A tiring day

Today has been tiring because of paid work not anything else but that doesn't make the effect any less debilitating. I'm starting this having finished work before taking the men, once again, as yesterday was so pleasant. After the publish I went through to the living room with A and we put Elvis on the record player and sorted the remainder out into alphabetical order. It was so nice to be able to relax. I'm looking forward to similar tonight.

Frost remains in the shadows

After that chilling out A made us a brew and we took it to bed and read and drank it then slept through the night. The puppies did want out in the early hours but this time they disturbed A and not me. The alarm going off was the usual shock and again we snoozed for a bit but then I was up, put the kettle on, swept out the fires and then dragged the duvet off A as she was STILL in bed. It was another cold night, though definitely not as cold as the night before as the bucket wasn't frozen this morning. There was a heavy frost which made having reversed Thomas onto the drive last night a bonus as the sun shone and melted the windscreen ice.

The pile of dirt steaming where I have excavated

When A left I went straight outside to start shoveling the soil into each hole in preparation for planting the trees today. It was still pretty cold but the puppies wanted to come with me this time so I was shoveling and throwing the stick for Thelma. Rambo also came to check it out but then went back to his place in the sun to relax. I got everything I wanted to done and was able to get back in and almost finish shaving my head before A got back. I'd missed a bit which she helped me with then it was a super fast shower and get ready for the off.

Hikmet getting stuck straight in

Today we were joined by Hikmet, as Gyuner's back is still not allowing him to work. He was super pleased to see me this morning and had a huge smile on his face as he greeted me. I pointed him in the direction of what we wanted today, making sure he knew to shift the far pile of soil before the near one, and then it was time to leave for town.

Colour contrast on our hill

Another 1000L of water storage

I dropped A off at the shops and went to the bank to do my taxes then stopped off to pick up some torches for tomorrow night and finally met back up with A in the shop in time to pay. Typical ;) from there we headed back over to the builders merchant I bought two of the 1000L water tanks and picked up another one, and some other items. The person who served us was a lovely lady who was very friendly and gave us a bit of a gift as well. On the way back I stopped Thomas at the bottom of our hill to get a picture I had seen as an opportunity the other day; I love these colours. Just round the corner was Usmivka, this time without rakia in him so A jumped on the truck bed and rode up while Usmivka sat in the front. He was very grateful as always but A got back inside as soon as she could and said it was really fresh sitting back there.

That should hold it

We got back to find that Bekir and Sally had finished fixing up the vehicle gate for us, damaged by a truck which didn't quite make the turn successfully. We'll have to replace this completely at some point next year to prevent the tiny dog getting through, and improve general security, but for now at least it is no longer hanging off and dragging on the floor when we open it.

Totally chilled out on the roof

Bekir was on the roof fixing the damaged downpipes and we gave him a bit of help by guiding him across to where it was as he couldn't see easily while on the roof. He's so cheerful working at those heights without any safety equipment; I'd be frozen with fear and then fall.

Sally painting the garage doors

Sally had picked up a brush and started to paint the garage door with the dark brown hammerite I had chosen as it would match the rest of the windows and doors. I was a little sad to see the shiny metal go away as it was so cheerful in the mornings but at least now it won't rust.

Tidying up while waiting for the next task

Hikmet had filled in all the holes to the required level before the trees would go in and so had started to shift the piles of stones to tidy up generally. I have got him to put them down the bottom where I started shifting them to and this winter I will have to get the path made and get a load more dirt spread over it all. I may ask Bekir to order another truck or two full actually.

Bekir with the moon

As I was walking back towards the house to get back to the office I saw that Bekir had moved on to the next downpipe and the moon had risen and was behind him. I had to get this arty farty shot for you and I offer it with no excuses attempted.

The trees are planted!

After this it was very much nose to the grindstone for a large proportion of the day and I only feel like I properly looked up late in the afternoon. I was able to keep my habit of regular photographic explorations around the place to keep up with progress and I was very glad I did as I managed to watch while the first of the trees were planted in the orchard. We're short two holes at the moment which I hope Hikmet will come back to dig tomorrow.

Beating a bit of dust out of the rug

While I was checking this out A was inside cleaning out the guest room. She appeared on the balcony with the rug which was just a little bit dusty. We're very close now to being ready for the party tomorrow. She came down after this to inspect the new trees more closely and we threw the stick for Thelma for a bit. It was another lovely day today and really warm.

Some pictures up in the living room

Lunch time came and went without either of us noticing but around 1pm we headed into the living room to hang the pictures, after I'd done the new ones in the guest room. It was a lot of fun, and again I had Elvis on the record player, going around working out exactly where and then getting up the ladder and hammering the hooks into the wall. We have one or two more to do but they can wait until we've got time to move the TV.

Tidy garage ready for Thomas

Mid afternoon Sally came to say he had run out of hammerite and had a bit more yet to do so, as I was so super busy, I sent A down to the shop (with Louise for company). Ironically after this my work devolved into a series of emails and I was able to get away from my desk for ten minutes so together Sally and I really quickly cleaned the garage out with the aim of surprising A when she got back. This evening I can now park Thomas inside when I come back from dropping the men. Wowzers.

A peeling lots of potatoes

If you had asked A to write this update it would probably just say "cooking, lots of cooking... and some cleaning" as she has been preparing food for the party tomorrow night. If no one turns up we'll be eating a lot of curry and stew for the next few weeks. It all smells amazing and the curry in particular has a wonderful whiff to it. I'm quite excited.

Guest room ready for guests

She asked me to get a picture of the guest room after she had fully cleaned it and it does look really lovely. We're not sure if anyone will want to stay over tomorrow evening but at least now if anyone does we can welcome them in comfort. We'll have to put the electric heater in there though. Something to think about for next year if people come over at this time.

The garage doors completely painted

Sally finished off the painting once A brought the extra pot of paint back (she loved the clean garage, by the way) and when I popped out without camera he was very excited and sent me back to get a picture. Unfortunately by the time I got back (I had to work briefly while I was at my desk getting the camera) he had disappeared but tomorrow I'll get one of him stood next to it.

Funnily enough this smoked quite a lot

All bar two of the trees are now planted (the two remaining cherry trees are lacking holes, which I will begin in the morning and then Hikmet will finish during the day tomorrow. I haven't got pictures because they are basically sticks in the ground and hard to spot. With that done, and the garage doors finished (and more cleaning done by Sally along the corridor; he is a star) Bekir said that he would quickly fix up the chicken house door which is a real bonus task. I was typing this update when I heard the grinder going and ran down with the camera as he was planing the bottom off the door with the grinder. Brilliant.

Amazing shades from blue through pink to white

The sky was an amazing shade, or many shades actually, when I popped out so I was even more glad I'd gone to check out the noise. Stunning. It wasn't long after this that the men were ready to go so off we went and as is usual with Hikmet in the car there was quite a lot of chat. They asked if I was going to put Thomas inside this evening and I said yes and so, after closing the lovely easy fixed vehicle gate and then shutting the birds away with the on-it's-hinges-now door there I had some fun reversing into the garage with my not-yet-fixed wing mirror limiting my view. After a few shuffles I was in and I reckon that with practice, and a working wing mirror, it won't be hard at all. The garage door shut really smoothly and when we put wood on the handles (to prevent freezing pain in winter from the metal) I think we're all set.

So food is nearly ready and I've already finished typing this up which is just excellent as the rest of the evening to relax with A. It's been so warm that, other than first thing, the petchka in Room 13 hasan't needed to be lit at all and we haven't even bothered lighting it this evening either. Maybe we'll go listen to some more music in the living room.