Plastering and Storms

Today started very much too early as Rosie woke me at 3:15am and I couldn't get back over so I just got out of bed and started work. I am now exhausted.

The climbing frames for the plants in place

Scraping the corners to get a better finish

Plastering is finished here now

Bekir moving on to the next wall

Now he's finishing off these walls

I'm really loving the space in the crawl-spaces

We only had Bekir again today and first thing he helped to lift the frames over and get them situated in the raised beds so tomorrow Angela can plant out the seedlings that will be growing up these frames. After this he was into the roof and plastering pretty much all day. He tidied up a lot of what Halil had done including scraping and putting another coat over the walls by the double doors, and then tidying the tops of the corridor walls which had been filled last week. I got a few minutes to head up and tidy the Christmas stuff that had just been brought up on the weekend and it fits in really well.

Water pouring off the balcony roof

Lots of hail on the hillside

As has been the case the past week or so we had a lovely sunny day until about 3:30 when the clouds rushed in and the thunder rattled the windows. This time the rain was truly torrential and we had a fair few blasts of hail; thank goodness for the car port! After it had passed the hills across from us were literally white with the hailstones.

So there you are. I'll be back tomorrow so until then, and thanks for reading.

Spring Storms return

Another weekend and another Monday done and it is time to catch this blog up to date.

Rosie on the trampoline first thing Saturday

Rosie painting

Lovely panorama from the roof terrace

We also played with the model railway

Mummy and Rosie both enjoying the trampoline

A very bright moon on Sunday night

The weekend was an awesome and tiring one. Saturday being Daddy Saturday I had a lovely time with Rosie while Angela got back to her art room finally. With some trampolining and drawing and painting and playing in her house and riding on her trike and going onto the roof terrace and also playing with the model railway it was a super busy start to the day. We then headed out to get a new car seat for Rosie to go into Angela's car and then headed back home to rest and recover. Sunday is Mummy day and they had an awesome and busy day as well, though the only picture I got was of Angela joining Rosie on the trampoline. On Saturday night there was a huge storm which woke me at 2am and banged and crashed around for quite a while but Sunday night was clearer with an amazing bright moon.

Cooler start and getting stuck in

Clearing the trench up the side now

Shuttering done along the front

Making up more shuttering, in the shade

Loads of poppies

Angela gardening, with Xena "helping"

This morning Angela and Rosie were up early and out the door as it has suddenly reached time for Rosie to go up a school! Where is time going to!! It took two trips to town but Angela managed to get the registration done for Rosie at the new "big girl" pre-school! Very exciting! The men were on time and out in the cooler start to the day finishing off the front trench and shuttering. By the time I got down and out next Halil was on with clearing up the next trench going up the side and they had finished all the shuttering along the front, including the step. The sun burned through shortly after and it was very hot and they were happy to be assembling more wooden structures in the shade of the green building. Just before lunch time I popped out to get a picture of the huge number of poppies growing in the fenced garden and found Angela tending to her garden. It's looking so awesome now!

This storm missed us, but made lots of noise

Securing the wooden shutters in place

Struggling to remove this upright

Removing the last fence post on this side

Xena chewing up a chunk of wood

In the afternoon some storms started building around again and there was a lot of very threatening rumbles however the first few skirted us without even dropping any rain. The men were still working away on running the wooden shutters up the trench and then they focused on removing the old fence posts which turned out to be quite a task as they were so well fitted from last time. I can remember them putting these in before we had the big breaker using just the crowbar to dig. They did such a good job! Xena and Thelma were playing with a log chasing it and chewing it while I was spending a few minutes watching. Just after the workmen left, and when Rosie was home, a huge storm suddenly hit with hail and thunder and lots of rain. It has now cleared and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Such is Spring in Bulgaria.

So there you have it; it's been a lovely evening and now Rosie is in bed. Thanks for reading, back tomorrow.

Yet more digging

 Today has been a tough day as both Angela and I have been suffering a bit with Rosie's cold and she has been off school because of it. But we got through and now I've got time to type this up quickly.

A foggy start to the day

More digging to start the day

Sun burned through quickly

Bekir starts to clear away the humanure

Two "mature" collection points with superb soil

Making a stake

Storm clouds gather

A sand delivery that woke me up

Fixing up the mower

The day started off foggy but this burned away very quickly indeed leaving a lovely warm day; my window in the office was open a lot today. The men started off with digging out the edges of the ramp that we are putting to go down onto the front lawn from the patio. With this done they started to dig out in front of the humanure to make space for the wall to be put in; I probably should have been ahead of this and asked them to actually dig out the old humanure and dump it on the hugelkultur but by the time I thought this it was too late. I do think I'll need to take some time off work in the morning and dig out the "current" humanure point for them as I can't really ask them to do that! With the channel dug in the two old collection points (these are actually the two that will be converted to the new "direct to humanure" flush system toilet thing I'm designing as a last effort to continue composting) Bekir and Halil worked on making some stakes so they can run a line between them and build the wall straight. The lovely weather was closing in fast and we had a couple of thunderstorms, with a small amount of hail, blow through but the men sheltered inside while it passed then went straight out again. I was not feeling great as I've said and after work I slept on my sofa in Room 13 for a bit and was woken by a delivery of sand and stones for cement work over the next couple of days. The main pour will be done from big cement mixer trucks but the walls will be using stuff mixed here. Also today the new belt finally arrived for the mower and so they fitted it. It was a disrupted day with weather, but still some very good progress was made.

Mid gurn sat at the bus stop

Looking at Nanny's house, and home

Chasing the sheep with Caulliflower leaves

The next storm blows in

Once I was up and awake I went down and took a very reluctant Rosie for a walk to find the sheep and give them some offcuts from the caulliflower. It took a bit of searching before we found them on the bottom field and then Rosie had a lot of fun throwing leaves (which made the sheep run away) then running to pick up the leaves and throw them again. At least she wasn't gurning. The weather was still bad and it began raining again before we got home.

So there you are; another day and we're getting very excitingly close to building retaining walls and then it'll be machine pour and patio done! Thanks for reading.

RIP Ming

I open this update with sad news; our favourite chicken went missing at "putting away" time and after much searching we found her, with her throat ripped out, hidden away behind the outbuildings. Ming was the friendly one who always sat on A's lap when they first hatched, and she was the independent one as she grew older. Of course, this is life and chickens getting killed is part of keeping them but we were still very sad about losing her.

Young Ming, sadly deceased this week

The final photograph - Ming comes to say hello

Here's to Ming; you made us smile!

Sassy is damp from the storm, but unharmed from the attack

Thelma in a rare playful mood

Louise with her huge smile

A really stunning light across the valley

Hail on the windowsill

The week started with a huge storm in the night and a dramatic moment where, as the thunder struck within half a second of us, Sassy suddenly started screaming. It was about 3am and I ran out to find out what was going on; she was thrashing around but it was so dark and raining so hard that I couldn't see what was going on. The puppies joined me and suddenly chased something right across the balcony and over the edge. I have no idea what it was, and Sassy seems fine with no wounds, but still it was amazingly dramatic. It was a long working day for me which went on far too late as a deadline loomed at the end of the week but there was time for playing with the puppies and sitting outside for lunch. Very shortly after that March struck again and we had a huge hail storm. About ten minutes after this picture was taken the sun was back out and there was barely a cloud in the sky.

A very threatening bird in the skies

Swooping around, but nothing for them this time

Moon, and birds in the trees

More Saharan dust in the skies

Tuesday was another busy working day but also another glorious day. While I was sat at my desk I looked up and saw a bird of prey circle past so A went outside to check the birds and prevent it from swooping either on them, or on the girls who were on the top bank. It was a beautiful day and the moon showed up bring and nearly full - forgive me for arty-farty with the birds in the plum tree. I could not resist at all. We had threats of more storms and more dust from the Sahara heading our way and that evening as the sun went down the clouds in the distance were red with more than sunset. Beyond that it was a day at the desk and I sat for so long I even lifted the desk to standing (which I haven't done for a while) as my legs started getting sore from sitting so long.

Early golden sunset

Bright blossom, and early spring green

Later on with the sunset

Wednesday was even more busy, and both A and I were working hard. We did go to drop Thomas at the garage, finally, to get his shoes changed from winter to summer and on the way were amazed by the amount of run-off along the road so, on the way back, we stopped so I could get a picture. Also the puppies were playing really well with a ball each, Louise is getting into this playing thing more and more. Apart from that all I have are these pictures taken in the evening of the sunset, and of the False Plum trees along the back bank. With all the storms and high winds we have had (and we've had a lot this week) our blossom has been battered on the real fruit trees but these are still as bright and yellow today as they were at the beginning of the week.

Looking proudly at the quality of this soil after two years of work

I've planted these all out

A getting her digging on

Ming checking out the digging

We really are pleased with how the Hugelkultur has matured

Stunning sunset to cheer us up

A huge sky, beautiful and peaceful

As it is Easter Weekend this weekend A took Thursday off work and was able to get out into the garden in the lovely weather. I was pretty much stuck to my desk, btu went down to help empty the wheelbarrow whenever I was called. At lunch time I planted out the bulbs that A had picked up the other week so we've filled a little more of the garden by the entrance path. This was when we have the picture of Ming coming to say hello to us and see what was going on; I still cannot believe she's gone. Another great thing, as well as how brilliant the quality of the soil in the Raised Beds is now, is just how awesome that soil is in the Hugelkultur - it is so rich and dark I think maybe it WAS a worthwhile effort after all. The sunset was stunning and I ran up onto the roof terrace at top speed so as to not miss it.

Beautiful day to be outside

Louise sat at the table like a Ooman

Gaming on the balcony (briefly)

Louise being a parrot, Thelma being a torture

Thomas with his new boots on

Time for a BBQ!

The pupples chill while the BBQ cooks

Very excited for this BBQ sauce

Eaten eggs, probably by a rat

Bright moon rising

My Easter started on Friday and I was very good and didn't work. A was out to collect Thomas (I got the picture later in the day, which is why it is where it is in the picture order above) and when she was back we carried the table onto the balcony to play a game as it was glorious. Sadly after a very short time the gusts of wind, and they were only gusts, meant we had to move inside however he had a lot of fun and actually ended up playing again in the evening after our BBQ. It was our first of the year, and we got the special BBQ sauce out from Islay. It was Friday that we found Ming dead, and I also recovered a couple of eaten eggs from the Green Building. It was a glorious moon rise that we saw while relaxing on the sofa between games; it's so amazing to be back up in the Lounge again.

Another glorious firey sunset

A red moon arising

Just a wisp of cloud

Amazingly bright moon - hard to photograph

Yesterday was a working day, though not so much paid work. I had a super-productive morning doing stuff for my project with Lee, and then added a bunch of cool new features to the ArdaCon website. We made an abortive attempt to go and collect Pat (who also has her new shoes on) but rung and found that they were shut however this did mean we were able to give the Special One a lift to the train station. When I got out of the car to get cash Louise sang and howled and attracted the attention of the local pack, which caused Thelma to growl. We got a lot of laughs and smiles from the locals walking past. Other than that it was a pretty quiet day that ended in a very rare way for us; we spent the evening just being together - not playing games or on our computers, but sat talking and holding hands. What a lovely evening it was. Oh, and that MOON!

Sun, but it was so windy

It really was very windy

Hugely threatening clouds

The wind whipping smoke from the fire

CD case scenery - a road

Really tasty curry for dinner

End of play for the day

And so we get to today, and I'm right at the end of Sunday as I come back to finish this update. It's been another really good day today (I enjoy not working). We both had a very disturbed night with a huge storm that forced A to go to the spare room as the hat on the chimney was squeaking a LOT and then I went outside twice in the night to bring things in so they didn't blow away. We were both awake early this morning and I was helping a friend out with a sample website for his business while A did some painting and then went shopping. The wind was incredible for all the morning and a good part of the afternoon and when we were on the Roof Terrace it was actually strong enough that I retreated before we got into danger. The Little Lady came over with some guests as soon as  A got back from the shops and we had coffee and chatted for a bit. I've done some more modeling today with a little bit of painting and some scenery and then this evening, after an AWESOME curry, we've just played half of a game of SBG. A has now gone to bed as she's not feeling great while I'm finishing this and doing a little more hobby time before I head to bed. I've got Thelma with me as well and I'm kicking her ball

So there you are. There's a chance that Bekir et al will be back at some point this week so if that happens I'll be back more regularly. Otherwise I'll see you next weekend.