This is my blog about emigrating to Bulgaria. It starts with the idea and will take you through all the steps I am taking to create my new life in this wonderful idyllic country. Thank you for reading.
Please make use of the comments box to ask questions or suggest blog subjects too :)
Welcome back to a day where it hasn't rained once (yet)!! Amazing, and only 24th June - this year the weather has been like being back in the UK.
An incredible sky yesterday evening
Foggy start to the day
Planting out peppers
Halil touches up the paintjob
Bekir and Sally working on the roof
First of all is a picture taken from the roof terrace of the incredible light we had yesterday evening as the sun went down; it was so spooky and weird; according to my mum it's called a "Lowering Sky" and it was odd! This morning was a bit foggy and cloudy but this burned off very quickly. Angela got outside with Rosie and planted out some peppers but we're going to need to clear more space apparently as there are too many to fit in. The men were to the builders merchant before coming here and arranged for their missing materials to be delivered, then got stuck in with Halil picking up odd jobs through the day while continuing to assist as labourer. He painted some scratched areas on the steelwork and also mopped up the water from the rain the other day. The men were up on the roof cracking on with the remaining waterproofing and were glad of the breeze which was still cool.
Starting to waterproof the second side
Adding the slats to keep it all in place
And it is done, just in time for summer
I had to go out for some chores and Angela did as well so we were both out for a bit, and we did manage to meet up in one of the shops which was nice. As I left the materials delivery van arrived which was great as the men were running short on materials. For the rest of the day they just cracked on and now the roof is at a stage waiting for roofing tiles. With my new contract confirmed I think I may just pull the trigger and get that order in so they can get that done as soon as possible. Of course now the roof is done the rains have stopped (maybe there'll be some tomorrow to test it out) but there's still a few bits and pieces to complete even now - replacing the tiles around the columns, putting a small lip where the door will be to prevent water running in there, and also the rest of the guttering work. Next up they'll be fixing the other part of the balcony as well.
Rosie has started to say real words as well - I'm very proud to say I am calling her first words "Cup of tea" as she definitely says this. It is either that, or "juice" or "cheese".
This is being written by a very tired person as last night first Rosie refused to sleep which meant a later-to-bed time than usual and then, an hour after I finally got to sleep, I woke with a terrible headache that didn't let me get back down for another four hours. It's been a long day. I may fall asleep while I'm typing...
Begin the day with decorative edging
Gutter supports
Guttering in place
Passing up the bitumen felt
Hardboard onto the roof
Anyway, I woke up ten minutes before the men arrived and found Angela had been up a little while already. The men were straight out and working on the roof, aware no doubt that the weather would likely change for the worse. First of all they were putting the decorative wooden boards along the edge of the roof and then later on they fitted the gutters. As you can see from the pictures the early morning cloud gave way to lovely blue skies and hot sun through the morning. The step after the guttering was to put the roofing felt on and then on top of that, the hardboard held down with wooden strips.
Lovely warm time in the pool
Benign looking clouds in the distance
Men work as the storm builds
Black clouds in the distance and getting closer
Roof terrace to see the storm
Balcony framing enhances the view
Angela had to pop to town and while she was out I took Rosie for a fun time in the pool until lunch time. The weather was lovely but those clouds towards Greece were probably threatening more than it looked. Sure enough after lunch we were not out to the pool again as the weather built towards another storm. The men kept at it as long as they could and got a large chunk of the roof covered and more waterproof, which was to prove useful. About this time Rosie woke from her nap and before I gave her snack time we went onto the roof terrace to look at the storm(s) as they blew in towards us. It was great, she enjoyed being up there, and I'm glad I took the time as shortly after it started raining a bit.
Sheltering under the now dry roof
Banister being fitted
Measuring and levelling the shelf
Finished fitted banister
And then it started raining A LOT! I got the men's coffee ready and they were able to sit under the finished area of roof up there and not get rained on. The water still poured through the 2/3 of the roof not completed, however, and pretty soon the balcony was very wet. It did not let up at all until very recently, actually, and so after coffee I got the men in to fit the banisters (which look great!) and then after that measure and start fitting the shelves in Rosie's room. I then remembered that I've not yet got the fixings for these shelves so I'll get them tomorrow. I also finally got the air conditioning remote control hooks attached so that was good.
So there you have it; another good day, it's dry again now and hopefully we have only one more day of this incredibly wet June before we get to summer (just in time for me to be stuck at my desk! hah).
Hey we are back and it's been a weekend of lovely sun and then huge crazy storms. I'm later starting than I planned, and Monday's updates are always longer, so here goes. Onwards. Got a load of videos this time round (if you can't find them if you're reading on mobile I've heard that blogger has a problem displaying the videos so you can go to my YouTube channel here, where I host them, and see them direct if you wish).
A nice morning view
Rosie filling the pool
Saved this bee. Twice
Tiny pretty flower on the lawn
In the pool with Rosie
Ready for gaming
Saturday dawned bright and lovely with fog in the valley and bright sunshine. The sun was warm enough that it heated the metal column which then caused the puddle at its base to bubble. Check the video out. Angela headed to the shops which left me to get the paddling pool out with Rosie and fill it up with water. I saved a bee, the same one I think, from the pool twice while we were out there and it was a great time. Rosie started waving at Angela as soon as her car turned the corner at the top of our lane, bless her. We then had a lovely call with my mum and sister before I got set up for a game via webcam with my mate. Just as we got started on it a huge storm blew in from nowhere and the power went out for ages. The storm went right over head and was dramatic indeed. Two videos from that up above. It passed eventually, the power came back, and I finished my video call though we'll be trying again next weekend. All in all it was a good day.
Clouds build behind the school
Little Lady and Rosie at the table
Sunday I was not feeling well - just non specifically run down so after the early shift with Rosie I went back to bed, then did what I could then rested again. I was outside with Rosie a lot in the afternoon and she was in the pool again loving it; we did have to clean it a bit from the rain the previous day. A storm was threatening and it got cold and breezy just before dinner but it never hit and after eating we headed to the neighbours where Rosie showed off how she can sit at a table and draw on paper. Very clever girl.
Bekir and Sally fitting the final planks
Halil sweeps up the mess
Looking at the gap
Enjoying the new shady balcony
Delivery of guttering
This storm turned into a monster
And so to today. It was a cold start to the day, very overcast, but that did burn off eventually. The men were late and headed out to finish up the planking they had left before spending time working on the gap underneath the eaves there while Halil swept the whole balcony clean. I went down to town with Bekir and Rosie to order the guttering and some other bits and pieces which was a nice trip and then I was back to trying to get my head into software development again after the break as I may well be working very soon indeed. At lunch time we went to the balcony for some air which was great; it was hot outside now but cooler in the shade. Perfect. After lunch the delivery arrived and was quickly unloaded and then the weather started changing.
Starting to fit the wooden banister tops
Grinding inside. Ouch
Rosie watches the men
What a storm it was. I had to go to town and when I left Sally and Halil were painting the new decorative roof boards on the driveway. As I approached the large town I drove through some small showers but by the time I got out the bank and to the final shop of my trip it was hammering down and it only got worse as I got closer to home. I could see the lightning striking the ridge that we live on. Incredible to watch from a distance but even more intense in the middle of it. I waited a bit at the gate then got soaked, with hail and rain, getting through the gate and even though I parked Thomas right next to the front door I was dripping wet. I shot up to the balcony to get more video. The men were huddled in the garage having coffee and after that break they did what more staining they could on the wood before asking for another, inside, job. Of course the weather then broken and by the time they left, after fixing the gap behind the toilet downstairs (and toad had jumped out at Angela yesterday) and nearly completed the wooden rails on the stairs, it was blue sky and sunshine again. Once more we went to the neighbours but the whole family was there this time which was lovely.
So there you are; I got there. I hope you've enjoyed reading and I'll be back tomorrow.
Today has been pretty up and down, all things considered. It started with Rosie completely refusing to sleep last night which wrecked both our evenings for relaxing purposes and then, well, I'll just say that I've decided against putting some pictures up that would have turned stomachs...
Before the cleaning, the least disgusting picture
Butterfly emerging
Planks going on
A bit further along
Measuring for bolts
The problem was with the toilets and specifically the drainage. We had a full reservoir but of fluids, and these were not draining how they were supposed to, down to the grey water. To cut a long story short I spent the morning emptying this by hand, then Bekir helped me to extract the reservoir to the humanure point so I could continue cleaning it. This was not very pleasant really but it had to be done. Other than helping me Bekir was up on the balcony putting the final bolts into the wooden ribs, and also helping Sally and Halil with the main roofing work. Progress there was good.
Planks progress to the centre
End of day state
Final boards set to dry
Looking great indeed
While pottering around getting stressed about the toilet I noticed that Titan the Spider was busy spinning up its lunch so I got a video to share. Amazing and huge spider; anyone can identify it? The rest of the day was taken up with lots of roofing, and after Rosie's nap finished Bekir came down and we refitted the reservoir, lifted slightly to aid draining. Fingers crossed we'll have more success this time round. They worked really hard to try and get all the planks up but missed out by a couple of courses however we're not far off now at all.
Rosie watches the sheep
Sunshine and clouds
The evening involved lots of going outside with Rosie and getting her tired before bed, while watching the sheep and the cows going past which she loves. It has been the first day for ages that it hasn't tipped it down with rain which was great; hopefully that run continues. It did seem to threaten a bit but that blew past.
