Rent  A  Traditional  Country
Farmhouse  in  South-West  France

Week 70

Monday 19th September to Sunday 25th September

We got back on Wednesday. Apologies to all those friends we did not manage to contact while home (er, well, while in England), but our time was short and the Boss had her priorities.

And this shows what the Boss did every day we were back in England. Yes, yes, I've heard all the ones about his expression is just like mine!

Of course the tarpaulin we left covering the holes in the roof had blown off in high winds. Fortunately, the heavy rain had passed us by without falling on the good (or the homes of the good). The weather has cooled since we left, but the sun is shining.

Thursday morning I'm back on the roof. Oh how I missed the open fresh air, the sun and the wind in my hair. Oh; and the aching arms and legs. The most tiring things are moving tiles about on the roof and carrying buckets of cement up the stairs or scaffold. But it is coming along.

On some days I get help from Richard or Graham, who cut and pass wood, nail down battens or help move tiles around. However, they tell me they also have their own lives to lead and wives to keep happy, so the help comes in fits and starts.

While we work, dust and dirt rain down onto the floor below, and through the holes in the upstairs floor into the living room. This means the furniture is permanently covered with blankets and cloths, as if we've closed the place up for the winter and gone away. Watching TV means clearing a space first!

Early mornings often have a heavy dew, and the spiders webs shine in the sunlight.

Tarpaulin blown off and the sky is black; again

Believe it or not, I'm now almost enthused about the roof, as the end is in sight.

And it has to be finished along with the windows, before winter sets in for real