This weekend has been one of sorting out stuff. We've now got the roofer fixed up and starting in two weeks, the sparky starting in just over a week, the chimney linings being done at the end of the month (so we no longer smoke out our neighbours when we light a fire), along with breaking open the fireplace to uncover the original granite inglenook style one and then finally the windows done before Christmas.

So, however lovely and charming this scene, soon it will look different - new windows and new fireplace! DM did a similar shot recently at night.

It's not so vandalistic as is sounds.....the roof is in a terrible state of repair and leaks like mad. It also has sagging joists and no roofing felt under the 180 year old slates. It needs doing desperately. We're going to use the slate elsewhere to give character to an outbuilding that's a complete eyesore at the moment. So it won't be wasted.

The windows are mostly modern-ish, cheap softwood ones that are rotten and deteriorating rapidly - even this one in the photo is a turn-of-the-century window so isn't original. The fireplace we're removing is a completely ugly fake 'rustic' one that we reckon was installed in the 60s or 70s (1960s or 70s that is, not 1860s or 70s). The original is still in place behind this one and we know that by uncovering it we will have done a good job for this house by returning it to the local granite one. As for the wiring? Well, it's dangerous in its current state and has to be replaced for safety reasons.

All-in-all I feel at last that we've made progress. The builder who was originally going to tackle all of this work has disappeared in a puff of smoke and so we've wasted two months of benign weather and the work now has to be done as time races towards winter. Still, at least by Christmas we will have broken the back of the work. I can't wait to bring our 'yule log' (that's under the bed in Sandhurst at the moment for luck) and light it in our newly opened fireplace on Christmas morning before taking the dogs over the moors for our walk. How I look forward to that.