As I was dying from hayfever, and needed a gasmask to go into my house, with the two builders grinding away with gusto, I cladded myself with about five layers of clothing, as it was freezingly cold outside, and sat down in Charmaine and my lean-to that we had put up on the back of the house. I had started a painting of Irma's cat Nina some time ago, but with bringing up baby, and helping to pick up the pieces of my son and his family's broken lives, I had almost put it on the never-never. But things were a wee bit brighter , and as the baby had to stay with his dad while the grinding goes on, and finding myself with nothing to do, I thought it a good idea to finish said painting.
At last all the stones that had to come out were exposed, and I was alarmed at the size of most of it, and had grave doubts of this two men actually finishing the job.
But, I underestimated their wine and pot beleaguered bodies, as after some hard chipping around one enormous stone, it was ready to come out, and with bodies almost doubled up, and legs shivering like jellies, they managed to get it out, and carried it out and onto my front lawn. After that they asked for coffee, and sat down under the Oak, and soon the overwhelming smell of their pot blew downhill, and into my nostrils.
It was very difficult to carry the large stones through the house, so we decided that they would take the window in that room out, and shove everything through there. Then he had to first put in a lintil where the stone was taken out, so they chipped away the mortar to the sides, which was at the height of where the top of the door would be.
I was beginning to have a thin ray of hope, as at least, if they couldn't go any further, I thought I could put ladders on both sides and crawl through to the bathroom! Joke!
On Friday when they finished for the week-end, the hole was big enough for me to actually walk into the bathroom, but I was too scared in case the whole kaboedel collapsed onto my head. So I still did my running up and down in the freezing cold, but knowing that after all this time my lavvy and bathroom would actually be part of my house, made this just a wee bitty better.
The top picture is of the giant old Oak under which my two builders had their pot smoking sessions daily, the other one is of my painting that is still not completely finished.