Two unusual things happened on Monday morning. It snowed. This is a truly rare event in Devon. And Gatty, our builder, turned up again, when he said he would and in spite of the snow. I am constantly amused by the Devonian reaction to snow. It happens so rarely they just don't know what to do with the stuff; one snowflake and life comes to a standstill. So, Gatty earns another star.

So he started, as most builders do, with making a bit of a mess and knocking a few bits about. As we looked at the garage he grinned and told me he'd broken it. He had. It is my sincere hope that it was necessary before he could make improvements.

Today it is pouring down; this man seems totally unfazed by inclement weather. (Our last builders only worked in the dry between 18 and 22 degrees). 

At this stage I'm still finding it hard to believe that this mess is going to become a lovely, practical and pretty (girly) studio, so while Gatty works I am practising being optimistic. 

BTW, Celotex (not celetex) is an insulation material. Mystery solved.

While I've been typing (with a brief break to sell a book, I'm not that slow), this has happened...