We're getting there

I love it when a plan comes together and things have certainly come together this week. Barbara and her mum arrived back late on Sunday 24th after three and half weeks back in the UK. I think she was impressed with all the work that had been completed in her absence. The pointing of the barn was finished and the scaffold has finally been dismantled and given back to T with a very grateful and appreciative merci. It feels like the scaffold has been hanging about for a lifetime and to see it finally loaded on to the back of T's trailer gave me a real lift. I'm just hoping that we'll not need it back any time soon. Now the barn's fully pointed it seems so much bigger and looking at it from across the field it's no wonder my hacking out pick was pleading for retirement. It's not just the scaffold we've finished with, Stephané Regourd has also completed his residency in Lagarrigue. With the mega size radiators in place and the essential outside tap installed we could bid him farewell and look forward, not sure that's the right wording, to receiving his final facture. Life just won't be the same without Stephané popping in creating havoc and doing a little plumbing, heating and electrical work. He's called when we've asked and has always been prepared to fit in with our work schedule so I guess we shouldn't complain about the odd oil spill or damaged plasterboard.

Monday and it was back to it for Babs. Before we could make the barn feel completely like home we needed to get the carpet fitted. So with trailer attached it was off to VDR to collect the carpet and by 5:00 Monday it was fitted and looking good. It's typical but just as we'd finished the company we'd ordered the wood burning stove off called to say it had arrived and they would be out on Thursday to install it. They better not make a mess! As it turned out they were really professional and did a fantastic job, it's just a pity that the temperature has been constantly in the mid twenties during the day and with so much insulation in the barn we haven't needed to fire it up (this didn't stop Barbara lighting it on the first night 'just to check it works'). With the stove in place it was time to decamp from the downstairs and finally make the most of the upstairs. Boxes were opened that have been in store for nearly three years (yes I know we've managed without the contents but there are certain things you just can't throw away) and the sofas were brought out of T's barn and manoeuvred in to place. More importantly I was able to get my 'study' sorted and the Hi-Fi in place and working so I can now sit and write the blog in comfort, music playing and with a beautiful view.

Unfortunately I can't spend too much time admiring the view as there is still a fair bit of work to be done. The majority of it's outside so at last we'll have a nice clean and tidy house and I'll have to take my boots off before I'm allowed in! With the temperature reaching 28ºC (yes I've watched the UK weather forecast and know it's lovely there) what better job to start than tiling the terrace in the full blaze of the sun. These are the first floor tiles I've laid unsupervised and even though I say it myself I'm pleased with the way things are going and it won't be long before we can bask in the sun on our beautifully tiled terrace.

Water, water everywhere

As I mentioned in the last blog I'd decided that it would be a good idea to ask the carpenter to fit the banister to the new staircase and on Monday last week he returned to complete the task. It wasn't long before he discovered that there were a couple of parts missing and we had a left hand instead of a right hand newel post. So it was off to the stair manufacturer in Montauban and an attempt to explain we had wrong and missing parts. It went remarkably well and, amazingly, I managed to get across what the problem was and even more amazingly there was no argument only an apology! After what Id said about the French never admitting they're wrong in my last blog it looks like I also need to apologise. The story doesn't end there however as the 'lost' parts turned out to be 'misplaced' parts.

On the night we'd been attempting to fit the staircase it rained heavily, nothing new there, and some water had come in to the ground floor of the barn. In our panic to keep things dry we'd moved everything to dry land and the newel posts had got placed in the back bedroom en-suite. It was only when I came to grout the splashback in the en-suite several days later that I discovered them. Whoops! With the posts found I was able to get the carpenter back to complete the fitting of the banister and staircase.

Finding the posts was about the only bit of good luck we had last week. In our haste to get the barn completed we'd not thought things through fully and not listened to advise proffered by P and the water coming in proved to be a costly mistake. We'd laid an external concrete floor above the internal floor level and not left anywhere for water to go. You live and learn and I'll not be making the same mistake again (that's not listening to P and building concrete floors that keep water in!) As I write this it's raining again & we're nice and dry inside. Whoopee! The work that was necessary to rectify our error involved demolishing steps that had taken over a week to lay and watching them disappear in less than an hour with the help of a JCB was a little frustrating to say the least. It hasn't been all doom & gloom as we took the opportunity to use the contractor's time to do a little landscaping and laying of gravel paths. Just need to sort out a few plants and spread some grass seeds here and there.

We've also had Stephané Regourd here fitting central heating radiators in the upstairs of the barn. With such a big area to heat the radiators were always going to be big but I didn't expect it to take two of us to lift them in to place. Just hope the walls are strong enough to hold them. Now they're in place we'll get the carpet laid and finally be able to inhabit both of the barns two floors.

All goes well with Barbara and she's obviously doing a good job of 'Country Cousining' . The people are so impressed with her that they've asked her to return for a further couple of weeks during June. Think I' m going to have forgotten what she looks like. Just seen this on YouTube and having just bought a house in Blackpool to renovate it looks like it's going to be a real home from home. Can't wait to track down the French café featured in the clip, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed they won't be using one of these to produce some fine French cuisine. Who said the French only appreciate good food?

Stairway to heaven

There I was already to blog at the weekend when we had a minor (I'm hoping it is) crisis. We'd ordered a ready-made staircase and had been all excited on Friday when the shop rang to say it was now in stock and we could collect it on Saturday. We headed off to Montauban, trailer in tow, early on Saturday morning with a shopping list of bits & pieces we required to move the barn nearer to completion. The rain abated as we loaded the staircase on to the trailer and headed home. P arrived early Sunday morning and within a couple of hours the first part of the staircase was assembled & things were looking good. It was when we came to put it in to place that we realised things weren't going according to plan (a French plan that is, that we'd been very pleased with ourselves for being able to follow). Despite having supplied a detailed plan to the shop when we'd placed the order it was obvious that no matter what juggling we did the staircase was not going to fit. Oh dear! (or similar words). There was no taking it back as the assistant had made it clear that the item couldn't be returned and the chances of convincing a Frenchman that he was wrong were zero. Those who doubt this should read chapter one, 'Thou shalt be wrong (if you’re not French) – Why every Frenchman is Monsieur Right, of Stephen Clarke's book 'Talk to the Snail'. So having worked through plans A to Y we resorted to plan Z and made contact with a local carpenter first thing on Monday. He agreed to look at our 'problem' and having taken a few sharp intakes of breath said he could get the staircase to fit and would return later in the week. Fingers crossed he's as good as his word and I'll keep you posted.

In between the trials and tribulations of converting the barn we've had a couple of important visitors. Rebecca arrived for a nice long break on Friday 10 followed by Matthew on the 15. Bit of a hairy flight for Matthew with the plane having to circle above Rodez for 40 minutes waiting for a severe storm to move away from the airport. What a lovely welcome to sunny France. It was great to have them here at the same time and we had a really good time with an excellent belated birthday meal for Matthew at the L'Oustal del Barry in Najac and an even better home cooked wild mushroom risotto on Saturday night. Obviously the good food & not so good wine did the trick and it made twisting arms to give a hand painting and moving plasterboards that much easier.

We've been able to move things along well since we got back and had we not had the staircase fiasco I think we'd now be cooking & eating in our luxury Ikea kitchen. There's one thing for certain, when Barbara gets back from the UK with her mum she won't recognise the place. She headed back to the UK on Wednesday for three weeks to do some more work with 'Country Cousins'. With her working so hard I'll have to make sure I do my bit and have all the items on my extensive to-do list crossed off and completed by the time she gets back.

UPDATE – The carpenter was as good as his word and yesterday he arrived at 8:00, took part of the stairs away to cut down to size. He returned just after lunch to fit a new step he'd made and put the staircase in place. To say I was relieved when it slotted in to place perfectly is an understatement. It looks great and although originally I wasn't going to get him to fit the bannister I think a phone call to him on Monday next week is probably a good idea. The phrase 'spoiling the ship for a hapeth of tar' springs to mind.