It rained:

And rained

And rained

And rained some more

Until we had a lake at the bottom of the garden:

In the midst of all this rain, Bèrnard the betonnerie and Dan struggled on.

By now I was safely installed in the UK , convinced that every twinge was a contraction and giving birth was imminent – no drama queen there then!

La Maison

Determined to move the project on, Dan encouraged a whinging Bèrnard to flex his muscles, keep on turning and churn out the concrete, to fill the foundations of the extension which Dan had dug out earlier:

Dan returned to pipes and cables and fitted all those required in the B&B rooms:

And in the extension:

The stone walls of the new pigeonnier were finished:

2 weeks into Dan's lonely existence – just Dan and Bèrnard – Dan's father came to stay and the two of them laid the concrete base for the extension:

The two of them managed to prepare the electrics and base for the bathroom and dining room, before leaving for England in time for my due date of 23 rd Feb

Dan arrived in England on 20 th Feb, some would say he was cutting it close, but despite my moans there was no sign of movement on the baby front. The 23 rd February came, it was Jo Kinsey's wedding day, Annette did a reading, danced till 5 in the morning, not realizing her waters were breaking, James Kinsey (due on 7 th March) arrived on 25 th February 2007 :

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!