Guess what…??? It was raining again when we woke up. So we planned the day to get the last bit of the back wall sorted. Full steam ahead when we got there and we had an excellent day, the rain stopped for most of it which was a bonus so we got loads ticked off the list of things to do before we leave on Friday.

We managed to get the back wall all sorted by 1pm ish which was fab. The pulley system to get buckets of cement up saved lots of time. With the left over cement we filled in the outside holes where we have the pipes coming out of the annex and a few holes inside the building too. We had also started a fire to get rid of the rotten wood which burned easily all day and cleared up another pile at the back of the barn.

Lunch in the sun about 2.30pm and then just as we had decided to tackle the wood pile, the heavens opened….so we sorted out the security of the gable end window. It is now very secure with bolts both into the slate slab below and the beam above as well as the previous central bar. We hope this will deter petty theft.

The rain stopped and we finished off clearing the wood, chopping it into logs and stacking it to dry out for use at  a later stage. The final challenge of the day was to get a HUGE rock out of the ground at the back and on to the old wall. It looked like it was going to take ages but actually only ended up taking 15 minutes.

We retired to the bar covered in ash, saw dust and cement for a quick drink before back to the apartment for food, scrabble and bed.

The most productive day yet, at least I thought so.

Still alive after eating puffball! Blue sky morning so Breezy and I decided to get up, get our arses into gear and get stuff done up at the grange. Breezy started off by painting the ironwork of the bridge with hammerite while I got the strimmer out and tackled the nettles and brambles at the front of the barn. Salvaged a load of big rocks from under the nettles and started reinstating the wall at the front of the barn until I trapped my left hand under a huge rock. That will learn me.

The bridge is now green and looks loads better; hopefully it will last loads longer too.

After lunch we tackled clearing the old timber from the roof from around the building. Piled up the rotten wood and boards to burn and got the chainsaw out to log up the decent wood. Quit the barn about three to get into St Girons for a few errands.

First port of call was France Telecom to try and get a phone line into the barn. They were really helpful and filled in a web form there and then. Hopefully we will hear from them before we leave to arrange a visit and sort out a devis (quote). We have found out that the nearest place with a phone line is about 500m down the valley and a friend had a line put in over 600m and the bill was 90€. That was a couple of years ago but we live in hope. Apparently if we had a bill for services at the property over a three year period then the commune is obliged to give us a CU (certificate of urbanisation) which means that we can legally live there.

Next stop some DIY stuff then a bit of shopping and lastly internet in the car park of a hotel where we can jump on their wifi. Back at the gite before eight; a bite to eat and bed.

SUN SUN SUN!!!!

We awoke to see the sun shining which was great news. We decided to head up to Port Salau for a walk something we have been trying to do for ages. We got a text from Lee saying he had the same idea so he swung by the gite at 10am and we headed off.

We had a lovely walk up to the col, Lee knowing the area well and being a fund of information re the area on the way. Lots of alpine flowers out too which was fab. We were lucky enough to see 3 alpine foxes and 3 issards.

When we got to the col a couple of hours later, the wind was a bit nippy so we did not hang around for too long but had a look into Spain and lots of adventures possible from here. We did wander a bit further up to the snow where Lee continued on to grab a couple of peaks and we trundled down for lunch in the sun.

We got back to the van after a leisurely walk back and Lee and Eric then joined us for a beer at the bar. Eric is living nearby and is a tree surgeon so he could be very useful contact for us. He also knows a good water diviner in the area so we have his contact details too. Something to tackle in October when we are out again.

It was a fantastic day to actually be able to get out into the mountains, fresh air and exercise and see some of the beautiful area we are in.

Al found a “puffball” so he went and saw Adam to see if we could eat it for supper…he said yes…so Al is preparing it now, smells delicious we will see.

Chris left for the airport at about 5:30 am.  We heard nothing!!!

We woke up to blue sky, which inspired us to get going, a very pleasant change from all the rain we have been having. On the way up we filled the trailer with more stones for filling in the back wall. We cracked on with filling in the second box in the back wall, which actually seemed to go quite quickly.  Al sorted out a rope to haul the buckets of cement up which made life easier. Lee popped in to see the place as he had only seen it from the outside. Also Daniella’s parents popped in to see the progress as they seem to be on holiday whenever we are down. They don’t speak English so conversation was limited to sign language!

By lunchtime we had finished the middle section of wall and set the last box in place ready to finish off tomorrow all being well unless the sun shines and we get out for an explore.

We spent the afternoon attacking the back outside area, mainly tidying up. We shifted a lot of the broken slate to infill where we are going to put 2 grey water tanks just behind the larger of the outhouses.  We trimmed the over hanging pine tree, shifted the rest of the ballast down to the front door, and removed the set cement from the grass where we had been preparing cement  last year.

Headed home at 5ish and pottered about, very nice!

Guess what – rain again.

Left early as we had the VW booked into a garage in Seix. Vinnie has had a knocking near the drivers wheel when you turn right for ages but it is slowly getting worse. Dropped of the wood at Annie’s on the way and on to the garage. Took the guy for a drive and could not get Vinnie to knock at all. He had a look anyway and could not find anything wrong. Don’t you just hate it when that happens!

Picked up a couple of things in the local store and back up to the barn. As we had the trailer on we snaffled a load of big rocks from a bit of a land slip by the side of the 4×4 track then carry on with building the wall around the boxes inside. Got really cold and retired to the gite in Salau to warm up.

We were invited out to dinner a couple of valleys away with Lee who got in touch through the blog. Had a fab evening and met another two English couples. Really interesting company and chat about buildings, permits and adventures.

Still raining, although the river has abated some. Chris left at 7:30 to get a lift with Eke as he had to go to the airport anyway.

Breezy and I went up to the barn. We had wanted to do a walk for a day or two in the mountains but the thought of walking in this weather with really low cloud was not at all appealing. Used off cuts of DPC to cover the boxes and started building them into the walls. More playing with concrete and stone. The weather perked up mid afternoon so Breezy took to strimming and I shifted part of a huge pile of broken slate left from doing the roof. Finally hitched up the trailer full of wood to drop off at Annies and headed down the hill.

Back at the gite we had a couple of messages from Chris about staying the night. Confusing! And a message from Lee to invite us for dinner the next evening. Responded to Lee and then Chris walked in the door. Apparently a strike at Carcassone meant his flight was cancelled so he is now booked on Weds instead. Boule I think!

Rain Rain and more rain. Dropped Chris off at Annie’s to borrow her car for a rendez vous with Nikki. Breezy and I braved the rain and went up to the barn for some indoor work. The torrential rain has uncovered a couple of leaks in the roof. One is where the chimney is which we will have a go at fixing and the other is where the ridge zinc is attached which we may have to get Clive in to sort out.

Used some of the left over Poplar from the roof to make three big boxes to build into the wall on the ground floor. Good to do something physical to keep warm. Also sorted out better security on the end window. Still raining and the stream is now a raging river. Called by the bar for a drink on the way back.

Chris’ last night so had pasta and watched a DVD.

A very leisurely start after the party the night before. Weather still raining and dismal. Chris wanted to go to the market so we headed off there and got caught in a huge downpour running from shelter to shelter. Not the best day to see the market, however, we bought a few good cheeses. Chris was starving so we had a quick bite to eat before locating the local brocante that Murray had told us about. A huge warehouse with everything you could imagine being there. Had a good browse and will be useful at a later date we think.

Chris went to bed in the pm and Al and I had a catch up with Annie (who had given us so much of her old slate last Oct) she is lovely a lecturer at Toulouse Uni and is retiring next year. She showed us her wonderful flowering Wisteria in full bloom. We hope to catch her and her husband Jean next week end for an apero.

Al and I have wanted to do the little walk along the other side of the river back to Salau for a while so we continued up to the barn on foot and back down the other side of the river seeing the other little properties tucked away. We bumped in to Annie and Jean who live near the beginning of the 4×4 track en route. Annie showed us around the garden and is very pleased with her Wisteria which is in full flower. On the walk we tried to find out where the nearest phone line is to us. We reckon 400-500m away so now we need to get in touch with France Telecom and see if it is possible to get a phone line installed at the Bergerie.

We had invited Peter, who was on his own, over for a BBQ and luckily the weather held so we could have a couple of games of  boules before a meat, salad and cheese; even if we did have to eat inside due to the thunderstorm that descended upon us.

A leisurely day!

A brighter start to the day which was a relief, as we had Murray booked in to help us get the floor down in the annex. Plenty of muscle needed.  Al and I got up there 40 mins before Murray arrived which gave us time to get the entrance to the annex sorted for wheelbarrow access, the cement mixer, water etc all in the right place and then it was full steam ahead. Murray on the cement mixer,  Al inside laying the floor and I was getting the rest of the ballast and water up the hill and helping  Al out inside with moving cement around.

We were very surprised that we had got it all laid by lunchtime which was a real bonus as we thought it would take all day. It all looks pretty good, at least we think so. The sun came out a bit in the afternoon so we used Murray’s strength for shifting wood, chain sawing and tidying up a bit outside. A really productive day, lots done.

Party night which Annie and Chris had arranged for us at the bar to celebrate being married. A “partager” which works really well, basically BYO for food and wine Daniella and Freddy let us use the bar for the night and there was about 14 of us including the Mayor and his wife and daughter. Good food, plenty of wine and lots of giggles!!!

Up earlyish to get to St Girons and back before we wasted too much of the day. I did the food shop while Al sorted the material exchange at La Forgue, so we could sort the pipe out under the floor. We were back by 10.30am and up to the Bergerie soon after for a very good day.

Pipes went in, insulation down first followed by the DPC. Reinforcement was cut to size, ballast and water moved up the hill and we were ready to go for tomorrow.