Steel wool

We have nearly seen the last of the steel for the partitioning, and you have nearly heard the last of it too. Promise. The fluffy stuff is anything but: it is insulation (for sound more than anything else) which necessitates long sleeves, gloves and masks whenever you get near it - for fear of extreme irritation from the fibres that fly off it when it is disturbed. The blue things at the top are housings for electrical wiring.

Enough DIY (I know I've had enough - and Mr B broke his personal record for the most bad words to be said in a two minute period today, so I think he's ready for a break too). We will sort of have a break next week, when Mr B is off to London for a few days and I will once again be my own boss (though I think I'm being left with a long list of things to do...)

Before the DIY shift, I had lots of admin tasks to sort out in town. I thought the simplest would be sorting out bank accounts for the kids... but no, that was more than an hour of entertaining but tiring chat with our 'relationship manager' who was very interested in the UK banking system, house prices, education system, the price of UK vegetables, why women in the UK go for a night out with no coat on, and where you can shop on-line in the UK that will deliver to France. After all that chat, my brain was worn out and the rest of the tasks were carried out in monosyllabic French with no chatting.

Back at home, the fig harvest continues, and the walnut harvest has begun - a little earlier than I'd been given to expect. But I'm told that when they fall of the tree, they're ready. No-one in our family really likes walnuts, but we will collect them and give them away - it seems a crime just to let them rot.