July 2010 visit

I returned home very tired last Sunday (25th July).
Work completed...

• Chopping out the hard concrete and stubborn bits in the stonework joints at the rear of the property.
• Moved a whole load of stone.
• Jet-washing the stonework again as well as the rest at the rear of the property.
• Pointing the stonework.
• Digging a whole lot more out the patio area.
• Smashing and removing the concrete troughs along the length of the building
• Raking the patio area level.
• Digging out the base for the outbuilding.
• Hardcore into the base ready for building.
• Stained glass fitted in the bathroom.
• Landing top cut to size and fitted ready for the next visit.
• Grass-cutting
• Cleaning the chippings.

David concentrated on building his dormer and seating area on the inside of it...as well as the grounds. A lot of hard work.

The long hard work of pointing...

You wouldn't believe how much soil was dug out of this area...

and concrete...which was hidden under the soil.

Temporary chippings until we decide on the type of slabs and have saved up our pennies. I had to figure out a way of cleaning them, First came the bucket with the holes in (hoping the dirt would flush through and then the wire mesh which would allow the dirt to drop through. Neither of them worked; I resorted to throwing the lot into a concrete mixer and flushing with water...it worked!

Just the facing to do...

Before (actually, the bramble was about 5' tall) after we cleared the area.

As it is at the moment with the third dormer. We'll render the corner kitchen area and feature just a few of the stones.

The landing...the top will end up about 2'' thick with the plasterboard shaping down to meet it. It'll look great when it's finished (it's the very next job when I go back on August 19th...a week before Bev joins me.)

                         

A picture of our quirky kitchen stairs made from whatever was lying around...

                         

                                    

We worked from before 8:00am until about 9:00pm every day except Sundays and still managed a walk in the woods and a bike ride every evening.

I hid my little friend here under the book eileen left on the chair as she went indoors for something. Yes, we got a satisfactory scream on her return.

                        

David is still out there beavering away and I'm her in the UK trying to answer the questions from the Mairie regarding planning permission for the outbuildings. (I should really be painting.)

Biggest regret of the visit...allowing the bad weather and tiredness to prevent me from attending the Bastille Day celebrations in Josselin.

Oh, our new neighbours are living in Paris and will live here permanently in two years. They arrived just after I left, but David says they are very friendly.

They are possibly in their 40's. He is originally from Auray and is a chef. She has a fashion boutique (presumably in Paris). They intend to be heavily involved with rearing horses...I think.

I guess time will answer all the questions. For now, I can't tell you what a relief it is to have friendly people next to us.

I'm not sure how they would view their new neighbours.