Still stormy at times

After a day off for the men yesterday we're back again with a four day blog. I'm not, however, going to spend all night writing this so I'll do a bunch of photographs for the weekend and yesterday, and then catch up to today.

Chilling out in the shade of the vine

The vine is now giving a great shade

The Other Brother and son, with Rosie

A beautiful sunrise indeed

Some of the grass and weeds I have cut

Snoozing puppies (Louise JUST woke)

Stunning sunset

Moon rise the next morning

Huge cricket on the wall

Stag beetle on its back (watch video below...)

The weekend consisted of lots of time outside in the sun, including taking full advantage of the vines that have now grown up and over the framework to give a really lovely shade to sit under. Not that Rosie stayed still long but it was nice to be there for a bit. We had visits from the neighbours, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, I did some grass cutting in the orchard, Thelma and Louise snoozed on my knee, the moon was beautiful and we had some pool time and the wildlife around here amazed me a couple of times. Also Rosie has really been struggling to sleep recently which has been stressful and reduced the sleep we are getting. We think it is largely teething related but also she is starting to come off the bottle. Kids are hard work, huh.

A rainbow for the morning

Sun breaking through

Sally climbs up

Window man measuring

Tiles on the roof

Grinding down the metalwork

Halil lifts tiles up

Bekir working on the downspout

Downspout in place

End of the day state

Today started with a shower that caused a rainbow over the back mountain but it cleared up then and was a warm, even muggy, day all day. The men were on time and straight onto the roof and I was busy with work so didn't get many pictures really. Mid morning the window people arrived to measure up for an accurate quote for sliding windows around the balcony, fixing a few other bits, and glazing around the main porch entrance. Big plans but it'll make a huge difference. All day the men were tiling away on the front side of the roof, fitting metal for waterproofing between the wall and the roof, and then lifting more tiles up for the other side. At the end of the day Bekir was just fitting the downpouts when it started spitting large spots of rain. I went inside (I was carrying Rosie) and then the downpour began. It was SO heavy and the wind was blowing it inside the balcony roof onto the balcony so we really do need those windows! The roof is now half tiled, and should be finished tomorrow I hope. There are a few other bits and pieces to do, including more metal work if we do get the windows done, but at least we have a secure roof and tiles in place now.

So there you have it; hopefully get this roof finished tomorrow or Thursday and can move on to the next bit. Thanks for reading.

Hammering and lifting

If I thought I was tired yesterday I'm shattered today - it's been a tough day for all of us for various reasons. This will be a super short update - mainly pictures/videos and a few words. Onwards.

Men battening the roof

Going on an adventure

In the shade by a war memorial

Rosie with the birds

Drinking fresh OJ

Having fun in another park

Firemen on the way back

The day started off badly with Angela still in huge pain with her back and so, after breakfast and a couple of cups of tea, we headed to town to see the doctor. The men had arrived dead on time today which was awesome and they were on the roof hammering away putting all the battens down onto which the tiles will be seated. The only place I could stand to get a picture was down by the front gate as the angle denied visibility from anywhere else. I dropped Angela off and took Rosie for a walk around town. We looked for carpets for the library (and maybe found some) and then headed to the park where we sat in the shade, saw some music and shouted at the birds. Well, Rosie did the shouting. Angela met us for a coffee and freshly squeeze orange juice while she waited for some results then I took Rosie for another walk around until it was time to meet Angela again (going via a loooong ladder from a fire engine) and home.

The pulley in all its glory

Shifting the pulley before ice-cream time

Clouds blow in

Tiles all stacked on the roof

Rosie proudly shows off a spud

When we got back Rosie was asleep, which then meant she didn't get a long afternoon nap which was also a tough thing for us all. We also saw the men had rigged up the pulley system to get the tiles onto the roof. Most of the rest of the day was me working as much as possible and then spelling Angela with Rosie (including a lovely time in the pool with Rosie - she just loves being in there). Towards the end of the afternoon we gave the men ice-creams and when I went for this they were just moving the pulley to the other side of the roof. It's a long process lifting the tiles but once they are up there it's pretty quick to put them in place. We are nearly done! We went into the garden a bit and cleared some rogue potato plants from the tomato bed and now we have a big bowl of free spuds for dinner and Rosie was very impressed.

So now I'm going to publish this and then get some rest as tonight I'm doing a whisky night with some good friends. Thanks for reading all.

Roof tiling begins

It's just about 10:30pm as I sit writing this and it is 30 degrees sat at my desk and baking. Hot hot hot. I'm late because I went out with my friend for the evening which was lovely but now I'm going to get this done before bed time.

Rosie wants to be in the pool

Hot day on the roof

Starting on the roof

So hot up there, really

Bekir and Sally roofing

Barefoot on the roof

The day dawned lovely again and Rosie was determined to be in the pool straight away, so she piled all her inflatables in, except the cover was on. Bless her. The men arrived a little later than expected but were straight on with the roofing task. Getting the tiles onto the balcony was initially a task for both Sally and Halil but afterwards Halil did this on his own, climbing down to hook the tiles on, the up to haul them up. Hard work. It was very hot indeed. Next up Bekir and Halil got the table saw that SandS had very kindly lent us and they trimmed down some planks which initially I didn't understand about but then I saw why. These were then treated with preservative and then used as end plates onto which the metal retainer was affixed. From then on it was basically all the same, with tiles being lifted by Halil and Bekir and Sally working away in the extreme heat to get the initial tiles laid. It was very very hot and the smallest breeze was welcome.

Waiting at the empty bar

Beer with friends

Night shot over the river

For Angela and I the day was tough as Angela has got a very sore back indeed and was really struggling. I am working now (being distracted by crazy loud birds), of course, so I couldn't help as much as I wanted but I did what I could.Rosie got her pool time, a long time with Angela and then a short time after I finished work before we headed out for some chores and the to drop me for beer and pizza with my friend. This was a lovely evening and after a great chat (and a talk with a guy who may be able to help with amazing windows for the balcony) I walked home in the warm night and have now written this update.

So there you are. I'm glad I got that done; doing multi-day updates is a drag. Thanks for reading.

More tidying up

Contrary to my stated expectation at the end of the update yesterday I did start my new role today. So I'm pretty tired as I type this and looking forward to bed once I've got the blog done and a few more bits and pieces I need to do completed as well.

Sally and Halil begin the tidying process

Bekir laying the tiles

So much rubbish up here

Using blocks as a platform

All nice and tidy again

The day dawned with some clouds around which was actually nice as it was a little cooler. I was up to my desk to start work which involved installing software then waiting for a bit for an introductory meeting. The men were on time and the first thing Sally and Halil did was clear all the rubbish from the other part of the balcony, and sweep and tidy and generally make it good. Bekir was now on with the task of finishing the tiling by sticking the cut tiles he'd done the other day in place. Mid morning, just before my meeting, our tile delivery arrived so I grabbed a video of the truck coming onto the land (echoing a very old video from years ago when the huge tile delivery for the main roof arrived) but this time the truck had a crane which made unloading a snap. By lunch time the balcony was cleared and tidied. and looking much nicer indeed.

Louise wants lunch, I think

Bekir cleaning more old mortar

Fixing a hole in our wall

In the pool with Rosie and loving it

Look at the size of those marrows!

Lunch time was taken as a family, which was great, and watched closely by Louise who sat on Thelma to get a headstart to the treats after we finished. She's a cunning one. Thelma, however, knows that they get fed together so working herself up to be first to the table doesn't matter - she's a smart one. Outside Bekir was continuing to work on the tiling and had found some places where the cleaning up needed to be done better. This woke Rosie a bit from her nap but she did get back to sleep. Sally and Halil were fixing the damage inside and at one point I saw Sally stood on top of our wardrobe working away but I didn't have my camera with me to get a picture. It was funny as hell! When my work finished I was straight outside into the pool and had a lovely time, with Angela joining us as well, before dinner. After dinner we had a bit of time in the garden, admiring the marrows that I'll probably turn into chutney, then spent some time on the balcony as well which was lovely.

So there you are; that's the update. Thanks for reading.