Back in Northern Ireland

I spent most of April at our house in the Languedoc. We are in the process of slowly renovating this property, unlike the previous 2 houses we've done up in France there is no pressure to get this one finished for a certain time - the others were both to be rented out as holiday homes, this one will eventually become our main home. For about 2 years we had no floor in the dinning room at one point Karl had to reach his bedroom via a plank suspended between the hearth and the hall door over a hole through to the cellar. I enjoy walking in the surrounding countryside especially in the spring - there are a lot of very steep hills so it gets a bit too much like hot work in the summer months. As per usual in France I spent very, very, very little time at my art work, I go there to paint but it's usually with a 6 inch decorators paintbrush. This year the main project will be to get the pergola restored, it was this that initially drew me to the house and I love its shabby chicness, it was painted in 1890.