Nothing but digging and destruction....

I have to confess that I have not enjoyed the last couple of weeks. The saying "to make an omelette you have to break some eggs!" comes to mind, but it still pains me to see such destruction. We now have less than 25% of the original property still standing!

The site just seems to get messier by the day, everywhere you look there are holes and piles of rubble.

Paul, Jim and Tyler are working so hard. As Jim said the other day "I can't believe we have knocked pretty much the whole house down, by hand!" To keep spirits and sugar levels up I try to take little parcels of food/treats down to site regularly. My sausage rolls are normally only ever baked in the run up to Christmas (calories don't count at Christmas), but given how we were all feeling I decided that they were called for, even though it's only May. They were very gratefully received, not a crumb left and requests for more batches to be dispensed over the coming weeks.

At last, below, we see some resemblance of where we are going, with new apertures starting to appear.

We were really please to see our new hedge go in and its thriving. The clearing of the flower beds at the back of the house is also well underway. We have taken 11 dumpy bags of garden waste out already and only cleared one corner. As we clear we are moving plants to fill in some of the gaps. We go down to the house and water them every evening and so far they are all surviving.

Week 18 ended with our usual Binster Friday night get together and feast. The menu was chosen by the lovely Sally and Glenn. Asparagus, Parma Ham & Camembert Tart to start, Special Potatoe Salad (my intervention as we felt it was too warm for piles of mash potato), followed by Pork Belly (Jack Stein Recipe) and Salad. It was all delish and recipes I will certainly look forward to using again.

As the weather was so lovely over the weekend Tim and I spent a long morning rescuing the front hedge from the Ivy that was starting to completely cover it. So satisfying to do and what a difference, it looks so much better now.

Week 19 also started with even more digging. This time digging into the slab to create the foundations for the new internal wall layout.

Paul couldn't get a concrete pour until early next week so the guys decided to mix and pour it themselves so they could start laying the blocks for some of the ground floor rooms.

Yet more digging below, this time to form what will be the new entrance and window from the kitchen/lounge that will have a wonderful view down the estuary.

Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be more to dig, we arrive to find yet more digging going on, this time for the waste pipe to the kitchen island for the sink.

Again, lot's of food parcels heading to site again this week (week 19). Tasha made Rock Cakes and Lemon Drizzle Cup Cakes and on Friday I took them a taste of what would be our Friday night Binster starter "Spanakopita" fresh from the oven.

To keep my spirits up while all this destruction was going on I took refuge in Instagram and Pinterest looking for inspiration ready for when we eventually start putting our home back together again. These are some of my favourite finds, starting with raised beds to break up what will be a very large patio at the back of the house; master bathroom double sink ideas; glass screen ideas to add interest to the large kitchen/dining/lounge area and colour of cornish slate to face the garage and around the front entrance.

Also took some time looking at different seating inspiration/options below for the kitchen island that will allow us to take in the views.

Finished the week as always with Friday night with the Binsters. The mouth watering menu was chosen by the lovely Phil and Jo's who took us all to Greece with Spanakoptia for starters, Kleftiko and Greek Salad for main and Limoncello & Raspberry semi-freddo to finish - absolutely delish.

Well, that's it for now, until next time.....

Stay safe everyone xxx