Work, birthday, anniversary and surprise

We've been back home in France for nearly 2 months now.  We've been working hard at getting the upstairs finished so that we can have the staircase installed in September/October.  So we've done the wiring and plaster-boarding in bedroom 3, and the landing and corridor upstairs.  Then we paid someone to do the stairwell because it was too high and difficult for us.  We've got the hall, stairwell, landing all done so now we have to wait for the floor tiles to arrive and be laid before we can get the final measurements for the stairs.  What a change that will be not having to go up and down ladders for everything!

We've also been doing the downstairs loo which is now a delicate shade of violet - quite bright!

In mid-June we went back to the UK to celebrate Judy's father's 90th birthday.  



The party was at Nicky's house in North Wales and her brother came from Ireland, one sister from Spain and the other from Cambodia.  Grandchildren and other offspring all arrived too so it was a full family get-together. 

 

And the cake was amazing!
 
 
 When we arrived we had a huge surprise - Nicky is pregnant!!!  We're all very happy about this, but there was a down-side.  Nicky was very ill and had been in hospital twice because she was so badly dehydrated with the vomiting.  Glyn had to go back to his ship just after the party so we stayed on an extra week to play nursemaid, housemaid and animal carers.  But all is well now and we'll be back in December for the birth and Christmas en famille.

It was also our 40th wedding anniversary while we were there and we had a weekend of parties set up that we had to cancel.  But we had also booked a couple of days in Carcassonne with friends who also had their 40th in early July. 

So we stayed in an expensive hotel and dined superbly at a Michelin 2-star restaurant (Le Parc).  

 

Liked Carcassonne although the chateau was a bit too well restored more like a Disney castle, but the old town was more interesting

 
and there was an art trail to follow, 
 

and circus in the square one evening.
 

 Then back to work on the house during the heatwave, fetes and things to help at and enjoy.  Friend Jill is here at the moment and is having to wave a paintbrush as well and do helpful things like the ironing but we're managing some outings as well.  Off to play tennis now so 'a bientot'