I'm struggling to get back into the routine of these updates at the moment; it's probably not helped by the fact that we are having such a lovely visit from my parents to be honest. Anyway it is Friday morning just before A heads off to collect the men and I'm only just sitting down to start this update which was due last night.
Wednesday
The forecast had been for better weather to be with us from Wednesday and certainly when we woke up this was the case; finally a morning nice enough to take our brews out onto the balcony.
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| Rain water collected in the wheel barrow |
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| A spud tower filled to overflowering |
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| Sally making use of rainwater |
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| The archway to the bottom corridor taking shape |
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| Pipes to feed hot water to the downstairs |
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| Puppy footprints in the concrete floor in the bathroom |
When A went to collect the men I headed outside and did the watering round and cleaned off a load of caterpillars and eggs from the brassicas. I was then free to pick up the first of my morning chores which was to fill the spud tower with soil. I managed to get one layer finished just before the men got back which was good; it's nice to be back into routine. Sally was back to it mixing cement to finish off the squaring off the walls around the entrance. We had a laugh as he said "this is the real free water" and proceeded to use some rainwater that had gathered in a bucket by the driveway; they really are frugal. Bekir had run out of tiles just before going into the toilet room so I suggested he work towards getting the utility room completed so we can use it and the kitchen sooner. We're very close now down there; it's quite exciting to think soon we'll be able to lay in the bath and soak.
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| Sally mixing away in the sun |
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| One working, four watching |
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| Louise cuddling A |
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| A very high flying jet |
We had noticed that Thelma's eye was looking a bit red so when I headed into town to go to the bank once more I took her up to the vets to get checked out. The man wasn't there but a new assistant was and she spoke some English so it was dealt with quickly, with me being sent to a normal chemists to get her an eyedrop. And this advice dispensed immediately and for free. When I got back I was straight into my day job and so I was quite busy and didn't take all that many pictures during the morning. Sally was out mixing his cement on the driveway while A took the washing and hung it out with a crowd of "helpers". And that is it for the morning. A was so very busy with her work again but she managed to get the job done and on time so took a few minutes in the sun on the balcony with Louise and I rushed out to join her when I heard the jet planes flying around again. It's so hard to see them as they are flying very high but I finally managed to spot one and get a blurry distant shot of it using my long lens.
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| A new right angle joint to feed water to the utility room |
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| Finishing touches on the archway |
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| The pump is plumbed in |
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| Pushing the washing machine into the room |
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| A tight squeeze indeed |
The parents had borrowed Thomas to go for a walk, it's so nice that they can do that, and they got back just before Lyubo arrived for a coffee and to see the place. It was lovely to see him as we haven't since John and Magda were here and so we took a tour then sat on the balcony and enjoyed the visit. By this time much progress had been made downstairs and Bekir had done the plumbing in the roof to feed water to the utility room. Sally had finished all the squaring around the ledge and arch into the bottom corridor and was ready for his next task. This involved moving the washing machine from it's long home by the trench and getting it into the utility room which was achieved easily, though it was a very tight gap past the pump. It was during the afternoon that there was the second of our vets visits. We were stood down near the chicken house when Thelma suddenly came rushing out of the undergrowth shaking her head violently and dived into some grass to rub it on the floor. She then ran around holding her head to one side and shaking it repeatedly. I was worried she had been bitten by a snake and A agreed so she jumped into Thomas and rushed her to the vet. The same lady was there who I had seen earlier in the day and she was surprised that Thelma returned with A and not I. Anyway they were happy she hadn't been bitten by anything, gave her an antihistamine injection, and sent A home.
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| Clouds leading towards the setting sun |
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| The sun, a disk behind a cloud |
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| What a show the sky put on |
And so it was time to take the men home which was easy apart from the fact that as I drove I started feeling quite dizzy and unwell; as soon as I got home I took myself straight to bed and rested and I slept right through dinner and so missed a lovely chilli. I got myself up to help with the watering round and was pleased that I did as it energised me a little bit. The sunset was glorious and I took my mum onto the roof terrace to get pictures before we headed downstairs to relax on the sofas before it was the real bed time.
Thursday
It was a good nights sleep for both of us until Louise suddenly had a huge attack of the sneezes that went on and on and on. She had sneezed a few times the night before but this was so violent. We got her calmed down and back to sleep after a little while but it looked like yet another vets visit would be on the cards.
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| A lovely start to the day |
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| Sally taking the rotten plaster down |
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| The old plaster mixed with paper |
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| Squirty fill |
For my morning chores while A was out I did the watering and then screwed another layer of planks onto the spud tower at the end and proceeded to fill this new layer. I got all of this done before they got back which was great. Sally was making a start on the entrance window surrounds however A and I had been talking about maybe getting all of that back wall tidied up and resealed so after asking how long it'd take him roughly I set him the task of removing all the crumbling plaster and putting new cement into the gaping holes. He got stuck in with a will and removed the old door frame that was collapsing on its own, revealing that the plaster had been held together with paper. Shocking. Bekir was in the bottom corridor doing little bits and pieces while he waited for A to get back from her shopping trip with my mum, bringing the extra tiles so he could finish the toilet floor.
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| It's hard to type when your puppies are doing this |
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| Dad putting another coat on the bedside table |
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| The ducks enjoying their pond |
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| Brushing the wall down before applying cement |
I was once again working away though the puppies were making it hard going. My dad was in the workshop putting another coat of paint on the bedside table which is now nearly completed. The duck pond has been emptied and refilled, it was almost an infinity pond for them as we forgot to turn the water off, and the ducks are once again luxuriating in a swim. When A got back we headed out to the vets with both puppies and they were again examined, Thelma was taken off the eye drops and both had an injection and we have been told to go back on Friday and Saturday to get two more for both. It's a real concern, that they are both so sickly right now. When we got back I found loads of progress in the entrance hall and it's already look so much better.
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| Horses in their stables |
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| Getting the lawn a bit shorter |
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| A hole trimmed into which the water can pour |
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| Running the water down the drains |
Our plan for the afternoon was to go for a horse ride so we got ourselves together and headed down to the stables. When we got there it was deserted (apart from the horses) but eventually someone arrived and after a bit of waiting he made it clear that we should go back the next day as they weren't really ready for us. It was a lovely spot though so it wasn't too bad to have waited there. When we got back I was able to take a bit of time away from my desk to push the lawnmower very quickly over the lawn that was hacked down the other week. Then came the next fun of the day. The shower was not working at all by now so I asked Bekir to have a look at it and this delayed his leaving by about half an hour as we fiddled around with the boiler. At one point we had a pipe running into the bathroom and Bekir undid the connection at the boiler to run the water out of it. There was some spillage but we did OK. Sadly we didn't get the shower working and it was getting very late so I said we'd look tomorrow and took them home. I haven't driven that fast on that road for a long time.
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| The view from our table at the restaurant |
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| Some salad with ground walnut on it; very nice |
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| Just a plate full of meat |
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| A crescent moon as we left |
With the guest shower out of service it was back to the good old days for us as we had showers in the trench. I had the quickest shower I've ever had and turned us around and out the door so we were not that late for our dinner date with SandS. We were at the restaurant next to the central lake called The Watermill and it was a lovely evening. We really didn't rush our food and enjoyed chatting and catching up until finally the midges forced us to leave. Dad drove us home as I'd had a few beers and I went straight to bed when I got back, not even wanting a brew.
And so there you have it; you'll have to wait until Sunday for what we've done today.
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