Friday- squeezing a full day into only half!

the team joins the foot traffic at 7 am in the village

Friday morning and the chance of rain for the afternoon arrived early...everyone was up and ready for the final push to see what they could get finished; with breakfast (after cooked buckwheat and brown sugar biscuits on Thursday we were back to oatmeal or cornflakes with Bonnie's apple filled buns) right at 6 am. Well, everyone but Craig, who was still recovering, although he did walk over to site later in the morning to try to get a few more photos.




 Then they headed out into the rain, along with everyone else. I got a couple photos and Garry and I picked up a few vegetables at the village store for the last soup of soup I was making for lunch, since I was completely out of carrots, potatoes and cabbage.

Polo was the first one on the job and runs to meet us

Ready to pour the floor of parlor (where the cows stand for milking)

Neil got to work first this morning

The ceiling is done, the walls will get finished  today

Garry had to run to Zaporosia first thing in the morning for the umpteenth time for some needed part and to exchange money to pay for the two loads of cement that was coming on the last day. The first load was due at 10 am, but the corn planter was supposed to come at 9 am and he planned to be back for that. He had driven to Sumy two weeks ago to purchase a used John Deere corn planter because he does not like any of the Ukrainian-made ones. Last week the money was transferred from Canada to the bank, and he paid for half of it, with the rest on delivery.

Just need the little metal roofs on the vents

It's here 15 minutes early!

Unloading the planter

Garry was back just before nine, the guys said they could let them unload it until it was paid for...which he hoped to do online. However he had to race off to the bank in Dnepro to change the money from dollars to grivna before he could do it. They decided they could unload it while he went there I guess, because when I was going to walk to the barn with the morning snack, there was a little village traffic jam while they unloaded it with Serosia's loader; with a Lada waiting on one side and a horse and wagon on the other, along with two old guys with a bicycle, who mostly seemed to be watching and discussing the action.

Guiding it past the house on the loader

When I got to the barn around ten the guys were hard at work on the cement pour, except farmer Neil, who was making the little metal roofs for the vents. He said that he would not be able to leave with an easy mind unless they were finished and up on the roof.

This is the last truck the guys emptied this week

Adam with the wheelbarrow

Neil hard at work

Vents as seen from the inside of the barn

Neil finishing the last vent roof around 1 o'clock

Hole in the wall

I went over with Bonnie and Maria after getting lunch ready since they were going to eat at the house, pack up and leave for an overnight stay in Kirvoy Rog before heading to Kiev and the airport on Sunday morning. The sun even came out around noon. Of course I took some more photos... the morning's wet concrete was right in front of the doorway between the barn and addition so they had to make one to the outside to finish the sheathing inside before leaving. If only Garry had gotten the foundation walls done before they arrived, the bathrooms and walls for the rooms might have been done before they left too!

Just a few more to do...

looking good, but the Ukrainian guys had to do the last load of concrete 

Almost the whole crew- left to right back row- Andrei, Dima, Andrei R;
Richard, Chris, AJ, Jan, Garry, Adam, Neil & Bonnie, Maria, Caleb;
front row-kneeling- Max B, Jack  and Neil (Craig is missing, Max R and Serorosia)

Maria climbed up with Neil for a better look

Lunchtime- around 2 o'clock

Bonnie bought a rake to take home at the village store

Neil all dressed up and ready to go

Goodbye friends! at 3:30 pm