Spring!

One man and his tools

Our electrician has made the most of the cave space - by putting his tools and gear all over the place. Just as well the floor concreting isn't starting this week. 

Renovation update

In the bathroom, the shower base is ready to be put in place and tiling of the wall behind should begin tomorrow. We've discovered, after visits to a number of DIY shops that, as our shower walls don't confrom to standard sizes, we need to order them, so that means another couple of weeks wait...

In the meantime the laundry is coming on. Today we got the old kitchen fridge in beside the washing machine so now, most importantly, we have a Beer Fridge!

Stripping out the bathroom

Work continues with stripping the walls of the bathroom. Although we always seem to show Merv doing the DIY, it's because Jane is usually taking the photo. She does her share of the work too!

We had a large cupboard in the bathroom which has now been moved out, providing so much more space and light. This space is where a new shower will go. In keeping with trying to recycle wherever possible, the cupboard will be reused for storage in the garage.

Building a tandem

Gîte guests from Canada brought their tandem too. Fortunately it was a fine sunny afternoon for them to put it together on the pool terrace.

Believe it or not, most of it fitted in the black case on the left, Putting it together is a bit like making IKEA furniture you need to get everything out first and count all the pieces before starting. Two wheels, tick; two handlebars, tick; two seats, tick etc, etc.

Nearly there:

Merv admiring the finished product:

One safe bird

Here's one bird Henry can't kill. We bought this at the Fête de Mimosa in Roquebrun recently, and it sways gently when there's a wind. Every garden should have some sculpture and this is the start of our collection.

Nap time

Henry amongst the growing tulips,

Wellington, with his own inimitable style ...

and not forgetting Shadow.

Side-effects

One of the unexpected effects of having clouds of dust created with the work in the cave, is that it shows up all the cobwebs in the ceiling. Along with our improved lighting, we can now very clearly see the whole network of webs running along the supports. Makes for an interesting 'feature'.

Spring is here!

The first sign of spring here in Languedoc is almond blossom. There is a beautiful white haze around these trees alongside the roads and through the vineyards. Next are bulbs, and yesterday our daffodils and hyacinths have bloomed after a day of rain followed by a warm sunny day. 

Railings update

The railings are finished! From start to finish it has taken five months over winter - but holidays/weather/work/days-that-you-can't-face-painting have to be included.

It's been slow process due to the many, many, many fiddly, curly bits! Getting a brush into them is difficult and once you'd proudly done a section, the light would change and all the missed bits would be revealed, which was a bit disheartening. 

But we are now (fairly) sure we have covered every little bit of surface. All the neighbours have been so complimentary we feel we've contributed to an improved look and feel to the village. Given that it's 50 years since they were last painted this is one job that we're not going to have to repeat in our lifetime. Thank goodness!

 

Work in the Cave

Downstairs in the garage/workshop/cave we have the laundry area being renovated plus, what was a cave for grapes, being opened into a storage area for Merv's gear. Fortunately the interior is perfect - concreted walls and a flat floor. Kev, our workman has sawed through the concrete and inserted a door. Which created a LOT of dust, which of course has managed to come inside the entire house. We've been told it takes at least two weeks for it to settle properly. So, no point dusting until then!

This is the start of the process, in the midst of the dust is Kev starting on the doorway:

Progress:

And the finished storeroom. Now it just needs filling with all of Merv's outdoor gear!