Lists, surprises, and what a weekend!

Instructions from our builder for the weekend 'to do' .......
- oil the new section of worktop, top and underneath
- oil rest of worktop section, top and shelves
- oil new smaller shelf above cooker work surface
- oil side panels of work surface
- oil plate rack
- clean everything out of the lounge, apart from his tools. This includes a large pile of floor tiles, big pile of wood, Lester's shelves of tools, dog beds, ladders, paint pots, etc.......etc....... There is a lot of stuff to clear because this room has been used as an indoor work shed for the last year. The dogs also sleep in there.
-clear out the hallway of our stuff, which is a big box of shoes, boots and wellingtons, all of which are no longer worn because they are old and most have holes in, but we don't like to throw them away. There are also a few boxes and bin bags full of fabric which was supposed to be taken upstairs several months ago but never were so are covered with thick dust, plus several boxes of kitchen things, and one box of my thermal underwear which were not worn over winter because I couldn't find them when they were needed so I wore Lester's thermals instead which were more comfy anyway.
- think about the front doors....that they need to be ordered because it will take three months to make them.....he recommended a French carpenter for this.....
- perhaps to start getting a coat of paint on the dining room walls would be a good idea, just to keep things moving.

What we also wanted to do...
- finish painting the ceiling above our bed so that we can get the four poster of the bed back to where it should be rather than having it tucked away in pieces on the floor. Flies, mozzies, and anything that else will shortly be on the wing, and we need to get the muslin curtains back up for protection during the night. We are also missing the boudoir effect that sleeping in a muslin tent gives us. So, to get the bed back together is a priority.
- get some hay from the piles of spoilt hay laying all over the place out front and get it round to the fire pit. The front is really looking a mess after the winter. The chickens have not helped, their love of scratching about having spread the hay and straw further than where it should have been.
- mow the front lawn. Can't. No petrol. So cross this one off the list.

What we actually did:
.....well, we started off the weekend at a goodly trot. Needing to save the grazing for the rest of the animals we have to reduce the numbers of lambs, which is something we don't like doing but have to anyway. So, two lambs were caught, dispatched, disrobed, prepped, then off to deliver them to friends of ours so that they can cut them up and put them in their freezer.

Three hours later, and after an unexpected lunch which was finished off with a bowl of  fruit crumble and ice cream laced with melted Nutella, of which I had two bowl fulls because I could not help myself, and we left our friends, feeling joyfully replete.

Off to the supermarket for some bits and pieces for a BBQ that evening because Sara, down the lane at La Maison des Chameaux, had come along before we left for our friend's house to invite us to her place for a BBQ that evening, because it was my birthday, she said. I corrected her band said that my birthday was the following day, but she said not to worry, we can still have a BBQ anyway.

Left the supermarket, then on to the local winery, the place where you fill your own containers up with wine. Two large containers filled up. It is now nearly 5pm. No time to do anything on either of the lists, so had a lie down for an hour to stretch our still full tummies, then raced round putting the animals to bed, then off to Sara's place.

Home at 11, after having had an evening under the stars, with good company, and a tealight candle nestled in amongst a tray of strawberries for my birthday cake. I was greatly moved. As I sat amongst my friends I thought what a wonderful life I have, and how blessed I truly am. So thanks to Sara, Paul, Fred, and the visiting American girl whose name escapes me. Love and hugs to you all.

Up not so very early this morning, then back to bed again feeling vaguely hung over, which was mostly due to the food I had eaten yesterday, but felt guilty because nothing had been done on either of the lists. Not to worry, it is my birthday today. I like that I am now 68 and wouldn't want to be any other age.

No real lie-in though, as dogs to be fed, and the keyboard to be packed up because I was playing at a monthly held local church service. Worried about whether I would be wanting to go to the loo mid way through the service, I asked my nether regions to hold fast until at least half past twelve when I should be back home again. Normally this is not a problem, but there was still a lot of food being processed in my digestive system and I didn't want to be caught out by having to make a quick dash outside in the middle of playing for a hymn. There was no need to worry. All was well in that department.

Long chat in the sunshine outside the church afterwards, then back home to find Lester watching over a bonfire made of some of the spoilt hay. Ok, so one of the things could be ticked off one of the lists. So, still not feeling quite right after the feast of food from yesterday, I lay on my bed. And, honestly, I did think about giving the ceiling above my head that final coat of paint, but then Lester came along with a cup of tea and said 'Why don't we go to the vide grenier down at Estirac'.

And we did. And came home to have a nap because it was hot here, and then it was too late to tackle anything on those lists at all.

But what I did was have a jolly good birthday weekend which was totally unplanned, and was topped off with a phone call from my daughter Karen and her husband Darren, who are leaving the UK to go live in Spain full time in three weeks time, calling in on us as they pass through France.

And some photos for you.......

The original cupboard in the dining room....

...... and work being done to it....

...... after all the wood had been stripped out, including the lintel, all of which was rotten,

this how it has finished up. The wood is all oak.

And this is the sink in the dining room, as it was....

.... and this is how that has turned out, again after having had all the wood and lintel replaced, plus the walls having been patched up. 

And this is how the doorway is coming along. The arch was not the same height on both sides, so our builder has made an oak surround to the arch to balance the look of it. This is the first time this room has had a door on it for a lot of years.

And in between the door and the shelf on the left, by that upright plank of wood, is a small alcove.

I do not know for what purpose the house had this little space,

but it might have possibly been connected to religion.

I put a candle each day in that space,

and ask for peace for us all, which always makes me feel better.

This photo is a bit blurred, but I thought you might like to see how the whole room looks. 

The walls still need to be painted, but everything else is now finished, apart from the doorway.

And this is what our builder has made for the kitchen.....

..... a plate rack! It needs a couple of coats of oil on it, and then up on the wall it goes.

All in all it was a lovely weekend,

and I feel full of warmth and love,

and ready to tackle another year of my life head on. 

Bye for now

Vx