One window, two windows.....

Oh and 'tis a rainy day here in France, as you can see from the above photo. You can see the ex Pig-chick Hut / Office now recycled into a wood store, and the pile of roof tiles waiting to be put on the Tall Barn when our builder-man gets around to it, and the rain drizzling down the window pane. 

Hang on a minute! Window-pane?  

Yessir! Window pane, with attached window as well! And it opens and closes like a real window should, but then it is a real window, yes, yes, yes! A REAL WINDOW. 

And so how did this happen. Did it magic itself up? Like as in suddenly there was a window in the hole which previously held empty space?

Ah but no. This was another magic wand waved by Team R & V, as in friends Ron and Val who visited us mid October "For a rest", they said "But we'll bring our tools with us 'just in case'..." 

And it became their mission to fill the gaps where once windows had resided.  When Labartere had been a house, and not a ruin. 

So: 

 and:

Twooooooo Windows!

But not only that, but "You need a door to keep out the draughts" said Val: 

And so she made one. In a day! 

And here is the other side of the door:

 
So we have one window, two windows, three doors. Ah but where are the other doors? 

In the Half Barn. Because meanwhile, Danny, our French builder, also went on a mission to get us warmer this winter, and put a temporary door in between the Half Barn and the house, plus a baby window in the back of the Half Barn, plus the doors at the front. 

Et Voila!

 

Ooops! Wrong photo! 

And how Labartere looks now:

Lounge window to the left, 'kitchen' window to the right, and further right is the Half Barn with its glass doors.  

And just before Val and Ron arrived the swifts parked up for a quick rest, before carrying on with their journey southwards to Africa. What courageous creatures. Such a long way with such tiny wings. And I always find encouragement from their visit, and feel inspired by their efforts. 

The mist lay heavily over the land on the morning they visited, but as with all things, it didn't last long. Off those little birds flew, and onward I continued into my day. Ahead lay the visit of Team V & R, and the infilling of the door and window spaces, plus their efforts  to boost our flagging energies. 

It's a rainy Sunday. The chickens are sheltering all about the place but have the option to retreat back into their little Chicken house.  The sheep and lambs are in the Sheep Arbre / Barn, the pigs are in their Pig Abode. And we are inside our house with doors and windows between us and the weather. Hooray for caravan living, but even more hoorays for farmhouse-style living!Hope you are snug and dry in whatever part of the World you are living in. 

Oh, and the Pyrenees have just had their first dusting of snow and we can now see the shape and contours of those mountains. It is as if they are coming alive, as if an artist has gone along and given them some highlighting. OK, so it means that we are heading into the cold weather, but hey! We have windows!