High-rise

This is as close as I can get to bleak concrete just now. Our neighbour has created huge teetering stacks of straw all over the neighbourhood. All are conveniently close to roads - presumably this is to ease collection in due course, rather than to make me scared to do the school run. I find if you drive up to them at a normal speed they seem to lean over to the road more (this one, just by our house leans over alarmingly - and I'm sure tonight's storm won't help matters) so I tend to approach with caution, then zoom by fast.

I forgot to mention in yesterday's backblip (Sunday also backblipped) that mice had popped up and nibbled the tops off almost all my beetroot seedlings. You might ask how I knew it was mice - well the mouse holes in the garden with tiny bits of beetroot stalk poking out were my first clue... So the remaining dozen or so seedlings are now protected under a couple of seives and the colander bit from the salad spinner. Today's joyful discovery was that they've discovered the other veg garden too, and have tunnelled up under some of the patches of beans and nibbled them too. Those holes were dealt with firmly - filled with water and stuffed with stones and soil. I know I can't keep mice out, but I can discourage them quite firmly. Any advice on mouse deterrents (we can't get a cat) are very welcome.

All this to distract from the day. We were all set up (again - just like last week) for the big trip into Toulouse to definitely buy all the stuff we need for the renovation. Last week we came home with a kitchen tap, this week with one bathroom hand basin. At this rate I estimate we will have all the materials on site within a mere 18 weeks, and with only 1,100 km of driving.

Happily, we were able to stop off at the local builders' merchant and organise delivery of all the required plasterboard, bags of cement and lime. Delivery is tomorrow - hurrah! It's forecast to rain tomorrow - boo. Somehow we will have to get 72 sheets of plasterboard (if you've never had the pleasure it's very large, very very heavy and somewhat delicate) inside before it is destroyed by the rain...

There is currently a big storm so hopefully all the rain will be out of the way before the delivery.

Tomorrow we have to empty enough junk out of the house to make space for all the plasterboard. I also have to eat much humble pie in front of the kids' French tutor who we mortally offended on our last visit. Actually I don't think we really did anything that rude, but we were very hungover, so I think an apology is appropriate in any event.

Today we also bid farewell to my Australian cousin who is off on the next stage of her adventure - a train across Russia and into Mongolia. Very brave. I sent her off with enough chocolate brownies to see her through until Paris, after that she's on her own.