On to the walls...

So we reach another Friday and I've a relatively large number of pictures to go through so let's see how long this gets.

Xena decides to sit on top of Louise

I'll start with Louise, who was comfortably asleep a few minute prior to this picture, being sat on by Xena who has no concept of personal space. I did move her after taking the picture. Poor Louise.

A load of sand delivered for Rosie

Halil removing the old wooden supports

Bekir fits a double socket on the wall

Halil manually carrying sand to the landing

A dry mix of sand and lime

First thing this morning we had a sand delivery which I was able to pay for, and also the previous delivery that we'd never paid for apparently, so that's good. One less debt. Bekir and Halil were straight up onto the stairs getting a few bits of clearing up, like removing the old wooden supports for the old consumer unit, and Bekir also fitted the double plug on the wall. Then Halil got started with many trips with two buckets carrying sand and lime up to the landing where they then did the dry mix which took some time as the lime is now quite old and lumpy.

Water used to wash down the walls

Mixing together to get ready for mortaring

Bekir starts throwing mud

There really was a lot of dust and loose rubble on these old walls so they brought the hose up and washed down the walls and floor which made quite a mess, but was a necessary step. After that it was more water as they worked together to mix the sand and lime into an applicable state and then the big moment as the first of the mud was thrown at the wall. This is great, it's been ten years since we started on the new roof and finally we're able to finish off and tidy up this part of the building.

The side gate is very overgrown

A whole lot of weeding done

Getting stuck in down here as well

Cleared about half of this area of the garden

After my very a very busy day at my desk I headed into the garden to blow the cobwebs and get something done, focusing on weeding first by the side gate, which was dramatically overgrown and took some clearing, and then down to the front garden by the old path where I pulled up loads of sticky weeds and other nastiness and got about half of it done before I absolutely had to head inside to start cooking my dinner.

A good solid meal

Talking of dinner I cooked pie, chips, onion rings and breaded mushrooms and it was very tasty indeed, and much needed after my long day.

In other news the key arrived for the roof box, which is a relief, so this weekend I can get that onto Maisie. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll be back on Monday.

Another epic weekend, and bird proofing

Monday nights are always daunting as I'm tired from the day at work and then I've got three days to write about. So let's get to it.

Rosie is growing up so fast

She still loves these machines though

A tray of flowers for Angela to plant

Spud rows hoed out of the garden

Angela gets them planted

Starting to dig up the thistles

A wheel barrow full of lords and ladies

Rosie proud of all her sandcastles

Clouds reflect the sunset

Saturday was an awesome and busy day. First thing I took Rosie out into town to do some shopping for various bits and pieces. She pushed the trolley around Kaufland and then had a lot of fun on the noisy machine when we left. We picked up some lovely flowers for Angela which she planted almost as soon as we got home. When we did get home I was straight into the fenced garden to help dig out the rows for the spuds and then Angela followed me and planted out all the remaining spuds she had. I was by this time into the garden with the fork first of all digging up all the thistles I could see, and then going after the "lords and ladies" that have sprung up everywhere as they are poisonous! Rosie, all this time, was being such a good girl. She was playing on her scooter a bit but mostly she was over in the sand pile making multiple sand castle. Brilliant. It was lovely all day, though towards the end of the day the wind did pick up, and the sunset was quite lovely indeed.

Rosie doing a jigsaw puzzle

Back out in the garden in the sand pit

I put a feather in my hat

Car fridge fits perfectly

Time for a picnic on the grass

This pizza was actually very nice

Sunday was Rosie's day with Mummy and she had a great day again. First thing there was play time including some jigsaw puzzles and then a bit of time outside as well. Later on Angela took her to town and they found a new play area that was really good fun so they were out for ages. I took the time to treat my hat with oil, and then fit a feather into the hat band. It looks great. I also check out Maisie, tested the new car fridge and also put the new magnetic charging thing for my phone in. When Angela and Rosie got home I was just spreading the rug out so we could have a picnic on the lawn. The afternoon was much quieter as everyone recovered from their morning and then in the evening we went to our favourite restaurant where I had pizza and Rosie played and played and played.

Supplies have been purchased

Bekir fixing battens to the steel

Mo gets her annual service

Starting to fit the mesh

Halil securing with staples

And so we reach today and it was a mix up day for the men as the weather was so nice we could get a few more bits done outside. One of the plans for the car port is to eventually wall it in and get a roller shutter for the front however that won't be for a while yet now. I asked the men to get some fine bird netting to put around the edge of the space and also to suspend from the ceiling to prevent the swallows and house martins from nesting in all the tempting corners. I had also asked Halil to bring his mechanic friend over to check out Mo and today he arrived, with his young son who had a lot of fun on Rosie's old scooter bike. Anyway, through the day and involving quite a few trips out for parts we now have a working Mo again and also the mesh is up around the outside of the space. Tomorrow they'll be working on the roof.

Plum blossom is just stunning

Rosie with her chalk writing

Swinging from her new swing

The bulbs are looking amazing

Fun with friends

To round the day out a few more general pictures. Firstly the plum tree is blossoming so awesomely right now it's incredible. The smell from this is amazing and there were so many bees on it today that you could hear them from up the patio! When Rosie got home from school she had a lot of fun with the chalks drawing on the pump house then went onto the swing for quite a while having lots of fun. The tortoise garden is looking amazing right now as well. Finally, after we did the watering of the garden, she get her trike out and the Other Brother's son came over to play with Rosie for a bit which was awesome.

So there it is; I hope you enjoyed reading, and thank you for doing so. Back tomorrow.

Plastering and Christmas Lights

Today is a day of two halves. I'm late starting this so let's get to it.

A big pile of sand has been delivered

Let it burn

Starting to slap the mortar on the walls

Angela takes a stroll

Getting towards the end of the first mix

The men started the day trying to make use of our existing sand to make up the plaster/mortar however that sand was bought mixed with stones and it was really difficult for them to separate the stones out, what with all the rain that has made the sand very heavy and sticky, so we ordered some more sand which arrived very quickly. While waiting for that Bekir had another tidy around and lit another fire to get rid of it. It was quite stinky. Once the new sand had arrived they mixed a load of mortar up and then Bekir got to work in the restricted space, throwing the mortar onto the exterior wall to seal it prior to plastering. Thankfully the rain did stop today, however it didn't really brighten up that much and was miserable and grey all day. In the afternoon Angela went to collect Thomas with the men and also to do some stuff at our friends house to winterise their place so it was only a half day for the men anyway.

Gizmo and Tiny say hi to Rosie

Rosie watching the show

Rosie on my shoulders

Time to meet Santa again

As Angela was out I got to collect Rosie from school and when we got back the puppies from the farm were at the gate again. Rosie loves them and hopped out the car to say hello to Gizmo and Tiny. After that it was time for a little hobby then when Angela got back, much later than we'd expected, there was a huge rush to get back out the house and down to town in time for the lights show. It was pretty awesome with singers and dancers and Rosie saw some of her friends, sat on my shoulders for a bit, then met Santa and got a little gift. We left actually before the lights were turned on as Rosie was hungry and so were we - we had a nice dinner at the local fast food place which we do like then headed back in time for bed time for Rosie and me to write this update.

So there it is. Another weekend is upon us so back on Monday. Thanks for reading.

Weekend and wildfire

It is very late Monday as I sit here typing this as we have just had a very exciting and scary evening however first of all let's go over the awesome weekend so you'll have to wait to find out about that.

The wasps have been such a problem this year

Rosie playing in the sand

Rosie the excavator operator

Let's start making a castle

Castle done and looking great

Panorama from the balcony

Rosie in her awesome outfit

Saved this tortoise

Our wood delivery arrives

So let's go back to Daddy Saturday which started super early for me taking down more wasps nests from around the front of the house. After that Rosie and I spent some time playing in the sand pit. She was digging away and I got the toy excavator out and showed her how to use it and she was very good at it indeed. Then we made a sand castle before going in for breakfast before our trip out. We weren't in a rush as the shop we were going to didn't open early so after some time on the balcony and admiring the stunning view I found clothes for Rosie to wear (dressing her nicely for once) and we headed into town. A tortoise was by the gate which is always nice to see. the trip was a success and when we got back we even had time for a quick dip in the pool before the family skype call. Early afternoon I had a call from the Other Brother and the first part of our wood delivery arrived and was dumped out ready for cutting and splitting.

The sun rises on Sunday

Rosie and Angela dead heading my dad's flowers

Rosie harvests some tomatoes

Another awesome harvest

Swimming time for the girls

Firewood delivery arrives again

Clouds on the horizon

Sunday I was up again early to attack the wasps and got to watch the sun rise which was lovely. Then I got on with my Sunday chores while Angela and Rosie did some stuff in the garden. When I could I popped down and helped Rosie to harvest a load of tomatoes for Angela to preserve again then they went into the pool which was lovely and I joined them briefly before heading back to finish a few bits off. Once again in the afternoon a truck arrived with more fire wood so we now have everything we ordered. I would have preferred it a month or two ago but it is what it is. In the afternoon the threatened storms gathered but we only had a slight sprinkling of rain before it disappeared again.

My morning view this morning

Halil sifts sand for the mortar

Bekir talking through the electrics

Wall fixing

And so we reach today and it was a very busy day for me indeed. I finally got to move back out to my balcony desk which was great and I didn't leave my desk very much from early. I did try and get some pictures of what the men were doing which involved firstly sifting lots of sand so they could make up more mortar and then working through the day inside the house to keep patching the walls and also put the electrical cables in place properly. They also headed out and got paint for inside. It was a good day. After school we all went into the pool briefly before we all got out and Rosie wanted to go upstairs to the balcony and to play in the lounge....

... and it was a good thing she did....

This is what greeted me as I went out the front

Bekir spraying as the fire rages higher

Bekir spraying more water on the flames

Here comes the fire truck

As we were playing we looked out the window and I saw smoke coming from down by the farm. This isn't unusual however there were two plumes which is so after a second of thought I decided to go and shout at them for being so stupid. As I got to the gate I realised that this was FAR more serious than I had realised as there was a wildfire burning out of control and heading our way fast. I dialled 911 (for some reason 112 didn't spring to mind) but it got through and they were super efficient in handling my panicked call. I then called the Other Brother then started running to tell Angela and then get buckets (though what good those tiny splashes did I'm not sure). Shortly after Bekir rang as they had gone to town and seen the smoke so I told them also and they appeared almost immediately and ran to help Angela who was bringing the hoses over to the chicken house. In the time I made the calls and ran and got two or three bucket loads the fire had breached our boundary and was racing towards our trees and the green building and if it reached that then things would go very badly wrong. Bekir was amazing, as was Halil, as they took the hose and damped ahead to try to stop it spreading. We were also very lucky the wind changed direction briefly which stood the fire back for a few minutes; without that happening I wonder if we would have been too late anyway. In all this time I had only seen Bekir and Halil and The Other Brother - no sign of anyone from the farm but then finally one of the men did appear and then the police arrived and then finally the first of two fire trucks. I say finally but they were super fast - it just felt a long time as I knew if the wind changed again we would be struggling once more.

Bekir preventing fire from approaching our land again

This was taken 25 minutes after the first picture

The front corner by our entrance is toast

Fire truck and putting out the last fires

This is where Bekir was fire fighting

A huge amount burned further down the hill

Once the truck arrived they went to the back field behind our land where the changed wind direction was now pushing the fire very quickly towards the scrub oak woods down there however it was also burning up and back round towards us a bit further up our fence. I helped Bekir reach the fence through the dense (and very flammable) undergrowth then he jumped the fence and spray lots of water and thinking back I think this was even more vital to have done as if it had got to our trees and that jungle then it would have burned very fiercely indeed. A second fire truck turned up and they prioritised dampening the entire burned area on our land before they went to the back again to relieve the first truck which had now run out of water. Angela and I (Rosie had gone to the little lady's house thankfully) went for a look now the worst was over and could see just how far up the back field it had gone and also just had badly down behind the farm towards the woods there - this was VERY close to a major incident indeed. By this time the entire village had turned up, everyone from the farm had appeared (where were they while their house was nearly burning down) and the police asked if I wanted to make an official complaint which we declined to do; if they start fires again during summer I will, however. The damage to our property was minimal to non-existent really; just a load of brambles and weeds burned that I would have had to remove anyway. Angela was awesome as she sorted Rosie out (when I ran past after first seeing it and yelled in the doorway "it is a fire!! A BAD ONE!" she put shoes on her and got her moving) and then she brought a big bottle of water down for everyone to drink which was a great idea as I was parched and I'm sure Bekir and Halil were worse. Thank goodness for awesome neighbours who were able to keep Rosie calm and safe while we were focussing on the fire.

The black spot is a dead ember floating in the pool

Getting the hose out of the chicken enclosure

At least it is cleared now

With the excitement over I headed back in and Angela went to get Rosie. I then spotted a chunk of ash floating in our swimming pool. This is about 40m away from where the fire was at its closest and just goes to show how close to disaster this was. After dinner (lasagne - my favourite) I went and gathered up the hoses and tidied them away and then we all went down to have a final look at the charred corner of our land. This could have been so much worse!

So there you are; a much longer and more dramatic update than I expected to write when I finished work and was floating in the pool but thankfully no one was hurt, there was no loss of anything important by anyone, and maybe the farm will no longer burn things irresponsibly (though I am not holding my breath). Thanks for reading! Back tomorrow, thankfully....