Progress................

With such wonderful sunny, spring weather at the moment Monsieur Floran, our builder, is able get so much done - and we have quickly gone from this.......

                            ...to this....

...very quickly.

The area around the house looks in total chaos...

  ....... but the work on both the garden side and the marsh side is taking shape. We have so much wonderful old stone to re-use too for other projects. This will be the view through our lounge window on the marsh side....( minus the rubble, of course!!)

I am beginning to see in my mind what the interior could be like and that gets exciting!  There is a huge old, original stone fireplace at one end  which could work lots of ways. Shall I decorate as period chateau with a huge, gilded mirror above the fire  with chandeliers and old gently-coloured pastel panelling; or shall I go more "grand old hall" with a crest above the fireplace and a flagstone floor? The choices the choices!!!

Charles le Baron du Breuil thinks the sand is his private play pit - rolling around and digging in it like a lunatic!

I have moved the wild birds' feeding arrangements away from the chaos up to the bathroom window sill on the marsh side of the house - and they seem quite happy with it. It also means I can watch them very, very close up which is fascinating. One small blue tit has a rubber band on his leg, a very loose ring and I cannot understand why. Surely a common blue tit would not have been ringed for any reason? But it doesn`t hinder him and it`s quite nice to see the same little guy visiting during the day.

I did have to do a bit of an 'Inspector Clouseau' investigation today. I thought I could hear puppies barking in the field next to us. We are the only house for miles so I was a little concerned as they sounded so close. Although I couldn`t find anything I could still hear them but Monsieur Floran tells me they sound like fox cubs so we must have a new family close by. Good job we have no chickens then!

So here I am....mud all over the kitchen floor, daffodils coming up amongst the building rubble, a cat covered in sand, blue tits with bracelets and a blank canvas to decorate. I wouldn`t change a thing!!