Picking the pace back up

As hinted at in the last update the updates are going to start getting more regular again now. I think I'm going to tentatively say I will update on a Tuesday, a Thursday and a Sunday. Of course this is subject to change and if we do get multiple teams in working on things then I'll probably want to go back to daily. It is a huge commitment of time, though, to be typing this up every night so we'll see how it goes.

Wednesday

Our plans for Wednesday, which involved a visit from our friends, changed due to factors outside of all of our control so it turned out to be a very different day than expected. This was such a shame, but that is how things go sometimes. We're still heading up to see them this weekend so that is something to look forward to.

Heavy fog greeted us first thing

Rambo helping Nikolai with his soil shifting

The clouds are clearing, very slowly

Sassy with her mane being tousled by the wind

It was a really foggy and cold start to the morning and it didn't clear for quite a while. The workmen turned up again and got on with their jobs. Nikolai was out on the back bank with his shovel shifting more top soil for the basketball court. I've asked him to just put the soil in a big pile on the bank a bit further along; eventually I'll get round to shifting this down onto the orchard I think; there's no point in buying soil in when you're then paying someone to take your own soil and dump it up the mountain. The weather was still feeling quite unsettled and the clouds clearing very slowly; it was quite windy most of the day actually.

At work in Sassy's room

A cleaning in the men's room

Louise loves chasing the broom

Just a little bit filthy after that fun

The other chap (nope, I still don't know his name) was in Sassy's room working away on the cement for the surrounds. Nikolai was in and out helping while also working on his hole. A had been out first thing to do a shop, in anticipation of our visitors and replacing the usual Thursday morning jaunt however she received the telephone call cancelling their visit while she was out, so we changed up our day. One of the tasks that has been pending for a while, and now suddenly has become urgent, is to clear out the men's room from all the rubbish that has accumulated. I gave her a hand with this, loading things into the back of Thomas to be taken to the village bin, and also wheeling the barrow full of burnable wood to the burning pit. Earlier on, actually just as she was leaving, the van arrived with the wood order I'd placed on Tuesday so that was unloaded and stacked on the wood storage, other than 10 of the 100mm x 100mm 4m long beams. These are in the bottom corridor. So much for clearing that out. Anyway, A was sweeping the men's room and I was emptying the wheelbarrow on the side path and Louise was chasing the brush and getting filthy in the process.

Nikolai digging away

Clouds building behind us

This pile was emitting some impressive rumbles

Proof that spring has sprung (and baba marta is happy)

A having to juggle two toys for two puppies

Once A had finished sweeping out the men's room she went onto the balcony to chill out for a bit. I headed out to see how she was doing and found that the sun was shining, but the storm clouds were building rapidly. We didn't have rain forecast but you could hear some pretty impressive rumbles of thunder. Nikolai was working away still, ignoring the incoming weather, and his hole is getting quite big. I didn't stay out long but while I was there we saw a sight we have been waiting for, though not expecting quite this early; it was a large flock of storks coming in from the south east [[EDIT - it has been pointed out to me that these are pelicans, not storks. Sorry. I'm not a twitcher]]. I snapped loads of pictures and a few came out quite nicely. The puppies were both on the balcony playing away, Thelma with her ball but most interestingly Louise was having a great time with the chew toy that the Little Lady had bought for them. Louise normally just tags along with whatever Thelma is doing but this time she was treating the toy as her own.

Tools hung on the new wall by the bench

This wall is now clear for more wood storage

Rather a lot of precipitation going on there

Is it hail or is it snow?

A's dinner: pork bon-fillet with mushrooms

Mine - pizza tono

At the end of my working day I headed down into the workshop to get something achieved for the day as I was feeling a bit like I'd done nothing all day. I needed to move the tools from where they were hanging on the back wall as that is where the next wood store is going to be put. I drilled holes, put wall plugs in, and then screwed into them, also using some of the brackets I have found, and I've managed to get everything shifted while using very little wall space. I've put the clamps onto screws in the legs of the workbench and it's all tidy again. A was sleeping while I was doing this though of course I disturbed her with the hammer drill. It's a wonder that she wasn't disturbed by the building storm. I was back at my desk and watching the lightning over the valley then counting til the thunder. I had one at about 13 seconds and the next at 10 seconds. Getting closer. When A got up she said she hadn't heard it at all! Anyway, we had decided that we would still go out for our dinner even though our friends were joining us so we relaxed for a bit in the living room before heading off. While looking out the window A spotted what looked like snow across the valley; I took a picture and we looked carefully and decided it was either snow or an impressive dump of hailstones. As we headed off for our dinner at our favourite restaurant it started to rain a bit and it was raining more when we left after a very lovely meal. I was feeling really battered and was in bed by 7.30 which is really unlike me. A stayed up watching a film so I didn't ruin her evening as well however I did sleep through, other than a bit of awakeness in the middle of the night, so I obviously needed the extra rest.

Thursday

Today has been a working day for me and a working day for A. It's been busy, though I don't have loads of pictures to prove it. I'm cooking this evening so I'm trying to get this done before I start though I'm starting to get a bit hungry. Onwards, and quick!

Slightly clearer start to the day, but still cloudy

The plum tree is really blossoming

The old windowledge has gone

Building the frames for the new ledge

It was a much brighter start to the day this morning, the storm which blew through last night (and it was my turn to completely miss out on some impressive bangs and crashes) having cleared the air. I was feeling quite tired still, so much so that A brought our brews through and we actually drank them in bed. Once I was finally up and about I felt a bit better, though, and the smell from the plum tree which is now in full bloom and looking amazing was just gorgeous. There's loads of this around at the moment and the wafts of perfume are superb. We headed into Room 13 and had more brews and then A made lovely scrambled eggs for breakfast. While we were here the workmen showed up and I went to talk to Nikolai and we discussed the next steps. When I turned round from my desk next I found they had not wasted any time and the bricks underneath each window had been removed ready for the next cement ledge to be put in place.

A getting started primering the ceiling chipboard

The stack of tiles I shifted from the kitchen

Louise loving it in the sun

Much less fumy doing this outside

Starting to fit the frame

We both struggled to get going this morning and I was waiting on something for my paid work so when A went down to start her chore for the day (painting the primer onto the ceiling chipboard so the paint takes better) I first helped her by setting the boards out around the workshop, then carried the stack of tiles we bought to put on the back patio that were still in the kitchen up to by the back door. There were more than I expected and by the time I'd finished that job I was sweating away. The fumes from the primer were really strong and despite having every window open it was just too overwhelming to continue inside so I pulled the next batch of sheets outside and propped them up against the walls. This was much better and the puppies also loved having A out there with them in the sun. Nikolai and the other chap were still hard at work and they were in the process of fitting the frames for the new windowledges.

A with her sandals on

A new flower bed appears

A little overgrown in the olive beds

Nicely cleared out and it can breath again

Bulbs going into the ground

Sassy's windows are all sealed

Drying tea bags for modeling purposes

After eating lunch I headed outside with A to do some gardening. We'd been shouted just before lunch by the little lady who had appeared with a huge handful of bulbs as a gift for us (they're just SO lovely!) and so A got started expanding the dirt area by the fence into a square flower bed. My job was to pull out all the overgrowth in the olive tree beds as the little trees (broken so badly last year) were becoming overwhelmed. It was so warm that A had even got her sandals on and I was sweating away again in the sun. I filled the wheelbarrow with grass and bugs, and A added some from her work, and the fowl were overjoyed with their bonus feeding time. A got all the bulbs bedded in nicely and watered and we're hoping they perk up over night. While we were out there the boss of these builders arrived and we discussed the basketball court; it turned out that Nikolai had been digging it way too wide and most of his hole is actually in the wrong place. This was sorted (with a few shouted words to be fair) and we measured and marked the new boundary. He headed off, the builders got back on with their work and they finished Sassy's room today. This is great as it means over the weekend I can start to get the ceiling put up. I've had some interest recently in Lucy, who we are selling, so I got down and put the new battery in her and drove her very carefully up onto the land. She'll need her tyres pumping up but she started first time no trouble. And now something to give you all a little giggle at what I'm doing for this model railway. I've been saving all our used tea bags and drying them on a rack as apparently the leaves make really good ground cover (looking like old leaves). It takes all sorts, huh.

Night night

Anyway, dinner is cooking now and nearly ready so I'll leave you with this picture of the evening sky taken just now. Lovely.

See you Sunday, I reckon.