We had a leisurely week when my mum and her friend Sheila visited. I was happy to say they approved of the place and the area. So thank god we moved a ton of crap from the house into the toolshed. It really was a case of shoe-horning the door closed. We dragged them all over the place and had a lovely tea party at Ray and Ann's. Thanks again for that troops. They're due back in the Summer, so we better finish the ensuite.

The week of their visit might have been leisurely but not the week before.There was a bit of urgency in building the ensuite. We needed to have it ready for the visit, because I figured they wouldn't appreciate nightly trips up and down the stairs to go to the toilet. We had planned to set the ensuite up at the end of the main bedroom against the gable end. We'd already got the main drainage (100ml) pipe ready as well as the hot and cold water feeds. We built the door frame and timber support from oak and panelled the gaps with plaster board. We're still doing that now. We've put in a temp stand for the sink and need to fit the shower at a later date. But for the purposes of the operation a sink and toilet sufficed.

We finally finished the veg plot and removed the last of the boulders. The latest plantings are the salad row, with lots of rocket and the tomato row, which has just been planted and which is also the row for the peppers. It's a bit early to plant them just yet. The first two rows have been planted with raspberry/blackurrant bushes and strawberries.

The patio is still growing. In the centre we've used all the quartz-type stone to make a circle, which is surrounded by a ring of blue stones and four compass points. We're starting to put in the bigger slabs, which is making the job a bit faster. I'm leaving planter holes along the wall for the climbing plants. The retaining wall has been partly rendered. This needs to be brushed off when the mortar dries so as to expose the stone.

I've included this pic of Michel because it was high time the neighbours got a look in. He's renovating his place, which is the long barn at the back of ours: just behind him, in the pic. As is probably evident he's plastering at the moment.