April visit 4

Staying on at the house…

David’s such a sweetie! He encouraged me to stay on (the weeding really was assuming massive proportions in my mind – the bit that does worrying; – much more than the thought of the weather turning cold), and made sure we had enough food and things downstairs to be comfortable. We had been taking everything upstairs each time we left (when we had stayed at the house) so that there was nothing in Dominique’s way; nothing that could give him any excuse to not do any work. We’ve got a couple of folding beds (that we cable-tie together to create a really good sized double), and a couple of duvets, sheets, towels, clothes, spongebag and a makeshift kitchen – a trio of tables, a table-top 2-ring burner, kettle, crockery, cutlery & food. All the things that are waiting for the house to be ready so that we can use them, plus a few things we’ve bought specially for camping out there. We’ve got a pair of deckchairs & some flexible lamps, so we can even read in the evenings!

I’m always a bit nervous about staying on my own (it’s got to be done, so I do get on with it, but I don’t sleep as well), and the strange noises don’t help… We found some different kind of animal droppings this time – rats maybe? Or possibly dormice? Not in the house (like the owl poo!), but in the grenier over the bedroom, so that explains the “clog dancing” that I’ve heard a few nights! And I saw a mouse in the kitchen, which would explain the scritching sounds and polythene-bag-rustling when there is no wind… I tried to chase him out of the door, but he came right back in! No point setting traps until we’ve got the holes sorted out, but it made me super careful about putting the lid on firmly when I’d rummaged in our plastic boxes where we store food and clothing.