and another one!

Pig in Poo!!

Hurrah for progress - here is the fireplace which I absolutely love - we hope it kind of looks like it was always there (apart from the central heating pipes!!) Keith has built an absolute work of art in my humble opinion!!

Next the barn doors - in at last - I am so chuffed with them...

And here is Neil - enjoying a very well deserved glass of vino!!

Building the fireplace

A Stick Insect with a Stick insect!!!!

Neil spotted this fella clinging on to the front door this afternoon. See below the video of the old beam being put in position - the addition of a fireplace is really turning the space into a 'room', and we can't thank Keith enough for his expertise in his stone work. Have I mentioned that the doors arrive on Sunday? (!!!) We were discussing how much of a difference having a lounge will make to us in terms of living space. Everything crammed into what will one day be our kitchen has not made life easy. Having extra space to store things will be fantastic and I can't wait - we might even get to be organised one day!! It's amazing what a boost getting some stuff done gives you!!!

Some more pics for you!!

There is a tangible sense of expectation in the air - the bi-fold doors are arriving on Sunday and another burst of activity from Neil and the lovely Keith is moving things on once again. Keith is continuing with the fireplace. Great discussion has been taking place, as we hoped the beam that will sit across the fireplace would hide the silver part of the chimney, but that would make the beam a bit too close to the woodburner from a fire hazard point of view. So we may end up spraying it black to blend in as much as possible.

Keith is cutting stones here - he is amazingly skilled at stonework

Neil doing some of the last fiddly bits of plasterboarding

More of Keiths pointing!!

Warm for winter?

Neil is busy in the barn insulating the wall so that we can get some plasterboard up. It's supposed to be summer, and although we haven't had the dreadful weather the UK have been experiencing, it is much chillier than normal so we are thinking ahead to winter and hoping that for the first year ever we will be fully protected from the elements.

Exciting development of the week is that we have ordered some bifolding doors for the big opening in the photo above. These doors fold right back onto one wall, so that when they are open you still have the impression of a big open space.

The space above the beam in the photo above will be a large glass single panel, which will be a ground level window for the front bedroom. Notice the instrument of torture in the front of the picture - it is partly responsible for turning my husband into the 'slim jim' you see in the picture below

He is standing on a step in this photo - we do have slightly more head room than it looks!!

Sorry everyone!

I apologise for the lack of blogging - I was running out of things to say about the house renovation - so I guess I took a bit of a break.... Things are changing big time, not only with the house but also with myself and Neil. At the end of last year I was feeling a bit rubbish, saw the doctor and was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Finally we decided it was time to lose weight and look after ourselves a bit better. Since then we have both shed lots of weight, and are now regularly running on a treadmill in the barn!! Appie, I'm sure will be grateful for my weight loss when he finally gets to be broken in. He is a growing lad and is maturing into a lovely boy. I'm also riding at work now, and the above photo was taken on the racecourse in the village of Pompadour - what a treat to ride in such a fantastic location. Here at some photos of the house - which now has electricity upstairs - hurrah!!

Bedroom 3 - look a door and everything - ok, we have not finished plastering but then we had some guests and had to put them somewhere.....

Bedroom 2, ok more to do here but it has walls!!!!

Not a bedroom at all - just a storage area, but then our guests weren't fussy and didn't mind sleeping in a cupboard!

My lovely hubby (and Tess of course) isn't he slim!!!!