Two thirds complete

Today is the 100th day of the year. I know this because of my daily photographs, the 100th of which I have just snapped and stored in its place ready to be put into the timelapse at the end of the year. A and I just compared photograph 100 with photograph 1 and the difference is just astounding. So much has happened over the past 100 days my mind spins to think of it all. But this update is to focus on just the past three so here we go.

Friday

Friday was supposedly a day off from paid work for me but didn't end up like that, which was a real pity as I had lots I wanted to do. It was also the first really overcast day we've had for a while but the temperature stayed up so it wasn't unpleasant. Plenty got done despite my distractions so here goes.

Not much of a sunrise here

Long ladder in the back of Thomas

The main lights are marked up

I hadn't noticed this the day before

Sally's task; to make this nice again

Bekir measures and marks, Okhtay hammers and channels

As you already know Friday morning was taken up with me writing the blog post that was not done on Thursday night. It didn't take me all that long though which was good. I did a few chores while A was out but mainly just typed. It really was a nasty overcast cloudy start to the day but it didn't rain. I'd asked Bekir to bring his long ladder so we could look at the fly screens that had been left off along the first wall to be insulated so he'd strapped them in the back of Thomas and only once been worried by A's driving to check they were still there. I went to see them pretty much straight away and talked to Bekir about the location of the main lights in the kitchen and he straight away set to marking the locations. Sally had picked out some work the day before and so set about preparing to trim the old plaster and renew this nook in the dining room. With the light location worked out Bekir asked Okhtay to get onto the scaffold and chip the channels while he carried on around marking things up. We also talked plug socket locations and A got involved as this is her room.

Scraping off the rubbish from the window ledge

Corner piece to go on the wall top

Asen's brother climbs the scaffold

Plastering outside Room 13

I'd be so scared up there

Outside the men were on with their task for the day which was to finish off all the small tasks requiring the scaffold in its current location and then move it to its final required position. The father was working away on the windows, cleaning up the ledges then plastering and painting them. Right at the top of the scaffold was Asen who was turning around the edge of the roof terrace wall and finishing all of that. The rest of them were working on all the other windows first plastering and then, when it had dried, painting. All this time I was stuck at my desk typing the blog post.

Mixing up the Byala Var

Adding a bit (too much) water

A and Ivan with a few interested observers

Flowering Japanese Willow

My aim to help A with this next task was stymied by my having to work for the whole of the rest of the day. A week ago we had bought a couple of packets of byala var to paint on the trees to protect them from ant attack and bark damage. We hadn't got round to applying it but today was the day. Ivan helped A to mix it correctly, though the first mix ended up being a little too wet, and then assisted as she began the labourious task of painting every tree on the property up to the height of her waist. When I was down getting a few pictures of the mixing process I noticed that the Japanese Willow has started to flower. This really was the bargain of the century and the fact that it is doing so well is really gratifying.

A storm races past across the valley

Asen testing out the heat gun; it didn't really work

Removing the old lighting cables from the ceiling

Another light switch to go next to the above the stairs one

No more old loose plaster

Using polystyrene to get a square finish quickly

A carries on with the trees

What was supposed to just be a quick telephone call and done for my work turned into a really long telephone call and working all day. While I was on the call I watched a fantastically coloured cloud drift across the valley and got A to grab the camera and photograph it. It threatened a lot but nothing came of it. Downstairs the workers were desperately trying to remove the stickers on the windows prior to replacing the fly screens. Unfortunately these had been on there for about 2 years and were only supposed to stay for 6 weeks so it took them a very long time to do this. In the kitchen Okhtay had unearthed some of the old wiring and was excavating it while Bekir chipped out for one of the double-action switches to control the main lights in the kitchen. Sally had completed cleaning the old loose plaster and was making great strides in applying the new stuff. Lots was going on, even A was still out there making a difference, and I was stuck inside at my desk. I'd even missed the visit from the kitchen maker who had come to look at our plans and measure up prior to quoting to make our missing units up.

Putting a cable through the wall

Removing tape and touching up the paint job

The flyscreens go back on the upstairs windows

My irrigation is set up and it works

I took my lunch late and headed into the little local shop to get some parts for the job I hoped to do later in the day, running irrigation for the front lawn. I had help with everyone who was present to get the parts I would need and got back feeling pleased. On the work front Bekir was putting in the cable for the sensor light outside the kitchen door and the insulation guys were still working on removing old tape and now were putting the flyscreens back up. I got to the end of my working day with relief and started assembling the irrigation and found I was missing some connectors. I had to go to the bank anyway so I was able to pick these up and when I got back I did the job and it is great. Apart from the fact that the water pressure on the free water is too weak to push more than one at any one time. Oh well.

She was trying to reach her toy, on the roof

Evidence of A's hard work

Lovely as always up on the lake

The house special salad

Everyone except me

My meal-mistake; pickled catfish

Dessert made up for it; banana split

Me, dressed to impress

I took the workmen home at the usual time with no dramas and then when I got back finished my conversation with work and went for a shower. A was wondering around looking for Thelma who we could hear but not see and shouted me to grab the camera when she found her; she'd climbed into the Green Building to look for her toy and was stood on the pile of rubbish as it was as high as she could get; we later found the toy was on the roof. We were going out for a meal that night with SandS to the fish restaurant and as we left A grabbed the camera to get a photograph looking along the front showing off all our lovely trees. When we got to the lake it was a lovely evening and we found a table and settled ourselves. Our bad luck with serving staff sadly continued as the guy brought me the wrong meal and then later on the correct one, but left out another entirely. Despite these challenges it was a lovely evening and dessert (of which I partook, unusually) was lovely. I'd even gotten all dressed up for the occasion as you can see.

Saturday

Saturday was a really long day for me but satisfying in what was achieved. We had a lovely slow start to the day feeling in no rush to get out of bed and it was a much needed relaxation time.

A slight pause in taking the scaffold down

Misty mountains under clouds

A double yolk egg

Activity resumes

When we did get up we found the workmen were starting to take the scaffold down and move it round the building. Of course we'd hoped they would do this on Friday but there were a lot of delays so it never happened. It was another overcast day with rain forecast and the temperatures were a bit more reasonable for this time of year and doing outside work. I made us bacon and egg for breakfast and found a double yolker which was exciting. We don't get many of them. The men weren't just moving the scaffold, they were also making a start on taking off the old render and preparing so when they get back on Tuesday they can crack straight on without any delay.

Thelma is super excited

Cutting the grass, by hand

It was slow going, but very satisfying

Our veg gets transferred into the garden

All the paths for the beds we need have been cut

We had a trip into town to take for a couple of different reasons, including visiting the bank, and picking up another of the ring toys that Thelma loves so much as the yellow one had broken in two at some point. She was most pleased at having three of them, though this didn't last for long as we put the spare one into hiding. For the afternoon A and I spent our time in the garden sorting it out from the overgrowth that has gone wild in the past few weeks. I set myself the task, after initially starting to weed a bed, of cutting the really long grass on the paths. I used a small sickle for this job and found it very satisfying. I managed to get everything I'd aimed to done before calling it a day. A was weeding out a bed so she could plant the cauliflowers and cabbage that we've had in pots inside and also got that all done. I then took myself off to bed to get some rest before my travelling for the evening.

The view from the back door

Looking up at the house from the lawn

One view of what I think is an anti-aircraft gun

A slightly better view of the displayed gun

I was woken up slightly earlier than I expected as the men had finished up a bit earlier so I woke myself up and dragged myself out of bed. I'd only had about an hour or so. In the time I'd been to sleep the scaffold had been extended all around the rest of the building, including across the balcony outside our bedroom window. I went down to get the daily photograph and also grabbed a shot of the front of the building without any scaffold obscuring the view. What a lovely look it has now. Not long afterwards I was in the car with two of our builders driving them home for their short break. It was an easy trip, and enjoyable as we talked as much as my broken Bulgarian would allow, and I learned a new word for rain: "vali". I dropped them off to a crowd of family members hugging them and then headed to my next chore which was to collect some filter-gravel I'd bought from an expat near there. This transfer went off well and I was pleased to appreciate the slightly different location to what we have; a house in the middle of a village but feeling very private in their yard. As I left the village I stopped to snap a picture of what I think is an anti-aircraft gun in the centre; someone will maybe put me right on that?

A heavy downpour up ahead

Shortly after the sun broke through

The very end of the firework display

From here I made my way over to the hotel to see Chaz, who had been suffering badly from flu which was the reason I'd made the trip with the men in the first place. On the way I paused a couple of times to get pictures of the sky as storms blew all around, and over the top of me, causing some beautiful sights. I had beaten Ivan back by quite a long time and when I got to his there was a plate of spaghetti waiting for me, courtesy of Chaz, and a brew. I wolfed this down very quickly but was still there when Ivan arrived and shortly afterwards some more of their friends. I didn't hang around but got back on the road and got home just in time to watch a fireworks display in the valley at the end of a wedding. It was stunning but of course the photographs didn't do it justice. A was fast asleep when I got back so I told Chaz I was safe, confirmed that the bath and items had been collected from the UK (they had) and headed to bed to sleep, pretty tired.

Sunday

And so we get to today where I have been very uncharacteristically lazy feeling. We've also had "weather" about which has been exciting. Today has been brilliant though as we've enjoyed having the place to just ourselves for the first time for a while.

A dramatic shot across the valley this morning

It really cleared up during the morning and was lovely out

So many different types of cloud

A group of storks circling above our heads

We woke up slowly with no alarm and weren't even that disturbed when the puppies came in to join us. I was still tired so A got up and got brews but I didn't stay in bed long and went in to join her. She was starting to do a small clean, it isn't that dirty so didn't need much, and I helped by shaking the rugs but as I say I wasn't feeling very energetic at all. I went onto the sofa to read and then we heard the mobile shop so I headed up to get bread which was a good decision as up there I got to chat to Orhan and I also realised how lovely it was outside so I took my book onto the balcony and relaxed out there for quite a long time. It was perfect and A came out as well to begin doing some planting. Overhead there were some storks circling and the silence was only disturbed by the sound of birds. We were even able to eat our lunch out there; cold chicken and rice that had been left over from the night before.

Sassy sheltering as the rain starts to fall

It started to bounce down, literally

The original vine is doing so well

From this angle the house looks like a ship

The really big storm about to hit us

What a difference an hour makes

As she was getting her stuff together to start to plant out seeds there were a few raindrops and then suddenly the heavens opened and there was a downpour. I rushed around to collect everything in from the balcony while Sassy sheltered in her toilet before making a dash for the hutch. It was really bouncing down by now and I was glad to have got inside in time. Then I remembered I'd left one of the rugs hanging over the edge of the balcony so I dashed out and rescued it. A was getting the washing in off the line at the same time; much mad running about over a few minutes. This squall passed relatively quickly but another followed as the promised weather finally delivered having skirted us with huge looking clouds all day. I went out to take the daily photograph as thunder rumbled all around and continued to threaten us. I did notice, while popping up to get another picture of the interesting angle of the house, that the vine has suddenly burst into life and is looking very healthy. I had to empty the kitchen waste bucket as well today as it was stinking (not nice) and the storms were really getting going while I did this. Not long after the downpour returned and I even unplugged my laptop for a while during the storm to make sure any lightning strike didn't damage it. I was watching two storms at once out of the windows of Room 13 with multiple lightning flashes at once; quite impressive. Now as I type this the weather has blown over and the sky is blue again.

And so now I'm going to wrap this up and going and relax again. I've had to change my working hours so I don't know what this'll do to when I can blog. It's going to be a super exciting week again,though, culminating in a much anticipated visit from our friends.