Bekir returns and progress happens

We made it to another Friday and it's been another busy day for me and the men.

Bekir tying off the rope that will support him

Safe as houses, that

Halil maneuvers a sheet of plasterboard

Getting the back bank cut

More insultation installation

A fire burns down

The whole ceiling here is now boarded

It was great to see Bekir back today and I think Halil was happy too. With both working it was time to rig up a very dodgy looking (but safe - no one got hurt) sling supported scaffold that gave access to the ceiling above the stairs. Bekir fitted the spot light that I wanted and also did the insulation installation while Halil (who had no intention of walking on that contraption) did things he could reach for safe access points, and also cut the plasterboard and generally assisted. At lunch I got the mower out and mowed until I ran out of fuel, getting a fair amount of the back bank done. After lunch Bekir had shifted the wooden beams to a different angle to access more of the ceiling and progress was really good. Halil even started joint stripping some of it. They also did a fire and burned some waste, to which I added a few bits and pieces as well. By the end of the day all the ceiling there is now insulated and boarded so Monday they can start plastering it. Very exciting!

Front lawns all mowed nicely

Up under the vine

Along the back bank

Ginger beer to celebrate

Curry and rice for dinner

I had to go get some more fuel and when I got back I continued with the mowing, getting pretty much everything done before again the push along started sputtering; I'll just need to do next to the driveway by the vehicle gate tomorrow or Sunday, weather permitting. I was pretty tired when I came in and my beer went down very well with curry and rice.

So there it is; another week done. Thanks for reading and back on Monday.

The girls head off

Our Big Trip has begun, with Angela and Rosie heading off after school to the airport to get a flight over to the UK; the next time I'll see them is in about 3 weeks or just under. I miss them already.

Rosie ready for school

Rosie was able to be in school all day today which was very good and she was very excited indeed about her flight. I had the pleasure of taking her and collecting her which was great.

Halil fits the insulation

Lifting plasterboard into place

Making good progress at the landing end

Today we only had Halil as Bekir had other work to do at their house, and he was kept busy all day. He made a start, early, putting insulation in then about 10am headed to the local mechanic with Maisie for her to get her service and check up before my big drive. It took hours for this to get done however apparently now everything is fine on the car so here's to a safe drive to the UK and back! As soon as he got back he went into the roof again and continued the insulation and then made lots of progress on the plasterboarding as well. I think he suggested that they should both be in tomorrow, which would be good, but we shall see.

If I hadn't sent Halil off for hours with Maisie he would probably have completed all the insulating and plaster board but that can be done tomorrow now. Thanks for reading and back tomorrow.

Just more roof stuff

This morning both Angela and Grandma headed off to their respective airports at the same time as I took Rosie into school. The house went from busy to empty very suddenly.

The girls snuggle up

Halil is joint stripping again

Bekir getting ready to secure some cables

Filling in gaps inside the crawl space

Nice tidy cabling

Removing a chunk of wood

The men were in again, which is good, and they were working away in the roof doing more small steps towards finshing up the first area. Halil was continuing to joint strip and fill gaps while Bekir went into the storage crawl spaces and tidied away the power cables and secured them either inside the wall, or tidily tied them up out of the way. At the end of the day, when I had collected Rosie from school and was back with her, we found Bekir working with Halil as he was removing some wooden joining planks that were now in the way and was about to replace them with some metal strips.

So there it is. Another day done. Tomorrow is Friday so back then with another update, and thanks for reading.

A very long weekend, then roofing

The men took a very long weekend, two extra days off, and only returned today so we've got a fair bit to update so let's get to it.

Rosie getting her hair done

Joyful on the machines at the shops

The old freezer is defrosting for the final time

Angela making rows for her onions

Rosie planting onions

The full fenced garden is now dug over

Rosie marching off on her walk

A bit of a rough area of garden needed tidying

Lots of digging over has been done now

Grandma crumble!!!!

Saturday was a really awesome and busy day. First of all I went out (after Rosie had her hair done) with Rosie and Grandma nice and early to town to do some shopping and swap some clothes Grandma had bought. Rosie got a cuddly spiderman toy which she loves and she also got to ride the machines at Kaufland. When we got back it was straight into the garden. First of all I lifted the old freezer out to defrost it fully, having emptied it finally as well, and then I got stuck into digging over the final section int the fenced garden. Angela came in there as well and started to plant out the onions and shallots that she has bought and Rosie came and was very helpful also. I just about got the digging finished and we had a lovely talk with my sister and then a bit later on Grandma and I took Rosie for a walk up to the headland even though the wind was really starting to gust. It was very nice. I ended the day by finally digging over the flower bed on the right of the path which will soon have some things planted into it. A busy day but very productive. Grandma had been very busy as well making crumble from fruit saved out of that old freezer and we had some for pudding after dinner and it was very nice indeed!

"Spread it out, mummy!"

New guitar arrived and she's a beauty

Rosie with her lovely plait

The Sunday, Monday and Tuesday not that much of note happened as it has been raining and miserable ever since. On Sunday Rosie showed us what she has for her breakfast at school and really enjoyed eating the lyutenitsa on bread. This is the same sauce as I use for my Spicy Pork Pasta. On Monday my new guitar arrived which is lovely and I've been keeping up getting back into playing guitar all week including learning some songs that Rosie knows, and she has been loving drumming and singing along a bit. Finally some lovely hair style that Angela did for her yesterday morning.

Bekir slicing a block to perfect size

Fits in perfectly

Halil is plastering in the crawl space

The gap that needs filling

The gap has been filled

Halil securing joint tape on the ceiling

Bekir fits the blocks in place

And so to today. The men were in again and up into the roof to keep working on finishing off the storage areas so we can start to use them. Bekir was cutting small sections of block to use to fill in the final bits near where the wall meets the beam. Halil got stuck back into the plastering in the right hand storage area. Bekir next finally did the work to tidy up the gaps left near the beam as I really do not want any gaps in the ceiling at all. It is now lovely and neat and tidy. Next up for Halil was joint stripping as much as he could reach so he could then do the plastering over the rest of the roof. Bekir, meanwhile, was mortaring the wall sections in place and making everything very tidy.

Xena and Grandma

Having a laugh at the restaurant

I'll wrap up with a picture of Xena and Grandma; Xena saying hello to her. And finally from this evening as we went out for a meal because tomorrow Grandma goes home so we had to say goodbye properly. It was a lovely meal indeed!

So there it is. A longer break between updates than expected, but at least the men came back this week. Thanks for reading and back tomorrow (I hope).

Insulating, and camping

We've reached Friday, Friyay indeed, and here is a suitably short update for you about today.

Rosie wearing both her scarfs

Bekir fits yet more insulation

Another section of insulation delivered and fitted

I took Rosie to school today which was fun as she was cold in the car and put both her scarfs up over her head to keep warm. I then went on to the bank to do some chores and when I got back I found the workmen already up and at it (having already been to the shop while I was out) hanging more insulation and putting more plasterboard over it. Today they have done a little more than I expected, but are insulating slightly more than planned (because of board size, basically) so they aren't quite finished with this stage yet but it is close.

Got the tent up

A lovely comfortable nest for me and Rosie

My new camp beds had arrived over the past week or two and I showed one to Rosie who then became insistent that she wanted to camp tonight so I pitched the tent and have set it up with all the new bedding. Hopefully we will be comfortable tonight!

So there it is; thanks for reading and back on Monday.

And again, the insulating

Last night I was in bed and asleep for 8:30; I'm feeling a lot better today though. Onwards

Rosie with her new hat

Halil cuts some more plasterboard to size

Grandma helping to shred the cardboard

Fitting another sheet of plasterboard in place

Lots of little bits are slow

Before we get into what the men did, here is Rosie before school modelling a new hat that Angela got from somewhere. Isn't it cool! The men were, all day, up in the roof continuing to fit insulation and then cover it with plasterboard. I've had a chat and extended slightly the area they are doing in this batch before we tidy so they do have a little more to do tomorrow but after that I've got a decision to make on the next step. I want to avoid having to move things over and over again, basically. Maybe I will get them to complete the storage areas including plastering and carpet so then I can move things into there and they won't have to move again. We shall see.

Rosie with her completed jigsaw puzzle

After school and work I got to spend an enjoyable time with Rosie and Grandma doing a jigsaw, one that she got for her birthday. She did very well and we completed it.

So there it is; another day done. We'll be back tomorrow, thanks for reading.