December '12
We are in !!
Eventually, at the end of the first week in December, it happened. The log burning stove's flues had been fitted, the furniture was delivered and we decided to spent our first night in No. 11 on Friday, 7th December. It was a bit chilly overnight as we had only just lit the stoves that afternoon and the house had not had the chance to warm up, but it was wonderful to be in after so much waiting and anticipation. The next evening, we were able to invite a few friends round for a small house warming party, which was a great success.
There is still a bit of work to be done by the builders, carpenter and electrician, but we decided we can live around the lack of this and that as long as the basics worked. The first week was spent finding out what needed fixing (luckily, not too much) and getting used to the new house.
Unfortunately, the delivery of all the wall & ceiling lights we had ordered from John Lewis in the UK didn't happen so we will have to wait until we can collect them in early January, but we didn't let that dampen our spirits. The morning sunrise and view from the main terrace was well worth overcoming all the problems we have had over the last six years since our move to Mas de Barberans.
Christmas in No. 11
Was great. Alex managed to overcome the flooding in the West of England which halted all train services on the day he was booked to travel up to Bristol, got on a coach and made it to the airport in good time for his flight. I had ordered a huge (4.5 kilo) pork shoulder from the village butcher to feed us and our Scottish friends David & Carol, while Alex had roast squash and spiced chickpeas. This was the first major test for our new Cannon Range cooker and it handled it all with ease. David & Carol donated a Xmas pudding for dessert, as ours was languishing in England along with the lights.
After Xmas we had lots of walks to work off the meals we had been indulging our selfs with. The viewpoint on the top of the hill behind the village gave me the opportunity to snap some pictures of the house and one of the finca.
Roll on 2013