Plastering done

We have made it to the end of the week and so let's get this update out the way before relaxation and sleep.

Rosie and all her teddies

This morning I spent some very fun time with Rosie putting her teddies out on the bench in the play room. Actually I've just remembered they are still there so we'd better get them done before Rosie's bedtime!

Working through the morning together on plastering

Bekir sticks with the plastering

Halil gets stuck into the stacking

Bekir reaches the end of the wall plastering

Halil splits logs on the driveway

Now Halil sharpens the chainsaw

Halil holds Rosie up next to his wood stack

Fixing up the floor now

More wasps - so much of a problem this year

So to what Bekir and Halil got done today. They were working together in the chicken house plastering for the morning which made a lot of sense as the morning has the sun strongly shining on the wood store and driveway. After lunch Bekir continued while Halil got stuck into stacking. They both made very good progress and by mid afternoon the plastering was all but done. I went for a chat with Halil as he was cutting and splitting some logs and then sharpening the chainsaw. We also found a load more wasp nests in Julian (who is going to go with Halil relatively soon as he will renovate him and make use of him finally. By the end of the day the woodstore was all but fully filled and Bekir had completed the plastering and also done a load of fixes around the edge of the floor and started to fill in the holes in the floor of the chicken house. Very good progress indeed. Bekir also went onto the roof of the porch again and found three more wasp nests, and another behind one of the air conditioning units. They really are a problem this year!

Rosie doing her arting

I'll wrap the update up with Rosie painting with me after the end of my day. She had a lovely day with Angela playing games and then a lovely time with me doing art and crafts. Great fun.

Thanks for reading; we'll be back on Monday.

Chainlink begins

Welcome back to another day and today hasn't been glorious; of course it hasn't - we put the pool up yesterday and I wanted to run the mower today. Typical. Oh well, that's life.

Angela planting more flowers along the side

The melon planting, climbing

Beautiful flowers

Tree frog on the pool side

Tree frog back in the tree

The pool filled loads over night

I had the pleasure of taking Rosie to school today and when I got back I found Angela in the garden planting some more beautiful flowers. I also was able to appreciate the melon plant that is now trained up the arch that Rosie and I built the other day. Finally a photo of the flowers that she planted in the car tyres - they have exploded into colour! Beautiful. Shortly after we took the pool cover off for the day and found that a tree frog was on the side of the pool; I managed to catch it and took it to the tree where it jumped out of my hands and grabbed a branch. Awesome! The pool was filling fast and is over half way full now; we may stop the pipes tonight to stop it overflowing though.

The men were out finishing off the final bits of shuttering first thing and then when that was done they prepared to pour the cement round the pillars. I got the pump and filter out for the pool and got it all plumbed in ready for starting to run it regularly again. The weather really wasn't looking good and there was a lot of rumbling and then a sudden really strong blast of wind that literally tore the insulation from under the pool and sent it flying across the garden. The men braved the weather, however, and got all the cement poured and then at the end of the day they started on the first run of chain link. This is looking great and it is very exciting to have some of that up now. Before dinner I spent time with Rosie as usual and we hung a couple of pictures, including one of Angela's that is the first in what will be a gallery going down the main stairs.

Caterpillar

Just now we have been out getting the pool cover on and Angela spotted an awesome caterpillar climbing the side of the porch; it's been a day for strange green creatures it seems.

Thanks for reading as always, back tomorrow.

Mo to the car doctor, then more progress

Where is time flying to; it is crazy how quickly these weeks are whipping by. Anyway, Monday again so let's get to the weekend and then today.

Rosie insisted on this morning photograph

Rosie bouncing high

She just loves any form of drawing

Angela and Rosie take the scenic seats

Saturday was overcast but Rosie was insistent that I take a picture of the sky as she could see purples and blues and oranges in it and who am I to refuse. After some nice time outside we had a bit of bounce time then a bit of art time before I hitched Thomas up to the trailer and Rosie and I headed off to get him to the shop to get fixed. Angela and Rosie rode up to the top of the village in the trailer and she was bouncing around and loving it. The journey up was easy but then as I tried to reverse into the carpark at the shop not a single driver on the road would wait; sometime the people over here are so rude and it is almost always when they are behind the wheel of a car. I managed it eventually, left him for repair, and drove back. I was pretty exhausted but after a nice chat with my mum and sister we had some more time outside, then nap time and bed time shortly after; Rock and Roll!

Sat in the morning sun sieving sand. As you do

Rosie back to drawing

More stuff from last week

Sunday I was super busy with my hobbying as I've a few deadlines for things coming up - first thing in the morning I sat out by the sand pile and sieved a load of sand (I use it for texture on my models) which was a super peaceful way to start the day with the birds singing and bees buzzing. Angela had Rosie for most of the day and they again went to the Fayre by Kaufland which was great fun. Later on while Angela was cooking I had fun with Rosie and she did a load more art time. Superb. I also found out that last week the men had built a column for beside the far gate which will have cement poured this week I reckon.

Making a start in the morning sun

Starting to build the shuttering

Front bit all done

Removing the old post

Filling in gaps by the pillars

Halil trimming down the overgrowth

Cutting the leaves off

And so we get to today. It has been absolutely beautiful today, but very hot for outside working. The men basically spent today putting more shuttering up for the concrete that will be poured on top of the wall; Angela had the idea to put the bottom of the chain link inside the concrete which is a brilliant one so they are going to do the shuttering, then pour the concrete for the pillars, then mount the chain link and then do the rest of the pour. Very exciting times. On top of this Halil did a bit more scything and also trimmed down the walnut branches that I cut last week. It has been a hot and slow day but with how fiddly shuttering is, I'm pleased with progress.

Tadpoles in the water

So much cardboard to shred

Rosie drawing in her book

Today Angela has been on a cleaning mission and has made a huge difference in the kitchen, library and lounge. It's amazing what you can do when you don't feel sick. While I was out with the men one time I spotted tadpoles in the water container and showed them to Rosie who was very excited indeed. After work while waiting for her to get home I was able to attack some of this huge pile of cardboard for shredding, a task I've been putting off for weeks as well. Finally Rosie did lots of drawing and stickers and painting before we had a lovely curry for dinner.

So there it is; this week is set to be a hot one so more of the sunshine shots to be expected. Thanks for reading, back tomorrow.

Drilling, painting and mowing

Another absolutely glorious day here and more progress across the board. Let's get to it as while I type this Rosie and Angela are getting the garden watered so I've not got lots of time.

Sunrise with some clouds about

About to paint with Angela

Halil sharpens a drill bit

Measuring out for four holes

Drilling the holes

I'm on Mo and I'm mowing on my lunch break

This is where he ran out of fuel

This morning we all went out onto the patio first thing and saw the sun rising over the hills. Rosie insisted on a picture being taken so here it is. I was busy with work from early but they both came onto the balcony before school and did some painting. The men were in on time and first up Halil was sharpening a metal drill bit so the main task of the day could be done. They were drilling four holes in both sides of each angled length. This was to both provide draining if water got in, but also to act as securing points for the barbed wire. It was another day of boring repetitive work for them however they got it done really well. At lunch time I pulled Mo out and ran him over the front lawn which was very long again. I ran out of fuel just before finishing the entirety but I had also run out of time so back to work it was.

Finishing touches as they touch up the paint

Some tree limbs that needed removing

Tidying up for the end of the day

Hungry caterpillar

Awesome looking plums

Mid afternoon just as Bekir and Halil finished the drilling task I went with Halil to pick Maisie up. It wasn't the cheapest of repairs but that was very quick and it's very good to know that someone local is so competent to repair her. When we got back they both got stuck into the painting of the welded areas and they got that completely finished some tomorrow will be the day the posts are mounted - this is very exciting indeed! After work I fuelled Maisie, finished the mowing and trimmed down a Walnut that had a big branch too low to mow under. We will dry that and it can be used for firewood in a few years. Halil was cleaning and tidying up for the end of the day after I finished this and I talked to them about the next steps. We were in the orchard when Bekir pointed out this very big caterpillar on one of the plum trees. It's eating the leaves! We left it there, of course.

Rosie on her Peppa Pig spacehopper

About to start another masterpiece

Rosie shows off her creation

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of after school Rosie. She came home with lots of energy and after waiting for me to finish my mowing (and playing balloons with Angela) I took over while she cooked and it was great fun. We did balloons and space hoppers and then some football on the balcony and finally some painting. She's having such fun with that!

So there you are; another good day, it's still 27 degrees at my desk on the balcony in the shade and the sun is shining and the sky is blue. Here's to tomorrow. Thanks for reading!