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| This week :) |
Saturday 8th
Up early today to start work. So, we've thought it through a bit and realised that in order to be able to put the walls up we first need to cut out the old ceiling beams that we don't want. But we want to use the old ceiling beams, whilst they are up, as it will make it a whole lot easier to plaster/paint/varnish the ceiling. THEREFORE the next job is to plaster/paint/varnish the ceiling so we can then take the beams out and finish building the walls. We also want to plaster the ceiling and mezzanine all in one go to avoid any dodgy joins. So today I got to work on taping and joining all the gaps in the mezzanine whilst Pete sanded back and went over a few bits of filler we'd missed before.
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| Taping and filling in the mezzanine |
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| The ceiling |
Pete finished first so he then went downstairs to paint the reveals of the front doors so that we can fit the glass in them this week. These jobs, along with the regular chores, ended up taking us all day. It was a pretty cold and miserable day so we decided to have a fire in the woodburner tonight, and have done almost every other night this week as the temperatures have really dropped in the evenings. For dinner I made a cauliflower curry which was very nice, if I do say so myself.
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| Painting the reveals beige |
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| Cauliflower and spinach curry |
Sunday 9th
We had arranged for S & G to pop over around midday today as well as for Veso to come over for an afternoon beer, so thought we'd better not start any big jobs today. Instead we did a big tidy up upstairs and carried on with the small bit of stud work above the stone wall - we managed to get that finished just before S & G arrived. They'd come over to borrow something from us and had also kindly offered to help us carry our oven upstairs from the van - we hadn't been able to move it ourselves! Pete and G were able to get it to the house quite easily and then it took all four of us helping to manoeuvre it up the stairs, but we did it without any issues - yay! They then stayed for a cuppa before heading home.
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| Message on the old wall from Pete's dad |
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| Cleaning up |
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| Opening the doors to make room for the cooker to come through |
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| Small stud work above the stone wall |
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| ... and the cooker is upstairs! |
Once they'd gone we did a bit more work upstairs. We fitted some more stud work in the mezzanine and even plasterboarded it, as well as doing a couple of other fiddly bits of stud work around the edges and then Veso turned up for a beer. It was a lovely sunny day today so we were able to enjoy the warmth and pretend it was still summer for a couple of hours! Veso didn't stay long and once he'd gone Pete started to make dinner whilst I collected a few walnuts and then sat on the balcony de-husking them until the sun went down and it was time to go inside. We then had an early dinner and another night by the fire.
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| Me fitting the stud work |
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| One side of the mezzanine |
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| Veso bought us some of his walnuts - look at the size of them compared to ours! |
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| Peeling walnuts on the balcony |
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| Balcony view |
Monday 10th
Today we'd organised to go to Chirpan with Hristo - one of the cast iron pan supports on our cooker was broken and a normal welder wouldn't fix it so Hristo wanted to take us to a friend of his who could help us. He was picking us up at 7.30 so we were up, in the dark, at about 6.30 to get ready and have a cup of tea.
He picked us up and we first went to his parent's apartment to have a coffee. Whilst there he decided to get out a selection of his homemade knives and swords to show us! They were actually very impressive (he used to make them for a living) and Pete especially like the swords. Anyway, we then left to go and have soup for breakfast (nothing like a bit of lamb liver at 8 in the morning) and then onwards to the welder man. The man was able to fix our pan support, and for free as well, but annoyingly it is slightly wonky - perhaps due to the fact he was welding with no mask on so probably couldn't see a bloody thing! Oh well, at least it is in one piece now, so that is an improvement.
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| Morning at Hristo's |
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| Swords! |
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| Getting our pan support welded |
We then asked Hristo to help us pay a tax we needed to pay for our van (in order to get an MOT.) We had to do this in the Municipality Office (the council) and we were very happy he was there as we got sent to several different doors and had to fill in a form. With Hristo's help we got this sorted easily. He then had to go and do a bit of work for an hour or so, so we went back to his apartment and had lunch with his wife whilst we waited.
By the time we were home it was mid afternoon and a very miserable day outside. We had a cuppa and did a few chores and then decided to go out for walk. I'd been wanting to walk out to where the forest fires had been in summer so we decided to go there and ended up being out for a couple of hours. The burnt forest, although obviously very sad, was also very eerie and beautiful and we enjoyed walking through and taking photos.
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| Pete's getting into the Bulgarian look! |
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| Lavender fields |
The burnt forest...
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| The edge of the fire... into the greenery |
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| This area was completely burnt |
Back home I de-husked a load more walnuts whilst Pete made dinner - this evening we had oyster mushrooms (bought in Chirpan today from a gas station - as you do!) in garlic butter with broccoli, and it was lovely. Another fire and another night in watching movies.
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| Stained fingers from peeling walnuts |
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| Oyster mushrooms |
Tuesday 11th
Our MOT was due this month and we wanted to get it done asap in case of any problems. When we'd registered our van on Bulgarian plates we'd just turned up and got the MOT on the day, so we weren't sure if we needed to book the place in Chirpan or not. We got up early and planned to get to the garage for 9 so we were first in line if it was a first come first serve situation. We'd set the alarm for 7.30 and I got up to collect walnuts for half an hour before we went out - it had been very windy last night so there were quite a few lying on the ground.
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| Morning walnut harvest with Lucy |
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| Morning views |
We were in Chirpan just after 9, but as it turned out we had to book so we booked the only available spot for tomorrow and then decided to head to Stara Zagora to do some shopping. We'd been planning our electrics yesterday and realised we really needed to have bought all of our appliances for the kitchen before we start the wiring, so off we went. We were out for the entire day and came back with loads of goodies - including, amongst other things, a boiler, a radiator, a sink and an extractor fan. I didn't much enjoy the day as I had bad wisdom tooth ache, but it was very successful and we are happy with all our purchases! :)
Back home it was pouring with rain so we didn't unpack and instead just headed inside to light the fire and watch a film.
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| Rainy afternoon |
Wednesday 12th
Another early start this morning and we started the day by unloading the van and then giving it a bit of a clear out and getting it ready for the MOT. Once this was done, and we'd had some brekkie, we went up stairs to make a start on the wiring. Although we are not confident with actually connecting anything to the fuse box, we are more than happy with getting all wires in place and fitting sockets, as we've learnt how to do it and managed to do all of downstairs ourselves!
We did a few of hours of work before we had to get ready to go to our 2.30 MOT appointment. We were feeling slightly nervous about this as we've had so many problems with the van, but we passed with no problem and were out again by 3 o'clock - result! We stopped of to get a few bits from the shops, before heading back home and carrying on with the wiring. We managed to get 3 walls done and we were quite pleased with our efforts. :)
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| Appliances stored in the 'horrible room' |
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| Wiring in the front wall |
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| Wiring in the back wall |
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| Neatly tacking the exposed wires |
This evening I wanted to make a leek and cheese quiche for dinner as we'd got loads of leeks at the market last week. I've not made a quiche before and I didn't realise just how long it took to cook - I didn't start it until 7ish, after I'd peeled another basket of walnuts, and we didn't end up eating until about 9.45! Oh well, it was very tasty and there was enough for tomorrows lunch as well!
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| Our walnuts so far (nothing compared to last year) |
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| Cat :) |
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| Quiche :) |
Thursday 13th
Now we actually had a whole, uninterrupted day ahead of us Pete wanted to get on with plastering the ceiling. I couldn't help him much with doing that, so, other than changing the CD's and passing him up tools, I left him upstairs to get on with it.
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| The master plasterer |
I then spent the morning putting the glass in the front doors. We used tacks to fix it in place and then I put putty all around the edges, This took a while to get into but once I'd got a technique going it was actually very easy. I then fitted the locks properly and now, for the first time since we arrived here, we have a properly closing, sealed front door! Hoorah!
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| Glass! |
Pete was still working away, so after we'd had lunch, I went up to the orchard to dig a big hole and plant the wisteria plant we'd bought a couple of weeks ago. We want it to grow up and over the toilet block to soften the huge structure so I planted it at the edge and tied the longest vine to one of the wooden panels. We'll add some wires at a later date. I also used spare piping to lead the water from the sinks to the base of the plant - we are still using the compost toilet so the sinks are used everyday and it seems like a good way to keep the plant watered. Once that was done I went around and shook all the walnut trees and collected more walnuts before going down and doing a bit of work in the veg garden. I harvested the last of the chillies and pulled up all the dead courgette plants. I also pulled up the old chard and spinach but left all the leaves on the bed as I've read they will rot down and add nutrients to the soil. We've also decided to let the chickens in the veg garden, now we have no seedlings growing, as they will peck through the soil, turn it over and poo all over it - which is also good for nutrients next year!
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| Big hole |
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| Wisteria in place |
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| Temporary watering device |
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| Collecting walnuts |
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| Chard and spinach all gone |
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| Almost empty beds |
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| Todays tiny harvest |
Pete finished working at around six and he'd managed to get all of the ceiling done, and it looks fantastic. Because our plastering skills are nowhere near expert we'd decided to experiment with a 'honey comb' roller brush to give the plaster a textured effect. This meant Pete didn't have to spend ages on making sure it was all smooth with no trowel marks, he could instead just slap it up and then roller over it. This technique worked a treat and made this difficult job much easier.
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| Looking fab |
It had been a warm and sunny day today so we went to the top of the orchard to have a glass of wine and enjoy the last of the sunshine before making dinner and heading in for another cosy evening.
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| Glass of wine in the orchard |
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| Lucy enjoys the sunset too |
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| Beautiful sky |
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| Moon rising - nearly full |
Friday 14th
Market day. We did the usual food shop and builders merchants rounds before heading home, giving Hristo's wife a lift back to the village. We also picked up five other locals who were waiting at the bus stop on our way home - we do this every week if we see people we know, especially since we now know what it's like to not have a vehicle!
Anyway, back home we unpacked the shopping and did the daily chores before cracking on with work. I wanted to have a go at plastering so I got on with plastering the ceiling in the mezzanine whilst Pete was in the kitchen making a chicken stock. For the last year-ish we've been saving all our chicken bones in a bag in the freezer, so today he got them all and boiled them in water with veg. There was 11 litres of stock, which he let simmer for the rest of the day. He also got dinner in the oven and then came in to help me and sanded back the plastering he'd done yesterday.
There wasn't very much plastering to do in the mezzanine so it didn't take me long to finish. I then did a bit of fillering and started caulking the areas already plastered. I did this until one bottle of caulk run out and we called it day.
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| Mezzanine plastered |
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| Bottom section of the mezzanine taped and joined |
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| Caulking |
In the evening we had dinner early (we are eating indoors every night now by the way) and then headed out to the bar to see S & G. Their son was there too and we had a great night with them having a few beers. The bar was actually very busy as the hunting season is in full swing now and there are a lot of hunters around at the weekends.
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| At the bar |
Saturday 15th
We'd stayed at the bar until quite late so a lie in was in order today until we dragged ourselves out of bed to have breakfast outside in the sunshine! Feeling re-fuelled we got ourselves into gear and carried on work upstairs. I finished the caulking whilst Pete finished his stock - he reduced 11 litres down to less than one litre and then let it set. He then cut them into individual cubes and froze them - we now how our own delicious, homemade stock cubes - yum!
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| Homemade stock cubes |
Once all the caulking was finished and dry we both got out the brushes and started painting the first coat on the ceiling. Because of the textured effect and all the awkward manoeuvring we needed to do this ended up taking about 4 hours to finish - even with us both doing it. It wasn't an un-enjoyable job though and we whiled away the time listening to music. We were expecting Veso to come over at 4.30 and we finished and cleaned up with five minutes to spare! We were covered in paint but Veso didn't mind and we spent the next couple of hours with him, having a beer in the last of the sunshine.
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| Under coat finished |
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| Pete and Veso looking chilly in the garden |
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| Cloudy sunset tonight |
As it started to get dark it also got very cold so Veso headed home and we went inside to start the fire. For dinner I made pasta with homemade 'pesto' - made with basil, roasted tomatoes and walnuts, it was good. We also made up the bed in the yellow room as we'd been thinking it was a waste to leave a warm room to go to bed in a cold one, so we've been sleeping in there since then.
Sunday 16th
We woke up to a cold, grey, drizzly, miserable morning so stayed under the covers with a cup of tea for as long as possible! Eventually we did get up as we wanted to get on with painting the ceiling and we spent the whole day doing that. We've chosen an off-white colour (Egyptian Cotton, actually) so you can't really tell the difference from the photos! This paint was much thicker than the white undercoat so took even longer to paint onto the textured plaster. We finished the first coat early afternoon and just as we were washing our brushes our friend D popped over. He was here to give us some advice on our electrics, which was very helpful and reassuring. We had a cuppa and he went through all the sockets, separate appliances and lighting with us, and then headed off. What kind and helpful friends we have here. :)
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| Bad photo of me painting! |
Once D had gone the first coat on the ceiling had dried - showing up any small patches we'd missed. I went over everything with a watered down second coat whilst Pete took Lucy out for a walk, did the washing up and did a bit of a tidy. Just as we finished working it started to pour with rain, but it wasn't too cold today so we sat under the roof over-hang on the balcony and watched the rain for a while.
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| Hanging out on the balcony |
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| Rain rain |
When it got dark we went inside to eat dinner and watch films. We actually didn't need the fire on tonight as it was much warmer, but it rained all night long.
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| 'Stroke my chin!' |
Monday 17th
The rain was still going this morning and again it was difficult to get ourselves going on such a horrible day. In the morning we skyped Pete's mum briefly and then had eggs on toast inside before finally going upstairs to start work. We even needed to put extra lighting upstairs today because it was so dark and cloudy outside.
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| Autumnal, grey day |
Today we spent the whole day painting the ceiling beams with linseed oil. We started by sanding all the beams back to smooth them out and remove any paint that we'd got on them. We also had to brush them all down as they were still covered in dust from many years of being in the attic. The linseed oiling was fine and, again, we just had the music blasting and spent the day singing along with CDs! It did take a while as I had to keep moving my ladder and Pete had to keep swinging between the beams to make sure we could reach all sides of the purlin. The difference it has made is incredible though, and we are so pleased with our, now finished, ceiling. It really looks amazing and we can't wait to get the old ceiling beams down to properly reveal it!
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| Oiling the beams |
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| The wood is a gorgeous colour once oiled |
It's been another evening in the yellow room, with the fire keeping us toasty tonight. Pete made meatballs for dinner whilst I've written the blog and we've watched TV.
It's actually nice to be inside now for the evenings - although, I have to say, I'm not a fan of the shorter days, which seem to have arrived quite suddenly. Anyway, thanks for reading! Until next time xxx
