Various friends helped us with this, which was great, and gave us a huge boost. There were a couple of weeks, when we had to cover the volige (in the UK, you would call them roofing sheets) with tarpaulin to save it from the typical Brittany weather and tiling here is not done in the same way as in England, so like the electrics, you need to understand, and get your head around the different methods.
When we were at this stage Ryan flew over to stay for a few days. It was his first visit here, so like when Tom visited earlier in the year, I'm sure it was a bit of a shock for him to see how we were living, but Ryan was prepared to 'muck in' and help. He loved it here - the peace and quiet, the complete darkness at night, the animals, and the general lifestyle. First job though, was to buy him some wellies - always a priority here ! There was a good amount of father/son bonding time on this visit - building and painting new animal housing, cutting trees down, burning rubbish etc. We took him to the market at Chateauneuf de Faou and were disappointed that we weren't able to buy some more chickens, but discovered that they aren't available over the winter months - it seems sensible and obvious to us now, but we were still novices ourselves. It was disappointing when it was time for him to leave, but I'm sure he'll be back ! And of course, he will see the changes that have been made since the last visit.
As we were approaching Christmas, thoughts turned to presents and cards, and the difficulty and cost of finding appropriate items here to send back. I discovered a couple of suitable websites for cards, and use the Internet for presents now. It doesn't have the same personal touch though, which is a shame. I enjoy taking a trip to Ikea in Brest, as they always have a good variety and stock of useful items and their Christmas displays are lovely. I've been a few times with girl friends and enjoyed a pleasant lunch there too.
Craig desperately wanted to buy a tractor to help with the workload, and found one on E Bay, that we had shipped over here - cheaper than we could buy one here ! It was to be a bit of a project for when Craig had nothing to do !!!
We had our first babies - one of the rabbits produced her first litter. We were delighted, but couldn't see them as she had covered them with fur and straw. It was several days before we could count them, and about another two weeks before they started moving around their cage. How exciting though.
Right - the roof was sorted, so if Craig could get the floor laid in the extension, then we would be on track for the furniture .....
He did it.....just in time for the delivery. It was a huge amount of pressure on him, but he got there. Floor laid, and ceiling joists in place. I am very proud of him !
It gave us the opportunity to see the view we will have from the lounge when we are in there (and when it the building materials are cleared !), through the French doors....
How exciting it is all becoming.
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