WE HAVE A POOL!

 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.