Well that was a busy week

Today was the last day I had the men, and was an extra day on the schedule due to the slight delay with the water connection taking so long.

Mist in the valley and peach skies

I woke before my friend this morning (well, after she woke first, but before she got up if you see what I mean) and the sky was an incredible colour - almost peach at the horizon and changing to a lovely deep blue as you went higher. I took a few pictures during the morning of this and then the sun suddenly shot up above the mountains in about two minutes. Stunning.

Frozen car

When I went out to the car it was all frozen over so I started it up, turned on the defroster, then went to collect Tanir from the next village and came back past for my friend. The ice on the front window was so thick that despite scraping it (with a casino membership card no less) and having the heaters going full for ten mins, it was still not cleared until I was driving towards the men.

Frost in the shadows

Today we went straight to the school and they went directly up onto the roof to keep working; we had no need for any additional materials or to visit any departments for services. The shadow of the school on the back land was still fristy-frosty until the sun progressed down the bank as it rose.

The view from my 'bedroom' window

I decided to climb the ladder in the attic and look at the village in the morning air; this was rewarded by the sight of my local woodpecker dipping across the sky then landing on a neighbours chimney stack. It was bright green and stunning to see, however I didn't have my camera with me. What a shame. After a few minutes it flew off and I watched it leave, then went downstairs to what will be the bedroom window. The view across the valley to my local town was stunning, and I was able to appreciate some other birds flying past.

Fried bread for breakfast

First order of the day was breakfast and my friend had made the mistake of suggesting fried bread so into the frying pan with some oil, and a couple of slices of bread were turned into magnificent (if I say so myself) fried bread.

The first fire after stirring

Fire alight

From there I went outside and stirred the fire which was smoking before I did this and immediately sparked back into flames. This is a little bit of a concern as tomorrow I need to go back over there and recover the barrel into the house so no one steals it and I hope it is cold enough to move! We had the end room to continue clearing and several wheelbarrows of rubbish was brought down and stacked by the fire.

Sally fitting a support beam

I then went to see what the men were doing and they were hard at work putting the framework around the chimney. Because I have had the thought that I would like to have a petchka in Room 13 in March when I arrive we have decided to not take the chimney down but leave it there so I can have the petchka with no fuss. This has increased the complexity of the patchup job they have had to do as they are having to build around the chimney without attaching anything to it (as it is a bit unstable).

The 'kitchen'

I watched for a while and then continued some shovelling of rubbish and my friend tidied up our 'kitchen' preparatory for dinner.

Bread with mayo, chicken frying

Dinner was more of the fried chicken put into bread with mayonnaise; food fit for a king indeed!

Bekir applying the finishing touches to the water supply

At the end of lunch Bekir checked the concrete around the water supply and it was ready for the wood to be removed and the padlock to be fitted. My friend had kindly brought some polystyrene for insulation so he cut this to size then attached a handle. The key was left with my friendly neighbour and her smiling husband so when ViK come to check the water meter they can open it for them.

After this Bekir realised that we needed some batons to hold down the roof felt they were about to start applying so we legged it to the friendly builders merchant at the bottom of the hill. Helpfully Bekir had written (well, he had said the words and my friend wrote them on a pad) what we wanted so we were able to show this to her and I went to collect the packs of 1"x0.5" (I think?) while my friend spoke to the owner of the yard, who was driving a mercedes!

Bekir reclining, look at the blue sky!

Back to the school with this and Tanir was waiting at the gate to take the wood off me and rush it up into the loft for Bekir and Sally to use. Sally was relaxing on the roof waiting for it and we had a good giggle at pantomiming sunbathing at him so he complied and laid back like a sun worshipper :) very funny.

The window before we filled it....

So I had been pretty lazy for the morning, but after lunch energy came back and first of all we went to tackle the open window in what will become my garage. We used spare rough wood, and the wastage from the men taking the old roof down, and within about forty minutes or so had a completely filled window.

... and after; what a great job huh

The aim of this is only to keep goats, chickens, sheep and children out so it didn't have to be that solid but I think the end result is pretty good to be honest.

Laying bitumen on the roof

The men were continuing apace with the roof, laying the bitumen and using the batons we had bought to hold it down. They were then collecting the tiles and laying them around the edge, and over the top, to provide as close to a water tight seal as was possible.

We went back to filling the burner up with rubbish, as it had been about 3/4 full before lunch but by this point it had sunk to about 1/4 full. It is amazing how quickly things disappear when burning them, and the flames that were achieved were pretty impressive indeed.

Flaming hot, it was

With all but the last few bits burning, and no more room to put those in, our last task for the day presented itself. The window in the bedroom was wide open and, as it faced the prevailing winds, was a priority to seal up to stop huge winds gusting through, and loads of snow being deposited inside the house this winter.

A slightly shoddy joint on my frame

We had bought the polythene the other day and so I got the wood we had put aside from what the men were using, measured it carefully, and then hammered together the frame.

It was only when I offered it up to the outside of the window that I realised that the dimensions outside were slightly smaller than those inside. After a few minutes of sitting with my legs dangling over the edge of the balcony and thinking "I really am rubbish at joinery" I worked a solution out and sorted it. I then had help from my friend to wrap it in four sheets of polythene and nail some strengthening beams to it.

The audience gathers for their photograph

At about this time we suddenly had an audience as the Quiet One from next door, along with another son and a gaggle of grandchildren appeared. They were happy to have their photograph taken but when the other son said 'We will come up there?' we had to firmly say that there was no door, and the children were not allowed up. We went inside and shortly they left, meandering across my front yard and leaving slowly; they will have to get used to not having free access from next March when I fence it all off :p

Our polythene window

So we went back to our window building and with a bit of hammering and bashing managed to get it secured solidly to the window frame. I was, however, on the outside and so had to jump off the balcony to get back inside. My other neighbour (from the farm below, and who is keeping their hay in my green buildings) had joined me on the balcony and confused my friend when he started speaking to me, as she didn't know where he had come from.

Blossom after frost

This completed, and the windows inside with a few more nails on them just to keep it all solid should a major wind come in the winter, we took a bit of a wander around the grounds and one of the interesting things was this fruit tree had come back into blossom; strange as it had been below freezing the night before and lots of people had lost their peppers (on the way into town we drove past a couple of acres of pepper plants looking very much the worse for wear).

The mechano which I have managed to save

So it was coming towards the end of the day and (other than a short visit tomorrow to pull the fire drum inside) the end of my time at the school this year so we started tidying up and pulling things into secure locations. Room 13 is the most secure of all the rooms so most things were brought into there.

At about 6pm the men came from the roof, having got it as good as they could in the time available and yet we had more work for them. First of all to put a few more supports under the storage units in the end room, and then to try and put some windows back in the re-fitted one from the other day. They achieved this, apart from not being able to find a window to go in the middle but maybe I'll do that with polythene tomorrow.

The horse exchange, with sunlit hills behind

As I was counting the money to pay the men my Walking Man was coming up the lane, and a lady was leading a horse down towards him and they met and he continued with the horse. The setting sun was glowing on the hills and the town in the background and it was a lovely scene.

So to home and we dropped the men off with a bottle of special drink each to say thankyou and then back here where I have cooked pork belly in home made (not by me, by my friend) baked beans and they were lovely.

So I am going to sign this off to the sound of Gershwin from downstairs, and go and refill my now empty beer glass. Tomorrow is a day of rest (mainly) and there is an event in the village which we will be going along to.

Good night.