The first year...

Well, Friday saw the first year mark come and go...a year in Kervelen, much has changed for us over the year...from the shakey beginnings last February of the 'delightfully' dishonest karen & pete, the biting cold (compared to the NZ summer), the mountain of works and ofcourse the language... to the beginnings of feeling that we have arrived. Sure, there are many things here that still need to be fixed but with C&L happy at school, all the lovely people we have come to know, a tentative sense of language (I did say tentative) and generally an easing of that manicness that seemed to charactise 2010 for us... I do think that 2011 will be a far easier and enjoyable year for us..

Simon, my old mate from NZ is here at the moment, great to catch up after so long and also to have the help on the roof! Slating is a slow old business, especially compared to zinc sheeting of NZ but once done it will be great and we can move in next door so I can then look at the half of the house we now are in(!)...it appears pete cement rendered the interior walls which is a no no as it prevents the thick stone walls from breathing. The overal effect is one of trapped moisture and mold, so I shall have to take it off in some place and replace it with lime render(at least my rendering skills will be pretty good by the end)...

I am looking at the old practice of putting a layer of glass bottles in the cement floor (under the new kitchen's wooden floor). The bottles provide an insulative layer between the cold sub floor and the floor by holding a warmer temperature in the air pocket of the bottle(s)..seems like a great use of all my empties!! This was used alot before the more modern, easier to implement alternatives came in but quite an effective option if you have the time and bottles..

Sadly, poor old Charlie is still sick and now Heleen is down again...I only hope this is an ajudgement period for us or we will be heading South soon!!

The days are slowly gaining length and so from here on we should see some more warmth and sun, well that is the theory anyway..I have yet to start my glasshouse so I sense another year of cloches and blight. Already have my onions in (garlic was put in in October last year) with lots of seeds currently on the kitchen windowsill. It may takes us another year before we get to a place of satisfaction re growing etc...I have cut lots of wood for next winter, mainly coppice and pruning so no harm done...have collected a big bundle of willow whips today from Hilka so I can plant a living hedge/wood supply along the raised beds..it will be aprox 60m long and two staggered rows of willow...over time this will supply shelter, wood and whips (to sell) not to mention a lovely living piece of visual art...

I must go and put the horses out, feed the dogs and lock up the chickens as everyone else is asleep...hugely looking forward to those warm, summer days (and a finished house!!) and a more enjoyable second year...

R

Thanking the Gods....

Sitting here with a glass of red and a pack of crisps as a minor celebration of surviving my roof fall! At the end of a long day I grabbed a stud that had not been nailed and fell backwards onto the ground, amazingly not even with a sore back...by all accounts I just rolled with and jumped back onto my feet!! The various alternatives don't bear thinking about so this evening I am quietly thankful...
We are making good progress and hopefully will be ready to start slating tomorrow, we are dodging the showers etc. but all in all the weather has been kind (so far!).

The intensity and sheer hard work is quiet draining but with the goal of being able to then finish the new kitchen/kids bedroom etc. is spuring me on. I know I have said this before(!) but I am looking forward to having the house finished as the other projects are all outside and therefore do not hold the same urgency.
Needless to say alot of other things are on hold, my French lessons (:((...:))!), Huelgoat market (so I go to Carhaix on Saturday) and the other bits and bobs, however, when that last slate goes on I shall breath a sigh...

I really need to get into pruning now, the fruit trees, shrubs etc. it is so warm I think things will begin to bud. I presume we shall have more cold weather but since the new year it has been lovely.
Continue to meet lovely people, Giles, Elena and William were here for a fortnight in the farmhouse gite, I have visited the circus people down in Le Coty (to borrow a tarp) for a (bleary) evening and a few more locals, we are slowly building a network. Next week will be our first year anniversary (February 18th we arrived), feels we have achieved alot in the first year yet it will take the next to be able to remove the shanty feeling we inherited...

I will finish here as I am aware this reads like a shopping list! and I need to stick my sore fingers in a big pot of cream!

R

Progress

Such nice weather for early February!