So that is what a weekend is

Monday morning as I sit down to start typing this update up and what a weekend it has been. It's so nice having guests here and particularly when you have perfect weather and make good choices about what to do. I've got loads to go through though so without any more delay...

Friday

Friday for me was pretty much one of being in the car as I drove with John to meet up with Ken who had brought the bath, and ten other boxes, over from the UK. Because of this I felt pretty disconnected from progress at the house and there aren't really many pictures other than what A got before she went down to the local town to enjoy the cafe culture with Magda. It was a really good day, though, and here are what pictures I have.

Sun just about to come up

Parents' hotel an island in the fog

The fog reaches even our level

There is a bath under there somewhere

Looking back from our lunch spot

The road ahead

We were up and about as a normal day and spent some time on the balcony watching the sun come up. John was awake super early even without an alarm and expressed surprise that he had woken so easily but the fresh air and sun streaming in the windows probably influenced this. Early morning fog in the valley eventually climbed to our level however it had cleared completely by the time I got back with the men, the last time I'd be collecting them in the morning for the time being. A had prepared some bacon and egg butties to wait for me when I got back as within fifteen minutes I was back on the road, this time with the trailer hitched and John in the car with me, as I headed north to meet Ken to collect the bath. It was a lovely drive through beautiful scenery but we didn't stop at all to take pictures as we were on a tight schedule to get to him by the agreed time. We would have been about twenty minutes early but the sat nav took us to a location with no McDonalds however we had spotted the golden arches before and managed to find our way back. Ken was waiting so there was a brief conversation, money exchanged, hands shaken and then with the bath secured in the trailer we got straight on the road again. We pulled in by the side of the road to eat some butties (again made by A, and lovely) but didn't stop long. It was a tiring day for both of us, particularly John who had only traveled from the UK the day before, but we really enjoyed getting the time to catch up while stuck together in Thomas. When we got back everything was unloaded and we joined the girls on the balcony with a brew.

Ivan and Asen having a laugh

Bekir fits the cleaning access panels

Cement around the edges of the spiral staircase

Rambo is very happy with his new toy

He just won't put it down

Thelma still loves her spiky hoop toy

The original plan had been for the girls to join us in the car to the bigger of the two local towns to spend time there but they changed their minds, wisely I think, and decided to relax and walk to our local town. This allowed for a slower start to the day and took all the pressure off. Inside Bekir and Sally were working away with Bekir fixing up and finishing the chimney, including the cleaning access panels that A bought the day before, and Sally was continuing his task of making all the walls and ceiling smooth. John and Magda had bought presents for the puppies and Rambo got his that morning. He has barely let this toy out of his sight since and loves it. They apparently had a really lovely time in the town, but did get a taxi back up the hill afterwards.

The salad was pretty good, not the best

My main: Chicken, bacon and mushroom. Lovely

A's was just superb though; I want this next time

Another shaky waitress-taken group photograph

There wasn't much time for relaxing when I got back unfortunately as I unloaded, did a few bits, had a shower and then we were heading out to have a meal with Lyubo and his daughter. This had been arranged just the day before and I must admit while I was getting ready I didn't really feel up for it but by the time we were back in the car and heading into town I was happy and what a lovely evening it was as well. Lyubo took us to a new place we didn't know about before and the food was excellent (superb pahlenka again) and the service was very good; I think this may well be an option for when my parents are here. Lyubo introduced us to a specialty dish which was vegetables all cooked in butter which was amazing! We didn't stay too long, though we also didn't rush, and then we strolled back to the car and home and to our beds. Everyone was tired after today.

Saturday

After our busy day the day before we had a nice slow start with no rush on Saturday. Our plan was to be away from the building site for as long as possible because today was drilling and pinning day. We'd been really worried the night before because Louise had a swollen eye again and was not acting like herself at all. The decision was made that we'd visit the vet with her to get her checked out however by the morning she was much happier so the vet visit was postponed however getting her away from the noise and bustle of the building site was a very high priority.

Glorious blue sky and blazing sunshine

Drilling begins

Scrambled eggs on the balcony

Rambo plays with a small chew toy

Turning the windows

Drill hole, hammer home pin. Repeat.

Asen caught working hard

It was an absolutely glorious start to the day and after a nice lie in for all of us we dragged ourselves out of bed and onto the balcony. A volunteered to make scrambled eggs for everyone and other than not quite making enough so having to wait for her own food this went very well indeed. The workmen had already got stuck in with their drill and hammers and we were pretty pleased to know we weren't going to be around all day. Ivan, who has booked into a hotel, got to the school and started playing with Rambo on the top bank making use of the wooden frame left by Sezgin's builders after they finished the balcony. The men were drilling and pinning the back wall while the father got working on turning the windows and putting a smooth skim on them. Asen was working on his own putting insulation on the wall outside the garage and this was proving quite difficult as the stone, which used to be underground, is very uneven indeed.

Another lovely restaurant found

Puppies waiting for our food

The salad I had

After a relaxing morning we got ourselves together and headed into town. I had a bank visit to make and John and Magda needed to go to the chemist and once this was done we took a stroll through the market, past some craft shops for gifts, and finally John and I waited in the park while the girls went sunglasses shopping. It was quite busy but not overwhelminngly so however lunch in the park was not appealing because of the number of kids around. A suggested a restaurant right on the reservoir that we have wanted to check out for a while and so off we went and what an excellent choice that turned out to be. The food was pretty good, though we only had salad (other than John who had a  shashlik which was superb) and the location is excellent. I think this will also go onto the list for my parents' visit.

John and Magda enjoying the view

The refuse slide from the dig at the top

And looking back down it

The path up is quite steep

A stood admiring the view from near the top

Louise fully back on form

Thelma with a huge grin

An empty hill top

In the process of being dug out

An altar, reconstructed

A on the citadel

Looking through a hole in the citadel wall

A rare shot of me, holding Louise

After eating we got back in Thomas and made our way over to Perperikon for the afternoon. It was quite warm and so we took it very steadily. We'd planned ahead and came with several large bottles of water, unlike when we did it last year with the parents, and stopped regularly to rest and give the puppies water. Louise was completely back on form and running around sniffing everything which was so good to see. We'd ummed and ahhed about whether to do Perperikon on a weekend however I remembered SandS saying the archeologists weren't working on weekends so we went for it despite the risk of crowds and it was a good choice. We were able to go everywhere up there, seeing things that had been roped off last year. One of the most awesome observations I made was the walls, which I thought had been reconstructed, are actually original; you can see where they are in the process of being dug out. Amazing! You can bet that I took a lot of pictures so these are only a small subset. If you're ever in the area this is a trip I'd recommend to everyone.

An insulated porch ceiling/Room 13 floor

A blue lupin flowering

Slightly windblown first flag to bloom

Cuddling a beer

On the hot chocolate at the restaurant

A is very excited by her kebab

My enormous kebab

We drove home after doing a bit of shopping in the stalls at the carpark and got back to find the drilling had largely stopped so that was good. Inside the porch the last of the insulation had been fitted around the ceiling as well. I went to take the daily photograph and got a couple of pictures of some flowers that are appearing including a blue lupin A had planted, and the first of many Irises which will be making our land look beautiful over the next few weeks. I then grabbed a beer and settled myself on the balcony to relax. For our evening meal we went to a place in town that Ivan has been telling us about and were very happy that we did that; the kebabs were superb. It wasn't a late one as we had whisky waiting back at the house which John had brought me for my birthday. It was very nice and helped us get into sleeping mood.

Sunday

If Saturday was a day out Sunday was planned as a day in and relaxing and so it proved. It was such a day off that I didn't even do this update, which was incredibly lazy of me but allowed the relaxation to continue right to the end.

The father gets the skim around the windows

Ivan and Asen having a laugh

The grass once again needs cutting

It might have been a day off for us but it wasn't for the insulation men and they were at it early as usual getting skim on the window surrounds and fitting the last little bits of insulation in the gaps. It was a Sunday so there was a slightly lazy effort at tidying from myself which consisted of doing a burn and taking the rubbish to the bin (though the little lady stole it all from me before I got there) and A did a sweep and a mop in the Living Room and Room 13 and it all looked lovely again. Then I got the lawnmower out to start cutting the grass but I quickly found that it was too damp still that early so I left it for later. Breakfast was my responsibility and involved dippy duck eggs on the balcony, superb as always.

It's as hard work as it looks in this picture

A's sweetcorn seedlings

The first potato tower

The second potato tower

The third potato tower

Onions that didn't work out

A collecting stones for the balcony

After breakfast I went into town with Ivan to drop the sinks at the kitchen people and go to the shop for a few bits and pieces. This took a bit longer than planned but wasn't too bad and at least now I know where the office is for the kitchen people. When I got back I headed down to get going on the lawn. It was pretty hot by this time so I took it nice and easily and rested with a drink of water after every wheelbarrow load. A came down to go into the garden as well while I was working away and she snapped a few pictures of me before I knew she was there. She then went and exclaimed over the progress in her spud towers. The job she had set for herself was to harvest the greens that are pretty much ready to bolt and she found that the onions were almost all soft and had been in the ground too long. You live and learn, we got some out and we also got a load of spring onions which is good. After doing this she went onto the balcony to work out how to lift the other seed trays off the floor. She had the idea of putting them on little benches so we passed up some old bricks and this worked very well.

Rambo loves his toy very much

Grass cut, and being watered

Storm threatening but missed us, fortunately

BBQ on the balcony, and very lovely it was too

The sun goes away

While I was slaving away on the front lawn Rambo had his toy and was busy distracting anyone who would look at him to throw it for him. It took five wheelbarrows to do the lawn and when it was done I was quite pooped from the heat so headed onto the balcony with a beer and that is where I stayed for the rest of the day. We had planned a BBQ so John and I lit them and made sure they were even before A brought out the first of many dishes to be cooked. It was a lovely afternoon and evening and Ivan arrived back from shopping for the men just as we were ready for him which was really good timing. We didn't go in after finishing eating, though I did go and do the watering of the orchard while A did the rest of the garden, and we sat out until the sun had gone down when everyone was tired and was in bed by 9pm.

What a wonderful weekend in totality and such fun having our guests here and sharing everything with them. I hope this week is even 1/10th the fun, though early signs aren't good.