Yay - we have a roof. 1 of 3 is now tiled and just needing the ridges finishing.
Spring passed in a flash and summer arrived and whoosh it is now September.

Work has been ongoing through the hot dry summer -albeit at a much slower pace.  Being on a roof in 39 degree heat is not much fun. Although the large paddling pool, (allegedly for the grandchildren!!), has been a godsend.

The upstairs floor and roof timbers were delivered in April and put in place. We also bought a small temporary staircase for us to be able to carry all the blocks for the walls and the tiles for the roof up a little more easily.  All the blocks and the roof-tiles have all been painstakingly carried up by hand, little by little, and at the time it seemed like it was never going to end.  But end it has and all has been done by Bryan and I and our trusty scaffolding tower. I'm not sure if when I look out of my office window I feel proud or shattered.   Maybe both.

In between building there has been numerous photo shoots and Villa Picholine has been fully booked for the summer with guests from France, England, (including our annual Heinz Baked Bean supplier), Australia, Germany and Switzerland.
The vegetable garden has been very productive and lots of the produce has been either preserved or made into soups for winter. Keeping everything watered has been a big task and as it has been a long dry summer we are now on water restrictions. Luckily the tomatoes are nearly finished and are ready for pulling up.


We even managed a weeks holiday. As usual it was spent in Spain on the Costa Brava. It is only a short journey and the scenery is stunning. We just needed to chill and recharge the batteries ready for the next phase of building. Plenty of sun, sea, swimming and Tapas and here we are ready to go again......