Thomas in the garage, and me digging

That didn't really work, huh

I got home last night to more stunning moonlight and attempted to take some photographs of the moon. I put it on “no flash” but the moon was so bright all the pictures have come out as a white circle on a black background; no detail at all. This is a real shame; I am going to have to work out what setting to put the camera on (maybe even a manual one) that will allow me to capture the beauty of the moon at night.

 

Do you think this concrete will grow?

After this experiment I set to with my new watering can, just purchased from the local town, and watered down Room 13 to settle the dust preparatory to applying the glue to seal the floor. It took LOADS of water to cover the whole floor.

 

The whole floor watered

I had to refill my watering can a couple of times to cover the whole floor and when I had finished there was a smell of dust in the air. This is what we are attempting to fix, however, so I wasn't too concerned by this. My chores for the day finished with I went to Julian and read until it was sleep time, texting and wishing I had my WiFi installed.

The morning from my perspective...

... and from my dad's

I woke to another gorgeous day with the mist glistening in the valley and the sun shining nice and brightly (where you weren't in shadow) and was up almost as soon as I woke; today was an early start as I had arranged to meet my friend at the garage to get my car looked at maybe, and also for us to walk over to the satellite internet place to begin the process of getting both our internet connections sorted out.

Ready for the big burn

I had set myself a task this morning of pulling out the burnable rubbish from the end of the long green building where it had been dumped last year, and dragging it around to the burning can ready for my mum to set fire to during the day. This effort woke me up quite successfully as the massive cement bag full was really quite heavy. Maybe six or seven trips with the wheelbarrow later and there was a large pile of stuff to start burning.

Look what my mum did!

After I completed this I decided to have a quick walk around before changing into my "nice" clothes and heading towards the parents' hotel. This was the first time I had been into the garage area since my mum went in there yesterday with her broom and I was so pleased at how it looked; so lovely and tidy and organised. So thank you mum!

And so to collect the parents and bring them back here and then pass on the instructions. Today my washing machine and fridge were due to be delivered so in the event I was delayed they would have to take delivery and position them roughly in the correct place. Also I wanted my dad to put the sealant down in Room 13 and mum was charged with being the fire queen. After no more than two minutes I was back out the door and bombing it towards the garage where my friend was waiting.

I got there in good time and decided to leave Thomas to get the clonking at the back sorted out; we were told to be back in about two hours or so and so walked into town to look into internet issues. First of all I looked at some belts (my shorts were falling down) but they weren't good enough so we had some breakfast of Banichka and Iran which I really enjoyed and then onwards to find the internet shop.

There was no one there when we arrived and it was all locked up but as we pondered a van appeared and two very helpful men got out. We went into the office and arranged for them to come and look at both our properties with the aim of connecting them. Today.

I was a bit skeptical as things don't normally happen that quickly over here but hey if it did more the joy.

Thomas is not looking well here

So we left there and went past the hardware store where I picked up a pick axe and tried to find some more of the sealant my dad was using (as he had run out) but they didn't have any and so back to the garage. Thomas was still up on a jack (and some blocks of wood, but who is worried about that). That did not look good.

Just a bit borked

The mechanic explained that the bushings on the back suspension were destroyed and he was not drivable until new ones were fitted and, sadly, he didn't have any in stock so it would take until tomorrow to get him back on the road. What a pain in the backside but thankfully my friend's car was back on the road and so we jumped in and headed back towards the school.

A short trip down the road we stopped and went into a wood workshop as my friend wanted to ask for some prices, and I wanted all the sawdust he could give me. We both went away happy as he was willing to give me everything I want for the best price; free. I am to go past tomorrow morning as he will leave as many bags as he can outside for me. This will please Sassy, and help with the toilet situation.

Action shot of me with pick axe. Oh yeah!

We went via my local hardware store and I bought a large tub of the sealant and then across the bridge and up the hill and home. My parents were sat in the shade at the back watching the fire and waiting for us. A cup of tea (and some coffee for some of us) later and I jumped up and got to work with my task for the day; continuing the digging I had started the day before to trace the pipe right back to where it came in the house.

On with the heavy work

This is where my pick axe came in to its own as it loosened the soil and the grass to allow me to lift out the spoil much easier and with less huff and puff. Not to say I wasn't exhausted by the process and I went from shorts and t shirt at first to getting a straw hat, then my t shirt off and then some clear glass as I was breaking up a slab of cement.

Taking a pause while my dad takes a picture

It was really satisfying however to see the progress I was making and to have the strain on my muscles after so long sat at a computer desk. This is one of the reasons I wanted to come out here; to do physical stuff and to challenge myself at tasks I have never done before, like wielding a pick axe.

As far as I got

It was such hot and dry work that at one point I had two large cups of tea on the side so I wouldn't have to wait for one to be made and I drank them both down during short breaks of the swinging and the digging.

I have taken the trench as far as I can without starting to lift slabs and so I left it there, deciding to get on with that tomorrow when I have had a rest. I was tired and aching and my parents had decided they were walking back to their hotel (in the absence of Thomas for a lift) and so they were heading off.

This is tougher than it looks

All this is not to say they had been idle at all. The parents had emptied the burning drum, which must have been no mean feat as it is quite heavy, and then got the fire going and by the end of the burn had probably destroyed half the stuff piled up.

Dad on with the sealing of Room 13

My dad had brushed sealant onto over half the floor in Room 13 while I was gone, and finished this off while I was outside digging. This is great as now I can (hopefully) put things in there without risking too much dust coming up off the floor in there. Obviously this won't help with dust from around the rest of the building but never mind. It is better than nothing.

Apparently my mum had done some more sweeping out front too which was an unexpected bonus so I am really amazed and pleased with the help they have given me today.

One other little milestone was the first bucket of humanure was filled today so I swapped a new one in and stored the other by the back door. I now have until I fill the first one to locate and build the outside store. Things are moving there too (badoom).

My architect on the phone, with plans behind him

I sat down on my entrance porch with the laptop to start writing this blog thinking that I was going to be able to relax into the evening and chill and how wrong was I. First of all my architect arrived, which was great as he was dead on time and we got a chance to go through what had happened.

I will keep this brief. Basically the PuP has been rejected (so no change of use) however the permission to build has been provided by the Obshtina so I can start work very soon. Lubo is going to come over after the parents have gone and we will go and see my local Kmet to validate my plans and then I am all set and able to do the roof and everything I want to do. The only change he has imposed is he says I cannot put large picture windows in the blank wall of the living room, but I can have the door onto the balcony. I may end up thinking my way around this; maybe some tall narrow windows to let light and some views in, but it isn't the end of the world. What a great thing.

Give a smile for the camera

As we were talking the internet people turned up and started installing my satellite dish. They did this with no hassle, no fuss, and within a very short time I was putting my WiFi password in and connecting to the outside world once again. Yes, I am typing this straight onto the internet and am at home when I publish it. How amazingly fast; 11am I was in the shop and 5pm I am online; I would love to see ANY internet company in the UK achieve a response time like that.

While all this was going on a friend who contacted me through this site arrived; he had been buying a school through the same people I did and had won it that day! Huge congratulations to S in his wonderful purchase. It was great to meet him at last however I felt really rushed and wished I wasn't quite so busy at the time. Everyone left and just as we were about to settle down for a natter my friend rang to say Thomas was ready and I could go and collect him then, if I got there by 6pm.

S was so kind and drove me the 25 minutes to the garage to collect Thomas which has simplified my life rather a lot as I didn't really want to drive Julian around tomorrow as he may decide doing that hill again is more than he wants to do. The bill for fixing Thomas was miniscule and the garage had also spotted another small problem which they said they would fix any time I brought him in. I think I am going to do this tomorrow and take the parents around that town while I wait.

As a thankyou I took S for a drink at the little cafe, and we had some food as well which was really pleasant, and then he headed off to his hotel (as he has done the same crazy three day trip for the auction as I did) and I headed to my friends to pick up my parents washing she had so kindly done, and have a quick drink of juice while telling her about my crazy day.

And so I am sat at my desk in the pitch black at my home now typing this to you, shivering a bit as the temperature has dropped and there are no windows here, and about to head to sleep. I have put the fridge into its final home and will let it sit over night to settle before turning it on tomorrow and putting things in it. But tomorrow is another day, and I'll write another over-long post about it after the fact.

Night all