Two new kitchen projects that need your input, the first plasterboard in the attic bedroom, and a makeover for Phoebe’s cat tree.

A last-minute house exchange in Brittany as the Gironde fires burned, a detour through Le Perche on the way home, one missing cat, and the attic’s first insulation.

A third heatwave, a secret drip irrigation project, and a wall that refuses to be straight. The French restoration rumbles on.

A second heatwave in two weeks, a first crack at metal stud framing in the attic, and a footstool taking shape in the cool of the cellar.

Solar shutters ahead of an early heatwave, plasterboard hoisted through a gap in the stairs, and the attic finally starting to look like rooms.

The tiny door between our two gardens finally gets replaced, the attic edges closer to plasterboard, and the vegetable beds fill up before the season runs away from us.

What the house really cost, how we found it, why we left the UK for Bordeaux, and a proper introduction to Phoebe. Our first Q&A, in blog form.

The last of the wood fibre goes into the attic roof, the whole house is finally insulated, and Romy plants a new generation of dahlias with willow supports to match.

Spring reaches the garden: first sowings in the new greenhouse, a rescue mission for the rusty back gate, and a mitre station taking shape in the cave.

The attic insulation we’d been dreading turns out to be the most satisfying job yet, helped along by a homemade cutting jig, a bakery morning in the Chartrons and a greenhouse finally getting its colour.

Spring finally reaches the garden: a lean-to greenhouse built from the house’s original windows, a woven stick border for the old tree, and a long-awaited verdict on the attic mould.

An honest look at what happens when renovation reality hits hard — from battling twisted roof beams and surprise deliveries in the rain to finding joy in small wins like custom shelves and homemade marmalade at La Chartreuse.