Weekend and back to the wall

 Once more Monday rolls around and with it the longer blog post. Let's get to it.

Lots of dried leaves to help with our toilets

Lots of mowing, including up towards the line

Relaxing and watching the family

Rosie swinging

Rosie helping Angela assemble a plant frame

The long grass cleared around the line

Golden sunlight

The weekend was a really lovely one, though both Angela and I were tired and a bit unwell at various points throughout we managed together to survive and thrive. I had Rosie for Saturday morning and when she went for her nap I got outside and did some chores like collecting three big sacks of dried leaves for the toilet (we've enough now for a long time which is great) and then pushing the mower around again. I was so hot and sweaty after that, even my feet were sweaty, and after a shower I went and chilled on the lawn and watched Rosie swinging. After a bit it was my turn to swing her and she had a great time. On top of this Angela on Sunday got some more things planted out with Rosie's help and I did some more mowing around the washing line. The sunset was something special last night as well, golden glowing and amazing.

Flags are opening

Bekir and Halil get stuck in

Wall courses rising

A broken shovel

Welding the blade back on

That'll do, for now

I was up awake early today and went outside as I spotted that our Irises have started to bloom which is beautiful. Rosie was off school for Orthodox Easter holidays and so she and Angela got a lie in which was good. The men arrived on time, though I wondered if they may not, and got stuck in to continuing the wall. Mid morning the shovel broke and so Bekir got the old welding machine out and did a quick fix until we can get out to buy a new one.

Lizard sunning itself

Removing lots of roots, still

Roots cleared, the wall rises

End of the day here

We have been seeing more and more hot weather wildlife recently. On their way to town Angela and Rosie saw a very large tortoise down by our vehicle gate and while I was on my way back from a lovely kebab with them in town at lunch I stopped on the hill and saved a tortoise sat in the middle of the road. I also saw this large lizard sunning itself on the new wall. I love it. The workmen had a stop/start day with good progress initially then lots and lots of slow digging away of more roots in the corner before they flew with another course along. I am not sure if this is the final one or there'll be another tomorrow. We shall see.

So there you are. This evening was dinner on the balcony again, and Rosie and I watched the train go both way which is always an excitement. Thanks for reading.

Working in the rain

Against all the odds, and the forecast, the men were in again today so here I am with an update. Let's go back to the weekend, first, before dealing with today.

Greeting the morning with Rosie

Clouds really threatened for a while

The sun came back out

Big storm over the school

Thelma and Rosie playing together

A swirl of cloud passing overhead

Beautiful thistles

Blue sky and clouds

Saturday dawned misty but was warm and we were able to get outside quite a lot though the clouds kept gathering, sweeping in, threatening then dispersing. I was tempted to stay inside but Angela (yes, now Angela - getting rid of that "A" business from now on) nudged me and out I went and I was so pleased I did. Rosie found puddles and played with Thelma with the Frisbee and I watched the clouds swirl and pass and then took a walk down the drive with Rosie and admired all the nature that is growing everywhere right now. It was a lovely day, and much needed.

Baby gate fitted with not as much hassle as expected

Rosie does not like being limited

Outside in the rain, briefly

All the flowers are starting to bloom

Sunday was less lovely, indeed it pretty much rained all day. First thing I put up the baby gate into the play room which is a task I'd been putting off for a very long time; it turned out to be far easier than any of the reviews on Amazon let on however Rosie does not like it. It will be a challenge to get her used to being limited as she's had the run of the place all this time. I did get her outside at least once during the day though she wasn't that happy with the rain as she kept looking up and getting it in her eyes. One good thing is that all our flags are flowering now and looking amazing.

Bekir saying hello to Rosie

Sally measuring for insulation

Chiselling out for a junction box

Roof insulation all in place

Plasterboarding the ceiling

And so to today; as I say it's rained all day and been miserable and I thought the men wouldn't bother coming in and even turned my phone on in case Bekir called however the TV had lied to him and told him the rain would not last long and so they turned up on time. The task for them now is to complete this porch while we wait for the fittings for the toilets to arrive from Germany. Bekir was working on running the power out to where we want the light to be while Sally got the insulation ready for the ceiling. This was then stapled into place and Sally and Halil started putting up plasterboard while I went to town with Bekir for a few supplies.

Working to get the wire through a small hole

He's wiring the junction box, honest

Skimming the joint strips and boxing off

A bee that Rosie drew on

Rosie signs her name

Sunset behind the trees

After lunch the final touches of the electrics went in and the mesh and skimming was begun. It pretty much took them the rest of the day to complete this and now we're ready for tomorrow when the windows and doors should arrive and be fitted, which is super exciting indeed. Bekir had given Rosie a workmen's pencil and so Angela took her to play with it and she drew on the plasterboard; this is now on the ceiling in the porch and while it will be plastered over we will always know it was there. This evening after the men left and between dinner (fun self feeding time with Rosie) and bathtime I took Rosie for a nice stroll outside as the rain had finally stopped and she really is only happy when she's outside. The sunset just now as I came up to start writing this blog was beautiful as well.

So there you are; here's to windows and doors happening tomorrow.

Threatening Storms

Hey I'm back after a day of the threat of storms, but nothing actually hitting us. I'm again tired, however, so onwards as quickly as possible.

Bekir gets to work on the pipes

Sally applies more cement

The first flag of the year

Wood stain on the guttering board

Hard at work in the sun

Fun playtime with the Frisbee

The day dawned slightly foggy but quickly became very warm, even muggy. The men were in on time while I was upstairs supposedly getting a brief burst of hobby but really spending my time trying to find the correct fitting for the toilets. This is an ongoing theme of the day. Sally got stuck into completing the cement on the walls of the porch while Bekir was back to the pipe trying to get it to reach - I'm glad I said "get another meter than you think you need". Rosie has spent almost the entire day outside other than when she was sleeping and so we got to enjoy the first Flag to finally open - we have loads that are close so it's going to be gorgeous soon. Bekir and I went to town to get some wood stain and then Halil painted up the guttering boards. It was a busy morning and also for Thelma as she played with her Frisbee with Rosie.

Cement between the doors of the sheds

Threatening storm builds

Filling in the pipe channel

Skimming over the insulation

One cloud

Working hard on the roof

All but done.

Sally does hate waste and so when he completed the cement work on the porch he used the leftovers to continue finishing the humanure housing. By this time the threatened storm was really starting to build behind us, and the wind was rising. It looked set to hit us. The men continued, hoping to beat the rain, while we decided to drag Rosie's play things inside just in case - Rosie helped to carry some of it. Bekir was putting insulation over the now fitted pipe and then skimming it with terracol. By early afternoon it was clear that the storm, after dropping a few spits of rain only, was going to miss us and the men had not missed a beat. The re-skimming was going a-pace and Halil and Sally were making good progress fitting the guttering boards that had been stained this morning. By the end of the day all the holes cut for the pipes had been covered by Bekir - he is very close to completed on this so maybe we'll need to order metal for the balcony roof very soon! Another thing that happened today was the second application of RoundUp. Hopefully the brambles will go but I'm still not happy with chemicals like that.

Rosie having a good explore

Someone threw it into the tree

Thelma happy to have destroyed the Frisbee

Lovely late afternoon skies

The first poppy as well

Sunset

The evening has involved lots more time outside with Rosie, she loves exploring and both A and I have been following her around all over the land today. Thelma has loved her newly found Frisbee (bought for the Islay trip as it happens) but has also destroyed it. The evening was lovely, the storm having passed totally, and so it was a pleasure being outside - there's one poppy that has flowered as well so I'm expecting loads of them soon enough. The sunset, finally, was stunning. I spotted this after our first attempt to put Rosie to sleep and dashed onto the roof terrace. A did her magic and Rosie has now gone down I hope.

If you were wondering I finally got to call canada about this pipe fitting for the toilets and after a long and confused conversation I think I understand what I need and have ordered a part. We shall see...

Anyway, there you are - ever onwards, here.