August in the Sun

We are just back from a blissfully sunny holiday, Normandy at its charming and peaceful best.

Martin has been busy chopping wood for the store, mowing the grass and fixing the WiFi so that it works more effectively (but not to say reliably).

I have begun to tackle painting the interior of the windows, most of which still sport their heavy brown stain. It made a huge difference to the Blue Room just to have more light in the window alcove, and I was inspired to work on other rooms too. One day we will get around to the kitchen!

We do however have a new worktop round the cooker in the kitchen, which Martin has made out of wood we found in one of the barns when we first arrived (and which has also supplied a garden table for us at home). This picture was supposed to show it but you have to look closely!

Meanwhile the leaking kitchen chimney was supposed to be fixed: smoke had been tracking into the upstairs rooms so we have had builders in to strip and fill. Sadly this just led to the smoke finding other crevices along which to travel, and short of pulling apart the entire internal wall we have no hope of stopping it. So for now, everything has been put back and made good, pending the insertion of a liner which would allow us to run a wood-burning stove.

We enjoyed candle-lit supper in the BBQ shack on Martin's 50th birthday, breakfasts on the front terrace every morning and plenty of time in the hammock out back.

 View from BBQ shack

Freshly-mown grass (BBQ shack at end)

The River Douve remains a beautiful picnic or canoe spot, and we saw loads of ducks fly off the lake when we wandered around (though the water level is low so it is rather brown). In fact the house was buzzing with life: bees having a ball on the fuchsias which were in full bloom at the front, and butterflies, bees and moths swarming around the buddleia, which has grown to tree size, in the back garden.

We love the different views around the house as the sun rises and sets: I find this particularly enticing (but maybe that's just me!)

 

Wandering around the fields before we left we noticed that the spring has collapsed, or at least sheep appear to have pushed down the pile of wood and rocks that was blocking it off. Note to anyone visiting: keep an eye on your children in the top field!

He doesn't look very happy about that!

 We were sad to leave, but friends are due there soon to share the pleasure of a relaxing rural holiday, and we shall of course be back very soon!

Chilly Easter

Well, what an odd Spring it has been!

We have just returned from our Easter holiday and found fir trees down everywhere we looked, including in our fields and along the lane. A couple of weeks ago the area had a snowstorm that resulted in drifts 2.5 metres high along our road, keeping inhabitants to their homes for three days until it melted.

We were lucky that only the telephone line was affected by several fallen branches, and as we arrived at the house a young man was just re-attaching the crucial wires. So now we have both telephone and internet, with a skype-type free line to call England.

We gathered lots of fallen wood, and Ben spent some time up a tree on the little island sawing off damaged branches. He and Martin also fixed the wood and tiles on the stables so everywhere is now looking better.

We also stripped a lot of sturdy ivy from the boundary of the paddock, leaving very little in the way of greenery and creating a huge burn pile in the process.

Our problem now is how to stop the chimney leaking smoke into the house: somewhere there is a leak and we have had builders in to find the source. Hopefully they will get it sorted out in the next few weeks and everything will be in working order for a lovely warm summer!