 |
| Detail of the pre-sun on the clouds |
 |
| Nearly there |
I woke before the alarm and saw a gorgeous sky but thought "nah" and went back to sleep; the problem with having those two dogs there - they see you and think "BREAKFAST TIME!" and then don't shut up for ages. Bless them. When the alarm did finally go off I was up and out of bed straight away and out onto the balcony to take many photographs of the still gorgeous sky, though now there was a pretty large cloud getting involved. The sun was not up and I actually went in before it appeared. 31 pictures of the sky was enough for that time in the morning I think.
 |
| Ralf, Rambo and my knees |
Feeding time was standard, with Ralf barking then looking guilty and then, a second or two later, barking. He will learn, if it kills me. I had some trouble getting them both to calm down when we were actually in the house before I put the bowls down but finally they were ready and both munching away. After he finished, Ralf went burping and sniffing around but I had him on his lead so he couldn't get far. Rambo finished after and I got him to come over to me and we sat together for a few minutes quietly before I went to get a watering can to refill their two water bowls which were empty.
 |
| The birds were all camera shy |
I did not do a watering round first thing this morning as it was due rain (and I had the blog for yesterday to start) and so I headed off a bit early again with the zoom hoping to capture the storks at their breakfast. Sadly, once again, as I came round the corner I could see them disappearing but there was a small white bird in the water so I parked up and jumped out. As I did so I saw that the flock of storks had circled round and were almost right over head. Unfortunately I had the zoom lens on and I couldn't get the camera to focus and then they were gone. That would have been a cracking picture. Never mind. Even worse, as I was attempting to get this picture the white bird that prompted me to stop in the first place disappeared so I didn't even get one of that. Here is a view of the bend to make up for it.
 |
| Yeah, I'm taking a picture of you... |
When I got back I set to finishing the blog and put off making myself breakfast until this was done as I was actually hungry today and bacon and eggs on toast seemed like a great idea. Ralf headed off on his extending lead at one point and when I went to check on him I found him looking at Sassy again, who was studiously ignoring him. She's a funny one.
 |
| Bekir backing up the stairs with a beam |
As I was out taking pictures the men were carrying some of the super large beams up the stairs so I pulled Ralf out the way (he has a habit of wanting to get involved which can result in trippage) and then got a picture as Bekir backed up the stairs carrying one on his own; he really is so very strong that man.
 |
| Some lovely cloud formations |
Quarter of an hour later, after I had chatted and kept up the work on the blog, I decided to pop up and see how the men were doing. Of far greater interest, however, was the sky as a storm was blowing our way and the clouds were fascinating which were heading up the front. It was a dramatic change in weather and I went from full sunshine to needing the lights on in Room 13 in about twenty minutes.
 |
| They are working fast before it rains |
Never mind the change in weather that was coming, the men were hard at it putting up beams and making calculations and measurements. All of them get involved in the decisions and there is an open forum for pointing out issues (or hopefully not issues, but preventing them) and even I can input into this. Orhan is really doing well as well, I think.
 |
| And so it begins |
Another fifteen minutes and the rain arrived and they sensibly took cover. I (stupidly) climbed up to get some pictures for you but I didn't last long; it wasn't heavy but it was heavy enough. It didn't look like it would last long and it didn't. A few minutes later the men were back at work and of course then it started again. They took cover and it stopped. It went like this for a while but each time they were up and working as soon as they could.
 |
| Ready to start chopping |
I, meanwhile, was downstairs and had finally finished the blog for this morning and eaten my breakfast (I did give in and eat while typing the last few paragraphs) and so I set about getting ready for the main task of the day. Jam making. I cleared the desk, putting the laptop on top of my amplifiers, so I had plenty of space for the chopping board, the big bucket of fruit to be chopped, and the weigh scale bowl to put the chopped fruit into. The first thing I did before putting any fruit in was find out how much that weighed empty, so I could subtract it from each fruit weight.
 |
| The storm passed very quickly |
I picked some music to listen to (Pink Floyd, Pulse) and set to chopping and coring the tiny apples I had picked. After a few minutes and getting about half way through I popped upstairs to see the men. After being out all day yesterday I was determined to make up for it by taking loads of pictures today. First of all, I was pleased to take a picture of blue sky as the storm had blown away and this was to be the weather we would enjoy for the rest of the day, mostly.
 |
| Artfully framed |
I snapped multiple pictures of wood and beams and nails and other building type things but this carefully framed photograph, chosen to be taken for the blog and posted purely to please my father, is all you will see of this. The rest were boring and I'd hate to do that to you. Obviously.
 |
| Ralf waiting for me |
As I went to go back downstairs I heard whining (I had been stood on the top of the stairs taking the pictures) and there was Ralf, on his customary step, looking up at me and whining as he could see me but I wasn't paying him attention. He loves laying on this step for some reason, I think it is because it is dusty and he seems to have a thing for lying down in dust and dirt.
 |
| Chopping apples, loads still to do |
I was, as I said, about half way through sorting the apples by this point and I was getting to the point that I never wanted to see another apple again, and certainly not to chop and core it when they are as small as these ones. It was for a good purpose though so I stuck at it and pretty soon had finished them all, apart from a small number that I decided to reject as too low quality even for jam.
 |
| Plums a choppin' |
After completing the apples I selected a load of plums from the bucket and set to chopping these as well. They were slightly easier but still fiddly and my neck was starting to get sore with the desk being the right height for typing but not so much for chopping. That is something to think about for our kitchen; having a work surface that is the correct height to sit and chop at when I'm making jams or chutneys or other preserves.
 |
| Yes he has laid his head on the sugar |
All day Ralf has been very close to me, laying on the rug behind me (like in this picture) or under the desk by my feet. I don't know why he has done this as normally he would be laid on the stairs to the roof but it has been nice to have him there.
 |
| Four stages of jam |
Chopping complete I put all the fruit in my cooking pan and added 1kg of sugar, 100ml of water, and turned the heat up full. When it was bubbling I put the heat down and then, after a while, moved the pan to the back burner which is lower, and left it to simmer for a while. The time between the first and last pictures taken here is nearly three quarters of an hour for all of that process to complete.
 |
| Some clever techniques for building a roof |
In the period that the jam was reducing I spent some time outside with the boys and also went up into the roof to see what was going on. As usual they were hard at work and I thought I'd take some details of a few of the techniques that they use. Here is a plumb line describing the path the beam will take, and some temporary supports in place while they position all the other beams around this one. It is all very clever and very accurate, and amazing to think this is achieved with a chainsaw, a hammer, and a big box of nails.
 |
| Four jars and a little left over |
And so it was time to put my jam in my jars. These had been in the oven at about 180 degrees for a fair while and were way too hot for me to touch so I took each one out wrapped in a cloth and then spooned the lovely jam into each one before putting the lid on really tight and then wiping the outside down. I had enough for four jars full to the brim, and then a little left over which I scraped into a bowl.
 |
| I couldn't wait to taste it |
It looked so good that I remembered that I had forgotten to eat lunch at the traditional time so I put a couple of slices of toast in and spread it on and oh yes it was good. So good I took the bowl up to the men and Bekir and Sally both tried it and said it was nice, though Orhan declined.
 |
| Plenty of pears on my tree |
After this success I still had a huge amount of plums left in my bucket so I decided to go out and collect any pears that I could reach from the ground and make some plum and pear jam, which had actually been my original intention when I started picking the plums. There are loads of fruits on my pear tree (my favourite tree, indeed) and I only picked those I could reach (though my tree climbing skills came into play a couple of times for ones that were just out of reach) and soon I had a basket with enough in for my purposes.
 |
| Now it is time for the pears to be chopped and cored |
It was back upstairs and chopping again, this time to Genesis as my Pink Floyd had run out. I accidentally sliced the top of my thumb while I was chopping the pears which made it a slightly interesting task with the acid getting in the cut, and blood leaking until I put a strip of gaffer tape over it to stop it. I chopped and chopped and got through all the pears, slightly unripe for eating raw but probably perfect (I think they have more pectin in when unripe) for jam making. These went through the same process, cooking for roughly the same amount of time, and then being put into jars using the same technique though this time the jars were even hotter and the jam actually sizzled as it dropped in. I had made enough for six jars of this flavour.
 |
| Now you can make your own |
If you are interested in my quantities, here are the scribbled notes I took as I made each type. I was using this blog post as my inspiration for the jam and thank you very much indeed as it has come out perfectly.
 |
| High wire walker |
All day today I have been telling Bekir he is like an acrobat with the manouvres he pulls while he is up building and here is proof. He just walked across this beam without any worries, even pulling a little pirouette when he saw me watching. This was while they were putting one of the most important beams of all in, which will tie the first section of roof to this one.
 |
| Thunderhead right above us |
It was getting close to time for the men to go and a storm was brewing and rumbling quite long and loud in the distance and when I looked I could see the massive storm which was bearing down on us, moving visibly towards us. Then the strange thing about the weather here happened again and it just stopped. That storm, the edge of which was right over head and the winds from which were whipping leaves from the tea trees and blowing them around the patio, never actually reached us.
 |
| Orhan protecting his melon from Rambo |
I think the mobile shop must have arrived while I was up there as I saw that Orhan was not around and then heard him talking to Rambo so I checked out what was going on and he was walking back with the largest melon you have ever seen. Rambo seemed to think that it was for him but no chance. I was offered some again but decided this time to give it a miss.
It became time for the men to go so I went to put the boys away and got Ralf in and then we all wondered where Rambo was and suddenly he appeared - he had been doing one of his rounds. I opened the gate to let Rambo in and Ralf was out like a shot and spent the next ten minutes legging it like a lunatic and I had no chance of catching him. I opened the gate, struggled to keep Rambo still inside, and eventually Ralf ran in on his own accord. This has made me think that I really need to walk him so that will have to happen tomorrow.
 |
| The new roof continues to take shape |
After this the journey back to their village, and then returning to my house, was easy as always though it was raining quite heavily on the way, and there was some really impressive forked lightning in the direction of Greece that could be seen from their cheren put. I parked up in a slight drizzle and then the thunder really started rumbling very loudly and it was then that I remembered I had not taken the progress picture and I really wanted to today.
 |
| Goodbye to the sun for the day |
While I was up there I caught a glimpse of the sun through a gap in the clouds so snapped a quick shot and this was my last glimpse of it today as the clouds moved in, several periods of light rain ensued and there was a lot of very loud and long thunder which rumbled all around for a fairly large part of the evening. I had put some tatties in to roast before taking the men and the chicken was added as soon as I got home and, with the addition of cabbage (Sassy getting her share and munching it all immediately) I had a very nice basic sunday roast for a tuesday.
Now it is time for me to sign this off and spend the rest of the evening chatting about tractors and audio typing and other fascinating things which make up the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment