The Nearly House 2008

Well we're nearly there but, at the moment, it seems like three steps forward and two back. Frustrating or what! As at September, we do have a bathroom complete with loo, shower and washbasin but can't quite seem to get the finishing bits done. (And yes, before you ask, the loo does flush to a septic tank and not just a hole in the wall.) The bathroom was delayed by two marble slabs and a brand new sink being broken (my fault) and changes to the shower design (not my fault). However, the first bathroom - the one downstairs - does require all services to be in place, i.e. hot and cold water, cold drinking quality water, black septic tank water and grey irrigation waste water. The resulting pipework is a bit like spaghetti junction and I'm glad I chose a plastic push fit system.

Nearly all of downstairs is rendered the exception being the guest bedroom which will be the last room to be done. Additionally, the kitchen floor area has been tiled and we are now at the heady point of ordering white goods. The only problem item is the cooker. We just don't seem to be able to find an all-gas large cooker (90 to 100cm range type).

We are nearly there with the woodburner too. Trouble is that the supplied legs just didn't look right so we getting a metal sculptor friend (Tony) to create something more appropriate. We are also asking him to come up with some ideas for a new plinth for our dining room table (the original wooden one having been broken in the move to Spain). We would really like to have our Christmas Dinner this year in our new house sitting at our dining room table, the delicious wafts of roast turkey, wood fire burning, sipping a Rioja and gazing through the gloom of low wattage light bulbs....

Now about that holiday of ours...Yup, we made it with Larry having a few shoe problems - half a dozen punctures! but otherwise purred along at an exciting 90kph. It was a great break being away for nearly 7 weeks. We camped vitrually all the time in a new small tent.  We knew it was small because of the effort required in the morning to clamber out the thing. Unfortunately, it rained a lot. In fact it rained just about all the time which isn't so good when one is camping. Never mind, the sunny days were appreciated even more. We stuck to our plan and went through France, Italy and across to Croatia. Long way though.

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