Projects

Monday was the day Pat and Don had to depart. We spent the morning with them just chewing the fat. They hadn't been gone more than a short while when we had a text saying could we check the back door as they had problems locking it. Guess who'd been so enthusiastic with the paint brush that she'd glued the lock together? After we'd fixed that with our “Irish screwdriver” we popped round to see Kevin and Annette for coffee. Spent a pleasant afternoon with them which was only broken up when yet another thunderstorm threatened. We made a dash for home. This thunderstorm brought huge hailstones which lay almost like snow, and of course the obligatory power cut. We've had so many of those this year that we wonder if we should have our own generator.

We did a bit of routine shopping the following day (including another oil lamp because of power losses), and then had a relaxing walk along the Altinkum seafront. It was the clearest day we have ever seen here we think, and that allowed us to see Kos and many other tiny islands that have never been apparent before. We had a coffee in the Vista Bar where we met two fresh faces who had just bought an apartment over here. As we sat there who should appear but Kevin and Annette. Doing much the same thing.

Wednesday we had a late start, but as the sun was shining, we walked down to Pine Beach. There was a lot of noise just beyond it, and when we investigated, we found huge construction vehicles demolishing the existing derelict holiday village to make way for a brand new 5 star hotel. On the way back we called in on Tom and Linda to say hello, and during our conversation we discovered that a “For Sale” sign had been placed on Nigel's sister's house. We were sure they didn't know, so we took photos and emailed them to Yo. Sure enough the house was being sold without their knowledge ... what a nightmare!!

Thursday after more enquiries we discovered that someone had possibly put a deposit down on the house that's not for sale. More phone calls to Yo and Nigel.

We are overseeing a couple of projects for friends at the moment, and Ilhan had just started on one of them and needed some money for materials, so we had to get to the bank on Friday. Once that was out of the way, and as the air was quite chill, we settled down indoors and did our Christmas shopping on-line. Good old Tescos.

Saturday as ever was market day, and after that, as the air was still chill, we put on some heating and stayed indoors. We did have a few visitors though which made for a pleasant afternoon.

Sunday was much warmer, the cold wind had disappeared, so after having coffee with Mandy and Lawrence, we all decided to try for a swim down on Gaye 2. Thermometer in hand we strolled down to the jetty where there were many of our Turkish neighbours fishing. The thermometer read 18.6 (65F), so we decided to take the plunge much to the amusement of the Turks, who gathered round and cheered .... so no chance of wimping out now!! After the initial shock it seemed quite pleasant and we stayed in for half an hour. On the way back, another Turkish neighbour called to us. He was doing some metal work for his friend. We mentioned we could do with his skills for our boat trailer which had been slightly damaged when we were bringing the boat home earlier in the month. He said he'd be along at 4pm. True to his word, he was at ours at precisely 4, and set about fixing the trailer. While he was doing that along came Kevin and Annette to show us the anniversary cake we had bought between the four of us for Graham and Anne's party. The party was a great success, and everyone had a good time.

Another of the projects we're overseeing kicked off on Monday, the connecting of Hibiscus Villas to the dirty water system, so we spent a while round there. The builder behind our house started to excavate the swimming pool, can you believe it, right up against our garden wall. Apparently there's little we can do about this. This is what they've managed to build in 4 weeks .. glad it's not ours!! To cheer ourselves up we went to Kevin and Annette's for a farewell coffee as they were returning to UK the following morning. As we were leaving they gave Sue the cakes they had bought for her birthday ... really kind eh?

So, Tuesday was Sue's birthday. We had been planning to hire a car and get away for the day, but for various reasons, including a foul weather forecast; we postponed it until a more suitable day presents itself. As it turned out the weather was fine, so we went for a long walk. Later in the day we ordered two beds and a wardrobe in preparation for the visit of the family next August. Nothing like forward planning.

The furniture arrived Wednesday, so we spent the rest of the day re-arranging the bedrooms to accommodate everyone who's arriving next August, carting beds and furniture up and down 3 flights of stairs. More preparation for the visit, fitting extra power sockets in the top bedroom, and while I (David) got on with that, Sue crossed her fingers for no power cuts during the day, and made our Christmas cake. Her luck was in. We were knackered by the end of the day!

It was a good job Sue chose Wednesday to prepare the cake, as Thursday we had a long power cut, which finished just in time for Sue to make cakes for Pat and Stuart who were visiting in the afternoon.

Bob, who is here for a week, came over on Friday morning to offer us a pile of stone chippings he'd got left from his garden project. So we spent the next couple of hours wheelbarrowing them round to our house, with Bob's help. This has now inspired us to get on with our own project. We want to dig up the “lawn”, as it has totally defeated us. We have planted and re-planted it so many times, but, unless we are constantly, and we mean constantly, pouring water onto it throughout the summer, it just gives up and dies. So the rest of the day was spent digging and re-arranging the garden. A long way to go on this project though.

After market on Saturday we checked again on the project at Hibiscus Villas, which is almost finished now. A digger was expected at 10am but arrived at 2 pm to dig the road and make the final connection to the main sewer. Our own project is on hold due to the garden being waterlogged from the previous night's thunderstorms.