Tiles going on

I can't remember what happened after I posted the blog last night.. I think I was reading then pretty much straight through to bed. I do remember that it started pouring with rain as I was walking to the bedroom so windows had to be shut which are normally left open all the time.

Early morning with clouds on the hills

No matter, I slept well and only woke once in the night but got back to sleep again straight away and when the alarm went off there was no snoozing just a minute or two of gentle awakening and then A got up to make brews and I went outside to get an early morning picture. It was once again really dark but I put the camera on a long exposure, braced myself on the table top (which was wet from the rain the night before) and got a lovely picture across the valley of the clouds hugging the hill tops and a slight light in the eastern sky.

Before it appeared

First tiny glimpse of the sun

Taking in the whole vista

More appears above the mountains

Sun climbing towards clouds

And it is fully up

After this brief step outside I went in for my brew and was sat at my desk when I saw a glimpse of a gorgeous red glow and thought "why am I not outside watching the sun come up" so me, my cup of tea and my camera went back out onto the balcony where I took loads of pictures so you are having to suffer through a number of them. I was still out there when A came in from feeding the mutts which I missed again but having been able to sit quietly and watch the display of sunrise I didn't mind too much.

Guest bed frame fully put together

I was still outside when A let Ralf inside and he pegged it up the stairs and out onto the balcony to see me, then spent the rest of the time dashing around looking for Rambo, as per usual. After the sun was fully up I went inside and we had another cup of tea (she had coffee) together before she headed off for the men and I went into the room next door and finished putting the legs on the guest bed frame. This didn't take that long and Ralf kept me company by sleeping next to where I was working but when I had finished and I went to turn the frame over onto its legs he got scared and ran off with his tail between his legs. Bless him. After this I was exhausted and I went to bed for a bit though I got up when I heard them return.

Guide line for diagonal for raised bed

The other item on my agenda today was to get Bekir to cut the diagonals for the raised bed so I could paint them with treatment and get that all finished this week. Finally. I measured up and what a wonderful feeling it was to see that my calculations all those weeks ago were perfect and the length of cross piece was perfect for a complete diagonal to accommodate the window. The pieces of wood were left to one side to wait for a coffee break before bothering Bekir about it as the men were already on the roof and working really hard as usual.

Ralf has lots of teeth

Ralf was being really playful this morning and after breakfast (toast for me, my tummy was rumbling so hard and I was feeling very hungry) Ralf jumped up on A and they played for quite a while; his teeth are rather sharp and we're trying to encourage him to not have his mouth open while he is having fun but it is a tough one at the moment. He never snaps when your hands are in his mouth but I worry about an accidental catch on those super sharp teeth.

New mattress on new bed frame

As I was planning on doing paid work all day today pretty much straight away after breakfast we headed out into town to buy the mattress for the guest room. I drove us to the same place as I bought from last time and the same guy was there who sold me the last bed. He asked how the mattress was and I said "great, I want another". At first it looked like we would have to buy an ugly stripy mattress but then he found a plain one of the type we were looking for and so it was strapped onto the roof of Thomas and then A drove us back (she is shorter so the straps holding the mattress down don't get in her way like they do mine). When we got back I had Orhan help me carry it upstairs which we did with great difficulty and it was put onto the frame and looks great.

All the wooden tile rests are in place

I went up to see what the men were doing then came back down and sent A back up with the camera and she also offered them coffee. They were using the old metal work that was good enough to be reused to waterproof the angles in the roof and guide the water down into the guttering. While the men were drinking their coffee I took the pieces of wood for Bekir to trim with his chainsaw and showed him what I wanted done. After finishing their break he did this before getting back on with his roofing work and I took the wedges down, checked them on the frame, then went and put the stain on them. Success.

Sassy sat in her cage, in her run

A took the opportunity while coming back down from the roof to get a picture of Sassy in her new favourite place which is sitting on the top level of her house and looking annoyed whenever she is awake. I think she really liked having the whole room to run in but she'll have to learn to be a bit more enclosed while she's with S and S.

Before and after the great tidying effort

I set myself to my paid work after this and A got it in her mind that on her day off she wanted to clean and tidy the entrance hall, porch and other areas in that location. To be fair it was a total tip and needed doing and she has done a great job. I helped a bit with moving some of the heavier stuff but it was such a great feeling to go down and see it once it was done.

First spade of soil into the raised beds

One thing that I did do was put the first shovel of soil into the raised bed and then help to empty the wheelbarrow in when it became full. The raised bed now has about 1/3 full and I will probably finish this off tomorrow morning while the men are being collected.

Excellent sweeping action

A was happily sweeping away in the entrance hall and I had to get a picture to compare and contrast with my friend who had wielded that very same brush last year while we were in clearing the rooms of all the detritus. In all seriousness though the whole thing is so much better and later, while I was having another nap, the stairs and inner entrance hall was swept too and the whole thing looks so much better.

The face of a very unhappy dog

While I was working at my desk I heard the shower going and headed down to find that Ralf was in the trench having hot water and dog shampoo lathered all over him. He didn't seem to be enjoying it quite as much as he had the last time but A was still doing a cracking job of keeping him in range and making him clean(er).

Toweling off, then leaving little wet footprints

With the shower done and the soap washed off A toweled Ralf as dry as she could get him and then he escaped and ran around the entrance hall shaking himself dry and generally looking less than pleased with the whole experience. He then dashed outside at the first opportunity and buried his face in the first pile of dirt he could find. Typical.

Starting to make Sassy a warm hidey hole

For winter Sassy may well end up in a not-that-warm room and I have been aware that she doesn't have anywhere to nest really, other than under the plastic shelf in her cage. I have decided to make her a little house that we can fill with hay and sawdust which will be enclosed and maybe be a bit warmer in the winter. For a few minutes today I started putting it together, using two table legs from the old school and some rough rustic looking wood that came with today's wood delivery.

All the tiles in place on this side

All day the men have been bashing away on the roof and I popped up late in the afternoon to see what was going on. They have completed the one side above Sassy's room and Room 13, and are well on their way to getting the wood down to finish the other side. I did have a chat with Bekir about everything that needs doing before my friend arrives next Tuesday (Concrete around the guest room window, tiles down in the guest room,  door to the corridor fitted, electrics in to the guest room and our bedroom, tiles down in our bedroom, plastering walls and ceiling in our bedroom) so maybe I'll pull Sally off the roof tomorrow and get him started on all of that.

This dog just loves playing (so do the other one)

The rest of the afternoon was taken up with working and then I took myself to bed for a rest as I was again feeling tired; I really need to shake this lethargy and again I'm feeling quite a lot better now. At some point in the afternoon A took both the boys outside with the plastic strapping from the tiles and played tug of war first with Rambo, then Ralf, then Rambo again. They loved it and it took some doing to stop the playing.

Slightly less done on this side, but loads on th'other

Before long it was time to take the men but with the rain starting to spit down I headed outside before driving them to get the progress picture. Sadly this side is not yet tiled however they are really close to getting that done. I drove them back without any problems through ever heavier rainfall and there was a nice moment when they were trying to tell me about their BBQ the night before and I knew the word for "pig" which surprised them. I got back, burned the rice to the bottom of the pan, and then ate the lovely chilli that A had cooked while again watching an episode of Father Ted and now I will publish this then see about the evening.

Night.