Day off then back to the roof

Yesterday the workmen had other things to do at their own home and so Bekir rang me to say they weren't coming in so it was a day off.

Just a bit of ice in the freezer

I only have one picture from yesterday to share; I went to get some fruit out of our old freezer in the entrance hall and really struggled to open the door and this is why; I actually took the small hand axe to this to clear the ice enough to extract some boxes but this is something that will need to be done properly very soon, and then the freezer should be retired as it is clearly not working well.

Rosie's awesome new outfit

Bekir gets started on the electrics this morning

Grandma starting to wash Betty

Halil mixes up plaster

Corner strengthening stuff

Getting the corner strengthener in place

Plastering going well

Two extra lights looking great

And so to today. This morning Rosie got to wear a new outfit for school which looked very awesome on her indeed. The men were in on time and got stuck in up in the roof with the tasks in front of them. First of all they were completing the shift of the cables to inside the storage area to make it tidier. Grandma wanted to wash Angela's car and so I helped get the pressure washer out and she set to; she's done a great job and it is gleaming and clean! The men headed into the builders merchant just as the car washing began and picked up the materials needed to begin plastering in the storage parts of the roof. Halil was taking the lead on this and he mixed up the plaster and then cut and fitted corner mesh to make the whole thing more secure before getting the plaster applied to the walls. It's very exciting to see this! While this was going on Bekir kept working on the electrics and he fitted the two extra lights we asked and then started to work on the light switch that will eventually control the lights in the big open part of the roof.

Another good session of digging

Monster worm in the leaf mold

Mulch all over the raised beds

Saved spuds to be replanted later

Angela had a busy day in the garden with lots of weeding however I didn't get a picture as I was pretty busy myself. As soon as work was over I went out into the garden with my shovel and dug over the next section of the garden. Next up I shifted some composted leaves from a pile and spread it on the raised beds. While doing that I found a huge worm so that was safely placed back in the leaf litter. While I had been digging over the garden I found loads of potatoes, some of them rotting but quite a lot with roots and starting to grow so I saved them and Angela asked me to put them into a bag for replanting later; always nice to get some free spuds.

So there it is. We've reached Friday so have a good weekend, thanks for reading, and back on Monday.

Last outside day for a bit

I think today is going to be the last day we have the men working outside for a bit (though thinking about it there is one more garden based task that could do with being done, though I was maybe going to try and do it myself in my after-work-gardening-sessions) and it was a productive day all round.

Rosie pleased with her sparkles

First of all, however, a picture of Rosie with her new hair band that sparkles and glints in the sun, casting amazing reflections everywhere. She was fascinated by this. Great fun.

Bekir finishing the insulation task

Easier than getting the big ladder

Bekir keeping safety in mind

A lovely clean result

Outside the men finished up the securing and insulating of the new cleaning access port on the toilet pipe and then they spent a bit of time making sure that the toilet still worked, which it did. I had also asked them to remove the ventilation pipe that was from the old humanure collection point, and fill in the hole in the shuttering underneath the roof overhang to prevent hornets and birds from getting in, so they did this quickly. The cleaning access point is very nicely done and finished and now just needs an insulating lid over the top of it to keep it from freezing in winter.

Lots of work in the raised beds

Bekir adjusts the wiring for the lights

A tidier situation than before

Steadily getting there with digging this all over

Rosie making a sand castle

Bouncing with balloons

It really was another lovely day today and Angela and Grandma were outside a lot, doing a lot of clearing and planting in the raised beds. After lunch they went with Halil to see our apartment in town which was lovely and while they were gone Bekir got stuck into redoing some wiring in the roof to make it a bit tidier. He also had a look at the toilet pumps again and stopped them from pumping continually once more. After work I took myself into the garden and dug over the next section of vegetable patch. Rosie did some sandcastle making before a bit of hobbying with me and then a lot of fun with Grandma on the trampoline.

So there it is; a fun day and a productive one. Thanks for reading and back tomorrow.

Mainly toilets plus a nice walk

It's been another good day here, and a great after school/work, but let's get into the update so you can hear all about it.

The sun is rising

Rosie in her new birthday outfit

A new puppy at the farm

I was up early this morning and managed to catch the really dramatic sunrise before heading downstairs. Rosie was dressed in her birthday outfit from Angela's mum and she really loves it; it is very awesome indeed! I took her to school today and saw the new puppy from the farm up close for the first time; she came running over and gave me lots of licks.

Bekir test fitting (it didn't fit)

The new fridge is delivered

Sat in the sun at lunch time

This morning was dead time for the men. They started the day looking into fitting the cleaning/inspection junction for the upstairs toilet pipe however the parts they had bought didn't fit right. They headed into town and went to all the shops before finally finishing up at the CNC shop where a nice man made them the perfect part custom made. Brilliant, but it took hours. While they were out our new fridge was delivered which was very exciting and I got a ten minute break to sit in the sun between working too much.

Bekir showing how the new part will work

The old fridge is removed

The new fridge is in its position

Fixing the cleaning access in position

Testing the pump over and over again

When the men finally did get back they showed the part they had made (and it does look very good) before helping us to get the old fridge out onto the patio and the new fridge into position in the kitchen. It is a really nice size, and fits perfectly. Angela is very happy. The men then spent the rest of the day fitting the new part into the pipe, having cut it out from the insulation. We then worked together to make sure everything works and now the upstairs toilet is working again. After this they spent a very frustrating hour or so trying to work out why the downstairs toilet pump wouldn't shut off. At the moment this is now working again but we will need to keep an eye on it.

Heading off on our walk up the hill

Rosie following Grandma up the stream bed

Looking out over the pond with the sun setting

Rosie and Grandma playing on the way down

There's home, in the distance

As I said at the beginning we had a lovely time after work and school. As soon as Rosie got back I took her right back out, with Grandma, for an epic walk up the hill towards the pond. Rosie did very well, with a few very minor complaints at the beginning that she wished "mummy was here" but then she really got into it with walking up the dried out stream next to the track and when we did finally reach the pond she was really impressed and insisted on staying there as long as possible. It was lovely and we were all pretty tired when we got back.

So there it is; another day done. Thanks for reading and back tomorrow.

Gardening weekend and fence fixing

It was a great weekend and today was good also so let's get into it straight away.

Rosie enjoying her hot chocolate in the tent

Sunrise over the hills

Camping was a lot of fun with Rosie; the new beds were very comfortable, the new light was superb and gave us really good but warm illumination and was easy to turn on and off at need. Angela and Grandma brought us out our hot chocolates which went down very well and then, after some chattering, we were both asleep and Rosie slept very well. When we got up we found that the promised freeze hadn't happened so it was even warm enough to get out of the tent. A good night indeed.

Raking up some leaves

Rosie shows how strong she is

Up in her tree house all on her own

Doctoring her dolly with Grandma

Policewoman Rosie on patrol

The weather was so nice that I headed out into the garden and started to rake up the leaves on the lawn and flower beds at the front. Rosie was outside with me on and off and was "helping" a bit. At one point she took herself off to the tree house and climbed up all on her own. Angela was suffering from a very bad back which was really frustrating for her indeed. Rosie also got to play doctors with her teddies and Grandma and was driving around a lot on the patio in her police car. I had the pleasure of cooking in the evening, on the kitchen fireplace, and that wrapped up a pretty good day.

Angela the fire starter

Rosie climbs the pile of soil

Our little burn is working well

Checking the final embers

All the farm dogs came to see us

Sunday was another bright and warm day and Angela woke with a much better back, which was a huge relief, so we were all outside in the garden pretty much all day. Our first task was to burn off and clear the dead grass and weeds in the fenced garden. This year we're pretty determined to grow more food for ourselves. We did get the fire to take in the end and it was very effective and doing the job. Rosie was having a great time playing and also enjoyed watching the fire, though she was a bit concerned mainly because of the memories of the uncontrolled fire last year. Once we finished the burn we headed to the neighbours for a short but very nice coffee sat outside in their summer kitchen.

A very early butterfly

I need to dig over all of this

Some lovely flowers planted in the tyre gardens

The final section of this bed is dug through

First section of the vegetable garden turned over

A lovely day for working in the garden

After the coffee break I was straight back over to start digging over the fenced garden. It really was a lovely day and butterflies were fluttering by a lot. Angela was also getting lots done, planting out a load of new flowers and clearing some more beds then planting more seeds. It was a really productive time and so nice to get out and do something physical again. I did manage to dig over the first strip of the vegetable garden and my plan is to do a little every day until it is done.

Rosie very happy to be having a picnic

All up in the tree house

Chilling out near the fire

Rosie had been asking for a picnic lunch and so we spread the rug out on the lawn and all sat and had our lunch out there in the sun. It was a great idea! Then it was time for a rest, much needed after all our efforts, before more fun in the garden and this time Grandma climbed into the tree house as well! Angela made an epic Sunday roast for dinner and I relaxed with my feet towards the fire. A great day all round.

Final sheets of plasterboard done for now

Fencing material to keep the dogs out

Trimming down this tree

Tree gone, ready to start meshing

Getting to the end of the fence

All weekend we have been chasing Xena's dad off the land as he worked out he could just walk through the fence to the left of our vehicle gate, which isn't good when all our three girls are in heat, like now. I had to go to the bank this morning again but when I got back I had a chat with the men about this problem, and also the blockage impacting the guest suite toilet. Angela had explained to them what we wanted for the fence so they finished up their insulating and then moved to this new task, first of all going out to buy some materials. There are some trees that grow very close to the fence there so I helped them a bit over my lunch break to take the worst ones down and then they cracked on very efficiently and have put a finer mesh over the whole fence. Hopefully that'll keep the other dogs out for now.

Our garden nicely dug over

This morning while we were sat waiting for Rosie to wake up (she really overslept) our fridge exploded. Literally. Today Angela managed to find a new one that was available for delivery tomorrow which was a relief. For me, as soon as my work day was done I went into the fenced garden and dug over the next strip of the garden. Tiring but satisfying work.

So there it is; a long update but a good one. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and back tomorrow.