Well, I Bought Me a Car!

That was a job long overdue for sure.

Now I have a 2 year staying visa underway, I have decided now is the time to look for a car.
Decided I only wanted a Datsun/Nissan, as they seem fairly common over here and as I've had 4 Datsuns in my car life and a Mitsubishi once...I think that is all, so, Nissan it had to be.

So, I made my mind up last week to get one in early March, after I come back and the freezing weather has gone and guess what?

Yes, a friend has a friend who has a car for sale in March of next year.
And it is a Nissan
And the price is exactly what I wanted to pay...
And it is a right hand drive, with me being dyslexic, it seems OK to drive.
I had a go today and it has gears, so I'm chuffed actually.

It has Winter and Summer tyres, 4 doors and is a waggon type vehicle with a back lift up boot door..with a couple of tow bars, one for a caravan and one for trailer.

Plus the 3 back seats lay down to make a waggon, or can take one out and the remaining 2 slide across and lay down like beds.

It is grey and in good nick. I will get in in March and it is registered until May, so that will give me time to get the car changed over to my details etc.

Hoping Peter comes across next year to check it out for me too...
Did not take my camera shopping with me, so no pics of it yet.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dog is getting really big now and sleeps most of the time. she will probably have the pups the day I leave...dohhh...
I'll miss the best time with them, but never mind, as long as someone is here to look after her.

That is the most important thing as it will be the dead of winter...and possibly snowing.

The lovely flowers are lasting well. One bush on the far left is done, but it was out a month before the others, so it did its job!

Imre replastered in places, the verandah this week, repaired the pillars, built in the bottom part of the end of the verandah in readiness to have glass put in to stop the wind, plus he painted it.

Crying here because we have to paint over the lovely stencil work...and repair the walls.

He is working extra days while it is sunny weather and tomorrow he puts the doors back on the old pantry and I'll lock up my private stuff in there while I have house guests with the 6 year old. .

Look at all the stuff on the floor that was loose and easily came off as he scraped lightly...

Now to attack my bedroom window...1 of 3 in the room. Each window has 6 windows in it...and are in wooden frames! So another job I ditched and am now giving to Imre to do!

Then he'll build me some tool shelves... and next week, when the timber finally arrives from Romania, he'll build the wall for the bathroom and the kitchen guy will make me a special, antique looking, shorter bathroom door to suit the rest in the house.

So hard to finally have to bite the bullet and get the verandah repaired. I did appreciate the beautiful paint job on it though..

Yeah, well if you don't know, you end up with guys popping anything anywhere! The long wooden thing held the old power metres from last century. Imre filled that hole in today with bricks and rendered over it...

All nearly finished now...then he'll paint it all white and I'll try and work out what colour to paint the verandah as white is too bright.

Found a piece of old paint chip and thought I'd photograph it to match some paint at the paint shop...and was surprised when I looked at the pic...It looks familiar...like a pregnant map of OZ, doesn't it?

Then in the middle of it all, the power man came and replaced my 2 year old electric metres with new ones. Had I have known they were digital, I would have refused...especially after "the attack of the toasters", as it is known, when we lost internet service in USA and half of Europe a few weeks ago. It was caused by hackers directing signals from the capacitor things in fridges, washing machines, toasters etc all towards particular internet websites and they all crashed. That was a test ...well, those who know what I'm talking about will know what I'm talking about!

My poor old garden has lost all its leaves for winter...

Long shadows in the midday sun! Yup, 12 MD...Look how low the sun is and it set just on 3.40pm today!

Another big week and so much more to do.
Each job completed makes for 4 more.


Imre did the verandah walls, that now leads to the ceiling above and on to the outside of the house...

• then that leads up to the eaves, 
• leads to the gutters, 
• leads to the drain pipes, 
• leads to the cementing of the path around the house they all do over here, 
• leads to...painting the back and sides of the house, 
• leads to repairing the front of the house, (we did not do in Sept as I went to visit family)
• leads to painting of the windows, 
• leads to putting tiles on the sills, 
• leads to...

That's only some of the jobs to complete on the outside!

But now I have Imre, he does it all, like a pro, while I find more jobs for him to do!
My job this week is to complete the brick paving of the path Zoltan pulled up when he dug the drain pipes in a few months ago.

I prepared the 3 beds for my "Mexican, Croatian, Polish" family for next week, did a bunch of Xmas shopping, went back to Debrecen to take back a document for my visa renewal application which I forgot, bought a car, test drove it...sort of, found a wood stove...yep.

I could not resist having a wood fired cooking stove, so instead of the nice looking upright wood heater, I'm getting an old fashioned, new, wood burning cooking stove instead...like your Grandmas' probably had!

Can't wait to cook scones in it, make fig jam on it, scald fresh cream in a big pan on top of it and invite friends over for homemade scones with fresh fig jam and scalded cream with a nice hot, strong cuppa! Ahhh...

Of course I'll have an ordinary electric hot plates and under bench oven for when the wood stove is not in use..can't get used to the idea of gas oven or hotplates yet.
But there is nothing under the sun as fun as cooking in and on a wood stove...can hardly wait.

It will have to be when I get back from OZ though, as I dare not have it done while I have guests here. Too much worry for me I'm afraid.

Anyways, all is good here...lovely sunny days, nights about 9C, days about 13-15C

PURRRRFEC !

Will say 'bye for now and talk soon,
Love to all,
M
xxxx

Well, I Bought Me a Car!

That was a job long overdue for sure.

Now I have a 2 year staying visa underway, I have decided now is the time to look for a car.
Decided I only wanted a Datsun/Nissan, as they seem fairly common over here and as I've had 4 Datsuns in my car life and a Mitsubishi once...I think that is all, so, Nissan it had to be.

So, I made my mind up last week to get one in early March, after the freezing weather has gone and guess what?
Yes, a friend had a friend who had a car for sale in March of next year.
And it is a Nissan
And the price is exactly what I wanted to pay...
And it is a right hand drive, with me being dyslexic, it seems OK to drive.
I had a go today and it has gears, so I'm chuffed actually.

It has Winter and Summer tyres, 4 doors and is a waggon type vehicle with a back lift up boot door..with a couple of tow bars, one for a caravan and one for trailer.

Plus the 3 back seats lay down to make a waggon, or can take one out and the remaining 2 slide across and lay down like beds.

It is grey and in good nick.
Hoping Peter comes across next year to check it out for me...

Forgot to take my camera shopping with me, so no pics of it yet.

Dog is getting really big now and sleeps most of the time. she will probably have the pups the day I leave...dohhh...
I'll miss the best time with them, but never mind, as long as someone is here to look after her.

That is the most important thing as it will be the dead of winter...and possibly snowing.

The lovely flowers are lasting well. One bush is done, but it was out a month before the others, so it did its job!

Imre replastered in places, the verandah this week, repaired the pillars, built in the bottom part of the end of the verandah in readiness to have glass put in to stop the wind, plus he painted it.

Crying here because we have to paint over the lovely stencil work...and repair the walls.

He is working extra days while it is sunny weather and tomorrow he puts the doors back on the old pantry and I'll lock up my private stuff in there while I have house guests with the 6 year old. .

Look at all the stuff on the floor that was loose and easily came off as he scraped lightly...

Now to attack my bedroom window...1 of 3 in the room. Each window has 6 windows in it...and are wooden frames! So another job I ditched and am now giving to Imre to do!

Then he'll build me some tool shelves and next week, when the timber finally arrives from Romania, he'll build the wall for the bathroom and the kitchen guy will make me a door to suit the rest in the house.

So hard to finally have to bite the bullet and get the verandah repaired. I did appreciate the beautiful paint job on it though..

Yeah, well if you don't know, you end up with guys popping anything anywhere! The long wooden thing held the old power metres from last century. Imre filled that hole in today with bricks and rendered over it...

All nearly finished now...then he'll paint it all white and I'll try and work out what colour to paint the verandah as white is too bright.

Found a piece od old paint chip and thought I'd photograph it for the paint shop...and was surprised when I looked at the pic...It looks familiar...like a pregnant map of OZ, doesn't it?

Then in the middle of it all, the power man came and replaced my 2 year old electric metres with new ones. Had I have known they were digital, I would have refused...especially after "the attack of the toasters", as it is known, when we lost internet service in USA and half of Europe a few weeks ago. It was caused by hackers directing signals from the capacitor things in fridges, washing machines, toasters etc all towards particular internet websites and they all crashed. That was a test ...well, those who know what I'm talking about will know what I'm talking about!

My poor old garden has lost all its leaves for winter...

Long shadows in the midday sun! Yup, 12 MD...Look how low the sun is and it set just on 3.40pm today!

Another big week and so much more to do.
Each job completed makes for 4 more.

Imre did the verandah, now that leads to the ceiling above and on to the outside of the house...

• then that leads up to the eaves, 
• leads to the gutters, leads to the drain pipes, 
• leads to the cementing of the path around the house they all do over here, 
• leads to...painting the rest of the back and sides of the house, 
• leads to painting of the windows, 
• leads to putting tiles on the sills, 
• leads to...

That's only on the outside!

But now I have Imre, he does it all, like a pro, while I find more jobs for him to do!
My job this week is to complete the brick paving of the path Zoltan pulled up when he dug the drain pipes in a few months ago.

I prepared the 3 beds for my "Mexican, Croatian, Polish" family for next week, did a bunch of Xmas shopping, went back to Debrecen to take back a document for my visa renewal application which I forgot, bought a car, test drove it...sort of, found a wood stove...yep.

I could not resist having a wood fired cooking stove, so instead of the nice looking upright wood heater, I'm getting an old fashioned wood burning cooking stove instead...like your Grandmas' probably had!

Can't wait to cook scones in it, make fig jam on it, scald fresh cream in a big pan on top of it and invite friends over for homemade scones with fresh fig jam and cream with a nice hot, strong cuppa! Ahhh...

Of course I'll have an ordinary electric hot plates and under bench oven for when the wood stove is not in use..can't get used to the idea of gas oven or hotplates yet.

Lots of Jobs Done This Past 2 Weeks...

Hahaha...just had a Hungarian lesson (up at the shop where I learned “5” and “egg”) learning the word for the number “6”
OK…
English 6 is... spelled six
Hungarian 6 is spelled... Hat…
Hat in English is Hat for your head.
Hat (6) in Hungarian is pronounced “hot” or “hawt”, sounds like hot
Hot in English is hot
Hot in Hungarian is Malag…
Malag sounds a bit like malaise, which you become when you are hot...

Dohhh...and you wonder where I go off course when learning this language?

So to remember the number “6” in Hungarian I have to go through this “hot, hat , malag thing” and eventually memorise enough mental images of 6 hot hats and hope I get the right one…

as apparently 7 is Het !!!

The pronunciation of which I dare not even try yet!

Egg was another gymnastic event too.
Egg is Tojas…
Pronounced toyashe
Sounds like toy garage…
Pretty simple that one.
5 eggs please.
Ot (5)toy garages!
5 is Ot…
Number 5 (ot)was simple as Marika wrote that down for me and I was able to remember that one OK from her writing it out.
Pronounced...”ort,” or without accent, “owrt”, not “ot”, like we'd say.

Ho-hum...2 new words this month...

Imre starting ceiling repairs in the end room

This is for Tom Warne...hahaha, 90 cents for half a litre of Kozel...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wow, small amounts of work make Yuuuge visual differences for sure...compared to the many weeks of work in the past, barely being noticeable it seems.

Imre is repairing the ceilings in the end room this week, wonky and all as they are.

One beam is about 2 inches higher inline than the other 5 and is a testament to the original owners, that despite having just returned from all those gruelling years as a young man, in WW1, the place has stood firm, wonkily placed beam or not.

So it is staying put!

He is almost finished the laborious task of sanding that end room ceiling back, filling in all the gaps where plaster had fallen out over the past 100 years...ish and is now applying this binding agent/cementy type mix...(a type of bondcrete cement, I wonder?).

However, then he puts a coat of gray gloop on, then a layer of mesh, then more gloop and when it dries, he coats it with a white cement/plaster mix, rubs it all back, puts a coat of that marble type mix on it, rubs it back again, then gives it a couple of coats of whitewash!

Then he has to tackle the beams and stain them a nice beam colour!

4 of the 6 beams in there had never been painted, due to the 2 work areas in a room they had built in there, complete with a special ceiling and strange walls...all with not a nail in sight.

Amazing.

Must find out one day what that was all about.

Therefore it was a good idea to keep those beams natural in the end room and create a warm entrance into the new big room.

When the big room gets built next year, the one to replace the collapsed shed, it will have white walls and nice stained beams, so it will blend in nicely and not create too stark a contrast between the old and new.

The new room will be new and no pretence will be made to try and make it look old.

After lunch today, Imre will fix my bedroom windows as they don't shut properly!
I never worried before and just put a foam mattress we cut up to fit. That stopped the breeze, the cold and the light from entering for a full 4 months!

But now that the rooms are real rooms, my bed is right under one window where the gales from the arctic blow in, so I figure I'd better get him to plane them back a tad so they shut properly!

Then the wheels came off the shower door yesterday and he fixed that the same day.
It is so much fun having a “can do” man around the place.
My friends are now beginning to hire him for little odd jobs they need doing too.

Next week the bathroom wall finally goes in. I left it go until we had moved everything out of the house that needed to go...like sheets of wood panelling, gyprock sheets, spare windows, cement mixer, wheel barrow, lawn mower and so on, as the wall would have made it harder to navigate out the front door.

Then, on the day it sleeted and a tiny amount of snow fell, of course that was the day we planned to fix the big gate hinges and put on locking bolts etc. We also wanted to take off the little gate and turn it around so my backpack doesn't get stuck in the wire netting on the fence while going in and out.

Well, he did all of that, plus fixed the gate latch, put on a lock, complete with a massive key! He found all the pieces on old doors and gear I'd saved  here, so we had to buy nothing, except the gate bolts to keep the gate from swinging back and forth in the wind.

Then he cut down the drum seats the girls from OZ painted, put the framing trim on the verandah wall, fixed a little old mirror...and when he pulled it apart, we found ancient documents from 1909 and 1910!

End room walls and ceiling all ready to repair now...

Windows shut correctly now...another job done...

Levelling the bottoms of the drum seats the girls from OZ painted...

Big gates getting the bolt holder thing put in place to stop the gates wobbling around in the wind.. Hinges have just all been reinforced with new thick bolts instead of screws.

Almost completed...Just need the 2 bottom bolts to be added and then more cement under the gates and that is another job out of the way.

Next came swapping the hinges to the other side of the gate and fixing the latch so it worked and now locks! The tiddly bit at the top still has to be fixed on it and then the whole lot painted the original colour you can see here. Oh, and a new mail box will replace the trusted piece of drain pipe tied down with  binder twine!

My early morning dash by train to Debrecen on Friday to fix up my visa...92 miles by train. 1hr and 20 mins...stops all stations.

If you look hard in the pre-dawn light, you'll see a paddock full of those round hay bales.

This is how they use some of the round hay bales...

That's what I rode in when I first came here, to the wrong town  and the wrong way, of course!

Nice and colourful protection barriers in Debrecen...

Imre just about to complete the trim on the verandah wall where I want to preserve the old paint job here. Will paint around the trim a greenish colour, the same as the background colour I'm thinking...even though the other trims on the property will be a heritage blue/teal sort of colour like on the top of the old gate post...ish. 3.45 pm sunset, lighting up the wall there!

1pm Sun in mid November...Boy, it is low in the sky already! The pic is blackish because I aimed directly at the sun and no cloud cover. to shield it. Was surprised it came out at all, but you can see why the days are so short in winter and we still have 6 weeks to go before the shortest day!

End room all ready to sand back and paint and stain the timbers when the goop dries out...probably in February with this rainy weather! Actually, I think a coat of marble type finish goes on next before the paint. Forgot that.

A perfect sky the other night for the super moon. It's times like this I need my sister's hi powered lenses for my camera. But I saw it, big, bold and beautiful. 

Sort of this colour...for trims...

Then, If it isn't raining when all that is done, he will get into the tool shed and fix it up with benches, paint it inside, fix the door on properly etc etc, so I can lock it up whilst away in OZ for Xmas.

A rainy, miserable day today and internet is down, so I'm doing this blog draft on the computer word program, which can run on battery or electricity.

So, lots of news.

All hidden safely behind a little broken mirror we were repairing with new glass. I wonder what the newspaper cutting and 2 page foolscap document are all about? Will ask the relatives first before I show it in whole to anyone.

7th May, 1910.

More news next blog...

Bye for now,

M

xxxx

By George...I Think I've Got It!

Wow, this has been some journey for sure!

Trying to renovate/restore an 100 year old building in a foreign country where I can't speak the language, know nothing of their culture, having no idea of their building methods...even though I was a professional Award winning builder and designer in OZ...has been a mud brick and very dusty experience for sure!

We are on the home run now and even I can see the difference in these pics here today.

Am very happy with the work Imre is doing.

It is Autumn Festival time here...

From this...

To this...not bad hey? Now for shelving...

I have a kitchen drawer!

Red sky at night...

Yikes! A big frost this morning!

A bit frosty on the back stretch of my jogging track...

More jogging track...

My jogging track has lovely foliage along the way...

Lovely clear skies...early mornings jogging track.

A close up of the Autumn Festival  Mascots...

A strange sky at sunset...

A nice Autumn day in Tiszafured...

That's my place that looks like it is in the middle of the road down there! The shop is on the right with the road sign out.

Up the road from me...State workers collecting autumn leaves...

Jogging time...another frost today!

Work on the ceiling and rafters beginning. I'm actually going to stain the beams here...

Imre cutting the bottom off the door so it can shut properly to be used as a shutter for the window. He is going to restore the air conditioning features of it.

Dog in her royal bed!

Dining rooms don't normally have beds in them...but when the place is finally cleaned up, this bed will be in the bedroom. Just testing curtain ideas here...that is my mossie net on the windows, but it gives me an idea of colour...

Just positioning things to set out work areas for the kitchen.

Klaas gave me these 18 windows taken from a house he is renovating and they will all be used here, on the end of the verandah, to stop the wind, in the kitchen, in a window hole we found, in the tool shed and in the summer kitchen,. They are all the same virtually as my ones in the front room. Awesome hey?

All done in here...well, almost. Not sure about the pine top...paint or stain?Plus a shelf has to go under trhe vanity with cane baskets on it. 

The very last of the veggies...Pulled out the last of all the veggie bushes today and cleaned out the gardens...The ground is already frozen and hard...

That's it for now.
What do you think of the place taking shape?

Will have better pics over the coming weeks...
See you next week with some great fun pics for you,

Take care
Cheers,
M