screwing them in.

Checked with Matt and agreed that this piece needs to come out, same as we did in Room 7. It will expose the beam, let us get a better look at the corner beam and get them properly sprayed and treated. The top came off quickly, the bottom less so. Also fully of hundreds of years of dust and rubbish, I was definitely wearing my mask for this job, small as it was. Now I can get into the corner I can measure it properly, I also got Matt in to check the wood. It’s a bit rotten but apparently fine and doesn’t need bracing so a bit of wood treatment and will be fine to board up again for another few hundred years.

Matt has done a cracking job on the plaster board in Room 6. There is still one piece left to cut and put in but he’s exhausted and ready it a day.

Having, obviously, got up later I’m still trying to finish the damned insulation. I feel as though it’s never ending. The problem is that every piece needs specific shaving and manipulation to make them fit so it takes forever. I’m not convinced that I have any less to do than I had at lunchtime (4pm) but I’ve been working for hours and now Matt is calling me down for dinner.

Last few little bits in but I honestly can’t do any more. I really can’t, I need Matt to help me cut a full sheet; it’s too large for me to handle alone on the table saw and a serious health and safety risk incase I slip; but he’s (quite reasonably) had enough and showered. I have however managed to get the Christmas tree out of the attic though and so hopefully we might decorate soon(ish).

Time to have a more restful evening, get another old blog posted to try relentlessly to catch up, and get some more written, including this one.

Night all x

[11 December 2022]

Monday

Back to formal work. It seems that it’s been snowing back in London so there’s a lot of excitement, however now that schools and work are all equipped post Covid to work remotely snow days are to be cast into the history books. It seems kind of sad really, it was a rite of passage as a child to have a snow day to go and make snowmen, and felt just as good a fully grown adult. I remember the last time we had a snow day at Streatham and Vicky and I made a snow penguin.

Anyway, I digress. No snow here, just lots of rain, I guess it will be snowing up in the mountains at least.

A few bits of work then I’m off back upstairs to do yet more work on this damned insulation. I hate the solid stuff, yes it’s really good and needs to be used on the eaves but with no straight lines it takes forever and day to cut and fit. Matt took a few minutes during lunch to sand back the entrance to the pink bathroom (again) and help me to cut some more of the insulation. Eventually around 5pm I’d finally finished getting the last bits in. It will still need filler doing at some point but that is not my priority and I’ll be leaving that little treat for Matt or Tonia. For now it’s up and doing a reasonable job so that will do.

I’ve also given Matt a hand with getting the last bits of plaster board up and then set to cleaning up. Room 7 was a quick job – thank heavens for wooden floors. Room 5 took rather longer but I was very pleased with myself when I finally finished just as Matt beckoned for dinner.

Time for a bit of relaxation and to finally tick those couple of jobs off the list while Matt has been more concerned with getting the cat to select which sachet she’d like for dinner – all of them apparently.

[12 December 2022]

Tuesday

Been busy all day with work and then had to go up to Toulouse. Cressida was meant to be flying home yesterday to Tarbes but due to the snow in London and the environs it was cancelled. Rather than wait till Friday for the next flight they had to book a flight back to Toulouse, at huge expense. It arrived however at 21:20, around an hour after the last train left Toulouse for Montrejeau. The Marignac emergency taxi service has therefore been called out again. Seems it’s a busy time of year. It does however mean that after we finish work we can go up to Leroy Merlin. I say after work, but that’s not technically true, Matt has a 6pm call.. yeah! So I’m driving up while he takes his call from the car.

After collecting a few things from the Brico and looking at the colour charts, which annoyingly they have on the desk but you cant take the swatches away which isn’t very helpful, we went for a Thai dinner. It was average, the French clearly don’t do spice the same way as the rest of the world, for them it’s all about the butter and the herbs – this is great for French cuisine but not amazing for the more eastern cuisines.

At the airport our clients were very grateful for their rescue. Will (Cressida’s middle son) has come to visit too and they’d have lost almost all their time together if they came on Friday, or would have had another expensive hotel bill – plus being annoyingly close to home, nothing worse than being in touching distance and still not getting there. But what are friends for if not to help out and make life better?!

We dropped them home around 11pm with big smiles on their faces and then came home to rest.

[13 December 2022]