Nearly there ...

I just know you've all been hanging on, wondering if the cave of my living room has been restored to any kind of normality ... And the answer is: almost! Some strange quirk of the paint/humidity/door surfaces has left the undercoat too tacky to be painted today, so they are to be done tomorrow afternoon, ceteris paribus. But today the plasterer finished the last little bit of grouting on the rebuilt fireplace, the painter finished the other woodwork and varnished the shelf area and the windowsill and finally painted himself out of the room with the second coat of varnish on the floor.

He tells me that by the time I want to cook dinner, it should be dry enough to walk on. If it isn't, I shall put on my waterproof and access my kitchen through the neighbours' garden and carry the cooked dinner back the same route in a cast-iron casserole - not forgetting the wine and the plates!

I've added a photo that I would have called Jardin sous la pluie, for today I escaped with a pal and had a walk in Benmore Gardens. The aforementioned pluie stayed off until the last 15 minutes or so - pas mal, as they might say...