Moulin St Jean: 7 Months Down……

July has brought in some changeable weather including a couple of big storms, with devastating hail stones in the district- thankfully not here because having waited all this time for the garage roof to be nearly completed it would be less than ideal if it were smashed by hail.

After nearly 7 months, we are pretty used to the guys being on site , so it is easy to be blasé about the progression and not to be flustered by whatever happens - it hardly seems possible that I was having to swab the decks indoors in Dec when the roof was being replaced or purge the boiler at 6 am in Feb when it was in its temporary position or even scrabble around in the cellar at 9pm on a Sat night looking for the mains switch when the power failed in March.
However, the arrival of two van loads of excitable Portuguese stone masons with the worktops last week resulted initially in consternation all round and urgent phone calls to M Granata, the kitchen supplier because Team Bermudez had just poured concrete around the kitchen entrance for the base of the new path. Given that the work tops are stone , quite fragile and weigh a ton, especially the single piece for the island which measures over 2 metros long, they were understandably concerned at not being able to park their vehicles and carry the pieces over the shortest distance possible. Recalling similar scenes from a Year in Provence whereby many repetitions of " ce n'est pas possible" and " on peut rien faire"ensued I kept as straight a face as I could and waited for M Bermudez to return from parking his lorry on the road. Fortunately, he is a very relaxed person, had laid quick drying cement and within minutes he had produced sturdy boards to bridge the " new" path and the work tops were duly carried in and fitted within a couple of hours.

Along with the painting patiently carried out by M Lapeyre working alone and who travels an hour each way to reach here, the kitchen is really taking shape.

This week the electricians/ plumbers should fit in the new toilet & wash hand basin and complete the electrics indoors. The choice of lights indoors and out as well as power points & switches is still under way, Such a choice of styles and colors actually makes it quite difficult!

Outdoors, the pointing on the buildings is almost complete and Team Bermudez will move on to the surrounding walls , new fish pond, patio and complete the stone work up to meet the beam on the covered walkway.

Nature notes : many fish in the pond including the Koi carp I fished out of the small pond prior to it's infill in November and still plenty of frogs of every size who of course all enjoy the plentiful supply of insects hovering over the lake. Swifts circulate daily, but we are still not sure if they nesting, but M Rapeau did enlarge some of the gaps in the pigeonnier roof this week , so if not now, then hopefully next year! Orioles, Woodpeckers, Jays and Hoopoes are visible on a regular basis along with many of the more common garden birds. Bart has not missed the fact that plums are now ripening fast so super charged with vitamins from them and the mulberries he circulates between the trees munching up all the windfalls.