15° and very sunny in Nadadouro  10° in Portreath

I'm so sorry for the delay inbetween posts.  Life really has just got in the way.  Brrrrr!  We've been having some really chilly mornings, bright, crisp and festive but the afternoon light in our new extension has been sublime, really lifts my mood.

I've been preparing for our first Christmas in our new home.  So far it's been a piece of cake.  Firstly my Dave simply arrived with our tree one night after work with no prompting needed.  We are surrounded by lush pine forests and our little tree somehow just found its way into his truck.  Secondly, i don't really want anything as such!  [except some doors... etc etc], which makes life even easier.  For maybe the first time in my life i feel content with all i have around me.  I think a bit of a zen moment is coming on.

I'm really looking forward to some good ole family time, which obviously involves bbq, tv, fizz and a dollop of gardening.  Talking of which, we are now the proud owners of a lovely kitchen garden patch, on the edge of our patio, next to our neighbours house.

We were going to put chickens there, just temporarily, but thankfully decided not too fearing the smell would be just a little too fresh, and also our neighbour complained about our intentions.  How the hell she found out i will never know, maybe she understands more english than she admits.  We've now planted some rosemary, lavender, radishes, beans, lettuce, parsley and coriander.  How exciting, the magic valley is back.  x

20° in Nadadouro  10° in Portreath

All had been going brilliantly, then we had another downpour and where the old house met the new extension created a little bit of seepage into our new downstairs.  Again we're feeling blessed that it rained when it did and the house wasn't totally finished.  We met with Jose who said that they hadn't waterproofed the terrace the way it was designed to be!  All you really want out of any house is two vital things - that it won't fall down, and that it can keep you dry!

So this is what our lovely new terrace looked like yesterday!  Four inches of concrete removed, then a thick membrane will be laid, then a new layer of concrete.

It's a bit disheartening, and i really hope it doesn't hold up our moving in date, but this is vital for our peace of mind and dryness.

On a lighter note, we had our lovely friends Mary and Zip come and visit us on their Harley, all the way from Devon.  What a joy to see another set of smiling faces for a couple of days.  They've now left for the Algarve, then to Spain and finally back to Santander to get the ferry back to Plymouth.  Thanks for coming guys, you rock x