Well, it's Friday afternoon and this is the best I can do with the new camera. It's right way up everywhere else and as Sandy has spent most of the day sorting glitches in the computer I daren't ask him again. So please look at the start of building the balcony sideways. If only I hadn't poured tea into my old camera when I was at Auntie Peggys.

Meanwhile my task is making dowels. He has decided to have natty little dowels sticking out of all the clinker built cladding so it's a bit like last year when I painted 96 planks. And I'm not very good at making dowels but after 100 or so I'm sure I'll have improved. But it will be superb having the balcony and now that night skies are getting black, it will be a wonderful spot for a bit of star gazing.

So, the outside is getting finished apace - though this awful unsettled summer doesn't help - nor do people chatting by the roadside. Mike just can't resist giving them a rundown on the whole build.

Inside we still wait for the electrician to pop in for another hour or two to complete the job, but otherwise we are almost ready to do a bit of decorating. But there still is the wee question of getting some stairs in! However balcony is the next outside job which will be really fantastic.

For those of you worrying about the wisteria, good news! It suddenly burst into leaf in the middle of July having survived its roots being encased in concrete, the coldest winter of all time, and THE GALE in May which wheeched the leaves off most of the trees in Carradale. Strangely it's been the trees with multi leafed leaves (whatever they are called) like rowan and elder which have been incredibly slow to come out this year. But all is well now and even our huge Robinia has deigned to produce leaves at last. I haven't had the heart to tell it that it's right in the viewing line from the new balcony and as it's a rather ugly and bare branched thing most of the year, it's for the chop. Hate to cut down trees.

Mike is working away at the wall boards (a clinker built house as Walter says ) but usually has to give up at the week-ends as so many people stop and chat.