Excellent weekend, and into the gym

 Welcome back to another week after what ended up being an outstanding and awesome weekend with guests and new friends and old.

Back up to Perperikon

Lots of photos

A snake escaping attention

Chicken on the BBQ

Hot afternoon

Our friends had already arrived when I did the last update and after posting I joined Dan for some tea and a natter before turning in. On Saturday we were up early and left Angela and Charlotte with the kids while we headed off to Perperikon and what a lovely time it was. We did not rush up the hill, exploring all the digs both old and new (some that I hadn't seen before) and then climbing right up to the top and having a good look around there. The wet spring and early summer has caused a lot of overgrowth on the top of the hill so we couldn't explore absolutely everywhere but it was still amazing and I saw a couple of snakes, one of which I just managed to catch on camera as it hid. When we got back we decided against doing anything else but chilling and then BBQing and it was I think my best BBQ I've done, as we were totally relaxed and I cooked everything a lot slower than normal. After the awesome BBQ we struggled to settle the children which did impact our evening slightly in being disrupted but we got a fair amount of time on a game Dan had brought called Mansions of Madness that was really great fun - so much fun that I've ordered it for me and Angela to play. The plans for Sunday were changed so there was no trip to the mountain house but it was far more enjoyable to relax in the garden, watching the kids playing again, before they had to head back; I then went over to see SandS who are back for one week only. Rosie went with me and played really nicely as well with their two - it was a weekend of amazing socialising for her. The temperature was super high, though, up around 38 degrees when I got back home after that. All in all it was just a wonderful weekend.

Measuring the balcony for steel

Clearing rubble

Scraping the ceiling

Bekir working on sockets again

And so to today. My early alarm didn't go off which meant I didn't get out to do my garden clearance but I wasn't too upset as I had been so tired from the weekend I went to sleep about 9pm and slept through The men arrived on time and got stuck in to the next task - the gym. Bekir measured up on the balcony and then headed to town with Angela to get materials while Sally and Halil cracked on removing the old paint and plaster, making use of hammer and hammer drill together. When Bekir got back he worked on the plugs inside the entrance which the other two continued shifting rubble and clearing the old walls.

I was on a very long call and missed the delivery that brought the steel however just after my lunch break the truck arrived with four tonnes of sand and the puppies were super happy about this.

Fitting the outside sockets

Channelling for lights and sockets

A mix begins

Balcony time after work

Bekir finished the wiring inside and also outside and now we are left with painting the walls, if we decide to, and putting the shelves and hooks up inside, and then the glazing needs to be done which involves some cement work from Bekir and the lads but that'll be done when it cools slightly I reckon. Bekir then moved to channelling for cables in the gym while Sally and Halil continued the hugely dusty task of stripping the walls. Once they had done this they began mixing up mortar for plastering the walls and then it was the end of the day. I spent some lovely time with Rosie outside and on the balcony and now I'm going to try and get some hobbying done before bed.

Thanks for reading.