Yesterday the firewood for winter arrived, all 6 cubic metres of it, on a big lorry. It’s in 1metre lengths and just needed stacking, then cutting into useable sized pieces. The stacking’s done; I think the cutting up is done as it’s needed (I suspect this must be done by the wood fairies, as it seems to appear magically in stove-sized pieces whenever I’m cold!).

Today has been glorious; blue skies, sunshine, and, more surprisingly, warm! From a mile up the road, there’s a good view of the Pyrenees, their peaks covered in snow!

We ordered some building materials yesterday, which arrived this afternoon in a lorry nearly as wide as the gates. The driver very skillfully navigated into the garden, then proceeded to unload the lorry by means of a remote control hydraulic arm. If I thought the remote control cement lorry at Adrian’s was clever, this put it right in the shade! There’s now a big, very tidy, stack of breeze blocks in the garden and the grange is full of joists, plasterboard and bags of cement.

It has been commented on that I seem to be doing very little by way of DIY. Not true! It’s just that I’m the only one taking photos, and besides, someone has to feed the workers! I’ve almost finished decorating the spare room and have discovered one of the secrets of the French superwoman who always has stocks of “home made” paté in the cupboard. She buys it raw from the supermarket or butcher, puts it in jars and sterilises it. Simple! So, like all the best superwomen, I spent this morning bottling and sterilising paté and very impressive it looks.

Unlike the average French superwoman, however, I did go out for a bike ride this afternoon as the weather was too good to miss.