My word I have gotten a bit lazy with the this blog for one reason or another. And it is not as though I have no progress to report.I think it is just a case of getting a little out of touch with the key tapping on Perigord Vacance, and, as it is with any task that lags behind, once you miss a day or so, but the source of the writing, i.e., our French Life, carries on. Anyway, enough of the self pity!
We are so close to moving into the farmhouse kitchen now. Half of the floor has been waxed and polished - although it will need a second application - and Donna has started to cut in the paint around the edges.
At the end of last week I plastered the concrete returns on either side of the new doors and also plastered the old lintel above the door.
Before I could do this I had to screw some plasterboard to the front so that the plaster had a key (don't ever try to plaster directly onto wood, it will fall off in weeks because it cannot grip the surface).
I delibereately used old off cuts and was especially careful not to make it look formal. This way, it leaves a wany edge to the plater where it meets the crepie - much more romantic in these old properties.
The wood burning stove has also been repositioned and I am glad that I do not have to move it again!
With the help of our neighbours, and after stripping off anything that I could to keep the weight down, we edged it to the front door.Luckily, I still have the telescopic, so after loading it onto a pallet it was a little easier after this. I transported it and extended it straight into the kitchen through the French doors. Then we only had to lift it a metre and a half to the new position.
We were rather fortunate on this occasion, the wood burner is directly behind the large fireplace in the 'snug'. After measuring the height, I punched a hole through the wall into the void behind and to my complete astonishment, the position was absolutely perfect. The new pipe with the 90 degree bend is about 30cm above the mantelpiece so completely out of site from the room.
We have also noticed, because the new kitchen is a metre lower than the previous floor level, we are getting a greater draw from the fire. This will be a great reward because previously, when the weather was foggy or drizzly outside, the smoke would not rise and we would get it blow back through the seams of the fire.
