We've got a golden house

Happy couple taken on the night out

Unusually for today I'm going to start with a picture, taken on our night out on Saturday night by one of the other patrons. We both loved this picture and so I wanted it to be on here.

Sunday evening

Ahh Sunday. It feels so long ago now. It's so busy and so much is going on that sometimes it feels like we're on a roller-coaster out of control. It's a good roller-coaster though, full of awesome progress so onwards.

My plate on Sunday night

The sun sets on another day

There was no more progress on Sunday, obviously, other than us stuffing a huge Sunday Roast inside ourselves. We finished this quite early and put a film on but everyone was really tired. A headed to bed not long into it but I stuck it until Ivan was also tired and we left half an hour unwatched. I ended up on the sofa as I just couldn't sleep and I read my book until about 2am before dropping off there then getting to real bed about 3.30. That was not the nights sleep I was looking for.

Monday

Monday was Easter Monday but I was working anyway, while A had the day off. It's a good thing that A gets the men in the morning as I in no way would have been safe to drive at that time in the morning.

Very foggy when I finally woke up

It stayed chilly

A workmen outside the window of Room 13

Drip strips applied

Asen working on the next wall

Drilling for pegs

I dimly remember waking up when A did and seeing a beautiful peach glow out of the window as the sunrise lit up the fog. I thought about getting the camera but that thought disappeared as I dropped off back to sleep and by the time I woke again the sunrise was over but the fog remained and it was just grey and dreary. There had been quite a heavy frost the night before with the temperature dropping to about -2 so the workmen waited for this to clear before getting on with their work. The head man was working on putting insulation along the walls of the flat roof building while the rest of them were up the scaffold applying drip strips and making progress around the windows. It was a cold start and they were wrapped up warm.

Preparing the walls in the Utility Room

Bekir runs the light cable into the bathroom

And now corridor plugs

Inside Bekir and Sally had gotten stuck in as usual. They are still working on the back corridor and side rooms but it's getting close now to move on from there, I think. Sally was continuing with his cement work, this time finishing around the windows and also preparing what will be the utility room, and the last room completed. Bekir had done his channeling and was making a good start on running cables for the lights, switches and sockets. Later on Sally followed him round and put a skim over these cables so they would be secured.

Spud planting has begun

Rambo running proudly with his Kong

Louise making a sun trap out of the sand pit

Three spud towers now complete

Thelma helping A plant spuds, or not

Louise licking Rambo, who thinks she's after his kong

A admiring the flowers in the tortoise garden

A was making the most of the excellent weather that followed on from the fog (eventually) to get things done in the garden and she first of all planted out her potatoes in the two towers I had made. This prompted me to get a move on and I spent a bit of time putting together the final tower and then she put the spuds in that as well. The puppies were all enjoying themselves outside though shortly after this picture Rambo tried to eat the mix that the men were putting on the wall and got locked up in the trailer to keep him from poisoning himself. Our tortoise flower bed has just erupted and looks amazing; I can't stop looking at it.

The first of the render is put on the walls

Four skimming, one mixing

A complete change has occurred

Tidying up after the skim

Sassy's new storage box

It was just after this that massive things started happening on the building; the men started to do the skim of plaster that will cover the entire building. This involves applying the material and then, after it has gone off very slightly, dragging a tool over it to bring out channels which will help to drain the water off the surface. Ivan was heavily involved in this as he wanted to ensure an even coverage of channels and once they had begun doing this wall they couldn't take a break until it was completed. It took about four hours and once it was done the change was astounding. Ivan didn't take a rest but was out onto the balcony with a scraper to remove the splashes of this render from our tiles. While he was doing this I was getting a few of my chores done like building the storage unit for Sassy that we picked up the other day, and also checking out my new ladders which are very nice indeed.

Armoured cable ready for connecting up

The sun goes down

Superb chicken and rice dish

While I was taking the men home A got around with the camera to see what Bekir and Sally had got completed. The armoured cable has been run in through a hole from the kitchen into the utility room and he's also run the cable from the utility room into the garage though it isn't connected up yet. Exciting times. When I got back we sat in Room 13 while our dinner cooked and chatted and decided to get Okhtay back again the following day to get on with scraping the kitchen walls. Dinner was superb and a great example of A trying out a local dish and finding she's good at it. We didn't watch anything but just sat chatting til about 10pm when we were all tired and it was bed time.

Tuesday

Today is the day when the year really got back into the old routine with the men, as the weather finally was good enough for me to get outside while A was out getting the men and do some heavy work prior to my paid work beginning.

I got my morning graft in this morning

The sun breaks through a gap in the clouds

Clearing away so the walls can be scraped clean

Hard to see, but a dip is there for the consumer unit

We slept pretty well, other than being disturbed by Louise crying to come into our room as she was cold, and were up and about at our usual time with only a few grumbles from me. We said morning to a few of the workmen and then when A headed out I got my walking boots on and started shoveling soil for the floor of the orchard. It was a nice morning, but still quite chilly so I wore my hoodie, and I worked away until A got back. Louise ran in front of Thomas which prompted lots of shouting as I tried to warn her, and stop Louise. There was no squished dog so that was OK in the end. Okhtay had joined us again and he got straight away stuck in to clearing away a space so he could begin to scrape the walls. Bekir then got started in the utility room making a space for the new consumer unit, which will be sitting in the wall, and chipped away at the hard stone to make a void.

Our workmen get started applying primer

Primer dried, they put the paint on

First coat applied, and it's looking great

There then came a slightly difficult period. The other workmen still hadn't emerged to get on with their work by the time A got back and I could see them sat in their room around the table having chatting and not looking in any hurry. I was feeling quite frustrated as there is still a lot to do and it felt like there was no urgency here, particularly as it was a great morning for working outside. Just as I was about to go and knock to ask what was happening our friend went in and then they came out and got stuck in. Later on they again downed tools and I went out to ask why they weren't working. I'm not sure my Bulgarian is really up to that kind of situation but I was quite frustrated so I gave it a go. To cut a long and awkward story short we expressed frustration that the workers were not showing initiative in the absence of our friend and requested that should they be delayed again, they pick another task from further on in the job and get on with that rather than waiting for direct instructions. We shall see, but this complaint is only a small one considering what excellent work they are doing across the board.

Okhtay scraping away at the walls

In the middle of putting this concrete up

A smile from Sally

Red hot drill

Inside while all this was going on Bekir and Sally and Okhtay were carrying on with all their tasks. When I went down to offer them a coffee I found the wall skimming going very well. Sally was briefly pausing in doing some cement above the lintel and Bekir was drilling out holes for the fixing for the large boiler we have bought. He was having to put the holes into the structural cement and without the SDS he was using my normal hammer drill. I captured him as he paused and cooled the bit down with some water splashed over it and it was so hot the water turned straight to steam. Amazing!

A slightly different angle, with all the puppies in view

Removing the hard lower render

Work continues around the corner

I got out again in the afternoon to check out the progress outside, and take the daily picture, and got a picture looking up from the lawn. You can see the roof tiles in this picture and how well the colours match together. The men had left the first coat to dry and moved round the corner to the side of Room 13 to do the concrete skim there. One of the guys had the breaker drill and was removing the remaining render from the wall towards the corner.

The men putting the second coat on the front wall

More gypsy wiring going on

It rapidly became time to take Bekir, Sally and Okhtay home and as I was leaving the other men were putting the second coat on the paint on the front wall. Inside Bekir had put some temporary power into the garage so the freezer would still be on over night, and had done a fair amount more in the utility room. Sally's cementing is nearly finished and Okhtay has almost cleared an entire wall, including using the hammer/axe tool to take the plaster off, not just the paint.

The example window ledge painted for our review

Thelma waiting for us while we look at the colour

The sun sinks towards the horizon

Men still at work as the evening draws in

A glorious sunset

There was then another decision to be made. We'd picked a darker colour for the window ledges only but as I was walking around I was thinking it kind of liked the way the very light colour looked around the edge. We discussed it and decided that the bought paint should be applied so we can see what it looked like and then maybe choose a lighter colour if we didn't like it. After much thought, and looking at it from all angles, we decided the colour we'd chosen was perfect for us. Thelma had her ball and waited patiently while we discussed. It was a beautiful evening and so the men decided to make up some time missed from this morning and got stuck in to painting the rest of the windows. As I was typing away at this A came dashing in shouting for me to go to the roof terrace to get a picture of the sunset. It was amazing.

So there you have it. Only two weeks until our first guests of the year arrive as well; the pressure is truly on.

Progress and music

I'm probably going to do this update on and off over the day. I'm sat in Room 13 at 11am ish new time having edited the videos you'll see later on and I've got a few chores to do which I'm putting off by typing this. It's been a corker of a few days, though, so I do hope you'll enjoy reading about it. Right, that's enough delaying, off to empty the humanure again.

Friday

Friday was forecast again to be cold and wet and it lived up to it. It was a bitterly cold day and the men were all wrapped up warm with hats and multiple layers. They got on without complaining though and stuck at it. I had a full friday with no paid work, finally, which was nice so we got to relax and enjoy a bit of down time.

Nasty overcast and cold day

Mesh strips around the edge of the windows

Wrapped up warm in the cold wind

Proud of his work

Early in the day

Making sure the walls are straight

The workmen really like the dogs

I was super lazy while A was out collecting the men, though I did drag myself to the washing up bowl and get that all done before she got back. It was just cold and miserable and there was no real impetus to get moving. The workmen were out despite the weather continuing on the front of the building. This is the most complicated part as there are so many windows that need a lot of detailed work to turn around and square them up and that is what they were working on during the morning. The progress that has been achieved in one, very weather disturbed, week is incredible. The other good thing with this team is they are brilliant with the puppies and even Rambo, though he does get his sticks taken off him when he keeps dropping them on one of the builders' feet.

Putting a new cable in

Sally chipping out the plaster

More concrete going on the walls

Light switch holes and channeling for cables

The corridor light switch position

Ivan had to go to the dentist and I went with him as we stopped off at the carpenter on the way back as he had some sawdust for us, and I wanted to talk to him about our doors. Ivan's dentist visit wasn't very long and I had a nice relax in the car outside reading and then we popped past the carpenter. While I shoveled sawdust into bags Ivan discussed our door requirements and the outcome was that he would come out to measure up on Saturday morning. Bekir and Sally had, true to form, just got stuck in with their tasks. I distracted Bekir from chipping out the channels as I had realised, while looking through the pictures to do the update on Thursday, that the lighting cables in the porch weren't how I wanted them. He redid everything very quickly and even thought to put a chain up to hang the light fitting from. Sally was in the little rooms chipping the old plaster and putting new concrete up. He's nearly done all of this job now and only the utility room to begin. Bekir was digging the channels out for the lighting cables and plug cables as well as a channel to take power into the garage. He was at this all day and at the end it looked very much like he would be ready to install the power on Monday.

Drilling and inserting securing pins

Insulation above the porch, from the small scaffold

The gaps between the insulation panels are skimmed

Working on the very top of the scaffold

He wanted more pictures taken

Near the end of the day

After the trip out with Ivan it was pretty much straight back out the door for me as I took A into town for the weekly shop and went over to the electrical supply shop while she was doing it. The puppies came with us and were pretty good while I was driving without A. I was able to get everything I wanted and didn't have to wait long for A when I got back to Kaufland. Back at the house the workmen were carrying on drilling holes to insert the securing pins and then putting mortar over to secure it all in place. It's been a long week, even with the rain interruptions, and they finished up about 5.30, just before I took the men home.

The day has a surprise for us

This country never ceases to amaze

It's curry night, and we love it

After such a completely dreary dull and grey day there was an amazing surprise right at the end of the day in the form of a glorious sunset. I spotted it as I was driving back up the hill after dropping the men off and I paused to snap a shot on my phone from the road before carrying on as I thought it may go before I could get home. I was wrong and was able to go onto the roof terrace to get some pictures and then come back down to get A up to check it out too. Stunning. Chaz had come back over during the day and popped out for a bit with Ivan and when they got back Ivan cooked up the awesome curry Chaz'd brought with him. It was very tasty. We sat up chatting until we were all tired and then bailed to bed; it was going to be a busy start to Saturday.

Saturday

It was set to be a better day on Saturday, weather wise, and also to be a really long and busy one. It turned out to be both. Onwards.

Parents' hotel through the mist

Best of furry friends

Sassy in her old position

Rotated to a temporary home

The carpenter was due to arrive by about 10am and before that there was a list of tasks to be completed. We woke up at a normal time and I got up to make brews then went outside to start sweeping up around Sassy's cage in preparation for moving it. It was a brighter morning with haze in the valley and the sun trying to break through when I went out. Sassy was up and about hopping around happily while I was sweeping and Louise went to say hello and they had a good long nose-to-nose sniff. Once I'd swept and cleared the cage I got help from the workers to shift it round 90 degrees away from the wall so they can get to said wall to insulate it.

Working together to fix the corner

One man on mixing duty

Rambo loves his little black kong

The kitchen, before we cleaned

All the stuff moved, the rubble shifted. Space.

A few units in place; two sinks in left gap, then cooker

The workmen, having helped to shift the run, went back to doing the insulation. Their plan for today was to get the first skim on, with the entire wall covered with the mesh reinforcing. First of all they applied the corner pieces and then the big skim began. Inside A and I had a brew and then we got stuck in clearing the kitchen of building rubbish. The reason for doing this is we will definitely need some extra units making and we needed to work out exactly what we would require. It didn't take long to clear and then measure and position a few existing units around gaps for the sinks and cooker, and then get the chalk on the floor to work out where the island will be. I was so amazed at how much space we will end up with in there and we'll have loads of storage too. We spent time showing Ivan and Chaz around in a virtual tour and I think they were both impressed.

The men get started applying the first skim

Not that long later and it is almost completed

It's an amazing transformation

With the first coat dry, they start putting the second on

Getting towards the end of the day and the second coat is nearly done

Outside it was a day of astounding progress. The men started skimming and fitting the mesh at the far end of the wall and in the sun they went really fast. Not only that but the render went off so fast that they made a foolish promise and told Chaz they would get the second coat done as well. They weren't wrong and by the end of the working day the two skims were complete. At one point, while we were in the kitchen, you could see the render literally steaming it was so warm. The other thing that went on during the morning was the visit of the carpenter. He came with his son, who spoke some English, and we measured around for all the doors we want him to do. There was some discussion about the way we wanted them but then we agreed a price, shook on it and I paid the deposit. At some point in April we'll have all the doors for the back corridor as well a replacement for the dodgy sliding door on the guest suite bathroom. He's also measured up to replace all the doors in the top corridor but I didn't want to delay the installation of the kitchen doors so I'll give him the go ahead on them once the first order is completed.

I really like my cowboy boots

During the afternoon we all headed into town to look at paint for the walls. We chose two shades, right next to each other, and got a small quantity of each to test on the wall so we can decide. We also took a turn around the market which was nice to get out for. Other than that I had a lovely relaxing afternoon playing my game and chilling out. Our evening was something that we have looked forward to all week as we were going for a meal with SandS and then going out to the Jazz Bar again to see Venko's band play. Sadly this was the last ever gig to take place there as it has been bought by someone else and they are converting the entire ground floor into a humongous 600 seat wedding venue. So sad, but never mind. When it came time to get ready I made a snap decision to wear my cowboy boots out so I gave them a scrub (they were truly filthy) and they came out OK so I wore them.

A very tasty Salad of Boss

The Iskander kebab; superb

After we'd eaten; happy and full

We had chosen to eat a little earlier to give us more time to relax before the gig and this turned out to be a really good decision. We reached the restaurant a little before SandS and ordered drinks but they were there after that and we settled down to a wonderful meal. A and I ordered the "chefs special" salad which seems different in every restaurant and this time it was really lovely, drenched in balsamic. After that we had the Iskander kebab which consists of toasted bread soaked in yoghurt with beef pieces over the top, and two different types of rice. There was also some very strange green stuff on the plate which I avoided. There was of course space for the super special desert and all the time we had good conversation and a great time. We left pretty much exactly when we had planned to get to the gig but there was no sense of rushing which was perfect.

This bassist is really very good

The two fronting singers and the keyboard player sing together

This lady has a wonderful smoky voice

Crooning away

Happy, and well they should be. They put on an excellent show

And so onwards to the gig. Ivan was driving which was nice as it gave me the chance to have a few beers and not worry about it. We parked up easily and walked in to find that someone had sat in our reserved seats and wouldn't move when the landlady asked them to however there was just enough space to turn three empty seats into four and we settled down. The same band as had opened the gig the previous week were playing and they were on top form. The room was really busy and everyone was having a lot of fun, singing along and laughing and joking. Both of us snapped pictures through the gig and I also took a great video of a rather superb version of the band singing "Hot Stuff". It was just right, the volume was not too loud and the song choices were perfect.

The guitarist from the second band; a bit of a maestro

Venko with his wife

The bassist stayed to play on this as well

Ripping out the riffs

An enthusiastic reception

Venko singing before he got on stage

The group photograph

After this band finished there was a short break while a new guitarist plugged in and then we were off once again. It appeared that this was going to be the same lineup as the previous week as it was the new guitarist who came on stage. This week there were fewer technical issues (a broken microphone on one amp caused some on stage sound problems but was resolved quickly) and the set was brilliant. It was substantially louder, both in volume and style content, compared to the first band but the crowd lapped it up and so did I. They even played a couple of Whitesnake songs and a Deep Purple track. Brilliant. At the end there was a bit of a speech again about how the place was shutting after five and a half years of fun and then a group photograph was called. The bassist from both the first bands asked us to take some pictures for them which was nice; it may only be the third time we've been but we are already recognised and accepted in this crowd. I hope they do find another venue, and soon.

Venko is quickly into his stride

The really lovely bassist leads the clapping

Playing guitar and singing

Leaning into the beat

Grooving with fast hands

Venko, front man of Olden Beat

Wearing his martenitsa still

I'm sticking my belly out here, honest

The band finished and cleared off and Venko's group got ready to take the stage. Once again this week was just superb and they played out of their skins. Everyone was singing along and there was even dancing several times in the set. We had planned to leave at midnight but when we finally looked at our watches it was 1.30am and the barman was ready to leave so asking for us to pay the bill. The bassist from the first band gave us contact details so I can send the pictures to him which I have done while doing this update. It was a superb night and the puppies were even OK having been left that much longer than planned.

Sunday

Woah, well that took a long time, what with some distractions and me also editing down the pictures for the facebook post. It's nearly time for dinner so I'm just going to sweep through today and try and beat eating time.

Workmen outside while we sip brews inside

Ivan painting the test squares on the wall

Thelma playing with Rambo's toy again

Louise managed to get pigging again

Happily drilling more holes

Asen getting started on another wall

And here we have it at the end of the day

We had a real long lie in after such a late night. The puppies weren't locked back up in their cage and they didn't disturb us at all through the night. We weren't even disturbed when the workmen started before we were up and about. We slept so long that we slept right through the tidying time and so that hasn't happened. I did empty the humanure, as I mentioned earlier, but that was about the extent of my efforts. The men were out really early and were getting on with the tasks left over for the week. There was still work to be done around the windows; the windows have really slowed us down. Mid morning we went out onto the balcony so Ivan could paint the samples on the wall for us to check out. It was not the warmest outside and I had to put a jumper on which is very unusual. The workmen were having a short day today but they still got a fair few more pins put in on the wall round the side, tidied up a few places where the skim wasn't quite right, and even started putting insulation on the wall of the flat roof. They finished up about 3pm and have enjoyed having some time off since.

A wearing my wellies

The two options. Which do you like?

Mud removed; it's not very big

Chopping it up for eating

Ivan put another coat of paint on the sample squares just around lunch time and it was starting to drizzle a bit though now it has cleared up nicely. We left this for a while then, just after Chaz headed back home for the week, went walking out into the orchard to look at the colours. I think we've made our decision but I'll keep it a secret for now; it'd be interesting to hear what you all think so please pop a comment below with which you would choose. While we were in the orchard it was wonderful to see that all but one of the trees has green growth on it, and the only one without is in the deepest shadow so will be the slowest. While we're on the subject of produce we'll be eating our swede in our dinner tonight and I am very excited about this.

Beautiful spring sight

So I've managed to beat dinner and I'm going to publish this now and any further pictures will come in the next update. I'll leave you with this lovely photograph of the flowers in the tortoise garden.

Ciao for now.