Monday we went into Ruse to do a last big food shop. The weather forecast for Wednesday onwards is plummeting temperatures and snow so we are stocking up on dry goods just in case we cannot get out of the village. Whilst in Ruse we also get the hardware for making the stair rails this week. Our evenings are spent having a nice meal together, a couple glasses of wine then a DVD or two. We have the complete collection of Only Fools and Horses so tonight starts our marathon viewing of the entire series over the week.
Tuesday sees sunny but cold weather so I decide to build the staircase rails for the second floor let whilst Pamela continues to write her Reiki courses. So off to Opaka to buy wood which is so cheap, although twists and irregular lengths are common. I cut the lengths I needed in the woodyard and loaded the car (read overloaded - van scenario again - I'll never learn) to save on delivery costs.
The builders are doing an amazing job as always and are tiling the groundfloor bathrooms today and sanding down ready for painting. No photos yet as I want you to see what an amazing transformation and in such a short time they have done.
Before
Completed
On Wednesday a neighbour who has no transport needs to get into Ruse to get food ready for the big snow shutdown so we take her in our car. Whilst there Pamela purchases some more fabric so that she can make all the curtains. This morning before we left there was no water from the mains in the village so I had to go to the spring and fill some water bottles. Upon our return from Ruse it had been restored. This is the third time in 10 weeks this has happened but is just one of the quirks of our village life.
By Thursday I have completed one side of the stair handrails and just manage to finish the varnishing as heavy rain starts to fall. They don't look too bad considering I have never made anything like it before. It has been too cold for the snow that they have forecast for today. Pamela is doing some computer work and then makes a new apron out of a vinyl tablecloth.
Making her new apron
New apron finished
On Friday I set off for Opaka again as I am building a set of rails for the other side of the steps now. The rest of the day is spent making the rails whilst Pamela sews the new curtains. That evening though we are totally fed up with Only Fools and Horses so time for a film instead. Thankfully we have a good film library.
Saturday is varnishing day despite the cold weather. A few hours later and the stair rails are totally finished. They look good and have given me the confidence to tackle the building of the new steps at the front of the house. I have been researching how to make them on the internet and just now need to resource the materials which may be harder than it sounds. More research is needed. This afternoon the snow started. Today was also our wedding anniversary. We are both so unaware of days, dates and time now we both forgot and it was only a post from my sister on facebook that reminded us. Luckily we had a bottle of sparkly in the emergency rations, as you would. I cooked us a Chinese, almost successfully, and we had a nice evening with a glass or two. Later that evening the electricity went off. Hope it is not for too long as we only have a small electric heater for upstairs.
Anniversary bubbly
It snowed very heavily overnight and we had about 20cms of snow. The electricity is still off so we go downstairs and set up the new chimney for the log burner so that we can get some heat and will be able to cook jacket potatoes in the fire. Yummy. Putting the chimney together was a task and a half. Only four lengths of metal tubing that slide into each other. Each one was less than a millimetre out but enough to cause a nightmare sliding them into each other. Nearly an hour later and they are fitted, just as the electrics come back on!
Snow covered grape vines
Must clear the snow from that electric cable
Winter Wonderland
Our lane has already been snowploughed twice today but is still thick with snow
I had cleared this doorway an hour earlier
I spend the rest of the day clearing snow from the flat roofs and the potting shed. At least it is not too cold, only minus 3, and the shovelling keeps me warm. A local farmer has a snowplough attachment on his tractor as is keeping the village roads as clear as he can. It continues to snow really heavily all day and by lunchtime it is knee to thigh deep. In the drifts it is waist high. The internet is down for most of the day and seems more of an inconvenience than the electricity being off!! We rely on the internet for so much, communication and translation being the most important. The dogs however are having an amazing time playing in the snow.......
Maizi and Marple having fun
Up to Maizi's belly
My ball is here somewhere
Marple in a sea of snow
The snow continues to fall heavily and temperatures are forecast to drop to minus 16 this week. Fun times ahead but not sure how long before the novelty will wear off!!
Stay safe and warm everyone.
We were expecting a lot and weren't disappointed, beautiful but it has left us with damaged trees and a flattened polytunnel! Like you, we have been lost without the internet, we didn't realise how much we relied on it till it wasn't there. It's one thing in summer, but an entirely different thing when housebound. We had a short electricity cut, unlike a lot of the village who were off for 35 hours. With eggs in the incubator the worry of an hour was bad enough
ReplyDeleteKeep warm and safe. It will soon be spring!