Tent may not be needed after all...

We were too busy shifting logs at the weekend to update you, but on Saturday morning we popped up the hill to our next-door neighbour who owns the big house. Happily for us it has more staff accommodation than she has staff... The 'spare' is a converted stable block about the same size as the bungalow, and it's the first building you get to going up the hill, less than 100yards away - couldn't be better! With a bit of judicious hedge-pruning, we can sit in the living room with the binoculars trained on the building plot...

Progress! In an adventure with Architects!

Alan and I are sat toasting by the bonfire, glass of Sancerre in hand. We came away from today's architect meeting with a price we're content with and a builder with whom we hope to sign a contract next week. We're not tempting fate, but we're hopeful! So after shifting many more barrowloads of logs, Alan lit the pile of scraps left after the tree work and I poured the wine. We've enjoyed sitting watching the fire for a couple of hours, snuggling closer to the fire as the evening cooled after dark and watching the rooks settle down for the evening. Much better than the telly!

Asymptotic...

...the rate of decrease of cost of the project is slowing down as we get down towards the max amount we can afford to pay... But after this morning's meeting we are finally daring to be hopeful that, with just a couple of things left to firm up, we may have a goer here. We are all meeting again on Friday by which time they expect to have the final bits in place. Cross anything crossable that you have so far left uncrossed...

Won't be going to the RCA Secret exhibition this year...

...so here is my postcard-sized piece of art which is probably titled 'Woodsmoke and Mirrors':

Tree work mostly done...

With the birds starting to nest, we needed to get the tree work organised pronto - ahead of the main contract.

Before:

And after: And we won't be buying firewood for a year or two!:

Happyometer needle moving slowly back to the right...

...after a much more positive meeting today with the architect, QS and potential contractor. The architect has been beavering away on a simpler cheaper roof design and today we've been through a number of cost-reducing possibilities that they're going to go away and cost up. Hopefully in the next week or so we will have therefore a more realistic set of options for achieving the budget. Keep fingers crossed, thumbs pressed or whatever! At the same time, one of the QS's other preferred contractors is in the process of tendering - but apparently he's felt it a higher priority to go off on holiday than to quote for us. I ask you, no sense of what's proper, some people... Meanwhile, here's a pic of someone bouncing around in the garden. While we were eating breakfast this morning, there was a tap on the window and he was there on the windowsill peering in at us. A fan of Waitrose muesli, obviously.