This week only minor changes, one ‘piccolo’ disaster and much cleaning – and shopping as well.

The craftsmen – plumber, electrician and joiner (‘doorman’) – kept us hanging on but promised to come next week to finish. Only the ‘caches’ for switches were put in different colours.

The pool pump broke down. We have to wait for another one. The water is getting green. I have to restart the cleaning all over again.

Luckily the weather is fine (summer temperatures around 30°) and the garden is alive and kicking: the grass is coming out (with a lot of watering) and the flowers are beautifully coloured. Flower of the week: verbascum in bloom (height normally 1m60, this year ca. 2m!).

The shopping marathon to decorate the rooms has begun : for the moment all the beds, mattrasses, pillows, duvets etc. were ordered. Also bought some bedside tables.

After two years and a half the ruin has become an normally accessible house. Look for yourself.

As forecast, the weather this week was awfull until yesterday – though with rather nice views of rainbows and sunsets.

So the progress was made by hand and not by machine. The structure of the path to our house was designed, the first painting was hung up in the ridge of the staircase (thanks to Martine Faupin Jado), the walls of the living room for the guests were painted in enduit ciment beton (colours Berlin and Stockholm). Our little garten shows already some nice flowers and trees.

This week two main things were finished: the room Treille (the wall in stucco veneziano was polished and the others finished) and the installation of the staircase.

Another important work started in midweek, i.e. the groundworks for the garden and the road to the parking area. Unfortunately rain stopped this after two days and perhaps for half of next week too.

A good progress was made in March: all the coffrages in the bedrooms, the living room and the toilets were made. The false ceiling in the living room was done with clear poplar wood, parquet style. The stairwell was prepared and painted in an yellow enduit papier maché. In the room Treille on the ground floor the wall received a terra cotta colour, technique stucco veneziano (Venetian Plaster).

After months of waiting the railings for the balconies and the loggias arrived on a sunny day begin March.

Thanks to a very nice week the piscine is getting real – not yet finished, but it has progressed a lot.

As the weather was not favourable to continue working on the swimming pool we started to put the false ceilings : ‘cleaning’ of the rooms and lasering the position of the metal structure. Luckily this time we can use a plasterboard lift.

As the weather was very nice this week we managed to construct the swimming pool shed (local technique) in wood.

As the locals say in a normal February it should be possible to have lunch outside at least ten times. We started right away with some coffee.