A busy Winter

Reading my last post really makes me laugh, particularly the 'we should have a Kitchen in the next few weeks' part! It's the 2nd February 2011 and I still don't have the Oak Floor or Kitchen, but it's ok, we're doing it right, no rushing, no bodging, the screed will dry over time and luckily for us time is what we have.

Late Autumn and Winter bought a tonne of challenges for us, on the 20th October our puppy had a horrific car accident and we spent weeks looking after him, changing his bandages and trying to stop him from over doing it.

4 weeks later and we left him with people he didn't know while we whisked ourselves away to New York. We had a fabulous time with my sis and her husband; they introduced us to lots of their friends on Thanksgiving, we skated in Bryant Park and did some Christmas shopping, it was really lovely. We got back on the 29th November and then just 3 days later our beautiful black cat Scamp was also run over, but he didn't survive it. He was the most loving cat with such a funny little personality, he was a daddy's boy and always climbed up Stu and wrapped his two front paws around Stu's neck for a cuddle just as a child would do. We were so upset, but he is now buried next to our beautiful wedding swing, where we often go and chat with him. A week later and his brother Marble seemed so discumbobulated that we decided to go and get a rescue cat to try and cheer him up. So on the 11th December we collected 'Amie' a 5 month old girl beautiful in white and ginger looking for a loving home. She spent a week playing around our house, helping me dress the Christmas tree and snuggling in front of the fire and then just 5 days later she died, and we don't know why. So Marble was left again with just us to keep him company and then we left him to go back to the UK for Christmas. Luckily our neighbour comes to the house twice a day every day and she kept him entertained. We had a fantastic time with all our friends and family over the Christmas period, lots of food, drink, games and laughs. We got back to France on the 2nd January ready to get back down to lots of work and Marble was definitely very pleased to see us. Things have settled down now, Marble seems content sleeping on our bed during the day unless we're outside doing something interesting and then he comes and joins in. He wakes me up at 6.50am every morning, not a minute earlier, not a minute later, and so like the obedient owner that I am, I get up, he runs down the stairs twisting and turning through my legs as though all his christmasses are coming at once and then he sits at the door at the bottom of the stairs looking at the handle, not me - he doesn't look at me, he just stares at the handle as though maybe just maybe he has enough cat superpowers to make it turn quicker if he stares hard enough. Once he's in, he's happy munching on his breakfast and I'm free from the danger of a cat trying to trip you up and can make my cup of tea in peace. We have a routine and he seems to like it.

It is now very cold again, we've had some beautiful sunny days but it's been about -7 most days this week and the garden looks sad. I love it when the sun does break through the clouds and I feel just a little warmth on my face, it reminds me that Spring is just around the corner and not only will that put a smile on my face but the garden will start smiling too. We walk the dog for an hour each morning and feed the chickens as we go, then we'll come back in for a warm cup of tea and I sit in the office for the best part of the day working on the business. That means that Stu is now on his own with the build, but it works well for us. Our carpets were fitted in December, so the bedrooms are looking nice, we completed the underfloor heating & screed downstairs before we came home too. As we've had to wait for the screed to dry in the Kitchen Stu has turned his attentions to the upstairs bathroom and he's doing a great job. All the plumbing & waste has been run, the bath is in and has been well used! He has taken his time over the planning of the room, getting the tiling around the bath just right as well as the plastering. He has handmade and painted our sink unit, which looks beautiful and it's now really coming together. We decided to use our neighbour who is a carpenter to prepare the Oak for our Kitchen floor as he has big machinery and will do it in a matter of days rather than Stu sanding it all for weeks, and that is due back with us this week. So next week Stu will start to prepare the Kitchen floor with a thin layer of self-levelling compound and then those boards can go down....my Kitchen isn't far off now!