A week-end of drinking and dancing with Judith and Howard (actually the Skipness Scottish Dance which is dry, and a visit to 94 year old Auntie Peggy in Lochranza) , so not much work was done. BUT, a great break through as Howard and Mike varnished and planed the big beams and Mike suddenly decided that we didn't need Mr McKerrals wood lorry or McFadyen's crane. The beams could be put together IN SITU.

And they were .

The doors arrived - all the way from Northern Ireland. Instead of sitting in splendid isolation on the back of Jewson's lorry, they'd have been far better to have floated them across.

These very fine doors will lead out from the new room onto the decking; we had originally hoped to have fancy ones that disappeared into the wall, but it's all to do with heights and things. These look just fine.

A real step forward last night when, with a little help from our friends, we got the first joist up and the supporting back wall. The delight was that it all slotted perfectly into place, so our care with the measurements certainly paid off. But you never know, so that's a great relief. Imagine if we'd got that top angle wrong!
With this joist up, Mike can complete his building of the gable end and it will soon be time to put up the incredibly heavy double joists - which will be a crane job.

In theory week-ends are great for getting on with things, but in practise they are a dead loss. The workshop's open until 2 on a Saturday (at least it's not 5 as it used to be) and at this time of year there are may be one or even two cottages to change over - which is amazingly time consuming, even with two of us. Three cheers for our marvellous Catherine who does the bulk of it.

So, Saturday saw us grab a few hours to put a new upright in the living room. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the old black cracked one, but Mike felt it needed replacing and made a very fine pole out of multiple slabs of timber. Replacing it was slightly hairy involving temporary struts, car jacks, and a very creaking roof which had not been shoogled like this for 35 years , but all is now solid.

Then, when the rain had stopped, it was time to build the first joist. Oh the tension! For a kick-off I can't read a rule which put us back a bit, then the engineers drawings were wrong, which put us back further. So lots of pencil marks later it was all hammered together and we hope to God the angle is right. This will go onto the workshop gable end, and will be the template for our grander interior double joists.

Well, needless to say Minnie had to get in on the act. She was worried that Ginny might still be down there (see below!)

More leaks!!! Preparing the beans (from the garden) yesterday - Matt & Elizabeth were strimming the hall car park, men were humping insulation into Hilda's house, Mike was working on the roof - so I just ignored a strange clattering noise. Pity. When I went into the bathroom, water was pouring through all the light fittings, and the floor was a paddling pool.

Mike had actually been trying to remove a lagoon which had somehow built up in the polythene on the roof - and failed miserably. Three cheers for loads of old towels and a tiled floor.

We had just bought a lovely new bedroom carpet for the old bedroom from the wandering carpet salesman, but very sensibly we hadn't got that down. Which is neither here nor there. He did say (because I nag him every time he comes) that he was looking at rolls and rolls of carpet in a Glasgow warehouse, saw this particular carpet, and thought of me. It's pink and mottled.

And this morning it was ' digging the foundations for the decking' day. Ginny decided to help. Good news is we lose a wee conifer but THE WISTERIA IS SAVED.

Onwards and upwards! With Sandy's help we got the first wall section in place. No, the wee holes are not going to be windows; this whole section will be wood clad but to the right wide glass doors will lead out to the decking. Today we hope to get a bit up on the back.

Wood, wood glorious wood - yes, we have so much wood that Jewson's are buying it back off us.

We have joists, and roof trusses and perlins and cladding.

These glorious looking chunks on the right are going to be the exposed beams in the ceiling, put up in pairs ( thanks Norman for that idea). I worried that Mikes little light looking walls were not going to be stong enough to hold them up but its all right - they will have their own supports. Whew.

Ghastly day yesterday - we had hoped to get a wall up but force 90 sweeping round the village Hall put paid to that. Hopefully today, with Sandy's help, (thank goodness, more strength) , we might get a wall up.

So we had in depth conversations about where to put the decking supports. My criteria for doing this job were to have the dosh in place (thanks Nationwide) and not to lose the wisteria. Looks like it's going to be touch and go with the latter. 10 years of nurturing!! I will fight for it.

When all this started we had to move into the spare bedroom, which seems to be slowly eroding round about us. First off the slates and insulation were taken off the roof which means you lie in bed and see the light glinting through the polythene in the gaps in the boards - a bit like camping. then it's VERY noisy - and who thought so much traffic went up and down at 5 in the morning. On top of that, for the first time in years they are logging behind the village so when a log lorry goes by it sounds as if a train is belting through the bedroom.

Well, we've survived all that, but last night it was, to put it mildly, 'wet and windy. And you've guessed. It seriously leaks. We knew it did a wee bit and tried to find the hole, but obviously unsuccessfully. So I woke this morning to the clatter of drips into the washing up bowl.

Mike is off to town to buy more polythene.