Short And Curlies

I have forgotten to bring my camera to upload the latest photos, sorry.  I have uploaded random photos for this post.

THEY sometimes have you by the short and curlies here, completely over a barrel; bent so far over you think you may never get up again.  Let me proffer you a little example; The roof tiles we are using cost about 1.25€ each.  We will also need a number of ventilation tiles.  These are the same as the normal tiles with just a ‘humpy up’ opening bit.  Hazard a guess at how much one would cost, go on, have a guess. No, much more – between 26€ and  35€!  EACH!  Now don’t be silly, get yourself back up off the floor and read on.  How do they work that out?  Whoever is making the tiles punches a little lump in the clay and sells it on to Monsieur Supplier who says ‘Voila, je vous ai par votre short et vos curlies Madame’.

A rare sighting of the lesser spotted LGB cleaning the buckets and tools.  Thankfully I don't have to do it either for a while. :)                                              

We ordered the remaining windows and doors today.  Forgive me for being naïve but I would have thought the bigger the window the more glass and wood required; more materials equals more expensive. Not so, the prices are random.  The goods are surely being priced by an egit in the factory who has a little tombola box and picks the prices out willy nilly.  We were asked today if we wanted the bathroom windows as a one panel opening or two panels.  Two openings - more wood, more hinges, more glass to cut and  therefore more expensive.  No, it was cheaper, but in this instance I had THEM by the short and curlies because I actually wanted the two pane opening.  Hah!

The tools of my trade!  Every girl needs her lippy.  For now I can replace the trowel with a hammer but the lipstick stays!

You may or may not realise that we do not have mains drainage here, not only us but most of rural France.  This means we will have to put in our own septic tank or fosse septique. Although only the two of us will be living here the powers that be have stipulated that a four bed roomed house must have a 4000 litre septic tank.  We have been quoted roughly 1000€ for a plastic tank.  It rankles me somewhat that a giant holding bay for pooh will cost that kind of money.  For that amount of dosh I would much rather have something big and sparkly adorning my finger.  I could go on with more examples, but quite frankly I am boring myself now!

The LGB in the office

Fantastic Plastic

I have been cajoled, threatened, inveigled, call it what you like, into having UPVC soffits and fascia boards.  The LGB told me in no uncertain terms, if we had wooden ones I would have to paint them every year. You know me and heights and the thought of being at the top of a ladder with a paintbrush in one hand, a paint pot in the other and holding the ladder with……………..what?  Therefore I have succumbed to the fantastic plastic. L  I extend my apologies to all the eco-warriors amongst you.

This seems such a long time ago now

   
So, that is what we have been doing the last couple of days as well as the now familiar game of Hokey Cokey with the rain – you know how it goes by now, ‘In, out, in, out, you shake your wet clothes out’.  It takes quite some time to do all these jobs as a building site would have scaffolding around the whole building, we only have enough to scaffold one side at a time.  It is therefore, quite a mammoth task to dismantle the scaffolding and set it up again against a different wall.  I cannot offer the LGB much help either because by the time I have negotiated the joists he has the job done!  

Deb - 'So who's in charge here?'
Bren -  'You are'
Deb - 'Who's the boss?'
Bren -    'You are sweetheart'   

Let's hear it one more time
WHO'S THE DADDY?