Wot, no rain?

First day for what seems like ages that it hasn't rained! We took the opportunity to pop down the road to Seix where they were holding their 'transhumance' today. The sturdy, fine Merens horses were on the move up to higher pastures....and the cattle and 'brebis' (sheep) were in holding pens ready to move on. We also saw a group of youngsters in a procession, wearing sheepskin jacket type things, walking on stilts... but I wasn't able to catch what they represented... something to do with sheep probably ;-) The sun made a brief appearance and made us realise just how hot it will be once the clouds move on... word on the street is that Wednesday will be THE day! Oh, we so hope they are right! This cold, wet, foul weather seems to have been going on forever. The vegetables have given up due to lack of warmth. The ground is saturated everywhere. But the ducks are happy!

On the renovation front, the attic is so very nearly completed. I am just waiting to hear whether my English paint-selling contact has a particular colour (a lush colour!) of Crown emulsion in stock and then I can make a feature wall out of the chimney breast/window wall, which will really finish it off.... well, apart from the floor which is crying out to be sanded. A test patch revealed beautiful floorboards beneath the white gloss paint - it's a travesty, I tell you, a travesty! Today, I cleaned up the doorframe which we constructed from timber recovered from the barn. It became apparent that the dark brown staining was in fact cow poo, which a good scrubbing has removed to reveal a gorgeous oak wood! The cross beams are now painted, the chimney wall sized, the small window ledge stained.... nearly there!