It is rubbish, being sick

We have been ill all weekend and I'm still not better now and neither is Angela; thankfully Rosie is a whole lot better but still it isn't the best thing to try to keep up with an energetic three year old when everything is aching in your body. Oh well, to the blog.

Rosie sniffs her fake fruits

"Flap flap flap flap!"

Clouds above the washing line

They are quiet, when they're asleep

Angela mowed the lawn

Saturday being Daddy Day I had time with Rosie in the morning and we took Maisie to get her air-conditioning re-gassed in town. She was such a good girl that she was allowed to pick some fake flowers and she chose some tiny mandarins or satsumas. She loves them, and they are in a jar on the dining table on the balcony now. Other things that went on during Saturday was dancing and flying like a fairy and then a lovely picnic on the lawn in the shade which was just great. Everyone slept in the afternoon and when I went down I found Xena and Rosie very well snuggled up. Angela also at some point, but I honestly cannot remember exactly when, mowed the lawn on the ride on mower which was very much needed indeed; the grass grows so fast here.

Pushing the mower along

Trimmed the Tea Trees some

Rosie using the dibber to help plant something

Hoses wrapped on reels

Adaptors for the taps to the hose reels

Angela weeding, Xena ready to pounce

Rosie strums my guitar

Sunday we were all feeling worse but sitting around wasn't an option in the morning. I got the push along mower out and did the end section, which we can't mow with the ride-on yet, and the bits around the trees that also can't be reached, very early in the day as it was forecast rain. It did spit once or twice but that is all. After reaching the end of the power cable I got the tree saw and trimmed the Tea Trees down around the toilet reservoirs as they were getting in the way a lot. Rosie and Angela were also outside and it was a lovely time all together with Rosie helping us both, she helped Angela to plant some more stuff in the raised beds and watched while I dug out a bramble. I then got the hose reels (which Rosie and I had picked up from the shop on Saturday) and wound the hoses onto them to keep them neat and stored out of the sun and also added some short lengths to the taps to connect to them. Angela was working away in the garden all this time planting loads of lovely flowers and edible plants. By the time we stopped we were both exhausted and everyone slept again in the afternoon, me more than most which is unusual. Rosie had some fun playing on my guitar as well but I was in bed for 8pm last night hoping to feel all better for this morning.

A lovely big spider on the shuttering

Bekir and Halil start the day

Halil with his scythe in the orchard

Bekir doing the final straightening

And so to today and, spoilers, neither Angela nor I were better in the slightest. Fortunately Rosie was well enough to go to school which gave us space to collapse all day and try to recover. The men were in working on the foundations on the other end of the orchard but obviously I didn't get many pictures. Suffice to say they made good progress and are already ready for the cement truck to come tomorrow to pour the cement in this section. Halil also got the scythe out and cleared down some more of the orchard overgrowth which was great. When Rosie got home from school I pushed her on the swing for a bit and Rosie was talking about tortoises and then we saw one in the undergrowth by our front wall.

And there it is; I'm going to go collapse into bed again I think; I really could do with being better for tomorrow, and Angela as well as it is a national holiday and Rosie is off school! Scary! Thanks for reading.

The Week End

Finally after such a busy week we've made it to the weekend - now just a full day with our little cherub Rosie to survive hah. Anyway, onwards.

Rosie in mid bounce as the sun rises

The wooden boards are removed for reuse

Halil puts his back into lifting this section

Watering down the new concrete

Bekir clearing the trench ready for lining

I had a play with the scythe for the first time for years

Making a start on the shuttering

A deeper trench this side

This morning Rosie asked to bounce before she got ready for school and so I took her up, before Angela took over as I went back to my desk. It was a lovely start to the day (and it has been lovely all day actually) and great to watch her have fun. The men were in and taking down the shuttering from the concrete pour from yesterday. It looks very good indeed and will be a great solid base for our wall and fence. With the wood all removed Halil soaked the cement several times during the day to prevent it cracking in the heat while Bekir got stuck in with a shovel round the other side of the orchard to clear the trench to begin lining it. Halil had scythed a path through the long grass in the orchard and one time I went to see how they were doing I needed a break from work so I did a bit as well. They did some good progress today and the trench on this side, much deeper as it happens, has wood going a fair way up it. Angela was busy today as well; Thelma has eczema on her nose so Angela took her to the vet for some cream before later on heading into town to drop some of her art at an art gallery for a show next week!

Rosie zooming on her scooter

Rosie drew and awesome face on her own

Apple growing on a tree

After school there was play time with Rosie which involved scooters, footballs (and me doing some weeding while playing) drawing and fun on the balcony. I also got to check out the orchard and there seems to be quite a lot of fruit this year which is great.

So there it is; a long but satisfying week. Thanks for reading, all. Back Monday.

Toilet fixed and cement poured

Today has been a glorious day from start to finish, though I've been pretty well stuck at my desk so I've not got out side as often as I wished for. There is a video in this update, however. Onwards!

Super Safe Chainsaw Technique

New frame supporting one working pump

Bekir and Halil starting to prop the tree branches

Supported well; no more drooping

The cement pour continues

I had the pleasure of taking Rosie to school today as she was very disturbed during the night and Angela got a very bad night sleep. When I got back the men were already in and looking to start fitting the working pump back into the pump house. It didn't take long and now (after some time at lunch, and finding one of the fittings was not tight enough so the vacuum was leaking) we have the downstairs toilet back and operating again. With this job done the men went out in Thomas and arranged for a cement mixer to come after lunch to pour the foundations of the wall. While they were waiting I asked them to prop the sagging branches on the apple tree in the chicken enclosure so that is now done. After lunch indeed the mixer arrived and they very quickly poured all of the cement it brought into the trench but it was slightly short on quantity!

Not quite to the top of the form

No cement here at all

Topping it all up with home mixed cement

All done and smoothed off

This wasn't really a problem as I do have the cement mixer and I actually think that they prefer mixing and not getting a truck; anyway they pulled the mixer out and got everything that hadn't been poured filled in and right to the top of where we wanted it. We only had one incident of Dog In Cement which was Thelma and she had to have her paws washed off. It is looking great, though, and next week we can start the block wall on top.

Rosie with some harvest - White Radish

Swinging in the trees

Scooting on her scooter

Once I finished work I got to go outside with Rosie into the garden. We had a lot of fun on the slide and playing with Xena then Angela had her help out with getting some food out of the garden for our dinner; Rosie was most impressed with this White Radish though it ended up being a little strong for her to eat after she tried it. After this we did some swinging and then some scooting and then it was dinner time, on the balcony once more. While I've been writing this up Angela and Rosie have been out for a walk in the village and they are still not back so I've been able to get this completed. I'm going to go outside and wait for them now.

Thanks for reading! Back tomorrow.

Toilet problem, storms and painting

Fair warning - there are some pictures of a failed toilet vacuum pump below. Trust me, the smell was worse than what it looked like.

Angela about to beat me at AirFlix

Bekir removes the wooden frame

What we found when we looked in the pump house

Bekir removes the broken pump

Cleaning the pump off

Angela working in the raised beds

Last night Angela and I had a really fun game of AirFlix as we try to get back into the habit of gaming at least once a week. She beat me, of course. This morning was a bright enough start to the day and Bekir and Halil went out to remove the last of the wooden frame around the new sink area before going to work on the chicken enclosure but then they noticed some leakage from around the pump house and that was when the day got bad. It turned out that one of the pumps had a problem and was ejecting into the pump house, not down its hose into the reservoir. Not good! There was a lot of excrement pooled up under the pumps and I stuck to help while Bekir removed both pumps, then spent an hour or so cleaning up. We shovelled as much as we could into a bucket so it wouldn't get washed down by the roots of the tree but it was a long job to clean it up. At one point I was checking the drains and suddenly a snake shot out of the pipe and disappeared at high speed down by the roots. It was a pretty big one, but probably only a rat snake. Anyway, after cleaning everything up Bekir took the broken pump apart and we found that when we flushed one or two baby wipes (and we really did it only once or twice before realising it was stupid) this eventually made its way into the inner workings and caused a plastic "bellows gasket" to split. So the pump is fine but we do need to find a new one of these gaskets which is proving a little challenging but I'm sure we'll find one eventually. Right now we have no working toilets as the working pump hasn't been fitted back in (it stormed very badly so was way too wet and wild to work outside) so it is back to sawdust in a bucket until tomorrow. Angela, meanwhile, was in the garden doing lots of weeding and she spent pretty much all morning out there, though I was able to get back to my desk eventually.

Starting to paint the steel

The last few to be painted

Halil sweeps in the garage

Rosie cuddling Xena on Angela's lap

During dinner time the forecast rain came in and it got heavier and heavier with some very close thunder and lightning - it was very dramatic. Bekir and Halil and lifted all the steel into the chicken house in the morning and now, as planned, through the rain they painted preserving paint onto it and got it all done. They were so quick that they had spare time and so Halil took it on himself to sweep out and tidy the garage! What a guy. Rosie was full of beans when she got home from school and helped Angela cooking dinner but also cuddled Xena a lot.

So there it is; the forecast is better for tomorrow so hopefully we'll be back on track again. Thanks for reading.

Finishing the framing

Another day done, just about, and another update to write. Here goes.

Rosie playing with her dolls house before school

Halil scything, Bekir removing posts

More clearing going on

Hefting a heavy fence post

Making sure everything is positioned perfectly

More securing in place going on

Final chain link is removed

This morning was epic before school; Rosie was playing and singing and having lots of fun; I got to sit with her for a short while but was very busy with work as well so Angela got to have the joy of spending that time with her. It was great to see! Off Angela took Rosie to school and the men arrived and got stuck in to their tasks for the day. Today was all about consolidation and preparing the trench for cement pouring. They cleared more of the long grass, removed more of the uprights (not easy as they were so well fitted) and then spent a lot of time making sure the sides of the shuttering were both straight and at the right height. At the end of the day they removed the final sections of the chain link from behind the duck pond and they are hoping that a cement mixer driver will come check out the pour tomorrow and maybe arrange it soon. We will be doing the pour in two sections, this first bit and then they will reuse the shuttering to do the rest of the perimeter.

Xena and Rosie sit on a chair

Rosie, Xena and Xena's tree

I didn't get to take pictures much during the day however today Angela got a load more stuff planted out in the garden, doing it this morning before it got too hot which is very sensible. After school and once I'd finished working I got to spend time with Rosie in the garden and laughing as she played with Xena.

So there you are; another day done. I'm now going to go have fun playing a game with Angela! Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow.