4 weeks? Really!

Oops. Well, it just goes to show how busy life is these days, doesn't it! Work on the house continues with a vengeance..... which goes without saying really, doesn't it! The most pressing issue? We have got friends coming on Sunday to stay with us for a week, so the pressure has been on to complete the renovation of the 'guest bedroom'. This has involved ripping out all of the old 'non conforme' socket and lighting wiring and replacing it with wiring that complies with current regulations. This naturally involved the creation of more holes in the walls which was a messy business. Then, we insulated the ceiling and put up plasterboard using the most important bit of kit that we have so far invested in - the 'lève-plaque'! It is going to get a lot of use.

We discovered that the skirting boards are actually riddled with woodworm, so they have had to come out. But a serious question for you.....what do you see in the following photo? A work of art depicting a seaside scene maybe? Or just a rotten skirting board? Squint and you may be surprised!

We acquired some lovely chestnut boards from a local saw mill which Andy has transformed into new skirtings which I will be treating with linseed oil to bring out the colour and the grain. Then, the wallpaper can go up and a big clean up before the lush curtain can be hung and the furniture put back in place. It is going to be a gorgeous room, this one. 

Work on the new bathroom is also ongoing, but hampered and frustrated by simple things such as the shower tray that we originally bought getting broken by a falling hammer and then the replacement tray that we bought from Toulouse not being level due to a manufacturing fault .... grrrrr. But the stud wall is in place and all we need now are a new shower tray, some water pipes to bring water up from the other end of the house and some time and patience.... that's all

The new sanitation is in the process of being installed thanks to our mate Bruce from down the road, which will bring us in line with current regs as well as drain the bank account :-/

We have taken delivery of our lovely new Stratford woodburning boiler but obviously the installation of the heating system has not yet commenced as we have got other priorities. Here's hoping that the fine, warm weather continues and we don't actually need heating for another month or so. Cross your fingers for us?

We have not surprisingly had very little spare time to get out on the bikes recently. Once a week seems to be the limit of it which has been frustrating. But one of those rides happened to be my longest and hardest mountain bike ride to date, 38kms/1200m+... which was hard, not just because of the distance and ascent but because of the nature of the riding which included a long section of narrow, rocky single track with a drop off to the left which did not amuse me and which saw me pushing the bike more than I would have liked. The ride profile was like this....

Full ride stats are on the usual site

Next week, Mike and Jen are here and we will be having a bit of a break from the DIY, getting out more on the mountain bikes, getting up into the mountains and celebrating both my and Jen's birthdays. Let's hope the lovely warm weather holds.