A day of rushing around

Sometimes this life seems very unreal to me, like just then as I was driving down the cheren put having dropped the workmen off, looking across the valley to the Greek Mountains with the clouds above lit red and orange and the truck bouncing around over ruts and stones. With how busy we always are it is so easy to settle into a day-to-day routine and forget sometimes just how special this is, what an awesome thing that we are doing. Today I had that wake up call and it was timely. This is an amazing project and an amazing life to lead and it is so important to keep that in mind.

It was so important that I write that I have sat down as soon as I got home and haven't even put my dinner on so I'm going to go and do that now and will be back with normal service resuming in a short while.

And I'm back.

Tasty treat for a rat

After the update yesterday I did as I said I would and got all the traps baited with cooked meats. This turned out to be much easier than the tomatoes I'd used before as they weren't squishy. With all five traps primed (one had already been placed in the roof by Bekir earlier) I plotted their location. One is now underneath my desk (I must remember to not stretch my feet out too far) were I found a small pile of poo and some wee where the now deceased must have stood before exploring the trap.

Trap set under the stairs

The others I put by the petchka in here, in the men's room downstairs, the store room downstairs and under the stairs which really does need clearing out as A says though that is definitely a task for over winter when I want to pretend to be a miner once more.

No more home for a rat

While I was getting this all done I realised I had forgotten to take a picture of another thing achieved quietly yesterday by the men. There were two rat nests which we found in the walls of this under-the-stairs area, in holes in the wall, and I'd asked them to be filled in with some spare cement from the work on the back patio. Of course as always my wish was their command (what you want, as they put it) and so here is the evidence. This is a tiny thing but it all helps us move towards avoiding a rat problem again. Now I just have to dig the coal out and clean it so we can spot rats in there easier and kill them.

Beginning of a great sunrise

After all this I was pretty well ready for bed however it was my nan's birthday so I stopped up a bit and eventually managed to get through to her on the phone which was lovely. She's a real star, my nan, and I hope I get back for the family get together next year. When I did get to bed I found my mind racing a bit but after laying in the dark I suddenly woke up after some strange dreams. The alarm this morning also made me jump and I couldn't quite believe it was time to get up as it was pitch black. This whole winter thing has got to go! I had my brew and woke up slowly and just before heading for the men I grabbed a quick snap of the sunrise which, after days of miserable cloud, was lovely to see. It was more and more impressive all the way along the road but I didn't have the camera to stop to capture it. Shame.

Sally gets ready for tiling by smoothing out the floor

While waiting for the men to get their shopping and get in Thomas I finally got around to tightening the spare wheel which has been clonking away for ages. The trip back was uneventful though the men were chattering away which I always like. When we got back my rushing around really started with me trying to get work done before the inevitable distraction of the trip to town. The men got on with their jobs. First of all Sally who cleared out the living room and started to prepare it for tiling. First of all this required smoothing of the cement steps and various other places which they have poured new concrete.

Outside the tiler was going round trimming off the untidy bits from the tiles he had already put on the walls. He was pretty much out of tiles by this point so the trip to town was an imperative. It really is looking very good now and the tile choices are fully vindicated I think. I also love walking out their bare foot as the tiles are warm underneath my feet which is such a change from the cold concrete.

Onwards goes the driveway progress

The new boy, who yesterday got sent home in disgrace, was back again today and lasted the whole day, though I don't think I saw him crack a smile once, not even while throwing the stick for Thelma. They had split the work up into pairs so two of them were mixing the cement and two were running the straight edge (a length of wood, not a spirit level, but never mind) over it. This seemed to work well though I did have a good laugh with Bekir later about the fact that this chap was back.

Last little bits of wood are split

Bekir was out with the chainsaw again as I had got Hikmet back for one more day to finish off the splitting. It did not take long as all that was left was the smaller bits we had put into the separate pile by the chopping block. The puppies were out with Hikmet playing and he was throwing things for them; all the men get on with the dogs which is just brilliant. He also is the main talker in the morning and as such I like the guy. I'll have to think of more work for him as today was the last day he's here.

Preparing the ground for the cement

Gyuner had been put onto his new task for the day which was to secure the fence down by the side gate. It had come away somehow allowing a gap for Rambo to escape through (obviously) and so I asked him to pour concrete along the base, similar to the rest of the fence, to seal the bottom against all trouble. This had been pointed out to me by the kmet so it was also a good political task to get done. He was not very confident so I tried to encourage him. The only way to learn is to do and this is a simple task so don't worry. I was keen to not distract Bekir or Sally at all today. He got on with it, though a little reluctantly.

Sally, with mask, sweeping the floor

Sally had finished chipping out the uneven bits in the floor and was now sweeping it all out. I came across him doing so without a mask on and told him off then went and got him a mask. He laughed and wore it for the duration of this task. I'm not health and safety mad (I was told off in turn, after telling Sally off, by Nikolai for walking around a building site bare foot) but you should look after your lungs.

A lot of tiles in the back of Thomas

After a superb bacon and egg butty breakfast which filled me up suitably I headed off with Bekir. Our first stop was Kaufland to get boxes for the dog food, walnuts and a few spare. We then headed towards the centre so I could get oil for the chainsaw but on the way stopped to pick up the remaining curtains which look amazing. I bought the last container of oil while Bekir had less luck with his new chain for his machine but eventually found what he wanted. Finally we went past TED to get the tiles we had ordered the day before. These were put on the back of Thomas on a pallet by a fork lift and the way the suspension sank convinced me we should get this load back home before going for more cement and betonkontakt. It may not look like much in these pictures but live, watching it drop, was pretty impressive.

Sally treating the floor with betonkontakt

When we got back we found that the sweeping was finished and Sally was working away with the remaining betonkontakt to seal the floor in the living room preparatory for tiling. We all piled in to help unload the tiles and then Bekir and I headed straight out again to go to get the cement. This time I tried to take the puppies with me but Thelma was playing and didn't want to come again so only Louise joined me. We got what we needed at the shop then Bekir did his usual Tuesday trip to the market while I waited and when he came back we had a very useful discussion about the fact that NOW is the time to plant fruit trees so Gyuner's next job becomes apparent and this weekend we'll be heading to get the pneumatic drill after all so we can plant our orchard. Exciting times.

Starting to work out the end wall

Nearly completed; we'll need to paint this

We'd left Hikmet splitting the last of the logs and when we came back we found that he had finished as was already starting on the next job which was to put walls on the wood store. This is something I have wanted for a while as it will help to keep the whole pile stable (a key point which is brought home properly later) as well as protecting it from the elements. Bekir got straight involved on getting back and they worked together to plan and construct a very secure end wall on this end.

Pink floor

Sally cracked on with the betonkontakt and shortly after lunch time he had completed the task. I hoped then that the tiling would begin immediately but it didn't and on asking Bekir later he said he wanted to give it until tomorrow to dry. This meant that both Bekir and Sally were at a bit of a loose end for the rest of the day.

Smoothing off the next section to be poured

The driveway people had finished the 2nd line and started on the 3rd length. This top section will drain to the left as you look at this picture into the drain that they will fit later on, eventually emptying into the pipe that goes out onto the lane. I'll have to capture all this run off eventually. The front section slopes forwards and will drain onto the land.

A sunny scene

Gyuner had cracked on and finished the wooden frame work to pour the concrete from by the gate down to the end of the worst bit of damage, and also the small section above the gate. I was really pleased he had done this because of his concerns about experience. And yes, that is the sun shining in that picture.

Sweeping (without mask) the stairs

Preparing for the door to be fitted

Inside Sally was picking up other tasks. First of all he swept off the stairs but without his mask on. After this I was going to ask him to put the curtain rails up however I found him working away on the door which is also a good thing to see being done. He had to get the grinder out for a bit and remove some of the floor from the corridor as this door is so much narrower than the previous one however, having done this and trimmed some wood from the door frame he left it and went onto the next task so it is still laying in the hall way.

Hikmet's stack was not stable

Outside the one wall was finished on the wood store as I had shown and Bekir was stood looking at the way the stack was looking unstable on the other end. He pulled one of the logs and the whole lot collapsed onto him. Hikmet immediately got to work shifting this pile into a better organised way at the other end while Bekir pulled lengths out and continued collapsing it. There was, however, method to his madness and he was able to remove enough to allow a wall to be put on this end as well, rather than waiting for the driveway to finish which was his previous thought.

Four workmen on one small section of fence

I had forgotten that I had invited Lyubo over for a beer and to see the progress but when he arrived it was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately due to jobs at home he couldn't stay long but we got to walk around and look at everything that has happened since he was last here and then sit and chat for a bit before he had to dash off. Outside the second wall had gone up in a jiffy and all four of our workmen were working together on the concrete base for the fence. In one sense this went against my thoughts for this task as they finished it before the day was over so now I need to think of something for Gyuner to do, and Bekir and Sally could have fitted that door in this time, but it is nice it is completed as well. I talked to Bekir about some other jobs, like trimming the oak tree as it is dangerous after the snows, and agreed that the house was now the total priority. We shall see.

Each holding an end, they run away

The puppies were playing outside a lot today. They are exhausted now and other than to get up to eat their dinner they have stayed in bed the whole evening while I have been typing this and it has been a SLOW blog update this evening. Bless them. Anyway they got themselves a stick from somewhere and did their usual running together thing with it. I love this.

Our woodstore, nicely stocked

Half a driveway

So at the end of the day we have a secure fence once more (and plans to reinforce the top so the cows can no longer lean over it and destroy it), a completed wood store which is only waiting for the waterproof drapes on the front which will be put on right at the end when the weather gets terrible as Bekir says to allow the air to circulate which does make sense. Finally the driveway is half way complete. Brilliant.

This filter is really not keeping up

I pottered over to the chicken run to check on things and found that the filter in the pump was once more completely blocked and struggling to do much more than trickle dirty water. I cleaned it quickly and set it running again however it is clear that this is not keeping up, needs cleaning more and I probably need a much more effective way of keep the water clean. If anyone has any ideas that would be great. I'm thinking a UV filter would help?

Dramatic evening sky as we left to take the men home

And so it was time to take the men home which was uneventful. Once again I've told Hikmet that he is done however I've also made it clear to Bekir that if we need another pair of hands to get him back. This evening has entirely been taken up with writing this update as I've been on a go slow and not really panicked about it either.

Tomorrow there may or may not be an update as A comes back so I'm out all evening to collect her. I'm very excited about this, as you can imagine.