So much for cooling down

I'm starting this just before dinner as I'm being nagged to get this started as we may be heading out this evening to go up to the hotel my parents stayed at last year before sundown. I think it'll be too late to go so we'll have to go tomorrow but we will see.

First thing, just an orange glow

It gets brighter and brighter

And it appears, making us hotter

I think we all slept well last night, though my parents said they were up quite early which is a shame, but I woke when A went out to do the birds and puppies and after slowly getting my head in gear I was up to make her a brew before she came in. I found that the hot water was running so the kettle boiled and I was busy washing up when she came in so I got close to my surprise. We didn't spend any time inside as I remembered just as we were about to sit at our desks about the balcony so off we went. The sun was not yet up when we sat down and were joined by the parents who made their own brews and we sat and watched as it appeared. It had actually been a little chilly first thing, A got her long trousers and a hoody on (I was just in my shorts as always) but as soon as the sun was up we felt the effects immediately.

A goodly amount of kindling

A headed off to collect the men at the usual time as they were returning to us today and when she had gone I did the humanure and after that I went with my mum to do the watering round that hadn't happened last night. With that completed I got on with my next morning chore of chopping wood for the petchka. I took the chainsaw, which I had refilled with oil and which was running very smoothly now, but in the end didn't use it at all this time as I just used the axe and trimmed down branches and got more twigs for A to bundle. I had just finished this and was about to start the chainsawing when A returned with the men so instead I went inside for breakfast.

Very tasty posh scrambled eggs

As I was unwell yesterday I wasn't able to do the breakfast that I had promised everyone so I prepared my breakfast today instead; posh scrambled eggs. I fried off the chunks of bacon with a chili then butter fried mushrooms and finally added egg and milk mix with olives in it. This was served up on fresh bread bought this morning at the shop in Bekir's village. We ate on the balcony and other than being bothered by flies it was awesome.

New Marlboro Man

My dad hates smoking however I managed to persuade him to buy a hat that says "Marlboro" on it at the market last week. All week he has been wearing it backwards in protest however this morning over breakfast I caught him wearing it the correct way round so I had to grab a picture. So here he is, I give to you the New Marlboro Man; does this make you want to smoke?

Sally knocking the patio door through

After eating I went out to carry on with the chopping of wood however on the way I went past the kitchen to see what Sally was up to. He had cracked on where he left off last week with the double patio doors and there was now a huge hole that he was steadily enlarging. What amazing progress.

Wood chopped for the day

I got the chainsaw running and only worked for about ten or fifteen minutes with it and in that time chopped up all the thick bits of wood I had collected. I'm getting a bit more confident with the chainsaw now as I'm being far more careful about how I'm holding the loose ends and using my weight correctly. We still haven't got Bekir to order our wood however I have started thinking about where the wood store should be and on the drive back from dropping them off just now I solved this problem so I have added another task to my to-do list; build the wood store lean to.

Tiling getting done

While Sally was downstairs I got Bekir to go back into the wetroom to finish the job before they get stuck in to the next huge task of the living room and spiral staircase. He started with the tiling above the doorway and then got on and finished off all the grouting in the room which was a very large job and I'm pretty amazed he did it in one day actually. Right at the end just before he left I asked him to tighten the tap up which I think he's done (I haven't actually checked but he seemed to know about it being loose when I mentioned it).

Trying to remove the squeaking thing from the ball

Our holidays were also over today and A was straight back to typing when she got back with the men while I was back to coding and working with the team in England. So there was a lot of that going on interspersed with the other things mentioned on this update. We had previously decided not to give the puppies a ball as we had been told it can effect their hunting skills however Thelma has taken recently to killing the ball which is most amusing. Today she went to a higher level and spent quite a long time determindly trying to dig the squeaker out of the ball. Eventually this noise got too annoying and I removed it from her as it was really distracting me.

Getting ready for the door fitting tomorrow

Lunchtime came and I had some butties and then I went into town with my mum to do a bit of shopping. We went got some new secaturs for me as my old ones had been damaged by cutting metal, and a double Bulgarian plug for my dad to wire in the twin room. Then it was on to the bank for me to get more renovation cash out (there were no English speakers so I did this wholly in Bulgarian) and finally we went past the little nick-nack shop to get my dad's birthday pressie and while we were there my mum picked up a little something for herself as well. Finally on the way back we stopped in Lidl and bought much more than was on my shopping list which is standard. when we got back we found the Sally had cracked on and finished knocking out all the stones and was on with tidying up the sides of the hole with cement, ready for the window people to come tomorrow to fit it. It was actually finally raining as we left, as the forecast had suggested, which was a relief however by the time we had got back the sun was back out and it was hot again, hence the blog title.

One thing I forgot to mention about last week, and am reminded of now, is last week my dad did it and today my mum got a lift back up from the vehicle gate having shut it behind Thomas and they hung on the side of him while I drove, as A is wont to do. They both whooped and had a great time though I did keep my speed sensible for them.

Roof terrace windows

I was back to work after this and missed most of the afternoon apart from at one point when we started to hear some big banging again. We weren't totally sure what was going on but a quick investigation revealed that Sally, having completed the kitchen door, was up in the roof knocking out for where the windows by the side of the roof terrace door will go. It was brilliant to see this and the light it lets in is outstanding.

Superb paella for dinner

The rest of the day passed with working (I did take a bit of time out to shift a few things around in the living room so it would be ready for the platform to be removed tomorrow) and the parents going out on their own for a walk (they found a lovely place for me and A to visit at some point) and when Bekir finished the working day also finished so I took them home, with absolutely nothing interesting to say about that other than the amusement when I pointed out where I had taken the picture of his sheep which now hangs on our bedroom wall. When I got back I started this update and A was cooking an amazing paella which we went out and ate on the balcony. I managed to finish this plateful but it was a really good sized portion and some will have to be recycled unfortunately.

Light-beams shooting between cloud gaps

Gorgeous colours as the sun peeps out briefly

More shooting beams

Once again, and boringly so for you I'm sure, it was an absolutely stunning sunset all through our meal. These pictures were taken all through the time we were sat outside and I'm particularly pleased with how I have captured the rays of light shooting between gaps in the clouds; this is a phenomenon that I am particularly fond of. We're so lucky to live here.

My parents with the puppies

One thing my parents have really loved, other than the company and the location and the food and the relaxation and the entire time here, has been the puppies. And the puppies have also really loved them. Here they are getting cuddles after dinner, and after being treated to some meat from the paella as they had been so good and stayed in their bed all through our eating. I don't know if my parents are going to miss me or the girls more when they leave.

Tomorrow is the last full day of their visit which is sad as it's been a lovely trip but at least they have been able to visit for so long and we've been able to take the past week off and spend it with them so enjoyably.