Drizzle

There's nothing quite as depressing as constant drizzle and that's what we've had pretty much for the past two days. Of course, I'll probably be just as annoyed on Sunday when, if the forecast is correct, we'll be going through a downpour of biblical proportions, but for now it is drizzling and that is really really boring.

Wednesday

Day two of having the men back in the saddle and it was an overcast start to the day. I don't think the sun came out all day so your pictures are almost entirely of progress inside.

Louise is not planning on sharing this toy

Not much of a joyful morning

Very low clouds

Wood store cleared

All the wood now in the correct place

The alarm went off and we were up and into Room 13 to get brews down us before A headed off to get the men. The puppies were huddled in front of the fire and Louise has found herself a toy that she really likes and she will just not let Thelma anywhere near it. Bless. It was such an overcast day however I persuaded A to take the camera when she went to get the men "just in case" and she took a couple of pictures to prove that no, she really didn't need to take it. While she was gone I cleared out the remainder of the wood from the wood store in what will become the downstairs toilet. I nearly got it all done before she got back, just a couple of loads short of that target, but I finished off anyway which was satisfying.

Getting ready to fit the doorframe in place

Offered up and it looks fine

Guide holes being drilled

Cement application started

Slapping the cement on above the door

The first task that Bekir and Sally got stuck into was fitting the door frame into the hole they had prepared the day before. They didn't hang about and while I was still shifting the wood were into the garage and carrying the doorway via the back doors to its place. They measured up again, drilled holes and plugged them with wood and then secured it in place with super long screws. It was a chance of friendship that gave us this door but now it is in we're both so pleased with how it will look. Once the frame was secure Sally got on with filling the gaps with cement and this took him most of the day from this point.

A with her bisto delivery

The demolition begins downstairs

Knocking out the bricks

A bees nest in the wall

Bekir pulls them all out

Five layers of bees nest

Back to knocking down the wall

We had a phone call mid morning and it was the delivery driver bringing A her bisto that she had ordered from Amazon. She's very happy about this. With the doorway fitted and Sally working on the surround, Bekir headed downstairs to begin on the next job. We have been debating what the best thing to do was and decided to start at the far end, and the bathroom, and move towards the kitchen. This is mainly because we haven't managed to empty the kitchen out yet. Bekir started bashing away at the wall that we wanted removing and it didn't take long for him to reveal a concrete lintel above the dorway. We weren't sure if this was structural or just protecting the door so initially we were going to leave it there. It didn't make much odds really at this stage as there was plenty else to be getting on with. We're also bricking up the old door from the garage into this corridor so Bekir removed the door frame in preparation and found something really cool. Many years ago it seems that some honey bees found a way to get into the insulation in this wall and they made a large nest out of the material. Amazing.

A good start finishing around the door

The other side done as well

Sally smiling as I take his picture again

Bekir clearing rubble mid job

The bathroom at the end of the day

Upstairs Sally had done an excellent job filling in around the edges of the door, on both sides, and was looking for another job. In the nook there was an exposed stone wall that we had briefly thought about keeping bare stone but it was a bit damaged so Sally began to fix it with some spare cement. I was slightly worried as A was having a nap so I couldn't double check with her but when she woke up she agreed so that was alright. Another thing was that I was having second thoughts about the design of the bathroom. We'd asked Bekir to open up the wall he was working on, then knock through into the next little room as well but the more I looked at it the more I thought it'd work better, and actually give us more room, if we left that wall and had a separate toilet room with sink, and had the bath and shower in the other room. She also agreed with this so all was good.

A was very impressed with this glass-style

The waiter served my Shashlak for me

Soon enough it was time to take the men back which went without a hitch and I got back and had a lovely shower before we headed out for dinner. Neither of us were particularly hungry so we didn't rush out of the house and when we got there the singer with the unfeasably high shoes was singing their old set which was nice to hear. I ordered the pork shashlak and kept a couple of chunks of the meat for the girls while A had her usual Lamb in the Oven which was, as usual, superb. When we got back we were neither in the mood for much more than a cuppa and then to read in bed, which is what we did.

Thursday

Ahh Thursday. The day when A spends almost all day rushing around and not really having a day off at all and when I sit on my own in Room 13 working away and waiting for her to get back. Not my favourite day of the week, but a necessary one.

Clouds, which reached us shortly after this picture was taken

It felt far colder than this

The kitchen units to be moved

One wall unit, built

The alarm went off and A wanted a snooze so I got up and got the kettle on for when she joined me. It was another overcast start, and really rather chilly - the wind was quite strong and had an icy edge to it so it felt colder than the thermometer says. After a couple of brews A headed out to get the men and I got started on my chosen task which was to move the kitchen units from my mum's old kitchen into the men's room and then have a go at putting them together. I also was in charge of keeping the fire going and I managed to achieve it all, just putting the finishing touches on the first unit when A got back and found that I had accidentally locked all the doors and they couldn't get in. I have only done the one unit today but usefully found that some of them needed new dowels so that was added to A's shopping list before she left.

Some of the chicken house mesh in the lintel

Cemented over and clean

This made a big bang when it fell

Happy worker

A was gone for ages as she had a long list of things to do, looking for items for the bathroom being the main thing. While she was gone I did a watering round and also put a load of washing on that I got hung out on driers in the living room. Other than that I was paid work and bored to death of what I was doing. The men were continuing on their tasks, with Sally putting some reinforcing into the cement on the lintel above Sassy's doorway and Bekir continuing to clear away in the bathroom. Sally has continued, on and off, to return to Sassy's doorway and polish and finish the cement work there, while working on other things.

The new doorway is started

Big progress in a short time

Cement on the sides

Looking from in the garage

Nearly ready to start building new walls

A got back before lunch and we had some very lovely butties with some seeded batch that she has recently discovered in the shops. The men were also on their lunch for an hour but pretty soon were back to it and demolishing more walls. As I've said we are moving the access door for the garage closer to the kitchen so Bekir marked out the dimensions and Sally set to with a hammer to knock it out. They work so fast, just now I've popped down and this hole has been completely knocked through and Sally is already starting to put cement on the sides. They're going to extend it upwards slightly and put a concrete lintel in tomorrow but they really are rushing ahead. I've got my job lined up for in the morning as well; clear out the mess in the garage and make space so they can finish this job. A and I headed into town for a quick trip to ekont, the chicken feed shop, and the post office but that is about the height of excitement for my day. I've not even got to go and do my model at lunch today. Tomorrow is a non-working day for me so if I can finish off putting together all the kitchen units that would be great.

Ready to have a cement lintel added

Ripping out the wooden partition

Lots of dried teabags

Harvested tea bags

Problems with Thomas (taken while stationary)

Since writing the last paragraph I've been and taken the men back. Before leaving they got the doorway lintel hole knocked through so that is ready for tomorrow, and Bekir finished off removing the wooden section of all from the middle of the little corridor. I then had a few minutes of time for myself before heading off so I went into Sassy's room and started to process the dried out tea bags from the rack; the main reason for this is we ran out of space and I've got lots more to dry so I needed to clear some out. I stood there quietly until it was time to go, slicing open the bag and emptying the contents into a pot and then moving on to the next one. I'm keeping the empty bags as well as I'm sure I'll be able to think of a use for them. The drive to take the men was slightly more interesting than I wanted as Thomas seems to have developed a fault. I've had a quick look since I got back and I think that a cable between the battery and the sensor may be fraying but either way the engine management light and battery light kept coming on whenever I slowed, and the battery gauge was stuck showing only about 12v the whole way there and back. Fingers crossed he doesn't give problems for A in the morning but that is our morning sorted - we're going to go to Lyubo's garage to get him looked at and fixed. Joy.

So the curry is bubbling away and when I've hit "publish" on this A will be through to put the rice on so I'm going to get that done as I'm slightly hungry now.