Weekend, fun and friends

Once again I embark upon writing an update on a Monday and I'm late to sit down and exhausted. Let's see how this goes, shall we.

Walking across our land

Our other house is falling down

Rosie ate the big blackberry

Having a run across the lower field

Looking at the neighbouring house

Rosie by the lake

Thinking back to Saturday after a nice early morning Rosie and I headed off up the hill to the mountain house to check it out. It was warm enough up there, though cooler than down where we live. We had a lovely explore with running and eating blackberries and we checked out the neighbouring property that may be for sale then on the way back to the car bumped into the neighbour who helped us demolish the first house which was very nice. We then paused at the lake and Rosie watched the frogs jumping in and then dipped her toes. A nice way to spend a morning

Rosie helps pick apples

A single pear (not yet ripe)

Sun shines through cloud

In the afternoon Rosie and I harvested apples and admired the pears and then it was time for a rest and relaxation for a bit. It was a nice day all round.

Thelma after the vets

Chopping and peeling apples

Bubbling away

Jarred up marmalade

Sunday morning started with a trip to the vet with Thelma who had a very sore mouth for a day or two. The vet was very concerned, more so than I've seen him before, and he gave her three injections and said to come back on Monday and if she hadn't responded she may be "very sick". She joined me in Room 13 while I was waiting for Angela to get back with her shopping. With these supplies I got stuck into making Apple Marmalade with our apples and it took me literally six hours to make six jars but it tastes great. I was so tired after that I was in bed by 8 and fast asleep.

Final bits of plastering

Lights fitted

Screwing the door frame back in

Lights on and paint applied

Chicken house floor repaired some as well

And so we reach today again and it has been a ridiculous day for me today, so busy. First thing Halil was finishing the final bits of plastering while Bekir worked on the electrics. He got all of this finished in the time Halil and I went to the garage to get Maisie's wheels looked at; tomorrow she'll go back to get new rims and tyres. By the end of the day Bekir had fitted the door back in place and finished the electrics and they had run out of paint (so will need more tomorrow) and also had done a load of mending on the floor. Great progress.

Chicken and sweetcorn on the BBQ

After work I escaped to our friends here who had planned to come on Sunday but the rain and storm we had made us cancel. It was still super windy today but we had a nice time in the pool and then lit the BBQ and Rosie had a wonderful time playing with their daughter and all round it was a brilliant visit and a lot of fun to see them again.

So there it is; that actually wasn't so bad to type up. Thanks for reading! Back tomorrow.

Drilling, painting and mowing

Another absolutely glorious day here and more progress across the board. Let's get to it as while I type this Rosie and Angela are getting the garden watered so I've not got lots of time.

Sunrise with some clouds about

About to paint with Angela

Halil sharpens a drill bit

Measuring out for four holes

Drilling the holes

I'm on Mo and I'm mowing on my lunch break

This is where he ran out of fuel

This morning we all went out onto the patio first thing and saw the sun rising over the hills. Rosie insisted on a picture being taken so here it is. I was busy with work from early but they both came onto the balcony before school and did some painting. The men were in on time and first up Halil was sharpening a metal drill bit so the main task of the day could be done. They were drilling four holes in both sides of each angled length. This was to both provide draining if water got in, but also to act as securing points for the barbed wire. It was another day of boring repetitive work for them however they got it done really well. At lunch time I pulled Mo out and ran him over the front lawn which was very long again. I ran out of fuel just before finishing the entirety but I had also run out of time so back to work it was.

Finishing touches as they touch up the paint

Some tree limbs that needed removing

Tidying up for the end of the day

Hungry caterpillar

Awesome looking plums

Mid afternoon just as Bekir and Halil finished the drilling task I went with Halil to pick Maisie up. It wasn't the cheapest of repairs but that was very quick and it's very good to know that someone local is so competent to repair her. When we got back they both got stuck into the painting of the welded areas and they got that completely finished some tomorrow will be the day the posts are mounted - this is very exciting indeed! After work I fuelled Maisie, finished the mowing and trimmed down a Walnut that had a big branch too low to mow under. We will dry that and it can be used for firewood in a few years. Halil was cleaning and tidying up for the end of the day after I finished this and I talked to them about the next steps. We were in the orchard when Bekir pointed out this very big caterpillar on one of the plum trees. It's eating the leaves! We left it there, of course.

Rosie on her Peppa Pig spacehopper

About to start another masterpiece

Rosie shows off her creation

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of after school Rosie. She came home with lots of energy and after waiting for me to finish my mowing (and playing balloons with Angela) I took over while she cooked and it was great fun. We did balloons and space hoppers and then some football on the balcony and finally some painting. She's having such fun with that!

So there you are; another good day, it's still 27 degrees at my desk on the balcony in the shade and the sun is shining and the sky is blue. Here's to tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

Final cement pour

Another hot day here today, and the promised storm just gathered but never broke. Onwards with the pictures and words, however.

Sun rises and glistens on Maisie

Doctor Rosie checking my heart

Breaking up the old cement

Continuing to clear and tidy

Nasty flies on the inside of the fly screen

Nice and clear border

It was a glorious start to the day and I was at my desk early to get started working. I watched as the sun rose over the mountains, and Maisie, and then Rosie was awake so I went to spend time with her. She wanted to be Doctor Rosie so she treated me and checked my heart and then she did the same with Angela before heading to school. the workers arrived and got stuck in to tidying up the sides of the foundations while we waited for the cement truck to arrive. It was due at 10:30 but it didn't arrive so on they slogged through the heat. The other day Angela and I found lots of flies in the woodroom, hatching out of the wood it seems. I removed the flyscreen to let them out; nasty! By lunch time the cement truck had still not arrived but the men had pretty well finished tidying up this side of the foundations. Good effort in the heat, but I did give them an ice-lolly to help.

Here is the cement truck, finally

The pour goes on, messily

Mixing up more cement to finish the job

All the foundations are completed

After lunch finally the cement truck showed and I shot a video to show Rosie (but I've forgotten to show it to her so I'll have to remember tomorrow) and then helped a bit by grabbing a bucket so Halil could scoop the mix that missed the forms back in. It is always a hectic time when the cement is pouring and they were at it without a pause until the truck finally ran out. Once again there was not quite enough so my own mixer was pulled out and they were able to get the missed bits done and poured before the end of the day.

Cherries on the top branches

Mo at the emptying point. Again. And again

Rosie watering the flowers

Evening state of the back bank

The cherry tree has continued to produce some fruit and I picked a couple for Angela to try. After work I went down to get Mo out onto the top bank. The grass was so long that I was only able to do about half a circuit before the collection bag filled up and I had to empty it. This meant it took ages to get anything done and I haven't quite yet finished the entire thing. It is looking much better now, though. Rosie helped Angela with watering the raised beds and flowers after dinner while I did the washing up and now she's finally into bed so I can finish this up.

Well there you are; another day done. It's forecast to be another hot one tomorrow as well. Thanks for reading.

Unexpected digging

Thankfully today I've finally felt a whole lot better; Angela has still been quite under the weather but she is also on the mend. Rosie was again well enough to go to school.

Rosie eating an ice-cream

I had this picture to share yesterday but because it didn't download with the rest (it is one that Angela took) I completely forgot to include it. As yesterday was a national holiday Rosie was off school and Angela and her got out briefly in the morning, saw some of the festivities, and Rosie got an awesome ice cream and she ate it all, including the cone. Very awesome child!

Bekir and Halil start to remove the shuttering

Blurry spider in its web

Still hammering the shuttering off

Now starting to dig for stone

This storm rumbled and threatened, but passed

Digging and digging and digging

And so to today, having almost forgotten that picture AGAIN. It has been an overcast day most of the day today but that helped the men as they had some very tough jobs today. First of all removing the shuttering from around the cement which was very difficult as it is a deep trench there and they didn't have much access either side. I spotted a spider in its web while I was out with them briefly and tried to get a picture but it didn't come out great. Mid morning Lyuben our architect turned up with an English speaking friend to take measurements and pictures so he can draw the final plans and get quotes for the front wall replacement. It was very nice to see him. Once he had headed off it was back to work for me. Bekir and Halil, with the wood removed, were now onto another tough task and an unexpected one; we found that the trench at the top was not down to the bedrock and so they have spent all afternoon extending it to the correct depth. They're still not quite finished but it's not far off; this probably pushes the cement pour back until Monday at the earliest now though. Storm clouds were gathering through the afternoon but this one missed us, thankfully. 

A beautiful wild flower on the back bank

Our first fruits; two cherries

The train was moving as I took this picture

Rosie looking out from the roof terrace

After work and school I had some time outside with Rosie; we found a beautiful flower on a weed and then Halil gave us two cherries from out of the orchard! Awesome! Then it was time to go inside and downstairs and on the way Rosie insisted on running the train around the circuit and, against all my expectations, it worked!! We then went up onto the roof terrace for a little look and headed downstairs.

So there it is; another day. Thanks for reading.