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.
Please make use of the comments box to ask questions or suggest blog subjects too :)
Today has been another very busy one for me so I got out very few times indeed through the main part of the day. It's been colder but fortunately not rained as much as yesterday.
The sun rises today
Very wet from the night before
Halil prepares the mixer
Cement for block laying
Halil bringing blocks
Wall nicely capped
End wall of the second bay
A cat walked on our wet cement
Burning the weeds
Looking down from above
There was sunshine when the day started, though it clouded over then got bright then clouded over then got bright and that pattern followed through the day. Last night it had rained heavily again and the garden was a muddy mess however the men were in and cracking on, first of all getting the mixer going and then building up off the two block high first bay. After this they spent a fair amount of time pouring the cement topper over the outer wall and that is now totally done. Angela and I had to go out to collect Thomas from the garage again and by this time they were putting the final blocks on the second bay. Tomorrow I think will involve building up the surrounding ground level and then putting the 3rd course on; we are now expecting the missing blocks tomorrow. While we were out the men did some tidying and clearing and burned a load of roots and just generally tidied the place. It's looking really good; I cannot wait for the paving slabs to go down and finish it all off.
Stunning sunset from the roof terrace
Rosie static hair on the trampoline
The sunset this evening was absolutely spectacular and I headed up onto the roof terrace (and appreciated the new tiles while doing it) to get a bunch of pictures. Later on it was play time with Rosie on the balcony and she had all the fun on the trampoline.
So there you are; another day done. Back tomorrow.
It has been an awesome weekend, with lots of diggers being watched and Rosie being great, and then today was miserable for the builders. There are LOTS of videos this time round so if you can't see them then follow this link to my YouTube and see all the digger videos there.
The sun shows itself on Saturday
Rosie trampolining while the sun rises
Art time with mummy
New unit on the balcony
About to splash in some muddy puddles
Saturday dawned very sunny and bright, but early as Rosie decided I wasn't to have a lay in at all. We had a lovely day, however, with lots of bouncing on the trampoline then, after a brief visit to Angela to do some art in the art room while I went to the toilet I think, she helped me to finish making the storage unit for the balcony (and she actually did help!). It did cloud over and get a bit colder as the day went on and mid afternoon we took a lovely walk up to the echo pipe. When we got there we found that the diggers were working much closer to us and spent an awesome half hour or so watching as one digger labouriously clawed its way up a steep bank, making a track behind it so its mate (that didn't have a bucket, but only a hammer drill) could reach the top where the refueling truck was waiting. It was awesome and the fact they waved and beeped for Rosie was so lovely.
Sun rises on Sunday
Rosie with her new tie
Rosie running to catch me up
Diggers working on the ridge
Sunday is Mummy Day for Rosie and I spent the most part of it getting some chores done reorganising things, cutting shelves to size, doing some hobby and generally getting a load of me stuff done. It was another nice morning with a lovely sunrise and Angela took Rosie out for the morning and to the shops. She came back with an amazing flashing Christmas tie. After a nap I once again took Rosie for a walk and we headed up towards the echo pipe. We watched more diggers working on the pipeline then shouted down the pipe for a bit before heading home. It was a lovely day.
Sun-lined clouds roll in
A damp but not cold day
Getting started on the block laying
Bekir block laying
Working in the rain to fit the shuttering
Trimming to fit
And so we reach today and today has not been a nice day. It got very windy over night and has stayed windy with very nasty very heavy showers that never lasted long enough to stop the men working but still soaked them to the skin. Today they built up the first of the raised beds to complete up to two blocks high (we'll be going to three) and then swapped over to making the shuttering for the 5cm thick concrete cap that we are putting over the whole of the outside. They got all the woodwork done and then about half the cement poured before it got too dark to continue. Tomorrow that should be completed and we'll be not far off done. Very exciting!
So there you are; a fun weekend and a busy day. Here's to tomorrow.
We've reached the end of another week and today was cold and wet and nasty for a lot of it.
Beautiful sunrise over a foggy valley
Frosty with a touch of pink from the sunrise
Very cold start to the day for the men
Planting the walnut tree in the orchard
Working on the wall
Shaping a block
Smoothing over the backfill
Working throuhg the rain
Finishing off the weatherproofing
The day started with heavy frost and an absolutely beautiful sunrise; Rosie joined me in the living room to look at it before she headed to school. The men arrived on time and started working in the sub-zero temperatures, clearing away shuttering from yesterday and then getting started on their tasks. The new guy was in the orchard for a chunk of the morning digging the re-sited walnut tree (that had self-seeded by the hugelkultur) in with the rest of our trees. Bekir and Halil were focusing on getting the rest of the outer wall built up to a completed level. This involved more cement and lots of blocks. They made great progress and towards the end of the day (I had lots of calls and was busy. again) Bekir was chipping away at the blocks to make the sloped back retaining wall that follows the line of the land. The new guy was backfilling behind the now completed supporting wall and smoothing off a path for us to reach the gate again. The final task for Bekir, all of this while it was raining quite heavily, was to fill in the gaps in the tops of the wall with cement. They wrapped up after it was dark. It's late season for building work.
Storm blows away to the North East
Rosie in the play area
After school and a bit of play time at home we went to our favourite restaurant for our dinner. The storm had blown over and the stars were coming out. Rosie absolutely loves it there and was in and out of the play area eating her dinner and having a really really fun time. We like the food as well and the staff are lovely. Rosie was very tired by the time it was home time and was into bed very nicely indeed.
So there it is; once more the week is done. Back on Monday, thanks for reading.
This morning was a very early start for all of us as Angela and I were off to Plovdiv for a morning appointment. Rosie went to The Little Lady's house before school before The Other Brother took her down to school for us; neighbours like we have are just beyond awesome! It was a long morning but we were back just after lunch.
Framing and footings on the way
Bekir trims and prepares for more shuttering
There it is; all done
Making sure the wall will be build straight
Working as the sun sets
Retaining wall completed
We found that the men had been hard at it during the morning and the second bay was almost completed with its footings. Just after we got back they returned from the machine shop where they had got a grinder repaired. The afternoon was taken up with finishing off those footings, which didn't take long, and then they got started on the right hand retaining wall. By the end of the day this was basically completed meaning tomorrow they should be able to finish the rest of the walls and get stuck into completing the raised beds. It really is looking most awesome and I'm very excited to see it completed!
Rosie with her t-shirt
Rosie's new desk
Rosie had a lovely surprise or two waiting for her after school. A lovely guy I know from discord had sent a package of gifts for her while she was sick, which was so unexpected and so lovely. It arrived today including a Care Bear (!!!) and this awesome tie dye t shirt. We also picked up a few bits from Jumbo while on our way home including a little lap desk that she's already used loads.
So there you are; another day done. Here's to tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
Today was a busy work day and I got most of my pictures leaning out of the window of Room 13. Plenty occurred however so let us get to it.
Tools out and ready to work
The wooden shuttering is again removed
Soil is shifted into the raised bed
Sifting the soil through an old gate
Measuring the gap to the next bay
The overnight rain had stopped by the time the men arrived and get stuck into their tasks. The first job, once all the tools were out, was to remove the shuttering around the foundations laid yesterday and then, after covering the top of the blocks with plastic, they shifted soil into the raised bed to clear access for the next bed. I did go down at one point as I saw the men using the old gate, that used to lead into the fenced garden, as a make-shift sieve to remove large stones and roots. It was very clever and they were rightly proud of the creativity. After lunch they headed out to get more cement from our shop and then get on with marking out for the next bay.
Starting to put up the shuttering
The sun sets over the workmen
Getting to the end of the bay, and the day
With that measuring done the rest of the day involved building up the wooden shuttering, again, into which tomorrow they will pour the cement. Angela and I went to collect her car and dropped Thomas back at the garage, after we picked up Rosie, as the light was back on. We got back from doing this before the men left, while the sun was setting behind them. It's been a good day and tomorrow the second bay footings will be poured and maybe even more blocks can be done on the first bay. We shall see.
