Tough going

If last week we were feeling up against it, this week that feeling has intensified. Tenfold. If that's even possible.

Having both spent the weekend working in the apartment, Monday saw an already tired Stuart frantically constructing a set of steps up to the newly designated bee area (the terraces to the left of the chicken enclosure) so that Alain, the bee man, could have easy access with his 30+ bee hives and do so to hit the start of the acacia flowering season and before the driveway became inaccessible on Wednesday morning. Stuart slogged it out all day on Monday, battling against ground riddled with big roots and even bigger rocks, and finished the day with a beautiful set of steps.

Despite his hard work though, Monday came and went with no bees, Tuesday came and went with no bees, and by 8.10am on Wednesday, the driveway was no longer passable: no bees. We're not really sure what happened - the acacia trees are now in full, glorious, heady-scented blossom, but Alain has not brought his bees. We are somewhat frustrated by the amount of time and energy we have put into preparing for the arrival of these bees - at a time when we are in very short supply of both. Perhaps it will all be put to good use next year.

On Wednesday morning we awoke to find a digger sitting on our drive - it must have been delivered on Tuesday night, but very quietly as neither we nor Reggie noticed!

By 8am on Wednesday, the workers were here, drinking coffee, and by 8.10am, there was an enormous hole in our drive.

The start of the work was accompanied by tempestuous weather - strong winds and torrential rain - but the workers carried on regardless, and by mid morning there was a large channel almost from the house to the gates.

The work was originally intended to be just a repair job - the section of our drive just as you enter our gate is in an appalling state. It seems that our generously proportioned driveway entrance is the ideal turning spot for the large lorries that tank up and down the valley to the paper mills. They aren't meant to come up as far as our house, but for drivers new to the area, the turn-off to the paper mills can sometimes be easy to miss - when they realise they've missed the turning. our driveway is the first spot they find that allows them suitable turning space. So, the idea was to repair the entrance to the drive, putting down a more solid material that will withstand all that is thrown at it. While we were discussing the driveway repair, we decided it would be a good time to put in electric gates - which will give us added security. So the channel being dug all along the driveway is for the electric cable to run from the gate to the house. In the meantime, our old gates have been taken away to be welded together, and when returned they will slide open and closed on a runner that will have been put in place.

Work on the driveway has continued every day since then (including Saturday). While progress is being made, it has severely impacted on our own productivity, and sanity. Reggie, of course, is extremely upset by the presence of builders and their machinery - and seems to be trying to bark himself into some kind of barking record book. On top of that, though, the builders seem to have questions or things to point out every 20 minutes or so, meaning that Stuart hasn't been able to concentrate on getting anything done while they are around. We've also had to make two separate trips to the bank to withdraw cash for payments, as well as trips to the geometra's office to sign paperwork for the permissions for the work to go ahead.

The pre-mixed concrete to repair the entrance was finally delivered late on Friday evening - although not enough was delivered to complete the repairs, so the main builder, Angelo, and his brother-in-law will be finishing it off on Monday by hand. After the concrete has been laid, we are required (by the comune) to put a layer of asphalt on top, supposedly to match what was already there. To lay asphalt, the weather conditions need to be both dry and warm - in fact, the hotter the better. Since the weather for the next few days is forecast to be a little mixed, we imagine that the asphalt might not be laid for a while yet, but we will be pleased just to have a usable drive again, and even more pleased once the gates are in place and working - which should happen within the next few days, we hope.

We are still woefully far behind in the apartment and despite us both putting in a night shift down there during the week and trying to throw our all at it over the weekend, the apartment still seems to very much be winning the battle of wills and draining us of all energy and enthusiasm. Stuart is finding it particularly tough going, and as much as I am ready and willing to throw myself into the work, I am sorely lacking in the level of skill and knowledge required for the majority of the work that needs doing - something that frustrates both of us. For the sake of our own health and sanity it may be time to draft in some paid help.