End of the week

What a day; I've just sat down after watching Gremlins with Rosie, while eating pizza on the sofa, and then reading a long book and getting her to bed and doing the washing up! Let's get to it as it is late already

Finally found some roses for Rosie

Bekir making the corner sharp

All the plastering is done now

Scraping the ceiling and tidying up

Bekir finishing the face of the stairs

Making a start on the final skim of the sub landing

Halil sweeping once again

Stairs are all done

After dropping Rosie at school today I dashed into town to get some dog food and those pizza we just ate and while I was there I finally found some rose bushes for Rosie's school. Success! When I got back the men were already in and working, doing the absolute last bits of plastering on the stairs. With this done they set to cleaning and sweeping up the main floor of the roof space. Then they were into doing some more mortar on the bottom half of the stairs and also on the sub landing, which they completed today. Halil also swept through again and made everything clean ready for Monday when they will start doing the final mortar over the entire floor prior to carpeting.

Rosie waters her rose

This is how you slide down the slide at school...

30 degrees in mid October

Cycling her trike with her giant care bear (and Thelma)

When I collected Rosie the director of the school was waiting for me to plant the rose, as Angela had got in touch for me to let her know I'd finally found one. Rosie had great fun planting it, and we had lots of pictures taken, then we went for a swing again in the playground (lots of her friends were around all very happy to see her) before a quick slide then home. It really was a warm day today, summer is hanging on here. We did some chores in garden (I removed the last of the tomatoes and the melon plants) and I pushed Rosie on the swing again and then it was into pizza/film/bed time.

So there it is. That's the week done. Thanks for reading and I'll be back on Monday.

Starting to skim the floor

Today's update is going to be short not because not much happened, but because most of what happened was just all the same thing.

Bekir spreads out the wet wash

A scattering of cement dust onto the water

Making a level floor is not very easy up here

Look! BLUE SKY!! And (almost) sun

Cracking on with this new floor skim

First thing the men did a final little bit of insulation however I got no picture of that as I was busy. They then headed out to get more cement in Thomas and when they got back they cracked on with the jobs. The first task was to wash down the area they were going to do with water and sprinkle some cement dust onto the water, which was then mixed in with a brush. This served to both wet the underlying cement to improve adhesion, and also combined any dust into the first layer which will also help it all stick. Then it was all about Halil mixing cement and bringing it up in buckets while Bekir worked doubled over to lay the skim in the back storage area. It was hard work. Mid afternoon something really cool happened, though - the sun came out! I have missed the sun, it was great to go onto the balcony and not only see grey. Anyway, by the end of the day the right hand side of the storage had nearly been completed which is great. We do need to bear in mind that we're going to be doing this for the entire floor up here - it's going to take some time.

And there it is; thanks very much for reading. Back tomorrow.

The remainder of the week

I have left this update until Friday night as while progress has been good it has been repetitive and my updates would have been very much the same for Wednesday and Thursday.

One thing to say straight off is that today is a tough day for us all here at The Old School as it marks a year since my father's tragic accident. We miss him every second of every day, of course, but today marks a particular time of reflection and of course brings his passing home even more bluntly than a normal day. A difficult day, but we must keep on going.

An absolutely stunning sunrise

Sally finishing off his wall

Halil back to traditional methods of channeling

Desperate for a brew

Hand tools all the way

So what has been going on. Wednesday was a frustrating day as the electricity was out for most of it so I ended up taking the day off work, not earning anything. This also meant that while the men could get on with tasks (Sally filling in the gap at the top of his wall, for one thing) a lot of the jobs that normally have power assistance had to be done by hand, like chiselling out the channels for the electrics which Halil got stuck into with a will. I made brews with the old kettle on the gas. Myself and Bekir headed out on a shopping trip to look at air conditioning units and other items which was pretty successful. I've got a petchka now for the tool room downstairs.

Running cables through the partition wall

Halil creating a path for more cable

Sally finishing around the windows

Yet more channels

Cement over the newly run cables

Wednesday afternoon was more of the same; lots of time channeling out, but this time making use of power tools which sped it up quite a lot as the power returned mid afternoon. The day really did involve a lot of drilling and chiselling however we had a good laugh as Sally was chasing Bekir round; as soon as cable was in place there was Sally with his cement looking to cover it over. They are going at a very good clip indeed.

Sally making sure the window is square

A nicely finished off window surround

More cables to cover over

Covered van delivery

Cables in the play room

A smile as that beard takes ANOTHER picture

Thursday was a wet and miserable day; a day for working inside. Sally got stuck in early to squaring off around the windows in each of the two rooms while Bekir and I went out and bought not one but two air conditioning units, slightly smaller than originally planned, so there'll be one in the bedroom and one in the playroom and it'll be more efficient and comfortable and easier to control. It was also more expensive, but for Rosie what is "too much"? When we got back it was onwards with chiselling and chasing and then the delivery of extra wood, cement, plastboard glue and plasterboard arrived in a covered truck. The day ended much as the previous one; lots of cabling, and lots of cement over wires.

Rolling up the dusty old plastic sheeting

Digging out the floor again

Bekir showing his agility again

Insulation and reinforcement down

Father and son at the cement mixer

Sally laying a floor

And so we get to today. We are not going to complete the gym this round of work however it made a lot of sense to get a floor put down to at least reduce the dust, and allow us to move things in there for storage, and so first thing the room was cleared, the plastic dust sheeting rolled to one side, and lots of digging was done by Sally and Halil. While this was going on Bekir was very busy running all the cables for the lights and plug sockets. A went out with my mum and Rosie and was able to find some lovely tiles (due for delivery on Monday) and also get the extra electrical stuff we needed. In the gym the waterproofing, insulation and metal reinforcement went down and then the cement mixer was put to use and the concrete pour began.

Running the cables through the wall

Sally nearing completion of the floor

Halil making sure the mixer is very clean

Wires for plugs, lights and air conditioning in her bedroom

Runways over the fresh cement

Bekir was continuing with the electrical work, this time very creatively making use of the hollow bricks to run the cables. He has done this throughout and it's a tidy job. This wall will be completed soon, as we have no plan for a doorway there, and then the cables will be out of the way. Sally was really smashing through the floor in the gym and finished it entirely today, when he was done with the cement mixer Halil went out and gave it a very thorough clean. It's so good to have responsible people looking after the equipment.

All in all it has been a very productive week; next week we will take delivery of the tiles, the walls will be rendered and then painted, the air conditioning units are supposed to arrive and be fitted on Thursday if we're ready - we are rushing towards completion. This is VERY exciting indeed.

For my dad.

A busy start

So I left you on Sunday with a longer blog than I had wanted to type. I fear this one will also be longer than I would want as it is now 7.40pm and I have not even eaten yet, so onwards!

Sunday night sunset with a storm brewing overhead. I am not sure how clearly it has come out on the photo, but the clouds were very odd on a low level (to the right of the photo). There were what I can only describe as little vertical wisps of cloud hanging there. It was very strange indeed.

Storm

 Monday: Despite the rumblings promised over night, I slept very well. This is what was waiting for me when I did awaken. What a glorious start and such a contrast to the night before.

Monday morning sunshine

 I had some paid work to do on Monday morning as I was helping with a bit of a backlog and so as I went out to feed Sassy, enjoy my coffee in the sun and spend some time with the puppies mid morning, I spotted this little beast hanging from the wall outside the living room. What a lovely pose it struck for me. I made him dance a little as he jerked into position each time I moved so that he could keep an eye on me. There were at least five minutes of fun with that!

Mr Sticky

Meanwhile, the men were getting along with the more serious tasks. Sally was making a start in the bathroom and giving Bekir a free rein in the kitchen to finish the tiling off. Here he is giving me that "not another photo" face before he headed up his ladder to plaster the areas he could until the last of the plumbing goes in.

A start on the bathroom

Bekir had obviously decided that he could no longer work in a mess. I had seen this mess at the weekend and all of my good intentions to tidy it for them were lost by Sunday afternoon, sadly.  They are such tidy workers. He has even swept and piled up all of the bags of cement and plaster we bought.

Such tidy workers

As I was taking the daily photo, I attracted some local interest. A little hoarse quack came from the bottom of the side lane and Mr Duck was most curious. I don't blame him either. Mad Irish woman photographs her home every day in the afternoon. I would also be curious.

A visitor

Every time I went to leave my desk and go to get on with what I had actually intended to do on Monday afternoon once I had finished my work, I got sidetracked with other things. Firstly, Bekir needed materials. So off we shot to the local builder's merchant. It wasn't a long trip, but it distracted me nonetheless. When I got back, I made a brew, chatted to Himself a bit online and caught up with all that was going there. It was after 3pm before I got up to head for the balcony and transplant the seedlings into bigger pots for the window ledges. Just as I got into the living room, the phone rang and I had to leg it back into Room 13. It was our friends from further north with the other school renovation just calling to check in on me, get an update, give me one about their swimming pool and other such chit chat. What a lovely thing. I am so lucky and never feel isolated when he is away because of many people.  Talking of kind people, the Little Lady next door also called me over for coffee. I was doing the watering in the garden quickly and she spotted me. off I went and she said she had missed Himself leaving but asked that I was ok and took me to show me her brand new milking machine. I must get a photo. What a contraption it is, but I am guessing it is much less effort and saves her valuable time.

Anyway, I FINALLY got back to the balcony to sort out those seedlings. Below are the sunflower seeds that I had placed on wet kitchen roll and stored in a sealed box. This was a new technique to germinate seeds much faster that I had read about recently and boy did it work? Quite a few were growing fast and I needed to get them planted before their roots got too established. I am chuffed. This could be a great way to start off early seedlings next year!

Sunflowers

When I was filling up my old dog tins with compost I noticed that after throwing away what I thought to be dead seeds from the old planting pots, that I had just thrown away some slow seeds. More tomatoes were growing in the compost box. In the tins they went, along with a few others I had earmarked for moving!

Surprise growth

 Here are the tomatoes, the first of our peppers and the sunflower seeds, all relocated and ready for inside growing on my shelves that I made. Result, at last.

Tomatoes

Peppers

Sunflowers

As the evening came to a close, another storm drew in. This is becoming the norm at the moment and to be honest, it really works well as I don't have to do a big watering round and leave nature to do its job.

Another storm

 The storm, in the end, was a corker. However, I did not get a video, sorry.

Tuesday:  I woke early this morning after a disturbed sleep. I have been very naughty while He has been away and the puppies have been in bed with me. Last night, Louise decided that she wanted to say hello a few times and was licking my ear, my forehead and my cheek at regular intervals. Never mind.

As I left to go and collect the men, the carpenter who has been making some of the doors for us pulled up at the gates as I was coming down the drive. I quickly unlocked doors and let him in, had a very quick discussion about leaving room for the flooring to be done and off I went.  He wasted no time in getting the van emptied and got stuck in.

Tuesday opens a door

Bathroom door

I was working all day, so I am afraid there are limited photos of the progress, but we are lucky to have in Bekir and Sally, conscientious workers who do not need to have someone look over their shoulder all day.  At afternoon coffee break time, I had only just put the kettle on and gone down to collect their cups when there was a lot of puppy commotion outside. Little Lady had arrived with a tray full of her gorgeous Turkish coffee. Perfect timing. She was very pleased with the kitchen indeed.

Coffee time

I took this next photo to sent to Himself, but I had to put it on the blog as I love it so much! Neighbourly selfies!

Selfie time

So as I get ready to eat my own arm off and prepare leftover chilli, I will leave you with some of what the men had been getting on with. Firstly, the heatproof plaster has been applied to the fireplace/chimney and it is giving me an excuse to paint.  It is a different colour to the normal plaster.

Fireplace

 And Bekir is tiling away and going well, despite the distractions of an additional man on site today. I will be very interested to see how his going to tile around the metal feet from the staircase. He laughed when I asked and said "later". I don't think he is particularly looking forward to it. :)

There we have it. I am pretty pooped, the puppies are not liking being ignored either, so off I go to join them in the living room for the evening.

Enjoy!
A x