More stones and workshop progress

Again this evening I'm late starting this update as our Christmas tradition is still holding true; this evening was the first half of The Two Towers and while we both were dropping off we did manage just about to stay awake. So to the update, and then to bed!

Really beautiful frost on the windows of Thomas

The sun rises

The final delivery of roadstone for now at least

Bekir shifting a wheelbarrow of stones

Final levelling and done

Bekir fixed our patio table

Bekir and Halil lifting the back onto Thomas

It was a very cold one last night and the cars were frozen this morning. I cleared off Thomas to take Rosie to school and then enjoyed the sunrise before it was time to drive her down. It was -8 degrees in town when I left her; very cold indeed. Angela headed into town to do most of the Christmas food shop while I stayed and helped the men with the final delivery of stones for the driveway. I am so sore now from all the shovelling of the past two days but it was really satisfying to be involved and the drive is now safe and sturdy for the next few years at least. I was fixing the back on Thomas, that Bekir and Halil had lifted into place, when Angela got back and then I headed out to town, collected some parcels and paid for the truck hire and the final load of stones (though that had to wait until after my shopping as I got to the quarry about 2 minutes after midday and lunch was happening). In town I picked up a shop vac for the workshop, some brushes and some heaters for the balcony.

Fitting electrics and shelf supports

The new bench (it will have legs as well)

Rosie helping prepare breadcrumbs

Rosie playing with a Boglin

Hot mince pie and ice-cream

With all the work on the driveway the workshop took a slight back seat however this afternoon the men fitted the last of the plugs (though we have run out of cable so I'll need to pick some more up) and then with that done they quickly put up the first of the work benches I want in the workshop. This will have the shop vac tucked underneath it and a pillar drill on top and also maybe my 3D printers. It's great to see it coming together. It was the last day of work for the men maybe until next week (I have given them the option of next week if it is nice enough weather to finish the garden, but the workshop now waits for the new power tools to arrive that will be fitted inside the bench top) and they left the place lovely and clean and tidy. When Rosie got back from school I was tidying and clearing a bit so she helped Angela to rip up crusty rolls which will go into the stuffing for Christmas Dinner; she was having a great time. After that Rosie and I played with some Boglins for a bit and then dinner which ended with hot mince pies and ice cream. Lovely.

And so there you have it. I don't know when my next update will be; if the men are back next week then definitely then and MAYBE on Boxing day before as I expect to have a lot to say about Christmas Day :)

Thanks for reading and, if there's no update before the New Year, A Very Happy New Year to you all (and Merry Christmas of course also).

Electrics and Driveway

It is late as I sit down to write this update; Angela and I have just finished watching The Fellowship of the Ring, as part of our tradition at Christmas of watching all of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in the week before Christmas. What a fun evening but now to quickly type up about today.

Plugs going on the wall again

Our truck on the weighbridge

Halil and I get stuck into the pile of stones

The men were in slightly early today and first thing they went back to wiring up plugs in the workshop. Angela and I had a language lesson and after that I went with Bekir to try and find tiles for the workshop floor (we failed) and then try and get roadstone for the driveway which was becoming very muddy and slippery to drive on. We were successful in this but had to go back down after lunch with a truck which we hired from our usual stone supplier. The particular stones we wanted came direct from the quarry but the quarry doesn't delivery. After lunch we went back down and waited while the first load of stones was loaded into the hired truck. The video above shows the delivery as the driver attempted to empty and spread the stones for us. It was very difficult to do however he did pretty well I think. We ended up with three deliveries today and each time he got a little better at the technique. After this first delivery Bekir road back with him in the truck while Halil and I got the shovels and started spreading. We got into a very good rhythm and worked really well together however it was very hard work which I'm not used to really and now I am aching.

Beautiful clouds as we work

Halil shifting very heavy rolls of fencing

Nearing the end of the day

We had almost finished spreading the first load when the second truck arrived and so we carried on and on until the third truck appeared. It was good to get out helping, I really like to be stuck in personally in this build and not being able to most of the time is frustrating so today was a good day indeed. After the third delivery Bekir stayed and helped with the shovelling; I was moving some stones by wheelbarrow when another delivery arrived; finally our fencing for the chicken enclosure. Angela had to go collect Rosie in Thomas (who I had parked on the lane as the stones were in the way) but when she got back we had shifted enough that she could drive up onto the land. By the end of the day it was clear we would be needing another truckload of stones to complete down by the gate, and also put some more up near the house. We will arrange that tomorrow.

What a very satisfying day that was. Tomorrow will be the last day the men are here before Christmas. Thanks for reading.

Plugging away

I went to be really early last night with a banging headache that finally cleared while I was asleep but then I was awake very early and up by about 4am. This did mean I got a fair few things done early doors but now I'm ready for bed already. It has been a good day of progress in the workshop however.

A ray from the sun appears over the horizon

Bekir fitting the wiring under the floor

Cement work done

Fitting plugs on the back wall

The final plug of the day

As I was up so early I got to enjoy the whole of the sunrise and it was lovely today. It was very cold, however, and the car had only warmed up by the time I got back from dropping Rosie to school. The workmen were in and after the first task which was mixing up cement and covering over the conduit across the floor they set to fitting and connecting the double sockets around the outside of the room. I am having six double sockets, three on each wall, and by the end of the day they had only one more to go. Without the tablesaw (which I've had to order via Amazon which annoyed me a bit) they'll not be able to start the main bench however I am having another one fitted, and some shelving, so there is a lot for them to work on. We were thinking that they could get back outside but I think it may be too cold for that now.

So there it is; it's so close to Christmas now and still they are working; I do hope we can get this room ready for me to use before their long break over proper winter. Thanks for reading; back tomorrow.

Who is Santa?

Welcome back to another update covering a weekend and a Monday. It's going to be longer I think so let's get started.

The snow falls on Saturday morning

Low clouds over the hills

Later, blue sky and snow

Driving down the hill

Watching The Hobbit together

At the restaurant for dinner

Saturday morning I was up with Rosie early before it got light and while we were playing in the playroom we noticed that it was snowing; there were huge flakes falling and it was falling quite fast. We both got very excited and watched it for a bit but by the time we headed out to the shops to pick up a few things the snow had stopped and it never started again which was a shame. We began our Christmas tradition on Saturday as well and Rosie joined us to watch An Unexpected Journey. We didn't watch it all with her, but since then she has watched more of all the trilogy and seems to be loving it; she particularly likes the Dragon, and "Elmo" as she calls Bilbo. Sunday was another awesome day and we got more time as a family to watch more of the trilogy. Rosie had such a great time she was crying that she had to go to bed. Our visit to the restaurant was shorter than usual as it was very quiet but it was still lovely.

Lifting the tiles

Drilling a channel

Working on connecting the lights

Bekir running cables through old water pipes

Testing out my new welder

And so to today and the workmen were in and starting on running the electrics for plugs and power to the tools. This involved lifting the tiles to bring power to the island. The cracked on with this while I was out with Angela (of which more in a bit) and when we got back we found they were using the new SDS drill I'd picked up on Saturday to channel through the floor into which a conduit could be fitted. Bekir was also finishing up some work on the lights ring. I went out with Halil later in the afternoon to look at a second hand welder that was many years old and a very good bit of kit. He was happy so I bought it and Bekir also tested it and declared it a very good machine. We have a lot of welding to be done so this is good as I was borrowing a machine from Sally up until now.

All dressed up and ready

Now it is time to answer the question in the title of this update. The answer, of course, is me. I went today to play Santa Claus at Rosie's school for their gift giving and Christmas celebration. I was so very very nervous but the teachers were lovely and I managed to not ruin it for the kids. There were many more pictures taken, of course, but here I am before going down having just got dressed up.

There you have it. Thanks for reading, and back tomorrow.

Electrics and Tidying

Today is an update in two halves. First of all what the men got up to and then what I got up to. Angela was also busy today, cleaning and tidying downstairs, but I've no pictures however don't think she avoided the busy-ness of today!

Lots of holes to drill and fill with wood

Halil puts better nails in the cable clips

Hammering wooden plugs in

Fitting one of the junction boxes

The men have worked all day today to put the electrics in for the new lights. This involved drilling lots of holes in the very solid ceiling; it was such hard work that they went out and hired a drill for the day (they also had to mend this drill before they could use it!). The plan is to have two long LED strip lights per bay and all the cables for this have now been run. Halil upgraded the cable clips with larger nails to make them stronger in the ceiling and by the end of the day everything was wired back to the switch. Now we have to wait for the actual lights to be delivered.

The new shelves are now having stuff put on them

A much tidier roof space; honest

I had a busy day tidying and sorting in various places. I sorted the end of the corridor and put up shelves and tidied everything there then made my way back up to outside Room 13. I also put up shelves in the Games Room and did a huge tidy in there before finally getting into the roof and making a load more progress there also. It was a lot of effort and now I'm tired but I'm happy to have achieved what I did; it all needs to be clean and tidy by Christmas really.

There is days more effort required in the roof but it is at least getting there. Thanks for reading; back on Monday.

Pump house and starting electrics

I'm just back from a really nice beer and pizza with my friend after a pretty busy day and this is going to be a short enough update both because it is late, and also it was a simple day for the men.

Insulating and skimming the pump house

A quick snap before it was covered over

Nicely insulated and ready for winter

Starting to run the lights

The day was really foggy and cold this morning with ice on the cars but first thing Bekir and Halil were outside finishing off the work on the pump house. Halil sealed the outside walls while Bekir fitted insulation inside. I was a little sad as they were covering over the chalk writing from the summer that Angela and Rosie had put there but we can always do more next year. I received the delivery of cut shelves I ordered the other day and collected it in Thomas then Bekir and I almost died carrying the unloaded pallet inside and up the stairs. It was so heavy! With the pump house completed, and having given me details of materials they would need, Bekir and Halil moved into the workshop and started to run power and mark out locations for the lights. This is very exciting.

Dessert for me

As I said this evening I've been out for some food and a chat and it was a very nice evening. I did miss my time with Rosie though. The walk home was in a drizzle but I'm glad I still walked; I really like to stretch my legs and walk back from town.

So there you have it; thanks for reading.

Super productive day

Wow today has been busy, for both Angela and I as well as the workmen. We have achieved loads so let us get to it.

Games Room storage coming together

The state of the workshop last night

Working out rough plans

We start, however, yesterday evening. After Rosie went to bed I did a bit of tidying in the Games Room (I've done more this morning as well as it happens, though no picture) and then I went down to the workshop to try to plan it out. I spent a very successful 20 minutes or so on the phone to a Canadian friend who helped me to nail down where I want things to go and where, mostly, the table saw should sit. The workshop was a total mess and I cannot wait to see it done.

Some sign of sunshine

Snow on the hills this morning

Halil shifting insulation out of the workshop

Fitting a new bracket for the pool storage

Cleaning the bathroom. Hard work!

A little ice in the wheelbarrow

The pool up on its shelf

This morning was an earlier start, which was good, and I got to enjoy the sunrise and get a little bit of hobby done before Rosie even woke up. Angela took her to school and I got some more of the storage in the Games Room done before the men arrived and I went over my plans with them. Immediately they got stuck in to clearing and tidying the room and once the insulation was moved they fitted another shelf to the wood storage rack and lifted the swimming pool up onto it; this is a huge improvement and will prevent it getting damaged while we store it. Angela was also very hard at work cleaning the downstairs bathroom as now we've had the roof on the balcony to stop leaks it is no longer getting so damp that mould grew on mould. It is so much nicer! Meanwhile I was hammering away at helping the workmen to move things out of the workshop and while not doing that I was shredding cardboard all day long. I am so sore now but it is all done. Outside I found some ice in the wheelbarrow; it was a chilly day indeed.

Stacking the spare tiles

Room looking tidier

Sorting through assorted odds and ends

Sweeping up the now clear workshop

Bekir insulating the pump house

The men kept at it in the workshop until it was all cleared. With the pool out the way they shifted some of the old shelving units (these are now in the roof for me to use as I'm tidying up there) and then they stacked all the tiles neatly out of the way. There were boxes and boxes of random bits laying around which they sorted through and put into organised boxes, throwing away stuff that wasn't needed, and then a sweep and the room is clean and ready for electrics tomorrow. With that done they jumped to another task they had noticed needed doing; the toilet pump house was still not insulated so they've got stuck into that.

Tomorrow they'll finish the insulation on the pump house and then get started on the work to fit the electrics in the workshop. I'll need to go out to pick up a load of parts of them as well. I'm very excited to see this room being done; I had resigned myself to waiting a year or two!

Thanks for reading.