Fun weekend, electrics and another hole in the wall

We've had a fun weekend and today has been a good day of progress. We also started our yearly Christmas tradition of watching The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings this evening so it's a busy time. Let's get to it.

Rosie having breakfast with Pickle the Elf

Lovely tinsel on the stairs

Festive dining area now

Rosie signs Angela's pressie

A better storage option than the small tables

Another unit up on top here

Rosie doing the hoovering, very well indeed

Saturday morning Rosie very excitedly went looking for Pickle the elf again and found her fishing in the fish tank. Once we got ourselves going Rosie and I headed into town to pick up a few things including more tinsel to decorate some more of the downstairs. Rosie and I had lots of fun decorating the stairs and also the chairs and light in the dining room. We'd also picked up some gifts from Rosie (that she picked) for Angela and I wrapped them then Rosie signed the packages. Lovely. I spent some time tidying and clearing the landing to free up the storage units that Rosie's railway had been sat on, then shifted two of them into the roof. This freed up space for Rosie and I to get the hoover going to do our weekly cleaning chore. That evening after Rosie went to bed I headed into town to watch our friend's band again. Sadly Angela couldn't come with as we originally planned. I had a nice time and it was great to see our friend again as I've not seen him for so long.

Still flowering in the garden

A networking point installed

Glowing valves; amplifier is dodgy though sadly

Sunday was another good day. I don't have all that many pictures but I did grab a snap of the beautiful flower that has appeared out on the patio. I had a really busy day rushing around getting things done, one thing of which was to fit the network connection in the gym for the TV that we had mounted on the wall. That is now working, which is good for Angela while she's doing her long walks on the machine. I also got my guitars out and tested out the amplifiers. The vintage Marshall looked great, and the valves glowed really nicely, however it didn't work very reliably which is a shame. I will need to get that fixed at some point!

Starting to get ready for work

Chipping out a channel for the power

Channeling for the light switch

The first light location

Halil drilling out the stones for a new window

Trimming back the insulation

Sealed up for the end of the day

And so to today. The task was entirely within the cupboard under the stairs and involved the wiring and a new window. Bekir was focused on the wiring, first of all running a channel across from the distribution unit and then drilling out for the light switch. He and Halil then picked through all the huge quantity of old off cuts of three core to run the power for the lights and the plug sockets we want. Halil for his part made lots and lots of noise drilling out for the new window at the back of the cupboard. He got this all done and then, at my request, sealed this hole again with insulation to prevent rats or other creatures from getting in. Angela had to take Dutch to the vet today for his final vaccination and while she was out she picked up three lights for the storage (and some more shelf supports for a new idea I've had for the stairs to the roof).

The springs I had to adjust to tune my guitar

A new storage for the roof

Let's get to the Christmas Traditions

Today I got a few bits and pieces done. I finally got my new guitar (not so new now as I've had it for months) tuned up with new strings so I can finally finally play it! I also made up the shelving unit for upstairs and tried it in a couple of different locations. As soon as Rosie got back from school we were all sat on the sofa, squashed onto the two seater, to begin our Christmas tradition of watching all the extended editions of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

So there it is, a really fun weekend and Monday. Thanks for reading and back tomorrow.

Cleaning out the chicken house

I'm late starting to write this update because of everything that has happened today so let's get to it before I collapse in a heap on the floor of tiredness.

Wonderful productive garden Angela has created

All the family sat in the morning sun

Before we get into the day we were up quite early this morning and so Angela and Rosie got to do the watering before it got too hot. I also sat out and pottered a bit and then we all sat on the deck chairs watching the sun rise and the puppies got involved as well; it was a lovely full-family moment.

Messy building ready for tidying

Halil shovelling out the old hay and dust

Bekir fiddling with wires

Halil scrapes the walls

Bekir chips away at the ceiling

The men were in on time and Bekir said that he was worried with how hot it is that rendering the outside of the chicken house would be a bad idea. I agreed and so we decided to switch focus to inside the building. It was a total mess, having been used as a temporary tool store by the men for a few months and also the chickens and then Bekci living in there. First thing they lifted out a load of stuff and then swept the big bits up. Then they got two shovels and worked to knock down the loose cement and plaster. After a bit they found my new power washer and switched over to using that which was a much more sensible idea indeed and really kept the horrible dust down that was making it very unpleasant in there while they were working. Bekir also did some electrical work including running a cable through into the next room of this outbuilding so we can have a plug socket in there.

Rosie with her blue tongue

Two clowns doing magic tricks

School kids singing a patriotic song VERY lustily

I collected Rosie from school as Angela had an appointment and when we got back it was straight into the pool for a bit before we packed up and headed into town where the Childrens Day celebrations were being held. It was really awesome, we had some food and Rosie had a drink that turned her tongue totally blue then there was dancing and singing which Rosie danced to before we headed home. And that is why I am late starting this update.

So there it is; another awesome day and here's to tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Back to the garden

After the day off yesterday the men were back today; let's get to this update as it covers both days.

Angela in her new raised bed garden

Balcony play with me and Grandma

The bouncy thing with Grandma

Yesterday was a beautiful day and Angela made the most of it by being outside a fair bit getting a load of stuff done in the garden. I was super busy and was very pleased when it was time for Rosie to get home from school, though she was later than normal as Grandma and Angela took her to the park for a bit after school. We had a nice time on the balcony with her new house and also the rocking donkey before it was time to head downstairs for quieter play then books.

We get to the bar for our night out

Band in full flow

For the first time for years, literally, Angela and I went out together last night. We headed to a local bar to watch our friend the policeman play in his band. It was so lovely to get out and we had an awesome time. Hopefully we can go again some time as well.

The sun rises on another day

Bekir and Halil laying slabs

Checking out the damp

There it is; time to dry out

Today dawned bright and beautiful, but frosty, and the sun stayed out all day. I took Rosie down to school this morning and when I got back the men were in and laying slabs around the raised beds. When the finished the first length Bekir came in to look at the dampness in the library and after moving a load of things we pulled the carpet up to find that indeed the dehumidifier had been leaking and there was a very damp area through the carpet and underlay and onto the floor. We have left this carpet pulled back to air and dry it and will reinstall it at the end of the week. Frustrating, but at least we found it wasn't water coming in through the wall.

Angela shifting stones in a barrow

Using the stones to edge the garden

Seedlings starting to sprout

Xena and Louise having a play

It really was another glorious day and again while I was stuck at my desk Angela made the most of it to get into the garden. I did help her with this barrow, after taking the picture, and she was making a lovely edging to the garden with some stones she found in the excavations for the chicken enclosure and other places. The seedlings she planted with Rosie are also coming up really nicely. It wasn't only Angela enjoying being outside; Thelma, Louise and Xena had a great time, with Xena in particular playing a lot with Louise, while Angela threw the ball for Thelma.

A little bit of pickaxe work

All cut out now

The men finished up the slabs and then turned their attention to the final front section. We had a bit of a chat and decided to have a central slope in line with the middle aisle and have a wall to each side of it with slabs at the bottom. They had to chip out some stone and made use of the breaker for this and by the end of the day were ready for concrete which is awesome as that can be poured tomorrow morning.

So there you are; another awesome day here and more of the same tomorrow I think. Thanks for reading.

Weekend and more welding

Another Monday flies round at high speed, almost before you realised the weekend had begun, and so here I am again after just putting Rosie to bed and I'm going to write some more up and put some more pictures in here. Onwards

Olden Beat kicking off the evening

How tall is Rosie?

Colourful trees on the back bank

Looking down and across from the bench

Everyone in Rosie's play tent

SpaceX make history

So, the weekend. The pattern of the weather continued with heavy rain at times and at other times lovely sunshine. It was a busy day on Saturday with a lovely extended family Zoom call and various other things going on like cleaning the lounge and in the evening I got to go out and see Venko and his band, Olden Beat, playing in a local bar. It was nice to get to see them all again. I got home in time to just miss the SpaceX launch but got to watch the first manual flying test. Very exciting. Sunday was another mixed day of weather, though it stayed nice most of the day and I was able to get to the back bank with Rosie for a stroll and to look at the views which was lovely. We also remembered to mark how tall Rosie was on her lion height thing which she has started to notice and enjoy bashing. The other major notable thing was being able to watch the Crew Dragon docking with the ISS while holding Rosie - it was an amazing thing and prompted me to watch the whole livestream, then go to the virtual Feis Ile (we should be on Islay now) and then some other videos from whisky friends. It was a much needed wind down after quite a stressful week.

My idea

Their idea (or my understanding of it)

Grinding for the day begins

Three lengths, not just one, for better strength and support

And so to today. The men were slightly more on time today, which was good, and I grabbed Bekir immediately to talk through the plans for the steel. I was worrying that they way they were doing it wouldn't be as strong as my idea however after some tooing and froing, and a few mind-changes, we came to a total understanding and a better idea than either had had up to then. So they started grinding away and putting the long cross piece in place. I got another quick video of them lifting up, this time using a rope to help which was sensible.

The full 10m span in place

Central column positioned carefully

Bekir welding, and wearing a mask

Sally fixing the intermediate upright

Safe welding practices

I was watching Rosie while Angela went to try and finally sort her vaccines out (which she did - YAY!) and so I missed seeing how the three men managed to lift, on their own, the 10m length of 10x10 box section steel, but lift it they did. The way we are doing this front span is to have the welding joins over the top of the columns, to give support underneath, and they did the welding on the floor before lifting it all. With this up the next step was the middle column and from there they used a line to work out the pitch of the roof correctly and put the two intermediate, shorter, top columns in place as well. The biggest thing for me was seeing both Sally and Bekir voluntarily using the welding mask. Wonders never cease.

Bekir drilling for the return beam

Accidentally perfectly positioned

Using the tall scaffold

Arty shot for the end of the day

With the metal work done they moved to the next task which was drilling into the main wall so they can insert and secure the next huge steel elements, the beams going from the intermediate uprights across to the main building. Totally against all the odds, and a surprise to everyone, was the fact that when they broke through they found that pretty nearly the beam would sit flush with the attic floor, which is a 30cm thick concrete slab and very strong. We couldn't have planned it better. Before the end of the day they had drilled to satisfaction the first hole, and were just making a start on the second. The ridgeline will go into the existing roof which will be another interesting challenge.

Rosie on the run with the puppies

Watching two lambs and a sheep

Angela's first lettuce successes

And so the time was for me to run around the garden after Rosie and we had a lovely time, she's becoming more and more of a cheeky madam and a fun character to have around. She still loves the sheep, however, and stood or crouched watching these two lambs and their mother for a fair while before the sheep decided to move on. She also climbed up her slide steps on her own a few times to slide down, and had a swing. Angela was also amazed at being able to grow lettuce, as you can see. We need to eat it all now!

So there you are; hopefully more to come tomorrow as we push forwards on this project. I'm hoping to have work so we can keep the men on (and get solar and a borehole so we can disconnect from the mains utilities as soon as possible.)