Autumn Visit

We're now back from a lovely week out at La Matha, spent with some friends.  We did a few chores/DIY stuff, but also did a lot of visiting places, eating out and tasting/drinking wine.  Later posts about the trips we made with some photos.

One big thing that was sorted out was additional insulation for the large en-suite shower room - the ceiling had been insulated; however, the wall behind the washbasin was just plasterboard.  This was the reason why, when the weather got to -15c last winter, we suffered some damage in that bathroom.  As a result, I bought 100mm think insulation sheets and some adhesive.  It took me less than two hours to insulate the whole of the back walls, including our cupboard on the landing and the triple bedroom and shower room.  Hopefully the problems of last winter will not be repeated.

If the weather does get as cold as it did last winter, I also rigged up a frost thermometer for an oil-filled radiator for the large en-suite.  This has now been left so that it will come on if the temperature falls below 0c.

One thing that had been annoying me was that, for a couple of years, a hazel bush had grown so large that it obscured the swimming pool from the master bedroom window (not that I spend a lot of time looking out of that window!).  I had bought a good bow saw, and started to be a lumber-jack.  Soon the whole party joined in the fun - stripping the leaves and making kindling and firewood.  We did not pull up the roots, but will chop down the growth each time it gets too much.

Finally, and all the visitors from this year will be please to know this, we have finally identified the source of the blocked loo and slow draining shower in the main en-suite.  This is caused by bad angles/joins in the pipework from the loo and the shower.  A French plumber called Nathaniel Botti will be sorting this out the w/c 22 October.