Some grey days

Here we are again, Sunday afternoon with the fire going, A sat on the bean bag in front of it playing her game on her phone, and me about to tippy tappy for a while to get this update out the door as soon as possible.

Contrasting weather

The title for this update was decided on Friday as the weather had been really dull for ages; there were no sunrise or sunset photographs to show you, nothing interesting in the sky but just grey and drizzle and mizzle and dullness.

This is what we had for a few days

It was getting cold as well, though not below freezing yet, and the wind was biting. Suddenly we were very happy of the fire in the living room and once more we had the curtains shut continually in Room 13, what with there being no thermal benefit from the sun as it wasn't out. It didn't effect us too much as I was working all day Thursday and A had a rest day (after the shopping trip) and so we didn't really go out anyway. Friday we also kept ourselves inside for most of the day (we tidied through the lab room and packed away a lot of the glass items into bubble wrap and also found the rat nest in some of the papers I had saved for the museum. Fortunately most of them were still OK and they are now packed in seal plastic boxes). There was no way I was suggesting we do anything outside, not with the forecast I had seen.

Saturday morning we see the sun again

Thermometer hits zero

Cold start to Sunday morning

A heavy frost on the top bank

The sun pokes up over the mountains

Below freezing this time

That forecast proved correct and Saturday morning dawned very bright and very cold and this weather has stayed over the weekend. The sun has been out all the time and while the temperature of the air is cold with the sun on you it is actually quite warm. Yesterday I even took my jumper off while outside for a while, it was that warm. This morning you could not call it warm in the slightest, though, as there was a hard frost on the ground. When I went out to clean the duck pond, emptied over night, everything was frozen and the standpipe out the front didn't work as the pipe above ground was also frozen.

Doing stuff

Our pattern of getting stuff done has very much followed the weather. As I have said we did get some stuff achieved on Friday by getting into the "rat room"/laboratory, checking it for rats with the puppies and then, when it was clear that there was no rat in there at that time, tidying a bit and sealing the holes by the window with expanding foam. There is still quite a lot to do in there but it was a start.

The Christmas tree is done

Thursday, after going out shopping and spending ALL the money (not really), A came back and redid the Christmas tree. We had decided together that we needed more lights and also more colour so she bought two more sets of lights and a load more red baubles and now it looks absolutely brilliant. We've been turning the lights on every evening when we shut the curtains and it's feeling very festive in here.

The frames we made last year coming in handy again

Fixing the frames together, and to the hutch

A stapling the steel mesh a bit more securely

Sassy's new run

On Saturday morning the first thing we did was head onto the balcony to sort out a run for Sassy. We had put her into the rabbit hutch out there on Friday while we were in and out of her room and now she was there it seemed a good time to get her situated there full time. I pulled the frames we had made for her winter run at SandS's out of the green building where they had been stored and passed them up to A then we worked together to fix them to each other and secure all the edges with the staple gun. We put a roof on with a lifting section near her hutch, and solid supports with old window frames over the rest, and blocked up the gap underneath the cage so she can't escape (easily). It took a bit longer than I had thought it would but not all that long and I'm really happy that she is finally in a place where she can be part of the family (we go on the balcony many times every day and during the evening as well) which hasn't really been the case since those first few weeks last year when she was living in Room 13 with me, before I got her into that room.

Pre-use checks on the chainsaw

All the chopping done

Lots more soil spread on the floor o the orchard

After this we both went outside to our allotted tasks for the day. A was stuck behind the chainsaw again for a fair while as she chopped up the pile of branches I had gathered together during the week. She worked away until the fuel ran out and in that time completed almost all of the available wood so she didn't bother to refuel. We have a task to go around the whole land and trim whatever remaining damaged branches there are so there'll be another pile to chop soon enough. While she was on with this I was on the end of the shovel and wheelbarrow shifting soil onto the floor of the orchard again. By the time her fuel ran out in the chainsaw mine was getting quite low in my body so a quick chocolate bar to prevent me from dropping and we shifted the wood inside and then called it a day. It was a nice feeling to have achieved so much, particularly as the working days are so short at the moment.

Lots of rugs hung out in the sun

This morning, being Sunday, was tidying morning. I did the humanure and cleaned out the fires before A joined me and then we worked together to get the rest of the cleaning done. I swept the corridor and stairs while she cleaned Room 13 and got it all mopped out. We beat the rugs and hung them out over the edge of the balcony and when we brought them in mid afternoon they were sun warmed. While A was in the bedroom doing that, and the living room, I went into the roof and split the two different types of track up and shifted it into the drawer units I had bought. Now that I have freed up the boxes I can go through and sort through the rolling stock and other bits and get rid of all the cardboard boxes up there.

Foods

So a large part of our pleasure here is provided by food, both that which we cook ourselves and by going out for meals. Even though the "kitchen" is just one wall of Room 13 at the moment A is able to rustle up some amazing meals which spoil me totally.

Super tasty curry

Excellent eggs frying up with  bacon

The perfect bacon and egg butty

This week was no different but the only picture I have is of the awesome curry she cooked on Thursday night. There was enough to feed ten people but somehow we managed to eat almost all of it, leaving a little to be reheated the next day for lunch and it was if anything even better then. The chickens have started laying again in earnest and we had a lot of eggs backed up so we've been treated to fried breakfasts this weekend. Our eggs are even nicer than the shop bought ones, even though we go to get fresh eggs from the little shops.

By far the best Parlenka we have found over here

The house special - and it was

Pork in mushroom sauce

Biscuit cake for two

Friday was far from a total write off, despite the weather, and in the evening we headed out to a new place up near the dam above the local city for a meal with SandS. We had seen the billboards for this place and been a little unsure whether we wanted to bother trying it but when it was suggested for this meeting we agreed and what a good decision that was. It is a really nice place, very well set out and with plenty of space but even better than that was the food. Everything was cooked perfectly and very tasty. The only thing that let it down a bit was the service with a couple of items we ordered not arriving until after we reminded the staff who had attempted to take the order by memory, and hadn't written it down. This was a minor gripe as we had plenty to eat and didn't miss the missing items much.

Th'animals

We have such a menagerie now here (and I am outnumbered as there is only Rambo as the other male) and this week we have pictures of them all, and a video.

The puppies keeping warm

"Hang on, didn't this used to be OUR house?!"

Louise digging a deep hole

With the temperature dropping so much, though Room 13 doesn't ever seem to get much below about 10 degrees as the fridge/freezer is on and probably has quite an effect, the puppies have been struggling in the mornings. Their favourite trick is to be put inside one of our jumpers to warm up. Louise is more interested in this but Thelma does get involved. Shortly after this picture was taken we put their coats on and sent them outside to run around. With Sassy on the balcony on Thursday night they were a little unsure and wanted to say hello to her, or growl at her in Thelma's case. When the run was finished we let them out and they spent a lot of time running around, growling and whining and yipping but now, on Sunday, it seems that even Thelma is getting more used to her.

Dragon breath dog

Rambo has been his usual self, running around too fast without looking where he is going and getting too close for comfort whenever you sit down outside, and once I did have to put him on his lead as he was being too bouncy around the chicken run. He's looking so much healthier now than when we picked him up way back in the snow in March and we have been pleased to see him doing his rounds of the land in the evenings. He's settled into the routine of being shut in for the night as well and doesn't seem to be too bothered by not having his freedom then.

First steps into the new enclosure

Munching her breakfast

Sassy has really settled in to the run already and doesn't seem at all bothered by the minus temperatures over night. This morning she was sat out watching the sun come up when I went out to get the pictures. I've climbed in and put some more hay into the little house I made for her last year so now, should the wind howl in she has protection whatever direction it is coming in. I would like to make a shelter for her toilet tray before the weather changes again; I'm sure she wouldn't be happy if it got rained on, so that probably should be a priority.

A with her little flock

As already shown the birds are finally laying again. We're getting one or two eggs a day at the moment from the chickens but the biggest excitement was today when I checked and found our first ever duck egg! It was in the nesting box which gives the amusing image of one of the ducks squashing itself in there. They are really very friendly birds and always come running whenever either of us go near their enclosure however they definitely like A more and even come to be fed by hand which is brilliant to watch.

And finally...

And so we reach the end of this update. We've both been slightly under the weather for the past few days; nothing serious just general sniffles and tiredness, and this afternoon/evening has been no different so I've taken it very easy typing this up. I've just finished eating a fabulous slow cooked pork with mashed potato and turnip and the fire is crackling away as I've put some more logs on it. Before I sign off there are a couple of final things to write about...

Our Christmas photograph

The Old School

... the first of which was me fulfilling a request from my dad to provide him with some photographs of the place as it is now for him to send out to his friends as an update letter. I set up the tripod last night and took a picture of us sat together, A with wine and me with whisky, in our lovely new lounge and then this morning I went to get a photograph of the Old School from an angle that shows off the biggest change we've made this year which is the driveway, garage and balcony. He had me get some before shots as well out of the archive however you'll have to wait for them as I'm now going to build up a set and maybe create a page in its own right for before and after shots of the whole build.

A getting ready to fire the gun

Me having a go

Secondly this evening we finally got time to get the airgun out and get A to shoot it a bit. I pinned a target up for her and then marked out about 10m away from it. She had a few goes and I shot it once but we didn't hit the target once. We need to get the sights zeroed in I think. It was fun and now we've shot it I'm sure we'll do it more often. It is louder than you think, though the gun is just a spring powered one not compressed air. What fun.

Right, that's me done. I'll catch you all in the week.

A tiring day

Today has been tiring because of paid work not anything else but that doesn't make the effect any less debilitating. I'm starting this having finished work before taking the men, once again, as yesterday was so pleasant. After the publish I went through to the living room with A and we put Elvis on the record player and sorted the remainder out into alphabetical order. It was so nice to be able to relax. I'm looking forward to similar tonight.

Frost remains in the shadows

After that chilling out A made us a brew and we took it to bed and read and drank it then slept through the night. The puppies did want out in the early hours but this time they disturbed A and not me. The alarm going off was the usual shock and again we snoozed for a bit but then I was up, put the kettle on, swept out the fires and then dragged the duvet off A as she was STILL in bed. It was another cold night, though definitely not as cold as the night before as the bucket wasn't frozen this morning. There was a heavy frost which made having reversed Thomas onto the drive last night a bonus as the sun shone and melted the windscreen ice.

The pile of dirt steaming where I have excavated

When A left I went straight outside to start shoveling the soil into each hole in preparation for planting the trees today. It was still pretty cold but the puppies wanted to come with me this time so I was shoveling and throwing the stick for Thelma. Rambo also came to check it out but then went back to his place in the sun to relax. I got everything I wanted to done and was able to get back in and almost finish shaving my head before A got back. I'd missed a bit which she helped me with then it was a super fast shower and get ready for the off.

Hikmet getting stuck straight in

Today we were joined by Hikmet, as Gyuner's back is still not allowing him to work. He was super pleased to see me this morning and had a huge smile on his face as he greeted me. I pointed him in the direction of what we wanted today, making sure he knew to shift the far pile of soil before the near one, and then it was time to leave for town.

Colour contrast on our hill

Another 1000L of water storage

I dropped A off at the shops and went to the bank to do my taxes then stopped off to pick up some torches for tomorrow night and finally met back up with A in the shop in time to pay. Typical ;) from there we headed back over to the builders merchant I bought two of the 1000L water tanks and picked up another one, and some other items. The person who served us was a lovely lady who was very friendly and gave us a bit of a gift as well. On the way back I stopped Thomas at the bottom of our hill to get a picture I had seen as an opportunity the other day; I love these colours. Just round the corner was Usmivka, this time without rakia in him so A jumped on the truck bed and rode up while Usmivka sat in the front. He was very grateful as always but A got back inside as soon as she could and said it was really fresh sitting back there.

That should hold it

We got back to find that Bekir and Sally had finished fixing up the vehicle gate for us, damaged by a truck which didn't quite make the turn successfully. We'll have to replace this completely at some point next year to prevent the tiny dog getting through, and improve general security, but for now at least it is no longer hanging off and dragging on the floor when we open it.

Totally chilled out on the roof

Bekir was on the roof fixing the damaged downpipes and we gave him a bit of help by guiding him across to where it was as he couldn't see easily while on the roof. He's so cheerful working at those heights without any safety equipment; I'd be frozen with fear and then fall.

Sally painting the garage doors

Sally had picked up a brush and started to paint the garage door with the dark brown hammerite I had chosen as it would match the rest of the windows and doors. I was a little sad to see the shiny metal go away as it was so cheerful in the mornings but at least now it won't rust.

Tidying up while waiting for the next task

Hikmet had filled in all the holes to the required level before the trees would go in and so had started to shift the piles of stones to tidy up generally. I have got him to put them down the bottom where I started shifting them to and this winter I will have to get the path made and get a load more dirt spread over it all. I may ask Bekir to order another truck or two full actually.

Bekir with the moon

As I was walking back towards the house to get back to the office I saw that Bekir had moved on to the next downpipe and the moon had risen and was behind him. I had to get this arty farty shot for you and I offer it with no excuses attempted.

The trees are planted!

After this it was very much nose to the grindstone for a large proportion of the day and I only feel like I properly looked up late in the afternoon. I was able to keep my habit of regular photographic explorations around the place to keep up with progress and I was very glad I did as I managed to watch while the first of the trees were planted in the orchard. We're short two holes at the moment which I hope Hikmet will come back to dig tomorrow.

Beating a bit of dust out of the rug

While I was checking this out A was inside cleaning out the guest room. She appeared on the balcony with the rug which was just a little bit dusty. We're very close now to being ready for the party tomorrow. She came down after this to inspect the new trees more closely and we threw the stick for Thelma for a bit. It was another lovely day today and really warm.

Some pictures up in the living room

Lunch time came and went without either of us noticing but around 1pm we headed into the living room to hang the pictures, after I'd done the new ones in the guest room. It was a lot of fun, and again I had Elvis on the record player, going around working out exactly where and then getting up the ladder and hammering the hooks into the wall. We have one or two more to do but they can wait until we've got time to move the TV.

Tidy garage ready for Thomas

Mid afternoon Sally came to say he had run out of hammerite and had a bit more yet to do so, as I was so super busy, I sent A down to the shop (with Louise for company). Ironically after this my work devolved into a series of emails and I was able to get away from my desk for ten minutes so together Sally and I really quickly cleaned the garage out with the aim of surprising A when she got back. This evening I can now park Thomas inside when I come back from dropping the men. Wowzers.

A peeling lots of potatoes

If you had asked A to write this update it would probably just say "cooking, lots of cooking... and some cleaning" as she has been preparing food for the party tomorrow night. If no one turns up we'll be eating a lot of curry and stew for the next few weeks. It all smells amazing and the curry in particular has a wonderful whiff to it. I'm quite excited.

Guest room ready for guests

She asked me to get a picture of the guest room after she had fully cleaned it and it does look really lovely. We're not sure if anyone will want to stay over tomorrow evening but at least now if anyone does we can welcome them in comfort. We'll have to put the electric heater in there though. Something to think about for next year if people come over at this time.

The garage doors completely painted

Sally finished off the painting once A brought the extra pot of paint back (she loved the clean garage, by the way) and when I popped out without camera he was very excited and sent me back to get a picture. Unfortunately by the time I got back (I had to work briefly while I was at my desk getting the camera) he had disappeared but tomorrow I'll get one of him stood next to it.

Funnily enough this smoked quite a lot

All bar two of the trees are now planted (the two remaining cherry trees are lacking holes, which I will begin in the morning and then Hikmet will finish during the day tomorrow. I haven't got pictures because they are basically sticks in the ground and hard to spot. With that done, and the garage doors finished (and more cleaning done by Sally along the corridor; he is a star) Bekir said that he would quickly fix up the chicken house door which is a real bonus task. I was typing this update when I heard the grinder going and ran down with the camera as he was planing the bottom off the door with the grinder. Brilliant.

Amazing shades from blue through pink to white

The sky was an amazing shade, or many shades actually, when I popped out so I was even more glad I'd gone to check out the noise. Stunning. It wasn't long after this that the men were ready to go so off we went and as is usual with Hikmet in the car there was quite a lot of chat. They asked if I was going to put Thomas inside this evening and I said yes and so, after closing the lovely easy fixed vehicle gate and then shutting the birds away with the on-it's-hinges-now door there I had some fun reversing into the garage with my not-yet-fixed wing mirror limiting my view. After a few shuffles I was in and I reckon that with practice, and a working wing mirror, it won't be hard at all. The garage door shut really smoothly and when we put wood on the handles (to prevent freezing pain in winter from the metal) I think we're all set.

So food is nearly ready and I've already finished typing this up which is just excellent as the rest of the evening to relax with A. It's been so warm that, other than first thing, the petchka in Room 13 hasan't needed to be lit at all and we haven't even bothered lighting it this evening either. Maybe we'll go listen to some more music in the living room.