Yesterday was a very big day in the project to build a self contained cabin attached to the house. It is called the Coupe because I styled it on the old chicken coops that used to be in the farmyards of every farm around here. Using the sun to warm it and design to cool it. Though I added height. Light and space are a mantra in my designs.
The Coupe is for the Matriarch to retire to when she is ready to be old. She is certainly not ready to retire to the farm yet so until then it will be a guest house and writers retreat.
The Coupe is spelt this way because The Matriarchs son’s collect cars and jeeps and things with wheels (and some things without wheels or even motors) and she has always encouraged them in this deeply American endeavour. So the Coop got changed to the Coupe.
Here is The East Wall from the Point of View of the Lounge window. We are looking East. So this is where the sun rises.
Things moved along fast yesterday.
Now look below at the South Wall. From the SouthWest. Where the builders are standing will be a corridor which will have huge windows. There will be a door that steps down to a patio into a grape covered pergola. I pushed this side out past the existing house so it will catch the light from the setting sun. 
(below) From the South-East. 
The South Wall is very plain, I shall grow espalier apples along here so The Matriarch or the guests will be able to reach out and pick an apple. I am considering a small scale farm stay or bed and breakfast idea. What do you think?
This is the front of the house, seen from the road, so it the most dramatic. Half of this wall is made up of three very tall thin windows, (floor to ceiling) falling in height with the roofline. I call these the Goldilocks Windows. These will catch the very first of the winter sunrise light. 
Below is the North wall (seen from the lounge again) with the spaces made for the big french doors (screen left) which will open onto a lovely cool covered verandah. The verandah will be wrapped in screen to keep out insects and it will have shutters that can be closed in storms. So the french doors can stand open almost all summer. Remember in America the North side is the cool side so this verandah will be well used in the summers. 
Right next to the builder (on his right) is the corridor opening, where he is standing will be the corridor to the main house. The ensuite will come off this corridor.
And now for a couple of updates on farmy animals. So as not to use up too much of your time today we will do more Walkabouts tomorrow.
Here is Big Dog. He spends his days minding the builders. Just to be sure they don’t wander where they should not be. 
Here (from left) are Sheila and Charlotte. My most darling piggies. They are Hereford pigs, a heritage breed with very small numbers worldwide. Charlotte will be bred sometime soon. I just need to toughen up and call the swine herd who understands nothing I say, me being a foreigner and all and i just hate the thought of ‘putting her to the Boar’.
Look at Sheila’s very direct gaze. She has no problems with eye contact. You can see from Charlotte’s size that she has no problem with bucket contact!
They spend most of their time sleeping. The best way to tell them apart are their ears. 
It’s cold out.
Queenie Wineti is our Hereford Heifer (not to be confused with a Hereford Pig). She will be bred along with Daisy in the spring. No bull for these cows. They get a very well mannered vet with a long tube. 
Queenie is short, solid and very quiet unless she is in heat and then she is short and squat and very loud. 
A snap of TonTon and LouLou. Yes, LouLou is a boy. So his name was changed from LuLu to LouLou.
Good morning. Today the Kiwi builder and his mate are working on putting up the rafters so when the winds start up this weekend our Coupe does not blow over.
I shall take Camera House for another walkabout today and see if we can’t get the rest of the animals in order for our update. We will visit the sheep and the chickens in their own coop and the cats and peacocks and guineas and Daisy the milking cow and anything else that crosses our path. That will be for tomorrow. What I should do is make a Cast of Characters Category. The list of things I should do is endless!!
Have a lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
82 responses to “The Coupe Rises and a Wee Walkabout (Part One)”
“The list of things I SHOULD do is endless…” Ain’t it the truth? 🙂
So exciting to see major progress on the project…and that last shot, of Ton and Lou, is priceless!
Have a wonderful day, C!
It made me laugh that shot, Ton is daring the kitten to even think about touching his frisbee.. morning marie! c
Ooh, the house is coupe is coming along so nicely C – it will be finished in no time at all. Lovely pics all around and it looks like TonTon and LouLou are deep in a very serious conversation.
Have a lovely day, hope it warms up a bit for you.
🙂 Mandy xo
PS. I posted about your lovely sweet chilli sauce today.
Oh I hope it worked out as well for you as it did for me,.I have to make it just about every week! I love it. c
It a keeper of a recipe C, thank you!
thanks Celi for the update a cast would be a good endeavor also a great post!
It would be a long post, but a goodie! Morning !! c
Wow the coupe is heading up fast… looks good.. nice to see sunshine there and no snow…
sadly no snow, we will take anything at all that has moisture in it, but it would take a lot of snow to catch up now.. c
Does Charlotte also have brown around her right eye? Good morning, c., and greetings to the farmy.
No Charlotte has a smudge on her nose otherwise her face is white, and she is getting big.. today when i let them out to follow me to their field she decided to go left when Sheila and i went right so she could do a tour of the car park first.. naughty piggy! c
Naughty, dominate piggy! She thinks she’s the leader. 🙂
Wonderful, Celi!
morning Julie, are you still terribly hot? I must pop over and see.. c
You caught such precious expressions today! The Shush sisters in the hay, and Queenie…just too cute. You were right about LouLou: what a butterball he’s become!
Yes he is, such a cute wee cat.. morning J9.. c
The Coupe is coming along nicely. What is its square footage? I bet your blogger friends will be lined up for an overnight stay once this get-away is finished. I love the thought you put in to every aspect of planning this retreat.
OK square footage, I worked it out once but the number in my head seems silly, it is 16×20 feet.. so not very big.. c
How exciting to see your new building rise from its foundation! My advice? Self-catering farm stays, NOT, repeat NOT Bed and breakfast! You have more than enough on your plate in the summer months!
Christine
I wondered what you would say to that.. OK I Will take your advice. there will be no real kitchen but i am only toying with the idea at this point.. And TonTons painting should be back from the framers soon.. it will be hung in my study where i can see it every day!! c
Maybe if you had a minimum length of stay for BandB, anything over 4 nights, that would cut down considerably on cleaning and laundry. It’s still someone elses needs to think of though. And that’s great about Ton Ton! I didn’t realise he’d arrived and was going to call in the post Office on our way soth tomorrow with a lost mail form! I’m so relieved and I hope that you like him!
Christine
Oh no.. terrible i thought I had left a message on your page.. did I dream i did that? I must be losing my mind. he is gorgeous! when he is framed and placed I shall show all our readers! c
how about a writer’s retreat? we writers are quiet types who would stay out of the way–but could surely be convinced to weed a garden when the words aren’t coming…ha!
That farmstay B&B will be booked up years in advance I’m sure! Is it just me – or is that a small space to fit in bedroom, lounge kitchen etc? But it is going up quickly, looking forward to seeing more. Laura
It really is just a very big bedroom with a fridge and space to boil the jug in one corner. Plus table and chairs on the covered verandah. And a big comfy chair. We will see. Everything is on a tiny scale. When my family is in there they will be eating with us of course.. c
What glorious blue sky! The Coupe is looking fantastic. The Kiwi builders must be thrilled with the great weather even if it is cold. Chilly (about 35F) gloomy and windy here and I would love to see some snow. I haven’t seen blue sky like that for weeks! But I try to be content with what the good Lord provides and I’m very thankful for the rain we’ve been receiving in abundance.
Our sky is very blue but our fields are very dry, maybe you and i could go halvies! I would not mind some precipitation! c
Fabulous progress on the coupe. Those piggies look awfully fat! It’s jolly cold here, too. The pink gnome with a red nose was out this morning.
They are tall too, but i cannot put them on a diet until it warms up, they need their food in this cold! c
Haha I love telling the sisters apart by their ears:) the Renamed Coupe is progressing nicely!
And as they have got older haven;t their differences become more pronounced.. morning ksenia.. c
That coupe is looking good. Do you have to get permission to build on your property or can you just do what you want?
You need permission..which we have, I think at some point they might come out for an inspection too, but this county will get their pound of flesh when they put our property taxes up. They are astronomical around here.. c
Such an excellent building – love it.
Morning roger! c