It takes a long time to grow an old friend. ~John Leonard

The house is up to roof level and Sunday was spent mixing concrete to cap the walls & fill the pillars. We thought if we got an early start (7am) we would be finished by just after lunch - no chance. It was 6.45pm when we came in for a shower. - 14 mixes of concrete, 42 shovels of ballast to a mix and it all had to be wheelbarrowed into the house and lifted up to Bryan on the scaffolding for him to pour. Needless to say Monday was a lazy day.

This week we have been putting the drains in around the house and backfilling the trenches so we can move the scaffolding outside ready for us to fit the roof timbers - which should hopefully arrive early next week. Its an early finish for us today. We have 2 photoshoots booked. Friday in Mazamet and Saturday near Carcassone. We are going in the camper so maybe Sunday will be a day of rest.

The veg garden has been providing us with copious amounts of Strawberries - It has been a very good crop and they are beautifully sweet and juicy.  I need to find a recipe for jam, there are too many for us two to eat.

Sadly, I have to say that this week Charlie dog took a turn for the worse and lost his fight for life.  He will be missed so much by us. He came with us everywhere and the house now seems very quiet without him. He is laid to rest in our garden, where he loved to be.   Goodnight our faithful friend...........

Good News.....

Charlie dog is making good progress and is much better than he was.  He is still a bit wobbly and on medication but he can get about the garden fine. He can even manage a scamp on his favourite vineyard walk. It is looking like he will manage to make the grand old age of 14 after all - we are so relieved.

La Remise

The gite looks so pretty at the moment with roses round the door and is now fully booked until the middle of July so my Saturdays will now be spent doing changeovers. 

The house is up to roof level except for over the kitchen window and the patio doors. We are waiting for delivery of 2 lintels - they are special ones for the roller shutters. - the roof timbers are also ordered. So while we were waiting we decided to have a few days away. The camper was duly packed and we set off, direction Italy. The first night was spent in the hills just above Monaco and then a few nights on the shore of Lake Maggiore. Charlie even managed a paddle. Bless him. Then it was over the Simplon Pass into Switzerland. The scenery was stunning. We were going to take the mountain pass back into France but the weather was against us with snow forecast and temperatures of minus10. Not wanting to be snowed in, it was back to planning with the map and we took the valley route instead. The last night was spent in the Ardeche before arriving home Monday lunch.  Thankfully the weather here has not been too hot while we were away and Joël has watered the veg garden for us so we have come back to a nice crop of ripe strawberries and the tomato plants have doubled in size.  

We are nicely rested and ready to commence with the building again. - Bryan has just gone to pick up the lintels, the cement mixer is back on the tractor and all is well with our world.

Sad Times...........

This week had been a sad and stressful one. Our beloved Springer Spaniel, Charlie, has had a stroke. He is still very poorly and we are keeping our fingers, (and everything else), crossed that he will get better.  There seems to be a little improvement every day so hopefully he will be back to wandering round the garden in a few weeks.

The windows and doors are ordered for the house and the walls are rising day by day.  We have had visitors again this week so we have not been working all day every day. Still, good progress has been made and we are now beginning to think about ordering the roof timbers.

The weather is still changeable - not like what we have been used to but it is good for building. If it is sunny and hot the cement dries too quickly for us to carry on in an afternoon so we need to make hay while the sun doesn't shine.

We have a glut of radish from the veg garden and the tomatoes are planted and growing nicely - despite Charlie digging them up because he liked the taste of the organic fertiliser I put on them.  If the sun comes out to play we will be eating fresh strawberries. Mmmmmmm I can't wait.  The potatoes should be flowering any day now and the beetroot and spring onions are growing happily.  I have also planted butternut squash seeds so that they will be ready to go in when the potatoes have been harvested.