Their last day

Well it's a little late to be starting a blog post, particularly considering how early we'll have to be up tomorrow morning, but I would like to get it done and dusted as loads has happened so onwards.

Blackpool balcony sunset

Hazy pre-sunrise in Bulgaria

There was a lot of barking and animal noise in the night which disturbed me a bit but A quite a lot however she was up before me as always to sort the puppies. I followed her not long after, however, to check the water but it wasn't on so it was back out to the balcony with our brews to watch the sun come up. Talking of which I promised a sunset view from my old flat on the front in Blackpool so that is the first picture above. The sunrise here was lovely; it was a bit of a hazy one but the sun had its usual effect and warmed us up (A was again in long trousers!).

Two very dirty puppies fighting

While we were sat there we were joined by my parents for their last sunrise on the balcony for this trip. The girls were outside as usual and we lost sight of them for a few minutes and then suddenly A spotted a huge cloud of dust in the burning circle and found them. They proved that while the steps had retained their shape during and after burning, it collapsed into dust as soon as it was touched, all over them.

Our doggie family

Rambo came up a bit later to join in the fun and took them with him round the corner towards the vehicle gate. We normally try to stop them going down there when we're up on the balcony as it'd be too easy for them to slip out and escape so I called them back. They are obedient so they came back pretty much immediately.

Mountaineering puppies

After this they went back onto the dust bowl, up the back bank, and then to a new place by climbing up and over the boulders that were saved by the bagga machine driver. Louise was the first to climb up and stand on top of the big stone in the centre and we didn't think that Thelma would try it however after Louise had gone up, danced a bit then jumped off she was followed and Thelma managed to climb up and get down without slipping at all. Good work for the tank.

Lots of brush for tying up

After A headed out to get the men I went straight down with the axe and chainsaw and again I only used the axe while she was out. I got through a fair amount before they returned and then stopped and headed in to make breakfast for me and my parents. A was already hard at work with her typing and didn't want anything as usual. It was lovely to sit out on the balcony with them eating but once I'd finished and let it go down a bit I went out and did the last bits of wood chopping with the chainsaw. There's a lot now for A to bundle up.

Bekir starts to lever up the platform

So with the bathroom completed it was time for Bekir to move on to the next job (Sally was still bashing away upstairs to knock out the bricks for the windows next to the roof terrace doors) and with much excitement, and I am not exaggerating I was over the moon and quite bouncing off the walls, I asked him to start taking the platform out so that the hole for the spiral staircase could be begun. Without any delay he was in with the crowbar ripping the concrete out in huge chunks. It was such fast progress as the slab, held together with wood not metal, just split up into chunks quite easily. After Sally finished up he came down and started heaving the chunks out of the window onto the spoil pile below.

Ooodles of hot water

I was on with work for most of the day again today so everything else occurs around that. At one point while working I heard some water in the pipes and so jumped up to wash up. At first I was disappointed as nothing came out the tap but after leaving it for five minutes suddenly the smallest trickle appeared and it never got any stronger however I was able to wash everything up in it eventually. It wasn't very fast, but it worked out.

Sun loving puppies, asleep

The puppies were snoozing on their chair for most of the morning but at one point Louise got up and lay herself down in the sunlight pooling behind my chair. I picked her up then Thelma came to join her and they both fell asleep with their heads on the desk in the sun. Unfortunately I was not able to work while sat like this so soon they had to go back to their beds after a bit. Louise didn't stay in there for more than 20 seconds before she was back in the sunpatch behind my chair. Bless.

A very old newspaper

Making good progress

I was so excited about the progress going on that I also kept bouncing up out of my chair to go and see the living room, snapping pictures every time and getting laughs from Bekir and Sally. I got to see lots of the struggles they went through to lift the larger pieces but the best bit was when we spotted a very old newspaper stuck to the bottom of one of the slabs. Bekir looked at it and said it was Turkish but we couldn't see any dates. So fascinating, these insights into the history of the building.

Dad wiring again

My dad was on with fitting the Bulgarian plug I had bought yesterday and also sorting out some anomalies in the other wiring he had done (a switch was glowing when no current was going to it which was caused by an earthing problem, apparently) and it has been really good to have him helping me with these things as his knowledge far exceeds mine.

Patio door being fitted

We had planned to pop out at lunch to the hotel my parents had stayed at last year however just before we left there was a beeping and a tooting and the window men arrived, causing Rambo to have to be locked in the porch and me to decide I didn't want to leave him there. They had brought the patio doors, the internal kitchen doors, and the glass for the windows on the roof terrace and they cracked straight on. Bekir helped for a bit, then it was lunch and then after lunch he carried on watching and helping as they were working in the kitchen and the next task was to knock the actual hole down through the ceiling.

Swinging chair back in use

When I popped onto the roof to check out the progress I found my mum was sat in the shade of the chimney on a cushion so I helped her to rig up the swinging chair which she loved. I then was tasked with getting my dad to go and join her and after a few minutes he went up there and they had a lovely time sat swinging, reading and enjoying the breeze. I'm so pleased they got to do this as until today it has just been too hot up there.

Fitting the double glazing

It took several hours for the window people to finish their tasks today and all that time Bekir and Sally were unable to progress. We did manage to work out that the back windows could be shut enough to keep the elements out (though if they don't get replaced before winter I will probably still end up boarding them up) and also I showed Bekir where a few things were going to go in the kitchen. They left after doing everything on the doors but took the glass for the roof terrace with them as it had been made the wrong size. They'd better be back with that soon.

A being safe as Bekir starts to dig a hole in the floor

And so it was finally possible for Bekir and Sally to get started on bashing the hole into the floor for the staircase. They started out with the pickaxe and worked really well together, Bekir breaking it up and Sally getting in there with the shovel to remove the loose pieces. I had dragged A away from her desk to check out what was going on and she legged it to get her pink helmet which caused very much amusement from both Bekir and Sally.

Dad looking for his geocache with puppies in attendance

With the window men gone, and Rambo no longer confined, I was able to head out to the hotel with my parents (sadly A had an urgent file and really could not get away) and while it was a very short trip out it was really lovely. We looked for the geocache my dad had set the year before but couldn't find it, and strolled around briefly letting the puppies have a good old sniff which they loved. Afterwards we went past the petrol station to refuel Thomas and then it was back to the old school and less than an hour had passed. A lovely interlude on the last full day they are here.

When I got back it was to find a hole had appeared in the living room. A had heard a racket going on and went through in time to capture on video the first of the drilling that they did trying to get through the reinforced lower bit of the floor. We learned quite a lot during this process, actually. First of all the wall below extends 15cm further into the room than upstairs as it is made of stones and upstairs is bricks. Secondly the floor is a looser concrete on top and then about 10cm of thick reinforced concrete and stones below which is very hard indeed. It is a really solid construction, which is excellent to see.

Braver than I

What was less excellent, though rather awesome in a sense, was watching them both as they worked away to chip out the second strong layer of the floor. They were standing on the rebar while swinging the pickaxe, the sledgehammer, and the crowbar with all their might to dislodge concrete which was attached to the same metal. Amazing. Their comment was that this wasn't so high, it was higher when they were on the roof. Health and Safety?! Hah!

The hole what they made

And so the end of the day came round with us popping over to the neighbours for a coffee so they could say goodbye to my parents. It was a lovely little visit and the Little Lady kept saying that I was her son, to which I said "I have two mothers" which they liked. They're so lovely. When we got back to the old school Bekir and Sally were done and so I took them home, nothing exciting occurred, and then had a shower when I got back so we could go straight out to our evening meal.

Our happy group

We headed down to our favourite restaurant by the river and got a table. The same entertainers were there and they both waved as we arrived (and as we left as well) so we're definitely becoming locals. It was new serving staff however this time all of them were smily including the girls who often don't seem to want to crack a smile and as always the food was outstanding. It was really nice to not feel under any pressure, be sat in the warmth even after the sun went down, and just celebrate the last two weeks of such amazing fun and relaxation since they came over.

Mum cadging a lift on Thomas

They leave early tomorrow morning so we didn't sit around too long at the restaurant and I drove back but my mum wanted to have the pleasure of getting the ride back up on Thomas clinging to the side of the truck so she did the gates and my dad snapped the pictures. We had a brew and then they have gone to bed about an hour ago while I have struggled to get through this update which, typically for a night I want to do it fast, just hasn't been quick at all.

We'll be up at 5am to wave goodbye to them and the I'll probably be back to sleep again but we'll see. Time to put those pictures in place and then get to sleep.