You may wonder why Graham is peering at the roof through binoculars, well, he is checking his handiwork has been properly carried out, scraping all the moss off each individual tile of course! ( A task that could have been set by Rumpelstiltskin.) I’m sure passers-by think he is quite mad, but when he sets himself a goal, nothing deters him. So he took a week scraping all the moss off, in preparation for the winter freezes; the old tiles deteriorate if the mosses are left to freeze and expand and therefore they crack. This is the price we pay for the look of the roof, which is so important to us, it retains that lovely homemade woven or knitted feel, so typical of this area. (Actually there is a chemical product of which they sell gallons here, you spray it on the roof and it stops moss growth, it probably kills all birds and insects too, so we wouldn’t use it.)
Meanwhile our mulberry tree watches the proceedings, hand on hip.
Once this purging of the mosses was completed, Graham then set himself the task of prettying up the last bit of our house that needs aesthetic work. He chipped away at the old rendering to reveal the tile bricks which he has hated for 25 years, he’s now getting rid of it and rebuilding in stone….ah…..living with a bricoleur…….!
Other news
I was invited to take part in an exhibition whose theme is “boxes”. I didn’t do very well because even though I was informed well in advance I felt totally uninspired, my problem entirely, for 2 days before touchdown the ideas came flooding in, far too late…. here are a few from the 8 works I submitted:
as an antidote to my artistic constipation I sketched in between times thereby freeing myself of the constraints of a themed expo.
I’m also building a new website, the old one seems so old-fashioned now, however by the time it’s built at the rate I’m going, the new one will be out of fashion too!
lizkingsangster 
Great view from the roof! Liz, I never knew a humble box of matches could look so wonderful.
Hi Stewart, funny that the matchbox paintings have received comments, as I said to Phil, I was worried they were rather dull!
I do love those matchbox paintings Liz, they bring something so mundane to life and make them beautiful. The sketches are just fabulous, the colour palettes in the final two are brilliant, what a wonderful sense of colour you have. And what a wonderful home, even if it’s a bit more high maintenance than usual!
Thanks Phil! I was worried the about the matchboxes looking rather dull……..and thanks for the complement on colour, I can really struggle with it sometimes.