Shorty enjoys some post-project peace

Tranquillity has returned to our valley in rural Mallorca: three weeks and four days after work began on repairs and improvements to our roof, the job has been finished, and The Boss and I have begun the big clean-up operation (both in and outdoors).

So far, the insulation seems to be doing a good job, as we’ve barely seen any change in the temperature indoors – even after last weekend’s two unusually chilly nights for this time of year, when the temperature outside fell to 5 Celsius. Thankfully the cold snap has passed for now; February – which can be bitterly cold here – will be the true test of our investment.

That Zinc-ing Feeling

The rear of our house is also sporting smart new zinc guttering, to replace the old grey plastic stuff that was there before. This hadn’t been part of the original plan, but when Juan, the construction company’s second-in-command, suggested that zinc would look more traditional than the plastic, we thought of the old English proverb: Don’t spoil the ship for a ha’p’orth of tar. Well, it’s cost us a lot of ha’p’orths of zinc, but it looks a lot better than the plastic did.

Purrfect Peace

We’re not the only ones happy to see the project finished: our outdoor cats didn’t appreciate the noisy presence of the builders and would disappear for the day after their breakfast – returning only after the men had left promptly at 5pm. The status quo has now been restored and everywhere you look – under a lavender bush, in the window recesses of the cottage, on the terrace walls, and even in flowerpots – there are cats. And they include Shorty, the ginger kitten that bit The Boss back in August; he’s become a spunky little addition to our feline family.

Jan Edwards Copyright 2012