Making Milestones

28 - 30 September 2016

Another three days of work on the interior plaster.  We're at the stage now where almost every day can be another milestone: that bit completed; all done up to there.  It's very exciting, and encourages us to press on through our usual level of time-for-tea slothfulness.

 Here's me coating the final bare bale in the living room.  It's been a very long wait for this milestone

 and Dave admiring the result - look, no straw!

 Meanwhile, outside, Beso has finished all the external under-eaves paintwork, and just has to come back to varnish the uprights that we want to remain wood colour.

 Our aloe vera has put out a flower!

 And a Praying Mantis showed up to inspect the works.  They're very good for the garden, and this one is huge!  It must be a good omen. 

On Thursday, the choir had nowhere to practice, so I invited them to the house.  It gave us an incentive to clean up, and get all the loose straw swept up. 

After choir, I was getting a lift to Dave's gig in Lefkas when the woodyard rang to say they'd loaded the truck and were on the way.  I said I was going out.  They sent it anyway.  We passed it on the way to Lefkas, and then got back at midnight to find it in the garden.

So we brought in the plywood and insulation roll (in green), amongst the choir chairs, to be sorted out in the morning.

Friday 30 Sept - Two of the top panels lathed and top coat plastered - working from the left.

Going Strong

26 - 27 September 2016

 Beso is nearly all the way round the house with the first coat.

 Lathing has reached this corner by the entry, one of the last wall sections to be built

 Tuesday 27th, lunchtime.  The tall panel to the right of the middle door is finally done and the top right sections of the (no longer) bare bales behind the scaffolding.  We've had many months of looking at those and wanting to see them covered up.

Tuesday 27th, teatime.  All the wall on the left, below the ringbeam, is done, and one of the sections to the right of the entry door too.  Moving on.

More help from our friends

23-24 Sept 2016

We're still working Sundays, although the season is starting to slow down, but apart from that, our focus now is all on getting the inside moving along. 

 A couple of days were needed to fill in most of the areas still needing laths

 Then they have to be covered in blue plasterer's mesh (lots of stapling)

 Dmitri and Liana came back for another session, and we taught them how to lime plaster.  They have moved into the village up the mountain from us - Neohori, and are friends of Panos and Lucy's.  Dmitri plays drums in 'Liquid Lake' with Panos and Takis.

 Takis came too, and spent a happy day meditatively cutting short straw - making bags of gold treasure, he said, for us to put in the plaster

While Dave and I moved the scaffolding inside to be able to get a base coat on the remaining bare bales in the top South West corner.

Under the Eaves

Weds 21 Sept 2016

Our Albanian contact, Beso, who has pruned the olive trees and felled the monster cypresses, is finally here to start painting under the eaves.  We decided this was not a job we could do - it needs linear scaffolding, rather than our tower, and people who are a little more nimble on ladders than us.

We've asked for an orange coat of super rain-resistant primer, and then three coats of a just-off-white acrylic, painted over onto the limewash, so that when we put a final top coat on, it will have several overlaps for weatherproofing.

Regatta and Rally 2016

12 to 16 September 2016

All last week, in between rainstorms we did our best to prep the boat and do some essential repairs, as this week we are taking time out to do four days of yacht racing. 

 Dave was roped in as guest guitarist at Steamboat Rooster's gig on Tuesday on Meganissey

 Our race crew, Pete and Naomi, chilling out after a hard day's drifting

 The photo of the racing that sums up the four days.  Glassy seas and drooping sails ...

 ... and the crew nipping off for a swim!

 Thursday, Regatta day, passing the committee boat ...

... where the other three members of 'Pants People' 70s revival dance troupe run through an impromptu rehearsal for the show tonight

Readying for Action

19 - 21 Sept 2016

Monday morning after Regatta week, we're all fired up to do the internal walls.  We have a few areas that are still bare bales inside, as well as many segments of the wood frame that need lathing to bring the final finish flush with the front of the wood frame.  (What a lot of 'f' words, and no swearing)

 First we moved the living area into the kitchen end.  It's a bit cramped, but manageable

 Then I started on building this missing bit of wall that we used as a door while the living room was full of bales.  But I realised that we didn't have enough lath wood to do this yet.  We need to organise a delivery.

 The weather has gone rainy again.  This was the moment the scenery disappeared!

 One of the areas needing to be lathed - a painstaking job around those blue bottles.  And still bare straw above

Dave cuts the laths, and I fix them to the wall

Downtime

3 - 9 Sept 2016

Walked down the garden and to our surprise, found this watermelon.  The only one on the whole plant, and it appeared apparently overnight!  Just in time to feed the workforce. 

 Now the walls are waterproofed with with all the coats of limewash, it can rain - bring it on!

 The kitchen gekko got trapped in the sink, so for once I could get a photo of it.  Then we helped it escape with a tea towel ladder.

After all our whitewashing, Dave has a bad shoulder, so Liana came to give him reflexology treatments

 Meanwhile, I'm rehearsing hard with the girls for our Regatta turn: 'Pant's People' 70s revival dance troupe performing to 'Mamma Mia' (a la Pan's People off Top of the Pops).  Finally, I'm going to get on that Regatta stage as a performer myself!

  

What a Whitewash!

26 August to 2 September 2016

Finally, some time to get the work on the house moving.  Lots of coats of limewash to go on. 

 Friday 26 Aug, Dave gets started on the area around the front door

 

Weds 31 Aug, we're onto the main west wall.  Liana and Dmitri (below) come to help, and everything speeds up radically

 

 Thurs 1 Sept, most of the first coat is on all round.  Just visible under the shadow is the overlap of the new pure white coat, against the two year old pigmented coat

 End of the day, Friday 2 Sept, last bits of the third coat being touched up.

 Dave on the scaffolding outside the bedroom window

And there she is, three coats of limewash, and all window outer frames painted.