Craig had been suffering from a cold, and while I was with my daughter, she had a cold. Then I called on my brother before I left the UK - and he had a cold too. Oh no.....here we go, I thought, BUT somehow I missed it. I did have a sore throat for a couple of days, but nothing more sinister.
It was lovely and unexpected, to stay with my family. I got to do the school run for a couple of days - something I miss, and spend time watching the weekly swimming lessons, feeling like a very proud Grandma of course. I got to see my boys too, and spend the day with them - all an added bonus.
It was necessary to change my ferry booking to come home, and for the first time I had offered a friend a lift back with me. Typical eh ? Murphy's Law and all that ! I have never offered anyone a lift, but equally I have never been in the position of having to change my ferry booking either. Of course, they were very understanding, and we managed to sort out their travel arrangements too.
Craig hadn't had a great time while I'd been away - not only had he been unwell, but he'd been working hard, trading/swapping trades as it were, and bartering jobs, and his days had been long and tiring. On his return each evening, he had to walk Arthur (who had never been left all day before!), and still sort out the other animals, and cook a meal for himself - and prepare for the following day. We are trying to decide whether it is better for him to do this while I am here in France, but then we don't see much of each other OR to do it while I am away, but then everything else piles up around him !! I think this picture shows who was enjoying the fact that Craig wasn't too well though.............
He had managed to get jobs done around the house which were obviously noticeable when I arrived back home. He had put a new roof on the porch - it was a bit of a glass monstrosity to be honest. Like a greenhouse on the front of the house. We had planned on demolishing it, and putting a new oak beamed structure up instead, but have now decided to renovate the existing one. So, Craig had removed the glass roof, and replaced it with a slate one. It looks good. It is tidier inside, painted etc, and now all that is left to do, is replace the broken panes on the sides. Big improvement.
The decking base is almost completed too - just a couple of boards missing which need to be purchased on the next trip to Carhaix. The coving is complete in the study, landing, and the bedroom, and the mantle pieces have been painted upstairs and down. The window grills have been repainted, and all in all, Craig has been as busy as I expected.
Our first job, when I got back was to fix the shower. It sprung a leak which damaged the plaster board on the kitchen ceiling below. This meant Craig had to remove the damaged board, and ascertain where the leak was. This was a job that he could not do on his own, so he had to wait for me, although I am not a great help to him ! For a week or so, we had no plaster board on part of the kitchen ceiling, while we checked nightly that the leak had been plugged, and no further damage would occur. These sort of jobs really annoy Craig, as he feels that he has done them once, so is just going over, and repeating previous jobs. Nature of the beast, I'm afraid !
We have been talking about a return to the UK, and although things here are progressing, we have definitely made our minds up. It is of course, a question of selling the house here, but it will happen, and we have to keep positive about it. We feel we have a goal to aim for, and a purpose again, which is a very positive feeling.
We'll miss France and the sights we see close to our house though......
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