My birthday and a garden frame

We're back to Monday and the men are back in so here's an update for you all. Let's start with the weekend.

Rosie chasing the bubbles

About to burst the bubble with her mouth

Making stickle bricks cars and houses

Usmivka calming Rosie

I think these first pictures are actually from Saturday and I can't really remember Friday other than I wasn't that well and I was very busy. Saturday I was a lot better and got to play with Rosie (Angela was making big bubbles with her while I watched and laughed and later on I did them a bit as well though not as good as Angela). We also got to go to the neighbours for the first time for ages. Rosie banged her head and got cuddles from Usmivka and finally cheered up a lot. We also did some sticklebrick making which was a lot of fun.

This was such a cool sight to wake up to

Thelma and Xena tearing up the wrapping paper

Camping stuff is in the crawl space

Rosie showing off her new glasses (still in the packing)

Riding on the lawnmower together

Birthday cake pleasures

Moon and stars at night

Sunday was my birthday; I was up just in time to capture a picture of the pretty cool sunrise; it faded very quickly afterwards. I received some lovely presents, and the puppies had all the fun with the wrapping paper. Angela and Rosie headed to the shops and I did a task I've been waiting to do for a while; I tidied and organised all the camping gear and the Christmas gear into the crawl space and there is LOADS of room! Finally in the afternoon I pulled the mower out and mowed all the lawns that I possibly could with it which was a great success. My birthday cake was lovely after dinner and just before bed I caught the moon rise which was also lovely.

Bekir grinding the rebar

Starting to weld the frame

One of the frames takes shape

Bekir is welding while thunder rumbles and rain falls

And so today. Halil was working on his flat in town so it was only Bekir today; we set him to a new short task to make some frames for climbing plants in the garden. They need to be movable so he used some rebar and welded it all together, with the steel mesh as walls for the plants to use. He was at it all day and built two of them, which is what we want. Tomorrow he has a little more to do on the bottom of the feet and then they can be put in place before Angela leaves on her holiday.

So there it is; another day done and we'll be back to it tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Gardening weekend and fence fixing

It was a great weekend and today was good also so let's get into it straight away.

Rosie enjoying her hot chocolate in the tent

Sunrise over the hills

Camping was a lot of fun with Rosie; the new beds were very comfortable, the new light was superb and gave us really good but warm illumination and was easy to turn on and off at need. Angela and Grandma brought us out our hot chocolates which went down very well and then, after some chattering, we were both asleep and Rosie slept very well. When we got up we found that the promised freeze hadn't happened so it was even warm enough to get out of the tent. A good night indeed.

Raking up some leaves

Rosie shows how strong she is

Up in her tree house all on her own

Doctoring her dolly with Grandma

Policewoman Rosie on patrol

The weather was so nice that I headed out into the garden and started to rake up the leaves on the lawn and flower beds at the front. Rosie was outside with me on and off and was "helping" a bit. At one point she took herself off to the tree house and climbed up all on her own. Angela was suffering from a very bad back which was really frustrating for her indeed. Rosie also got to play doctors with her teddies and Grandma and was driving around a lot on the patio in her police car. I had the pleasure of cooking in the evening, on the kitchen fireplace, and that wrapped up a pretty good day.

Angela the fire starter

Rosie climbs the pile of soil

Our little burn is working well

Checking the final embers

All the farm dogs came to see us

Sunday was another bright and warm day and Angela woke with a much better back, which was a huge relief, so we were all outside in the garden pretty much all day. Our first task was to burn off and clear the dead grass and weeds in the fenced garden. This year we're pretty determined to grow more food for ourselves. We did get the fire to take in the end and it was very effective and doing the job. Rosie was having a great time playing and also enjoyed watching the fire, though she was a bit concerned mainly because of the memories of the uncontrolled fire last year. Once we finished the burn we headed to the neighbours for a short but very nice coffee sat outside in their summer kitchen.

A very early butterfly

I need to dig over all of this

Some lovely flowers planted in the tyre gardens

The final section of this bed is dug through

First section of the vegetable garden turned over

A lovely day for working in the garden

After the coffee break I was straight back over to start digging over the fenced garden. It really was a lovely day and butterflies were fluttering by a lot. Angela was also getting lots done, planting out a load of new flowers and clearing some more beds then planting more seeds. It was a really productive time and so nice to get out and do something physical again. I did manage to dig over the first strip of the vegetable garden and my plan is to do a little every day until it is done.

Rosie very happy to be having a picnic

All up in the tree house

Chilling out near the fire

Rosie had been asking for a picnic lunch and so we spread the rug out on the lawn and all sat and had our lunch out there in the sun. It was a great idea! Then it was time for a rest, much needed after all our efforts, before more fun in the garden and this time Grandma climbed into the tree house as well! Angela made an epic Sunday roast for dinner and I relaxed with my feet towards the fire. A great day all round.

Final sheets of plasterboard done for now

Fencing material to keep the dogs out

Trimming down this tree

Tree gone, ready to start meshing

Getting to the end of the fence

All weekend we have been chasing Xena's dad off the land as he worked out he could just walk through the fence to the left of our vehicle gate, which isn't good when all our three girls are in heat, like now. I had to go to the bank this morning again but when I got back I had a chat with the men about this problem, and also the blockage impacting the guest suite toilet. Angela had explained to them what we wanted for the fence so they finished up their insulating and then moved to this new task, first of all going out to buy some materials. There are some trees that grow very close to the fence there so I helped them a bit over my lunch break to take the worst ones down and then they cracked on very efficiently and have put a finer mesh over the whole fence. Hopefully that'll keep the other dogs out for now.

Our garden nicely dug over

This morning while we were sat waiting for Rosie to wake up (she really overslept) our fridge exploded. Literally. Today Angela managed to find a new one that was available for delivery tomorrow which was a relief. For me, as soon as my work day was done I went into the fenced garden and dug over the next strip of the garden. Tiring but satisfying work.

So there it is; a long update but a good one. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and back tomorrow.

A wonderful Christmas

As promised I'm here on Boxing Day to do an update about our awesome Christmas celebrations. I've loads of pictures (of course) so I'll try and be selective and not overwhelm with them however I'll probably fail completely.

Christmas music and dancing

Stickers done on Rosie's car

On Christmas Eve Eve after I did that last update I went downstairs to find Rosie and Angela dancing around the kitchen to some Christmas music which was lovely. Then, after Rosie was in bed, I got her police car and stuck all the stickers on it and this time I got them pretty straight!

Early morning Christmas Eve

Rosie excited by the tree

The sun rises on Christmas Eve

Rosie jumps off the kitchen platform

Angela and Rosie preparing the goat leg

It fits in our big pan

Decorated the dining table

The kitchen got tinseled too

Angela's car is now a reindeer

Christmas Eve I was up early, and so was Rosie, even before the sun came up. We opened up the lounge and lit the fire upstairs and had some lovely time together watching the sun rise before it was time to go downstairs (and jump off the kitchen platform) and then start to prepare the goat for the oven. Angela was marinating it over night so she prepared all that and Rosie helped until I took her to town for some last minute shopping for tinsel to decorate downstairs, and also a few bits for myself in the workshop. When we got back we kicked Angela out of the kitchen for a bit and did the decorating then brought her back in for the surprise. I also got her (by accident, to be fair) some antlers and a nose for her car.

Rosie in the tree house

She loves it up there

Sat in the tree seat looking at the view

Usmivka gets his gift and is very excited

The goat marinating and looking amazing

In the afternoon we had some fun out in the garden and Rosie went onto her tree house first with Angela and then I climbed up with her and we sat there for a bit enjoying the view and the lovely weather. It was so warm. Inside Angela was working away still getting prep done for Christmas Day including making an awesome pudding with a crushed up biscuit base. Late in the afternoon we headed next door to give our gifts to the neighbours and stayed for a chat and a bite to eat before heading back to continue work on the goat (the marinade was looking amazing!) and then we had a nice cold cuts, cheese and fresh bread meal before it was time to send Rosie to bed with strict instructions that she wasn't to wake up as she may scare Santa away. She was asleep and snoring within about five minutes - it had been a busy and exciting day for her.

A box set suitable for Christmas Eve

Louise relaxes to the max

With this, Christmas officially begins

As every year after she was in bed Angela and I settled on the sofa and watched Die Hard to ensure Christmas was a huge success. The puppies slept and we watched Hans fall off the Nakatomi Plaza and then it was time for bed for us as of course Christmas Day would be even longer.

Early morning Rosie with gifts

Rosie loves her Belinda doll

Lots of wooden track

Thelma loves her toy

Struggling to get the bottle open

Rosie didn't wake that early on Christmas Day, I was up before her and got some nice quiet time reading a book before she was up. Her first words to me where "has Santa been?!" and so we went straight upstairs and saw what Santa had left. He had drunk his beer, eaten his biscuit and Rudolf had taken a big bite of the carrot but the thing that excited Rosie most of all were the gifts; the drivable Police Car was one from Santa and the other was a walking talking doll that went to sleep when it lay down. She was pretty pleased indeed. We then remembered the gift from Santa at the school and got that out first thing too; more wooden railway tracks so of course the existing box was brought up and me and her set it all out to play with. After that it was time for the puppies to have their first presents which is always a laugh; Thelma in particular gets into unwrapping things (she tries to help on every present!) and they have loved these toys. Next up, cheap plonk time which was a huge struggle to get open but eventually I managed it so we were able to have a sip and get our family picture for the year taken.

Bacon and Eggs sets the day going

Rosie and Mummy do the magnets

Louise destroys a chew

Thelma and Xena working on theirs

Rosie is a policewoman

Beautiful dress from Nanny P

After that I cooked bacon and eggs for us all with our own eggs which is always a bonus and then it was back upstairs for some more presents. My friend who visited a few weeks back left an awesome couple of gifts for Rosie, magnets and a book, and she had lots of fun putting the magnets all around the fire guard upstairs. Then more gifts for the puppies which were chews this time round and this settled them down for a bit which gave us a chance to get more gifts unwrapped. The Policewoman outfit and lovely dress were from Angela's mum and Rosie loved them as well.

Heading out for our Christmas Day walk

The fog in the valley (arty farty shot)

The family having a lovely walk

This sun burned the fog all away quickly

Goat cooking and looking amazing

Playing with her marble race game

The next part of our lovely Christmas Day routine was a walk out the headland; this would be a test for Xena as it's the first time she's ever been on a lead and she did SO well; she wasn't too sure at first but didn't cause too much trouble and by the end was walking perfectly. It had been a bit foggy first thing however this was just burning off as we left and the sun was blazing as we reached the far point of our stroll before turning back. A lovely way to spend half an hour or so. The goat had been cooking for ages by this point and was looking incredible when we got home but still needed in for some more so we took Rosie outside to drive her Police Car around the patio which she did with great joy, and not a few crashes. The neighbour's grandson saw us out and came running over to see Rosie and so they had some nice time to play together before we sent him back home as we were about to have our Christmas Dinner.

Carving the first slice

I only put a small amount on my plate...

Rosie tries a sprout for the first time

Pleased with another present

I do love my new hat!

I carved the meat while Angela served everything else out and then we all sat at the table and enjoyed our amazing Christmas Dinner - roast goat really is the best thing ever! Rosie even tried a sprout for the very first time and said she liked it; she's awesome! After dinner we had some more present opening, including lovely gifts from my mum and my sister, and then it was time for a sleep. We were hoping to get back over to the neighbours early evening but by the time everyone woke up again from our naps it was late and we were all still very very tired so we called that off; even this late there were still a few gifts yet to open and the last of my gifts for the day was an awesome hat that I had wanted; thank you Angela! Rosie was quite late to bed again but did settle eventually and Angela and I sat and watched Die Hard with a Vengeance which was a lot of fun before it was time to collapse after an excellent and fun Christmas day.

Rosie plays with her slinky

A new toy; sticklebricks. Superb fun

The hot wheels that I posted back from the UK

This is such an epic breakfast

Rosie drives her car around again

Angela weeding and spreading mulch

Clearing this tangle

And so we reach today and while the day isn't done we have had a good morning. Rosie had a lovely lie in, and so did I to be fair (though I've woken with a sore throat and a bit of an ache which hopefully will clear quickly). Before we went upstairs to play with her new toys, Rosie found the slinky and had fun with it on the stairs. Yesterday had been such an intense day that we kept a few toys back unwrapped but unplayed with and this was a good idea as this morning Angela and Rosie played with the sticklebricks for quite a while as I built the hotwheels track up. After a nice playtime I went and made the traditional fry up for Boxing Day of all the left overs and then we headed outside again with the police car. Once more the neighbour's grandson came over to play with Rosie and they went in the tree house then inside to play with her gifts. This morning I had remembered the Bagatelle that I bought many years back so I brought that through as well and Rosie loves it; she showed the grandson and he had a lot of fun with it also. While they were playing Angela and I did some of our garden chores; she spread some more mulch and did some weeding while I pulled out the old tomato plants and tidied up that area of the raised beds. As I sit typing this Rosie and the grandson are watching Home Alone and everything is (currently) peaceful.

So there it is. I am not 100% sure when I'll post again so enjoy the rest of your week and Happy New Year for next weekend! Thanks for reading.