Hi everyone!
Before I start on the main part of the post - I know there have been no photos for a while but I will do a catch-up post with just photos as soon as I can get them uploaded! Also, normally I post all over Facebook when I have a new post but I'm going to just post reminders every so often from now on - not everyone wants to see my constant updates (hard to believe, I know)! However once my photo stuff is sorted properly I will try and set up a Facebook page linked to this where I can update you all about new posts and where I can put more photos! Now, on with the tale!
On Tuesday morning we got the kittens out so they could explore some more. Even in the Short time I've been here I've seen a big change in them - they're much more adventurous and have started exploring more of the garden. They're mother is finally spending time outside with them and I think they've just started teething...well it can't all be positive. Unfortunately they can't really stay here because all three, plus the mum (who's totally wild), plus Kate and Vince's other two cats are quite a handful! Homes are trying to be found for them but I do keep considering taking one with me....travelling with a kitten couldn't be too much trouble , right?....
Once they were fully immersed in their gamed I got back to sanding and even managed to move on to putting the undercoat of paint on too! It doesn't sound like a slow job but the middle parts between the panes take forever! With a break for a quick toasty I managed to get most of the undercoat for one set if windows before Kate called time.
I spent a bit of time reading a new book - Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. It's a pretty good read about an Australian escaped convict who runs off to India and ends up involved in the Bombay mafi. It brings back some good memories of travelling in India (not involving the mafia obviously)!
As afternoon turned to evening it was time to prepare for movie night!
Jo, Jupiter, Anna and Gowan arrived around 7.30pm for dinner. The conversation varied from Kate befriending her East a neighbours back in London... to French politics. Now I hardly have a clue about UK politics so what's going on with the government here totally mystery to me, but it was all interesting and I did learn a bit about the government here. The meal consisted of the other half of the previous day's lasagne, a potato and mushroom made by one of the guests - Gowan I think....apologies if that credit should be given elsewhere - and lots of salad. The main course lasted at least an hour as we were all too busy talking but once we'd all eaten our fill we relocated to the living room where the screen and projector were set up for the movie. We all sat down, wheat-free, vegan chocolate cake in hand, and so the movie began. The film of choice was A Good Year - Russell Crowe - an investment broker - inherits his uncle's château and vineyard, but as he begins to renovate it in order to sell the lot ASAP he ends up falling in love with the château, France and the woman who runs the town café. It's definitely me of those happy feel good films that's perfect to watch when in France, or when dreaming of warmer weather than is normal in old blighty.
The movie finished pretty late so we all said our goodbyes, wished Anna and Gowan a good trip back to England then called it a night.
Wednesday was a pretty quite day after all the excitement of the night before. It was spent working on the windows some more. I managed to finish one set with the main coat, its a sort of light, maybe lime-ish, shade of green...I have no idea what it's called but it looks nice! The rest of the day was spent undercoating the second set before finishing up to try and find a home for next week. I did try and organise my next project sooner but no one seems to be replying!! I even tried calling a few but still no luck. If I can't find somewhere I'm just going to hitch slowly down to the Pyrenees and hang out and camp there until I find somewhere. I don't mind either way really. Anyway we had quinoa and salad for dinner and after a nice little Skype session I went back to my little garden house to read a few more chapters and have an early night.
Thursday morning was nice and cool so it was finally time to do a bit of work outside. Hoe and rake in hand I weeded out the gravel around the front of the house. I'm sure I could have had it finished in half the time but the kittens were fascinated and kept getting in the way as they tried to catch the rake, daft little things! By lunch time it was, once again, far too hot to continue outside so after a nice healthy lunch I set about getting the stray globs of plaster of the new tiles the end bedroom or music studio as Kate literally just suggested!
What I didn't know when I arrived is that Vince is in a band which, from what I've heard, is pretty awesome and Kate sings, paints, and used to work on music video set design. This last part came to my attention when she heard me playing an album by The Levellers and she explained how she'd created the set for one of their music videos! Definitely a talented woman! Of course Vince, who's repointing the entire house himself at the moment is super talented too! No I'm not looking for brownie points by the way - they won't see this until I leave.
After I'd finished with the tiles I finally finished undercoating the second set of window just in time to finish for the day. The evening was spent reading, looking for a new home and keeping an eye on the kittens. Unfortunately the mother and one of the other cats have decided to start scrapping so we had to keep breaking them up; and as if it couldn't get any more crowded a new cat just strolled right down the drive and made himself at home in the barn! After a late dinner - salmon carbonara with spinach it was time for bed and I was so tired I didn't even get chance to read!
Today has been another gorgeous day, a little windy but nothing compared to back home. I spent the morning doing some more weeding before it got too hot and after another lovely lunch - poached egg and courgette with goat's cheese on toasted home made bread - I spent the afternoon finishing the windows. I'm pleased they're finished because I wanted to get them done before I left. Now - time to go take some photos for you all to have a look at...eventually!
See you all next time!
(Title quote from Walter Scott)
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