It seems to have come around very quickly again but it was time to pack up and head off to Carcassonne for our flight.

We were up quite early for us 7am and had a quick brekky and then packed up for the next few hours before having a last shower and heading off. We said our good byes to Freddy and Daniella and gave them the ladders back before hitting the road.

We stopped at Mirepoix (well worth a visit) for a quick coffee break and then decided  to find somewhere with a view for our picnic lunch. We stopped at Faugenay and found a beautiful spot up by the church looking over the hills towards Carcassonne really stunning. A good picnic lunch and then on to Andie's sister's house who had kindly said they would house Vinnie for 3 months whilst we are back in the UK. Mark, Von's husband gave us a lift to the airport which was fantastic. Carcassonne airport is small and totally chaotic but Ryan Air were well ahead of time so we were back to Wirksworth by 8pm, a quick beer with Stevie who had picked us up and then it was a pizza at the local pizzeria and bed, both quite tired.

It is lovely to be back in some ways but we are loving The Pyrenees area, the barn and the opportunities it offers more and more.

Until Mid September

We had a leisurely trip 

Another overcast day so we decided it was time for "egg window surprise" Al did a fantastic breakfast of egg window and sautéed potatoes to keep us going. It was a good feeling to have no pressure for the last day and not having to run around like headless chickens getting things done.

Instead we gradually cleared out the inside of the barn of all the dead wood which will make good logs and we shifted any decent wood we had saved up onto the first floor. All of a sudden we have a huge space in the downstairs of the main barn which will be ideal for next time where we can work inside if the weather is bad. We basically pottered on tidying and sorting with bits of packing etc.

Outhouse done 

A late lunch and then a final tidy up of the wood down by the river and I managed to tweak my back on the last lift of the trip. Left me on my back in the outbuilding whilst Al did the final last bits of heaving and burning.

We had arranged to meet Clive and Giselle for a quick beer and catch up at the bar and then it was back to the barn for a delicious Shepherds Pie before bed.

Left the barn early to get down to St Girons. First stop was Annie's to drop off the cement mixer. She was a bit flustered, trying to get horses fed and animals sorted before getting to work. Then onto La Forgue to pick up some additional stove pipe bits. Lee had given us a small wood burning stove he salvaged from renovating his place. It's a beautiful Godin No 13 with the flue exit at the back so we needed another 90 degree bend. Next down to the town to load two washing machines with laundry. One with very dirty work clothes and the other with bedding. A quick coffee and postcard writing while the machines did their stuff and on to Mc Donalds for internet. We know exactly where all the power sockets are in the place now and so just plug in and set to without even buying anything. We even plug the batteries in for the cordless drill.

Lastly a bit of food shopping for the last two days before heading back to UK.

On the way back we tried to catch Annie at Pont de la Taule to arrange a time for a drink in the evening. We could not find her so left a note on her truck. What we did find was a lovely old arm chair outside a house with a sign saying "free – help yourself" (in French) so we did just that (at least I think that's what it read on the sign).

Back to the barn and the clouds started to roll in. As we were unloading there were a group of 3 youth banging in posts for the new donkey enclosure. Breezy had a couple of words as it transpired that they were going to put the fence straight through the middle of our parking area.

In between showers we fixed the ridge slates on the outhouse and ran around putting washing on and off the line to dry. A few odd jobs done and then we sat inside out of the rain brushing down and blacking up the Godin stove for an hour or so before meeting Annie at the bar in Salau.

Fresh prawns and aioli followed by Alder smoked trout fillets and stir fried veg and noodles.

Godin 13 

After a stormy night with thunder, lightening and strong very gusty winds it did not look promising for slating.

However, after brekky it had stopped raining so we decided to start and if it rained we would move inside and do inside jobs as such, but we were lucky it stayed dry all day and after a really lovely cool morning, it was a scorcher in the afternoon. We had reached over half way with the slates so we were keen to try and finish the slating today.

We got a good system going and by 2.30pm we had finished the whole roof and even if we say it ourselves, it looks FAB!!!!

It's finished 

It is amazing how quickly the smaller slates disappear onto the roof, a bit like a jigsaw puzzle fitting it all together but we are pleased with the finished product. We have decided to use slate as the ridge slates rather than zinc so we located a few long thin ones which we just need to nail in and we are done.

We had lunch inside as it was just too hot and since we were on limited supplies it was jacket potatoes so easier to eat at a table.

The afternoon we decided we would move into the outbuilding to live for the last few days so Al set too with rigging a simple lighting circuit from the solar panel which works yippee we have lights. We moved all the bedding into the smaller building and a table and we were ready for romantic night in our new abode!!!

The rest of the pm we spent tidying up the unused slate, pruning a few trees at the front and having a visit from Serge and Ginette who we rented the apartment from a while back. It was good to see them and show them around.

A well deserved few glasses of rose at the bar and then back to have pasta surprise and scrabble in our new pad and a good nights kip!!!!

I was slightly worried about falling off the mezzanine so Al took the drop side and was still there in the morning so all good. 

We were planning to get down to St Girons today to the market and get internet and washing done. The transhumance started at Seix at 6am and essentially meant that 2000 sheep and an assortment of ramblers would be walking up the narrow road to Salau to arrive about 9am. Not a great day to go down the valley?

We also came to the conclusion that we needed to find more slate before continuing with the roof. If we were to go on through the sizes and then found some larger ones we would not be able to use them.

First off we explored the other two derelict granges just down stream. Then we walked down to Françoise’s grange where we found a stash when we did the big roof. Lo and behold there was another big stash. We had to wait until the transhumance passed our place before driving down to the village to get permission to snaffle the slate.

In the meantime we shifted wood from the bridge up to the barn using the mucktruck and trailer.

Once the transhumance had been through Breezy got the OK to gather the slate and so wood was replaced with slate. We do spend a lot of time shifting heavy things from place to place. Once all the slate was in a pile at the barn all we had to do was to move it all again into piles based on size, wire brush it, shift it again onto the roof, arrange it like a 4m x 4m, 4000+ jigsaw puzzle and nail it in place. By the end of the day we were over half way and bushed.

 

Complete contrast to yesterday with fantastic sunshine.

Over breakfast I got all the solar PV components out to wire it all up only to find that the terminals on the battery and the battery leads supplied were not compatible. Boo.

As we have some cement spare which will mot last until the autumn we made a batch and capped the wall between the toilet and the main barn. What was a dusty random stone step will become a clean stable step that no longer spreads dust everywhere.

Off down the valley to phone Nigel (our solar man) to seek wisdom re the solar stuff and to check in for Ryan Air flight.

In the afternoon we started the slating, having graded all the slate we decided to clean (wire brush) each bit as it went on the roof. Working together we cleaned and then carried, arranged and nailed each row working our way through the sizes. At the end of the day we had between ¼ and 1/3 of the roof done.

Very hot shower from the solar bags and back down the valley for drinking water and to seek somewhere to put the van for a couple of months near Carcassonne. Spoke to Nigel who had a fix for our connection problem. Salau was busy with people getting all the preparations made for the transhumance over the weekend.

Quick drink at the bar and back to the barn for a pasta surprise.

A mizzly morning so we decided to get some small must do jobs done before thinking about the roof. Started with the fence around the veggie patch. Big tick!

Fitted the door to the outhouse and cut it up as a stable style door, fitted bolts etc. another tick.

In the afternoon we made windows for the three openings in the building. Tick!

Shower then down to Salau to make a few phone calls – nobody in so not very successful.

Veggie Plot Fence  The Fence The Out Building Door It's a Stable Door too!!!