Slow progress

Thurs 22 May 2014

After a stormy night I woke to find brilliant sunshine.  As I drove off to go to town I bumped into [not literally] our nextdoor-neighbour-across-the-way.  First time in 3.5 years!  he seemed a nice old guy and we had a little chat about the house.  We must get him over for an apero once Chris comes back in July.

I went to visit Lynne and Phil, who I met at the Gardening Club and had a nosey around their house and garden. 

I spent the afternoon painting shutters again and then Peter came around to discuss the garage, so I took the opportunity to play with his lovely dog.  If he builds it, it will have to be next spring.  He works on his own so he reckons it'll take up to 2 months.  If we get a big company in, it'll be a lot quicker but a lot more expensive.  Decisions, decisions.

Woohoo, first organic raspberries!!

Dinner
Last ever shower in that bath.  I reflected that tomorrow the water will be disconnected from the caravan so there'll be no loo.  I considered sleeping in the caravan for one last time.  It's been a good old thing and done us well for three years.  But my bed just looked too tempting.

Unfortunately, just as I was snuggling down, there was an avalanche of rubble at one point on one particular wall and I thought "Ohhh that's odd"  So I took all my bravery into my pyjamas and went to have a look.  I realised that it was caused by the emergence of something with the appearance and  size of a cockroach.  Obviously my brain ran through all the options [some of them eg running screaming to the neighbours, were obviously inappropriate].  I thought about all the bug killer things we had in the house but I was traumatised, partly due to the constant swallow presence and partly due to the fact that I am not the sort of person who generally shares her home with birds of any species, vermin, bats etc and I have had enough of strange species invading my space......
It was obviously more scared than I was and scuttled back into the wall.  Problem solved.

Fri 23 May [according to Radio 4 - I've lost track completely]

Awake early to Skype Chris and clear out the bathroom in preparation for the arrival and installation of the cabinet de douche.  The plumber arrived around 9.  The weather was cold, overcast and showery so I couldn't work in the garden.  I popped off to dry some washing but the rest of the morning was spent sitting in the caravan, listening to Radio 4, trying to keep out of the way and trying to keep warm.  I was a bit concerned because they had obviously turned off the water supply and I had gorged on prunes last night but all was well............

When he went home for lunch at 12, I cleaned the remainders of yesterday's paint off my hands and face and headed out for lunch.  I went to a new restaurant not far from us but completely in the middle of nowhere.  It was pretty good with a nice atmosphere and it felt good to be out.

I lit the fire in the lounge in the afternoon and sat reading as well as I could taking into consideration the thick, eye-stinging smoke that belched into the room from time to time. 

As well as installing the shower, the plumber disconnected the water from the caravan and lowered the cistern over the loo so that the new window can be installed in July. So no water pipes snaking across the kitchen, no more lambri in the WC and only a couple of fixing to be installed to the shower next week.

The afternoon zigzagged between glorious sunshine and grey skies and rain so I felt guilty when the sun was out but just stayed in front of the fire anyway.  By the time they left after 5, I had no inclination to do anything, not even take a shower so I snuggled down with a book.

Maybe it was the wood smoke or maybe it was the fact that I discovered that Chris hadn't signed a devis that he assured me was signed on Monday, but whatever it was pissed me off before I went to bed.  I am truly fed up with being here in the cold and the wet and alone and then finding out that Chris hasn't done his bit!!