Ten days away from the barn. London for Fi’s birthday; parents for a couple of nights; 2 nights in Paris and a wedding in Brittany.

Breezy was back up the tree first thing before the sun hit us. Once she reached the fork in the trunck near the to she came down and helped me clear up the debris and chuck it on the fire. After coffee and cake, it was my turn up the tree.

After a bit of wrestling branches I managed to cut away the top in 2 lots above the fork. The tree is now bald, and we can get the rest down in our own time.

Late lunch and pack away tools before heading down to Salau to catch up with Renee and Anouk. Met up with some of the locals at the bar for a drink before heading back to the barn to finish the food in the fridge. Omlette and salad for supper.

Pretty much teh same as the day before but in reverse.

We did however finish the decking terrace out the front of the barn in the morning, Yippee, fizz tonight!

Lovely salad lunch and then Breezy went up the tree with a saw again.

As Breezy cut away branches I cut them up and burnt them and at one stage the wind changed and swung the smoke from the fire round to the tree. The light effect was amazing.

By the end of the day we are both sweaty and filthy (and Breezy is covered in sap). Shepherds pie in the oven and fizz on the terrace.

Autumn is definitely now with us. The sun hits the barn at just gone 10am. The leaves are all starting to change colour. Some trees are like orange beacons amongst the green.

After the usual start to the day we kitted up and went round the back to the pine tree. Breezy nursed the fire back to life and I took my turn with the saw up the tree.

By lunch time we are well over half way. Gotta empty the fridge before we head off at the weekend so salads are getting really great. Mixed leaves, cucumber, chives and nasturtium flowers from the garden, smoked salmon, capers, goast cheese, bulgur and tomato. All with some dressing made with the oil from a jar of anchovies and served on the terrace with some bread and mayonaise.

Afternoon chore was decking the front terrace. We bought a bottle of Blanquette de Limoux for when we finished but alas the generator ran out of fuel at 5:30 and we still had another hour and a half to go so it seemed like a good time to quit and take a shower.

Roast chicken with mustard & basil paste slavered over it, marmite roast potatoes and mixed roast veg served with thick n rich gravy resembling molten chocolate.

Sunday is a day of rest everywhere except Breezy & Al’s pad in the Pyrenees.

Abnormal start to the day as we went ‘shrooming first thing; without so much of a sip of coffee. Came back with a handful of ceps to go with the steak for supper. The whole barn seems to reek of ceps drying. Quite a powerful smell, though not unpleasant.

After breakfast it was decided to either copice or start taking down the pine tree out the back of the barn. The pine tree won. It does have a lean towards the building and as Breezy states, if it should fall it will smash our project to smithers and she will not want to “do it all again”. Decision made; the pine is coming down.

Steak and courgettes from the garden on the BBQ plus French beans and cous cous.

The morning was spent creating levels for the terrace between the building and the new front wall. Making sure that we had a slight slope on it and creating supports for a beam accross the middle. The supports are in the form of stone and mortar piers which have a length of studding (threaded bar) cemented into the top so that we can bolt the beam in place once the mortar had gone off.

After a lunch of mushrooms on toast (courtesy of Lee), we set about fitting the new piss pot in the bathroom and plumbing it in. It was a little bit of a fiddle as none of the joints were exactly the “easy slide on” variety. Not that I would know the French for “easy slide on”. Infact the joints were salvaged from a garage clearout in Chamonix on the winter.

Once fitted Breezy sloshed a bucket of water down it to make sure it was all sealed.

A turn around the garden produced a handful of French beans to accompany supper. My turn to cook so prok curry with the remaining Pied Mouton mushrooms which Lee brought over yesterday.

Finished the day with a Planet Earth DVD on “The Great Plains”, amazing stuff.

Woke up in the clouds again and wondered if we ought to get in touch with Lee and give hime the option of postponing lunch. He is suposed to bring the family up to us for a BBQ but it is such a shame the sun wont be out.

The day has developed a little routine in the mornings now. I get up and put the kettle on then climb back into bed until it boils. One advantage of a whistling kettle on a gas stove is that it takes it’s time to boil. Once boiled I get up and make coffee. The disadvantage of a whistling kettle is it does not turn itself off.

The usual internet session, I sorted out the blog and the website stuff for Ski Breezy and Breezy responds to enquiries etc. There is always a mounting amount of work to do on the internet and not enough time to fit everything in. As with everything, the only way is to prioritise.

Breakfast and then food preparation. Pick salad and wash, make dips, marinate meat, make bean salad, make potato salad, stock the fridge, sort out chairs etc etc.

All ready for 11am so Breezy jumped in a shower while I pottered on with a few tiny jobs about the place.

Had a great lunch and afternoon with Lee, Suzy, Ruby and Jasper. Caught up Lee’s news, got to know Suzy and her kids better, climbed the tree and had a little forage for mushrooms. They left us with a bag full of Pied de Mouton mushrooms which I think will appear in a curry later in the week, thank you!

Had time to clear up and have a hand of Bezique (Breezy won with a double Bezique) before heading down to valley for an appero with Patrick in Couflens. Three or four people we knew and just as many that we did not so had a couple of glasses of wine and slowly we are getting to know more locals. Had a tour of the house and a glimpse of the garden (350m of stream frontage) before heading back to the barn for a snack supper and a glass of fizz.