Three years today

Facebook, good for not very much as I'm sure you'll agree, proved some worth today as it reminded us both that it was exactly three years ago today that I went and collected two tiny Jack Russell puppies to take home with me to Northwich. Now we clearly cannot imagine life without them and all day I've been saying "three years!" to them in a very happy voice and they obviously understand and celebrate along with us.

Obviously.

First day, and they are snoring asleep

First dinner time, they were very obedient

From the first they understood "IN YOUR BED!"

Louise with the sheep toy, and she destroyed that toy

They don't fight like this as often any more

Proof that the girls were spoiled right from day one - SO MANY TOYS

Down by the canal, attracting all the passersby

Louise steals some beer - alky that she is

Thelma begged some bread, and loved it

Some things just do not change

Fast asleep and cute as two buttons

So here are a bunch of photographs taken that first week, three years ago, as these bundles of awesome entered our life. Including Louise stealing beer and Thelma stealing bread.

Taken today; very cute still and still cuddling

And here they are today. See, they're even cuter than they were!

Set up for a game for the evening

Night sky, taken with the camera phone

However back to last night. After finishing the blog I did a little bit of painting and then headed to play Battle Companies with A. The first game was over very quickly and was disappointing but the second was awesome and didn't finish until 11pm and we had such fun playing it. We did break for a short while to sit on the balcony with a brew and enjoy the evening and marvel at how bright Venus was, while the Moon was also beautiful.

A lovely clearly early morning sky

It was actually quite chilly

A banitsa for breakfast from Mesut

Bekir smoothing out the "small mountain"

Mesut carries on in the Art Room

The floor is really starting to come together now

Sunshine and clouds all day

Evidence that the birds are trying to nest again

It was a chillier morning this morning, the early promise of the sunrise passed quickly as it clouded over and threatened rain. The puppies were in the mood for none of it and so they hid on their chair covered in blankets. I did my chores but forgot my extra one of bringing the stored wood out into the outside storage; I'll need to remember tomorrow for sure. When A got back it was without Hikmet who had to rush to Turkey for some family issues, and I do hope everything is OK. Mesut had bought us breakfast of banitsa which was really lovely of him and we enjoyed that for a change. They were back to tiling and split the rooms between them with Bekir in the Games Room and Mesut in the Art Room. It was a noisy start with Bekir chiseling out a bump between the two rooms but after that they got stuck in and made good progress. The clouds were thick and then thinned and then came back heavier until I eventually gave in and put trousers and a jumper on instead of shorts. While I was outside taking pictures I noticed that the swallows who lived in the entrance porch are back and once again trying to build a nest - they yearly battle recommences.

Mesut pushing ahead with the tiling

Bekir is cracking on as well

Strawberry flowers peeking out

Louise sleeping with her nose tucked

After lunch, which for me was some left overs of the paella from last night and for both of us was eaten in Room 13 as it was still too cold to sit outside, I was working and watching the progress as the men put more and more tiles down. Mesut was getting really close to finishing all of the Art Room that would be possible today; tomorrow they will move the units and he will finish this room in a morning. Bekir had the bigger room so his apparent progress was less however in truth he was also powering ahead. A had noticed that the strawberry plants, growing in humanure, have some flowers showing already; here's to hoping we get some juicy fruits from there this year. Thelma has been really loving being outside in the heat and barely coming in apart from for a drink but Louise was inside much more and curled up asleep on the chair. She's so cute!

Very low flying military plane

Heading up the valley

Time for relaxation

The last few tiles of the day go down

Bekir is getting very close to half way

State of play at the end of the day

Earlier on I'd heard a military prop plane flying over but very high so didn't bother getting the camera. Mid afternoon, however, there was a sudden rush of engines and it flew right over the top of the house at very low altitude. I had time to grab the camera and snap some shots out of the window of Room 13 before it disappeared from sight and then I ran at top speed onto the Roof Terrace to capture another few pictures before it banked sharply and headed up the next valley. A was sat out on the front garden on the swinging chair when this happened and was as surprised as I was. The workmen didn't pay any attention and carried on with their tasks. By the end of the day the Art Room is ready for the units to be moved while the Games Room is very nearly half done. Awesome.

Sat on the balcony in the warm evening sun

A plate full of awesome

Lots of cuddles with this little puppy

Clouds forming in the distance

Lovely sunset once more

First sign of spud growth

The large vine is thriving again

The journey back was uneventful but I talked a bit more than normal, getting my Bulganglish practice in. When I got back I had a short while to start this update then dinner was served which we ate on the balcony in the lovely warm evening that today has turned into. It was such a gorgeous meal, really tasty, and the setting and company completed a perfect dinner. Afterwards there was the traditional puppy cuddles with Louise doing her best to pretend to be a human. The forecast threatens rain tomorrow and there was certainly a front of clouds approaching from the north. Once we decided to go inside I got some pictures of the sunset, A shouted me down to see something she was very excited about - the first sprouting spuds, and I was equally pleased to see that all three of the vines that are in the garden are growing well.

The sun has now gone, the gloaming is gathering, and I'm going to spend some time hobbying before bed. Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow.

Sun has shown back up

Another week passes and it is time once again to get an update published on here; I probably should have done this yesterday but we went out for a lovely dinner and by the time I got back I couldn't be bothered to sit in here and type. So here goes.

Monday is Caol Ila day

Clouds shining in the sun in the distance

A rainbow over the hills

All week this week my friends have been on Islay at the Whisky Festival and so, to keep myself from sulking too badly, I've had a very small dram of whatever distillery had their open day that day. This was a good idea and I have very much enjoyed my small drams; I don't enjoy my whisky often enough really.  Monday was Caol Ila and I enjoyed the dram partially while stood out on the balcony watching the sun go down and then admiring as a rainbow grew across the Eastern sky, eventually connecting up with its other end way away to the South. It was a huge arch but I couldn't capture it all in a picture.

Finally a nice morning to wake up to

Louise steals a cushion to get comfy on

Sassy checking out her steps; but she wasn't interested

Louise has a nosy as well

A harvesting peas

Shelling the peas into a freezer container

A few more strawberries; not enough to make jam though

A jet flies over

Tuesday dawned finally with some sunshine first thing and we were able to sit on the balcony for our morning brew for the first time in ages. We opened up the cage for Sassy and put her steps in place and A set a treat on each step to entice her out. She checked it out but only got as far as sniffing from the top step and, despite us leaving her door open every time we are out there since, she has never even ventured that far again. Louise was fascinated by the possible interaction and went to say hello so maybe that has put Sassy off. In the garden it was harvest time for peas and strawberries. It is, as always, a huge excitement for us to get produce from the garden. While A was doing this I was spending a little time in Room 13 getting some of my dioramas finished off. All week we've continued to have NATO flying around overhead and I finally managed to get another picture as a jet shot across the sky.

Getting some wiring done

Overgrown front lawn in dire need of a trim

A gets tooled up ready to attack the grass

So much better after the strim

How many bees can you see?

Relaxing on the balcony with a beer and some knitting

Tuesday's dram - Laphroaig

Ribs and sweetcorn (before the salad was added to the plate)

Beautiful view for dinner

With the improvement in the weather my motivation returned somewhat and I was able to get into the Men's Room and hang the consumer unit on the wall and connect it all up the armoured cable I'd run across the week before. The weather continued to be nice and so when she had a break in her work A got the strimmer out and cut the grass on half of the lawn, while I raked it up behind her and took it over to the neighbours to dry for their hay. We have been careful, while doing this trimming, to leave the flowering weeds well alone and the wisdom of this is proven by the sheer number of bees buzzing around this large purple beauty near the raised beds. With the working day done with A repaired to the balcony with a beer and her knitting while I got my evening's whisky ready - Laphroaig. Dinner was ribs with salad and sweetcorn and was lovely and the view from the balcony, finally being able to be back out there eating, put a smile on both our faces.

Tasty BBQ on the balcony

A tasty Bowmore to follow

Wednesday definitely happened but I couldn't tell you what I did as I have no pictures from the day at all. I think I put up some ducting around the walls in the Men's Room to begin the process for wiring in plugs and lights in there. I couldn't say, though. In the afternoon we went out onto the patio and Rambo played Tug of War with the puppies, and A, and I got videos of that. Dinner was a BBQ, which I was in charge of for once, and which was very nice. Whisky was Bowmore and that is that.

I have a go at the strimmer; It no longer works. Typical

A big pile of grass to be dried

Removing the old olive tree raised beds

Little Lady stood on her hay stack

A bee on the Linden blossom

Sewage going in, well - the driver is on a break actually

Thursday was a much more productive, and photographed, day. Having watched what a difference A made with the strimmer I decided to have a go myself and had great fun right up until I bounced the blade off a concrete block and it stopped working. I think I've broken the bearings but I haven't yet got round to stripping it down to check. I'd very nearly completed the task by this point, however, and had built up quite a large pile of grass to dry. I also removed the olive tree raised beds as they are no longer needed; all in all it was lovely to work in the hot sun and it made me smile a lot. The neighbours were also out in their field stacking their hay into big stacks. Another lovely thing is that the Tea Trees started blossoming and the smell has grown every day more and more intense. It is my favourite time of the year right now. Finally and very excitingly for our swimming pool plans we have had canalisation installed in the village. The baga machine was working away hard, with the Special One assisting, to put the pipes down into the valley.

Very happy in a running Julian, with Louise

Proof he was running well; drove him up the patio and back

Thursday is a good day on Islay

In the afternoon I went to see if I could get Julian started up and was amazed and pleased that, despite having sat there without moving for two years, he didn't have any problems at all both starting and moving. I headed down to our garage late in the day to see if they would be able to look at the boiler as well as doing more normal car things but they can't, sadly. No matter, I'm sure I'll find someone and at least he runs reliably! Thursday is Kilchoman day and I really enjoyed my dram. That night A and I did something we've not done for a while; we stood on the balcony in the dark watching lightning flickering in the far distance. The video I shot didn't come out at all, sadly, but it was an impressive sight and there was even some forked lightning closer in amongst the distant sheet lightning. Impressive. It was bright enough later on to wake me with a few flashes, though it was never close enough to hear any thunder.

A beautiful sunrise on Friday

Clouds building around lunch time

That looks like rain heading our way

The race is on to beat the weather (they did)

And so we come to Friday and I'm starting to flag seriously typing this up; it's a certain commitment, keeping this blog up. I'll keep typing and hopefully finish it today but I'm not promising anything. Friday dawned with a beautiful sunrise but my morning was taken up helping our friend out transporting some larger building materials to his place. When I got back from doing this, having enjoyed the time chatting and also been impressed with the progress on his place, the weather had changed dramatically and a huge storm was blowing in. The clouds were impressive and the rumbles were huge and after my shower I dashed onto the roof terrace as A had been watching forked lightning striking almost continually over in that direction but all the time I stood up there I only captured one on the video, and saw one more out of the corner of my eye. Typical. The neighbours were rushing to get their hay into the stack and covered before any rain arrived and I can't blame them; it looked evil.

Thelma watching the road ahead

She loves sticking her head out, Louise less so

A cloud blows along the valley below us

Rabbit Kavarma, and lovely it was too

A shared dram is so much tastier

We were off to see our friends Lee and Melly up in the mountains in the afternoon and so, after the excitement of watching the storm, we headed off with our over night bag and the puppies. It is such a beautiful drive up to their place, though I did doze for a short while as A was driving. We arrived to find that the storm we had seen had actually been quite seriously over head for them and we were in the clouds for a while before they blew away. Dinner was a superb Kavarma made with rabbits raised by Melly and our evening was wonderful, full of good food, excellent chat, and a shared dram or two of Bunnahabhain, the Friday dram for the festival. We went up to the guest apartment quite late, for us, and slept really well.

A stunning sunrise from the bedroom window

Arty framed view from the window

A bee with loads of pollen stashed on its leg hairs

A large bird of prey that was circling for quite a while

We woke up the next morning after a nice lie in and enjoyed the peace and beauty of the location with a brew; Melly was out sorting the animals out while we sat on their bench and relaxed. We did not rush off home, staying longer than planned as it was so pleasant to be there, but eventually we had to leave to get back to feed the chicks. The drive back was pretty quick and easy and the sun was still out when we got home. We spent an enjoyable period of time sat in the sun with our lunch and then watching bees as they flew around the Linden Trees, laden with pollen. There was also a large bird flying around which, after some struggle with the auto focus refusing to pick it up, I snapped a picture with manual focus.

Very heavy rain

Standing water that needs to be cleared

Thelma and Louise climbing out of the water

Ardbeg for a Saturday night

By mid afternoon the weather had changed dramatically - a huge storm blew in and this one actually hit us, with heavy rain and high winds. We stayed inside, I did some modelling, and after a while it blew over and we could go out onto the balcony to clear the drains and get the standing water away. It does drain very quickly but with all the mess from Sassy and the birds which fly over and drop stuff it takes some work on our part to keep it flowing. It was the final day of the festival today and thus Ardbeg day and I sipped my whisky before taking myself to bed.

A huge wasp sat on the leaves of a Walnut tree

We began a game in the afternoon

I've finished this display piece now

A lovely dinner as always

Sunday arrived and there were chores to be done but once they were completed it was a relaxing day all round. The biggest excitement of the morning was seeing this huge bee sat on the leaves of one of the walnut trees; we were concerned it may have been a Japanese Hornet but now are pretty sure it was a Mammoth Wasp which is rather awesome. It was huge, but very lethargic. In the afternoon we played a game of Hobbit SBG for a little while and then relaxed before our evening date with our friend for dinner. I finished off another display board and got it situated in the cabinet which was very satisfying. We headed to have Iskander however the restaurant wasn't open so ended up at our favourite place, sat outside in the sun, and had a lovely time. It's always good to share things, I find.

A knitting while sat in the sun - very civilised

Ready to eat our lovely curry sat in the hot sun

That sun goes down, and I missed the evening

And so, with much effort, we reach today. I've no pictures at all from everything that has gone on today but a lot has happened. A has finished treating our patio furniture, which is a big win, while I was in the Men's Room and managed to get the plugs all working in there. With A's help I got the cable into the gym however I had had enough of drilling so I have left that until tomorrow. A was in the garden planting out some seedlings which are big enough for the main beds and I pulled the manual lawn mower out of its dusty home and pushed it around for a while, getting half of one of the lawns done before I decided enough was enough and headed onto the balcony. It was a beautiful day all day, once the early mist cleared, and we both had a relax out in the sun before dinner, a lamb curry, which we ate sat in the sun as well. I've spent ever since that time sat here in Room 13 typing this up, though I did get a shot of the sunset which was quite lovely.

I've not seen A all evening so I'm going to get this published and go and find her.