A bonfire day

Today started off cold and rainy and ended being nice enough to have our dinner on the balcony.

Bekir applies a skim to the block wall

Hammering nails through thin metal to hold the insulation in place

Bekir gets to more grafting

A duck having a swim

This morning when the men arrived, after heading over to our friends house again to get their car started, they were up into the roof once more to continue up there. Bekir started off skimming more of the wall while Halil cut and fitted insulation to finish the wall of the corridor nicely to the ceiling. They then worked together to secure the insulation in place and then did a first skim over the top of that as well. After lunch Bekir was grafting more pear cuttings onto the saplings on the back bank; these are ones that he brought from his own village for us, from a good tree for fruit apparently. I was checking out our grey water sump pump and enjoyed seeing the duck in the pond, though that pond really needs a clean!

Fire burning well

Halil stoking and stacking

Bekir skimming near the top of the stairs

Halil cleaning the windows

With the grafting done it was decided that today was a good opportunity to burn off the waste wood and grass cuttings from last year so after some struggle Halil got the fire lit and then it burned very well and removed a lot of the old rubbish that was lying around up on the top bank. Once it had burned down enough they headed to the shop to pick up the rest of the bird netting however they'll fit that tomorrow as they wanted to finish the jobs they were on with in the roof. Halil did more plastering and then took himself to clean the windows at the end, inside and out, while Bekir continued applying the first skim to all the block walls.

Rosie bounces high

After school there was again time to play on the balcony with Rosie including a very fun bouncing session on the trampoline.

So that's the day; it was so nice to be out on the back bank while we did the bonfire; the fresh air and sunshine did me a lot of good. Thanks for reading and back tomorrow.

Run out of netting so back to the roof

Today has been another good day of progress, though it has rained pretty much all day so it hasn't been quite as lovely to be outside in.

The ladder is VERY close to Maisie

Maisie moved and the second side being started

Cleaning the edges by the window

Halil gets to the paint

Reinforcing the corner above the door

Putting a little step in place

Some protection from the elements

First thing the men were out into the car port again putting up as much more of the bird netting as they could. They ran out before finishing it all and unfortunately the shop hadn't yet taken its order that was expected to arrive today. With that job done for now they headed up to the roof and Bekir continued to work on the end window wall, cleaning up the plaster around the windows and making it look nice. Halil was inside the crawl space on the left painting the ceiling in there, cramped up. I think they really enjoyed getting outside to the carport for a bit. With the windows done Bekir then began working on the edge above the doorway; he fitted a wooden batten and then secured the plaster edging into place before sealing it all up with plaster. Finally he was able to build a step and cement it in by the door; this should hopefully prevent some of the little leaks we have had by this door during very heavy rain. At some point today he also fitted plastic bags over the top of the grafts (sorry for getting that wrong yesterday) to protect them from too much rain.

Rosie drawing flowers

After work I had a lovely nap on my recliner then had a lot of fun with Rosie on the balcony. She jumped on her trampoline then we played "cafe owner" in her play house before throwing the bean bags for a bit that Grandma bought her for Christmas and finally she did some drawing. It was great.

Bird netting and deliveries

Today has been another busy busy day for me; I didn't actually get outside to take any pictures all morning until just before lunch time.

Battens on the outside of the mesh now

Round the corner and looking secure

Transplanting some pear cuttings

Lots of lovely flowers in Angela's garden

Unloading a roll of carpet

Bekir fitting the netting to the roof

Before they came here Bekir and Halil met Angela at our friend's house to do a few bits and pieces so they were quite late arriving here. They then suggested, and I fully agreed, that they should batten the side mesh on with a strip of wood outside to prevent it billowing and pulling away from its staples so they headed down to pick up some thin strips to complete this. It did not take long once they got back to fit these and it is now very secure. At some point today Bekir also did some more fruit tree transplanting this time putting some pear cuttings into some saplings along the back bank. Halil also pointed out to me that Angela's little flower garden with lots of bulbs is also coming along very nicely; we need to move the blocks that are stacked here preventing light from getting to them! Towards the end of the day we had two deliveries almost at the same time. First the chests of drawers I'd ordered arrived and then the carpet for the attic however this turned out to be quite a drama as I'd forgotten to add the skirting board to the order so we had some discussion whether it was missing from the truck before I checked my order. I've placed that extra order now though. With all the unloading done the men got back to the bird netting and we agreed a plan for the roof which they have been cracking on with. We're nearly finished with this little side task now.

Rosie having fun making sandcastles

The stones that I need to clear

"Look at how strong I am!"

Tiny little preying mantis on a stone

Hanging out at the top of the bank

After work, and when Rosie got back from school, I headed outside to have some time with her and do some tasks I've been wanting to get stuck into for a few days. Rosie made sandcastles and I helped her in between loading up the wheelbarrow with stones from above the chicken run to put into our waste pile. After a bit Rosie decided she wanted to help which was great other than she asked be to pushed back up the hill while sat in the barrow so no rest for me. We saw a tiny preying mantis and also lots of spiders and got loads done. We even had time to sit up on Grandma's Seat at the top of the top bank and chill for a bit before dinner.

The return of the Stork

The last picture for now is one Angela took on her way back from collecting Rosie - the stork is back in the village below us; Spring has officially Sprung!

So there you are; a busy and productive and fun day. Thanks for reading and back tomorrow.

Another epic weekend, and bird proofing

Monday nights are always daunting as I'm tired from the day at work and then I've got three days to write about. So let's get to it.

Rosie is growing up so fast

She still loves these machines though

A tray of flowers for Angela to plant

Spud rows hoed out of the garden

Angela gets them planted

Starting to dig up the thistles

A wheel barrow full of lords and ladies

Rosie proud of all her sandcastles

Clouds reflect the sunset

Saturday was an awesome and busy day. First thing I took Rosie out into town to do some shopping for various bits and pieces. She pushed the trolley around Kaufland and then had a lot of fun on the noisy machine when we left. We picked up some lovely flowers for Angela which she planted almost as soon as we got home. When we did get home I was straight into the fenced garden to help dig out the rows for the spuds and then Angela followed me and planted out all the remaining spuds she had. I was by this time into the garden with the fork first of all digging up all the thistles I could see, and then going after the "lords and ladies" that have sprung up everywhere as they are poisonous! Rosie, all this time, was being such a good girl. She was playing on her scooter a bit but mostly she was over in the sand pile making multiple sand castle. Brilliant. It was lovely all day, though towards the end of the day the wind did pick up, and the sunset was quite lovely indeed.

Rosie doing a jigsaw puzzle

Back out in the garden in the sand pit

I put a feather in my hat

Car fridge fits perfectly

Time for a picnic on the grass

This pizza was actually very nice

Sunday was Rosie's day with Mummy and she had a great day again. First thing there was play time including some jigsaw puzzles and then a bit of time outside as well. Later on Angela took her to town and they found a new play area that was really good fun so they were out for ages. I took the time to treat my hat with oil, and then fit a feather into the hat band. It looks great. I also check out Maisie, tested the new car fridge and also put the new magnetic charging thing for my phone in. When Angela and Rosie got home I was just spreading the rug out so we could have a picnic on the lawn. The afternoon was much quieter as everyone recovered from their morning and then in the evening we went to our favourite restaurant where I had pizza and Rosie played and played and played.

Supplies have been purchased

Bekir fixing battens to the steel

Mo gets her annual service

Starting to fit the mesh

Halil securing with staples

And so we reach today and it was a mix up day for the men as the weather was so nice we could get a few more bits done outside. One of the plans for the car port is to eventually wall it in and get a roller shutter for the front however that won't be for a while yet now. I asked the men to get some fine bird netting to put around the edge of the space and also to suspend from the ceiling to prevent the swallows and house martins from nesting in all the tempting corners. I had also asked Halil to bring his mechanic friend over to check out Mo and today he arrived, with his young son who had a lot of fun on Rosie's old scooter bike. Anyway, through the day and involving quite a few trips out for parts we now have a working Mo again and also the mesh is up around the outside of the space. Tomorrow they'll be working on the roof.

Plum blossom is just stunning

Rosie with her chalk writing

Swinging from her new swing

The bulbs are looking amazing

Fun with friends

To round the day out a few more general pictures. Firstly the plum tree is blossoming so awesomely right now it's incredible. The smell from this is amazing and there were so many bees on it today that you could hear them from up the patio! When Rosie got home from school she had a lot of fun with the chalks drawing on the pump house then went onto the swing for quite a while having lots of fun. The tortoise garden is looking amazing right now as well. Finally, after we did the watering of the garden, she get her trike out and the Other Brother's son came over to play with Rosie for a bit which was awesome.

So there it is; I hope you enjoyed reading, and thank you for doing so. Back tomorrow.