Light at the end of the tunnel - well at the end of the doorway anyway !

The next huge job was to knock through from the kitchen to the Utility room - easy, you may say. Well - not here, and not through a granite wall that is just under a metre thick !!

Up until now, to get to the Utility room, we have had to go out of the front door, and round the house to what will be the new front door. However the thought of the work, the mess it will cause, and the effort it will take are not very inviting...BUT we have another lot of visitors due who will sleep downstairs, and may need the new downstairs loo, and it's not very courteous to ask them to go outside and round the house, now is it ?

So, with a limited window of opportunity, Craig started the work. All went well.....

...........the idea is good - the template is there - first lintel to go in at the earliest opportunity.

End of Day One.....

End of Day Two....

Who's idea was it to put a doorway in here ????????????

The size and irregularity of the pieces of granite caused such headaches, broke three breakers, and very nearly broke Craig too. He would make a huge inroad, only for the drill to hit solid granite and be unable to tell which way the edge went. The noise was horrible. The dust and mess was equally bad .....IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT !!!

Each evening, before we could eat, we needed to wipe down the whole kitchen area. Craig put a dust sheet up to stop the dust as much as possible, and it also kept the draughts out to some extent. He needed to have regular breaks due to the effort he had to put in, and those people that called in, often had tips and ideas of how he could do it easier - not always helpful, especially after the event.

In fact it took NINE DAYS in total....For those who don't know Craig, he is a small guy, definitely not designed to do such physical work, but I am so proud that he completed it, and in time for the next set of visitors. 

And Arthur was the first to go through the new opening.....

All this stone from one opening - note the sack barrow needed to remove the bigger pieces - too heavy for us to move alone.....

We always enjoy the arrival of visitors, especially when they have been before, and so can see the progress we have made. My sister and brother in law stopped by, on their way home, after spending several weeks in Portugal. They travelled by train via Paris to Morlaix, and then on to Pleyber Christ. I had expected to collect them from Morlaix, but they text to say that they could get a little nearer - I never even knew that there was a station at Pleyber Christ ! They were to stay a few days, and then return to the UK via the ferry from Roscoff.

It was lovely to have them here. We had a relatively quiet few days with them - we had coffee by the lake in Huelgoat, went to the market in Carhaix, and enjoyed the company of family, in the sun. And of course, they were suitably impressed with the new door opening, which pleased us no end !

Spring is on its Way

As previously written, a bonus of returning to the UK is that we can shop for things that are more expensive on France, not available or sometimes of inferior quality. On this trip we managed to return with carpets .....yes, carpets ! Here, they are not very popular, and so difficult to come by. The problem of course, is fitting them in the vehicle to bring back. For this trip, however, we went in the small van, so were able to load pretty much everything we needed at this point.

The first day back, as usual, is spent unloading, and trying to find places to put everything, but we also managed to get the carpet in the bedroom laid. We didn't want to keep them folded too long, so Craig set to work straight away. It's amazing what a difference having a carpet makes - not only does the room look nearly finished now, but it's quieter, and warmer.

The following day, the carpet was laid in the 'snug', and then the next, the study - finally the landing! Wow ! We have proper rooms WITH A PROPER FLOOR COVERING ! Gone are the carpet squares, gone are the oddments that have been there for ever. The rugs by side of the bed look better, and more at home - it's great. What a difference ! That's it folks - shoes off at the door now !

A trip home, or a holiday, often gives us the impetus to crack on with the house again - more momentum etc, so after a trip to the Builders Merchants we came back laden with plasterboard AGAIN ! The wall in the Utility Room was boarded and the first of the wall units lifted into place. The fuse board was boxed in, and the downstairs toilet and wash basin positioned. He fitted new light switches, heaters, and re-sited the washing machine and tumble drier.The big freezer which we had to buy to put all of our produce in - bringing the total number of freezers we have to FOUR - was never destined to remain in the Utility Room, but had been left there as it was easier, now needed to be moved to the Workshop - out of the house, across the road, up an incline ! At least it gave me a chance to discover those delights that are always found at the bottom but are often lost and forgotten about !

Now that Spring is evident, we needed to replace the chickens that we had lost to a fox during the Winter. A friend gave us a cockerel, which we accepted with thanks, as we thought that he would help keep the 'ladies' under control when we bought them. We managed to get four from the market in Chateauneuf de Faou - they do not sell them at the markets over the Winter, so this was one of the first opportunities we had. They were about 8 weeks old, so we expected eggs from them in two or three months time. The fun starts now, as until they get used to the routine, we have to chase them into their housing each night. After a while, they go in without any prompting, as soon as it starts to get dark, but it's 'fun' to start with !

We also bought 18 x day-old chicks as we have done before to bring on and fatten up for the freezer - sorry if you are a little squeamish ! They spend their first few weeks under a heat lamp, so are contained and secure.

Spring is also a good time to have a bonfire - there are rules and regulations surrounding these, as I have explained before, but we managed a couple while the weather was warming up, and at least dry - getting rid of loads of rubbish, and odd branches from the garden.

A while ago, we had a visit from EDF who asked if they could cut the trees that surrounded the wires next to the house. We were never sure if they would arrive or not - but they did. Three men in total - one went up in a cage to cut the branches, while the other two watched him ! We persuaded them to cut a bit of the yew tree down too, that was overhanging a little too much. They were very obliging and friendly, although their health and safety - or lack of it - left Craig gasping in amazement.

We discovered that we have a fifth grandchild due later in the year - as I have said each time, we are far too young of course !!! What a blessing though, and what a joy !