There is something nice about not having to get out of bed in the morning. I know that any pressure to get out of bed is entirely self inflicted but it is nice all the same. A leisurely breakfast and then I finished off the mirror for the porch (another jigsaw job).

Finishing touch for the kitchen is the kickboards to go under the units. The last little jigsaw job before handing it back in the morning. White we had all the tools out on the terrace and the generator running Breezy made another mirror frame out of forklift pallet wood and a new kitchen roll holder as we now have 2 kitchens.

In the afternoon we took a walk up to the 2nd waterfall and back. There is still loads of avalanche material and debris up there and the waterfall itself is the fullest I have ever seen it. Loads of wild flowers are out and it is beautiful.

Finished off the day in the garden weeding and sowing more vegetables. Hopefully that should see us through now.

Another hot shower purely from the power of the sun and Breezy has a new chicken dish to try out. Chicken with plums and soy; roast chicken with fresh chillies, garlic, soy and plums. Delicious!

At the bar yesterday we picked up the post  which included the conversion kit we need to change the new cooker to LPG. We have to do that before we can connect it to a bottle and set it in place in the kitchen, so that was the first job of the day. As its a double oven, grill and hobs there are 6 jets to change and then we need to regulate the flow at each jet so that the whole thing works. It’s a fiddly job but we got there in the end.

Then its cut the worktop to go around it and fit the units either side (thats where the jigsaw comes in).

The other more creative job was to use an old mirror that was salvage from somewhere and some off cuts of wood for a mirror for the porch. Just as I finished glueing it all together Alison turned up with all her girlfriends for some refreshment and to poke about. As Breezy says it is nice when people see the place and go “Wow”.

Once the visitors had left we cleared up, had hot showers (just from the solar) and then had a little time to chill over a game of cards before heading down to the village for Alison’s celebrations.

Al had offered to go and help Clive shift a very heavy stone table at Jean Claude’s who is our neighbour 800m down the piste so while he got block and tackle and hoisted things around I did the final bit of strimming down the hill to Vinnie so we now have pathways strimmed, terraces strimmed and we are done at long last!

Al came back quite quickly and then started tackling Ski Breezy stuff as he has designed a new website for us and there is still lots to do on it which again all takes time.

While the weather was nice we opted to stock up the log store for the new wood burners inside the main barn and put them in the new log storer inside, looks good.

After a salad lunch we then had an afternoon of little bits and pieces. I tackled another clean upstairs as there is still so much dust about and we would like to get it gradually dust free ish anyway! The hoover was a great buy which we can run off the generator, saves moving dust from one end of the barn to the other! Al started sorting out some mirrors which need frames building and then we both got together to try and get the batons in the back wall frame to accept the plasterboard. All done by 4.45pm quick shower in time to skype Dad but his favourite daughter had slipped his mind and was not there!!!

Down to the village to meet up with a few people for a couple of drinks, we needed to post letters, collect water, try to make phone calls with no reception due to cloud cover usual chaos!!! Then we caught up with Alison whose birthday it is tomorrow and a few of the other locals. We also managed to borrow a Jigsaw from Anouk & Renee for the weekend!

The mizzle decided to return so we trundled back up to the barn for omlette, salad, cards and a bottle of wine.  One of the wines we brought back from Spain really excellent.

Every day starts with a list.  Some lists are long and others only have a single thing on them. If, that is, a single item written on a sheet of paper can be called a list. Today’s list has loads of things on it which means that there is lots of variety.

Started with a quick polish of the new chimneys. Through fear of falling off rickety old step ladders I have succeeded in leaving paw prints all over the top sections.

Then we went through some new learning as we set about tiling the porch floor with the Italian tiles salvaged from Chamonix over the winter. A tub of ready mixed tile cement that was supposed to do 4sqm only did 2.5 – thus we should prepare the floor a little better in future to avoid having to cope with differences in levels.

First floor tiles

Last off before lunch we went for a little walk up the back in search of the source. Every year the  topic of conversation in the village turns to our lack of water at the barn. Every year someone comes up with an idea or some snippet of information gleaned from a long lost shepherd about the location of a source. The latest is that there was a source by a big rock at a couple of (now derelict) barns above ours. If it was there we couldn’t find it. We did find a damp patch of rock which  may warrant some further investigation but lunch was beckoning.

Salad lunch on the terrace followed by making a door frame for bedroom one, big clean upstairs and watering the veggies.

At 4pm I had arranged to meet Clive to look at the rock that needed to be lifted at our neighbour’s house. So Jean Claude (neighbour) is over a km away down the piste and Clive is renovating a patio for him. The rock is a table top weighing over half a ton and has slipped off it’s stone legs. Half an hour of playing with ideas and we have a plan involving scaffold and chain hoists; and a rendezvous of 0930hrs Friday to put it into action.

Early evening the river suddenly went brown. Looking upstream where the two streams meet it was just one that had changed colour. Breezy headed off with the camera and also discovered some fantastic orchids on the far bank.

BBQ Rabbit for supper on the terrace followed by BBQ pineapple with ginger syrup, which we ate indoors as it had got too cold outside.

Well the weather seems to have finally changed for the better and it is amazing how motivation increases rapidly with the sun shining all day long.

We are getting lots of odds and ends done and varying the jobs to make things less monotonous and it seems to be working.

I had another bout of strimming to do whilst Al did the final sand and paint around the chimneys.  I also managed to get the roof painted in the porch area too so now all we need in there is tiles and finished.

It was then on to sanding and varnishing the soon to be log box for upstairs and also for the ski chair which Al made ages ago. Dad found it very comfy so we thought get that ready for his arrival too.

Before lunch we managed to get the second frame screwed together for bedroom 1 and into place all very simply, it looks really like it is taking shape quite quickly.

We had made some courgette and mint soup for lunch which we had chilled for a change since it was so hot on the top terrace before starting afternoon activities.

Al did a second coat of paint around the chimneys, they are now finished and look great.

We set about fitting some wooden slats in wall one which will accept wall sockets for power so that is done. Sanding and varnishing wood.

Clive tipped up whilst Al was strimming and I was watering veggies etc to borrow a chain hoist and also to change dates for building the lower terrace wall which suits us much better. First 2 weeks in Aug is going to be flat out doing that but will feel much happier that the barn is not going to slip down the hill. There is going to be a lot of materials  to get up the hill before then. Lets hope the sun shines for us for those 2 weeks.

Early evening we saw our first deer of the season, 3 in total bounding about on the other side of the river.

Hot showers, remains of the pork curry, fire lit outside, fire inside needs a clean, bellowing smoke everywhere and lovely to have dinner outside followed but some cards.

The sun shone through the window early again today. Sunny all day with a cool wind. Breakfast outside for the first time in ages.

Strimmer started first time so Breezy cut swathes away while I got on with wiring as the plasterboard was not dry enough to sand off. Before lunch we cut some poles for the runner beans and also started cutting wood for the stud walls of bedroom One.

Breezy strimming

In the afternoon we dried out our tent on the top terrace from camping in Spain then I sanded and re-skimmed the plasterboard while Breezy set about a second bout of strimming . Finished off with another stud wall session.

The alarm went off at 7 and no internet session. Breakfast and head down the valley.

Clothes in the laundrette then Breezy headed off to get her hair cut. I went to the hardware shop to get the bits we need for the new cooker then put the roofrack on the van. Both off to the DIY shop for some other bits & bobs then food shop. Last port of call is the builders merchant for wood and floor boards.

On the way back up the valley we called with Ian & Nina only to meet the women who are house sitting while they are on holiday. Still good for a coffee.

Lunch- stir-fried pork salad with a soy, lime & sesame dressing.

Fortunately we did not have to take the chimneys apart to connect the wall supports and all the plasterboard fitted, joints taped and skimmed. Upstairs is getting dangerously close to being finished. A bit of gardening though the strimmer refused to start then unload the wood off the roof of the van. Supper – pork curry.

Someone installed a false ceiling in the valley today as the cloud level seamed to be merely metres above our heads. Some indoor work was called for so we set about the fiddly job of cutting plasterboard to fit around the chimneys. This was made easier by the fact that Breezy had made some cardboard templates of the gaps before the chimneys were fitted.

So all we needed to do was to create the right shape, cut it in half and create a hole for the chimney to go through the pitched ceiling. Then repeat. Up the ladder; down the ladder; shave a bit off here; up the ladder; down the ladder; shave a bit off there… you get the picture. And yes it was the wobbly ladders as well.

So we had a late lunch after both chimney bits were fettled. We did not attach the boards for fear that we would need to take the chimneys down to get the wall supports in. Shopping for the parts tomorrow.

After lunch Breezy lit the Colonial stove to check it worked and to our relief it is great.

The afternoon was occupied doing small jobs preparing for bigger ones and preparing a shopping list for tomorrow. No pictures I am afraid as there is very little to show for our efforts bar a pile of plasterboard dust and a bag of rubbish.

Finished working at 6.30 before a quick shower and then an hours cookfest. The pork, beef and trout all need cooking tonight. 4 meals in one hour. Pork curry (for later in the week), stir-fried pork (tomorrow lunch), minced beef (later in week) and marinated roast trout (tonight).

Bed and sleep.

Saturday and the low cloud gradually burnt off to reveal the mountains. By the time we had finished working on the web sun was streaming in through the door so we let the fire go out.

The appearance of the sun means that we can tackle some of the outdoor jobs on the list. The grass was still soaking so strimming would wait and wellies were required but after about an hour the roof was dry enough to tackle the chimneys.

Breezy started by applying a coat of varnish to the interior wall of the new porch while I got stuff organised for the chimneys. The only ladder we have that is high enough to reach the top of the ceiling was salvaged from a skip. It’s a metal step ladder with wooden treads. I remember now that there was a good reason it was in the skip as one of the legs had rusted away and it is not exactly stable. By wedging it against the wall and propping it up it did the job though I think that it may well end up back in a skip by the end of the year.

One chimney in and secure by lunch, which we took on the terrace.

Rather than fettle the plasterboard around the new chimney we decided to take advantage of the weather window and get the 2nd chimney in place as well. All done and with no casualties except the jigsaw which has given up the ghost and is completely burn out.

We also had time to get in the garden and do weeding as well as plant some more rocket and herbs.

Fête de la Music in Salau with food in the evening was entertaining to say the least.

The chilli was great with three different strengths to suit different tastes. The dancing afterwards was amazing. Not for the quality but for the diverse styles. We left around midnight and I think that the party will have continued well into the small hours.