This is my blog about emigrating to Bulgaria. It starts with the idea and will take you through all the steps I am taking to create my new life in this wonderful idyllic country. Thank you for reading.
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It turns out that being in a swimming pool with a two year old is exhausting. I was in bed for 8:30 last night and it is now that time already tonight and I wish I was in there again already. Lots more to do, though, so onwards. Quick update hopefully.
Early morning, but not much water
Beautiful dawn
Just over my ankles
In the pool with Rosie
Yesterday we had no men as expected; when I woke and checked the pool it had barely filled at all over night; I think the free water must have gone off. Later on I swapped to paid water and we have been using that pretty much exclusively since and it is filling faster. Ish. Rosie was able to get into the pool after I finished work with me and we had a lovely time walking around in the still-very-shallow pool. It was really magical indeed.
Sun appears this morning
Tidying up after Monday
Digging out foundations
Getting the ramp slope right
Checking all the legs are square
Angela and Rosie in the pool
After such an early night I was up early this morning. I did some work before Rosie and Angela woke and then we were able to get her off to school very efficiently indeed. The workmen were in on time and got stuck in to tidying up where they left off on Monday, and then they spent the rest of the day digging out and building the sloping wall for the ramp. I haven't got a picture of the end-of-day state sadly but I'll grab one for tomorrow. They also helped me out at lunchtime to check and lift the legs of the pool totally square. I did some mowing at lunch and again after work and then joined Angela and Rosie in the pool, which was getting deeper all day but still only just about half way full! Rosie is loving it and went back in after dinner. As I've already said I'm exhausted and I think it is being so hyper aware for so long while you're floating with her.
It has been hot today, 32 degrees for most of the afternoon while I was sat at my desk and hotter outside. I think tomorrow is going to be another scorcher and then it's due to cool down. So far the pool has been filling for 48 hours and is only just half way but I think a chunk of that was free water that stopped so I'm really hoping tomorrow sees it done. We shall see. Thanks for reading!
You can tell the exciting news from the title of this update, but of course we have the weekend to talk about before we get to that... and what a weekend it was.
Super awesome dramatic night sky (video above)
Rosie watching Le Tour with me
And more storms build
Friday we had a lovely sunset and there were distants storms also making a beautiful scene; there's a video as well as picture above (for those on mobile who cannot see the video). Saturday was tough; Rosie was really difficult and I was still suffering some after effects from the second vaccine so thank goodness for Angela's help as I probably wouldn't have coped without it. It was also so so humid and horrible and the storms that floated around didn't bother us which was not what we wanted. The Tour de France did start, however, and Rosie (now being slightly less naughty) sat and watched with me which was a huge pleasure. She kept saying "they stamp!" while watching them peddle. The second video above was taken that night just before I headed to bed; Angela and I sat on the balcony for quite a while in the dark watching and really enjoying the show. There were some AMAZING lightning strikes really close that happened after I stopped filming; it was impressive indeed and much needed after how humid it had been all day. Sunday was a much needed quiet day as I got my desk set up again on the balcony and Angela took Rosie shopping. There were more storms around but nothing really major and it was a lot less humid.
A lovely early morning sky
Halil clearing rocks. Again.
Trenching. Again
First section of pipe through the wall
All the pipe in and buried
Getting ready for the pool
Today was a busy busy day as I've said. It started early with the sun waking me and I was at my desk working. Bekir and Halil were a little delayed today but I think Halil's car is giving problems and that is why. The first task for them was to wet down the cement once more and then they got started on the next sections of patio, clearing the stones before getting set to digging out for the drainage pipe. They were able to get this done and the pipe in place really quickly but then I once again changed their task as we decided that today WAS the day and we wanted the pool done. For this purpose they set to scraping rough bits of cement and cleaning up the area where we would be placing the pool. Hard work in the heat we had today.
This box is HEAVY and it took all of us to shift it
Groundsheet down, here's the pool
Rosie very excited for the pool
Getting the legs in place
All done, and then the advice was given
Dead on 4pm I went down and started on this pool thing; Halil and I moved the pool into an accessible position while Bekir went and got Usmivka and then we all struggled to carry the 170kg box onto the patio. It took a few rests but we got there OK. We opened the box, pulled everything out, and started to. The first task was to spread the groundsheet and then we took the liner and spread that out as well. It is a really solid and well designed pool with very strong legs and framing that was actually quite easy to assemble (how easy it is to take down we shall see). I prepared the metal frame and clips and had them on hand for Bekir and Halil who did the actual assembly. We did this very quickly and then a guy from the village came over and said "shouldn't you have some insulation underneath?" and of course, we should. A hurried call to our builder's merchant and I dashed down in Thomas with Bekir and picked up 64m2 of 2cm thick XPS.
The rush to lay the insulation is on
All laid out
And the pool is situated
Pouring sand into the filter
Pool filling with water
The four of us (including Angela) lifted the pool frame very carefully and shifted it to one side then pulled the liner back and finally Bekir, Halil and I laid all the insulation sheets out carefully in place. Then it was a case of covering the insulation again with the groundsheet and using slabs to weight the outer sheets down so they wouldn't move then once more very carefully lifting and dragging the pool back into place. It could have been a nightmare but it ended up being OK. After this, and quite late, Bekir and Halil headed off. I cracked on with putting things together like the ladder which I almost got finished before dinner and then after Rosie was in bed I went out again and carried on. It took a while, but about 8pm I started water into the pool (let's see how long it takes) and then finished assembling the filtration system. Angela and I then did our best to smooth the floor out, climbing in and shoving from inside as well as pulling from the outside, and at about 9.30 finally I came up to start writing this update.
So there you are; no update tomorrow because the men are not here due to tasks at their home. I am very much hoping to get into that pool tomorrow though! Thanks for reading, and back Wednesday.
The update today is going to be very short. I've been super super crazily busy with work and also not much varied has happened and now I am sooo tired I just want to go sleep so I'm going to finish this then sleep.
The moon rises
First of all my attempt to capture the moon as it rose last night; it was amazing - so red and huge. Beautiful
Mixing up to fix the slab
Smoothing on more cement
This is the section that had puppy prints
Other than that today the men have mixed cement and smoothed it out over the sections of the patio with the worst finish. The more I think about it the more I think I should have done one section a day with the pump just bringing its own load, and split the table off from the rest of the pour. Way too late now, but a lesson learned. Rushing can slow you down.
It was a long day here but even now as I type this up Bekir and Halil are now at the neighbours helping them with a project. They do work hard! Thanks for reading.
After the epic of yesterday today was always going to be quieter, and an easier update for me as well as less happened.
The day started foggy
Bekir and Halil tidying up the patio
Puppy and Rosie footprints in the cement!
Bekir and Halil chipping out cement from the drains
Filling in some gaps around the drains
This morning started foggy but that burned off fast and it has been another really hot day; perfect for the pool but we have a little while yet to wait for that. I had my second vaccination jab this morning which was super easy at the hospital and hasn't impacted me much more, so far, than a sore arm and needing to sleep during the middle of the day. I got back to find Bekir and Halil wetting down the cement, sweeping it up, and clearing out the drains and this is pretty much what they did all day. It isn't perfectly flat, mainly because of the huge rush the pump company put them under, but they're doing a good job of remediating that. I would like some of the rougher parts to be smoothed, particularly in case they damage the pool, but I don't know how much more they can do. I think they'll be starting on the next part of the patio from Monday; I expect tomorrow to be another bitty day. We shall see.
And that's it; a lovely short update. Thanks for reading.
The men were in early today, and Hikmet was with them. I asked Bekir to make a couple of quick amendments around by where the pump house is going to be but before he could do much of anything the pump arrived and it was hell for leather. Hikmet filled in the drains with screwed up paper while Halil got stuck in watering the ground to help the cement stick better. I was busy at work all day but had to be involved a bit as this is a big day in this project. Rosie would have been kept off school today anyway as she was so excited to see the cement lorries and she was very happily watching most of it from various windows through the morning with Angela.
The pump starts to unfurl
Very long reach
Right over the house
Rosie watching
Smoothing by the table
With the pump situated, and its stability legs extended, the controller extended the arm all the way over to by the Tabletennis table and the great pour began. We had ordered 21 cubic which would come in 3 truck fulls but the pump had some in it ready. It was such a rush, and made worse by the cement company who were hurrying to get the pump freed to go to another job. I hadn't known this would be an issue or I would just have hired it for the whole day. Anyway, this was a problem as poor Bekir, Halil and Hikmet worked like dogs in 33 degree heat to smooth and spread the super fast drying cement and were not assisted at all by the attitude of the company. Very frustrating and it has resulted in a less smooth surface than any of us wanted.
Above are three videos of that first part of the pour today.
One pump, one mixer supplying and one waiting
Working hard to keep up
Slogging in the heat
Filling the hopper from the next truck
The pump works by having the cement dropped into a vat that it then projects; this is first supplied by its own mixing tank but after that runs out other trucks can pour into the hopper and it works uninterrupted. One of the problems today was those trucks arrived too quickly. We had one unloading while another had to park up and wait as they were not respecting Bekir's request to slow down the supply. In the end we had to order another 3 cubic which came on a 4th truck and it was past lunchtime before the whole pour was complete.
And above some more videos.
Assessing after the trucks left
Sweeping, polishing and finishing
Mixing up for spot repairs
The patio, at the end of the day
With the trucks gone Bekir, Halil and Hikmet couldn't stop as they had to wet it down and polish before it dried and became impossible to finish. In hindsight I should have gone for half and half on this pour; we all thought, however, that the pump would be here all day and this unseemly rush wouldn't be occurring. They removed the wooden half beam and filled in with hand mixed cement then used water to find where it was uneven and filled those gaps with more cement. It was a very very long and tough day for them but as you can see it looks great. We are very close to complete on this now, thankfully. It has taken multiple weeks longer than I expected it to.
Evening sun settling
From the roof terrace
There were storms rumbling around a lot late afternoon that were quite threatening but none ended up hitting us. Everyone was so exhausted, with Angela being unwell with the cold she caught from Rosie, that I took Rosie to pick up takeaway which happens so very rarely. She was shattered though. This evening is a glorious beautiful golden evening and the patio looks great from the roof terrace.
