My Life after CELTA

Apparently, summer doesn't want to vanish. When I took Abby for her morning walk, it was only +9°C outside, which is quite chilly. However, when I took her for her afternoon walk, the thermometer showed +27°C. And during her evening walk, the outside temperature was +21°C. It's crazy warm in October. And it is even worse in Spain and South France, where the temperatures are soaring. The +38°C is not rare over there, so the effects of global warming are alarming, even though we enjoy the warmer October.  Anyway, I had a busy day. It started with a late wake-up, an early morning dog walk, a late breakfast, a hastily revised lesson plan, a quick painting job, a ride to the craftsman's store, lunch preparation, teaching a lesson, another dog walk, studying with Charlette, painting, and cleaning the bathroom. Tomorrow will be equally busy; I'll have almost the same tasks and, in addition, a dentist's appointment and a ride to Budapest to teach English. I also want to com...

Not a single day without DIY. There is a small space in the basement under the staircase full of tools and leftovers from previous renovations. We collected every it-will-be-good-for-something kind of thing there. After six years of constant revamping and renovating the house, this small cranny was brimming with things we must get rid of for once. So, with this in mind, after breakfast, I hurried down to the basement and started my shift by separating the necessary things from the unnecessary ones. It took me two hours to check every item and decide whether to keep it. I installed an IKEA shelf to store the saved items. Even though the pile in my office got bigger after the separation, I'm happy with the result. There is only one thing left to solve: organizing the removal of said items to the landfill. Another project I must finish next week is the railing. I have to grind the staves and then paint them before the locksmith comes to install them. I have my fingers crossed that I...

I completed the hall today. I visited my favourite shop after waking up, having breakfast, slurping the much-needed coffee, and studying a bit. I bought the things I needed to finish the painting job in the hall.  After returning home, I prepared lunch. The menu wasn't a fancy Michelin-star restaurant's dish. It was fish fingers with rice, but we ate like the most delicious menu in the world. After such a long hiatus in the kitchen, even the simplest food tastes like the dish kings and queens eat. I gave Ági a foot massage before buckling down to the hall.  At 2 p.m., we parted ways. Ági went up to the attic to teach, and I put on my worker suit and continued painting in the hall. It took me two hours to apply another layer of paint to the walls because the bucket that contained the paint wouldn't fit onto the ladder. So, I had to climb the ladder each time I wanted to get the paint on the roller. It seemed like a leg workout. Anyway, the result is fantastic. The hall looks...

The locksmith came this morning to install the stairs in the front garden. He still needs to complete the railing and install the wooden staves. He promised to complete the job next week. We'll see. While the locksmith was working, I could study a bit. I went through some of the previous lessons with Charlette and buckled down to the homework; however, due to the DIY week, I couldn't complete it. I prepared lunch for the first time since the kitchen renovation had started. I made "túrós tészta" with bacon. It's a simple dish, but boy, were we enjoying it! It was delicious. While Ági had a lesson after lunch, I was sandpapering the walls in the hall. When I was ready, we took Abby for her afternoon walk, bought some nosh, and after returning home, I applied the pre-paint solution to the walls. When it dried, I only painted half of the hall because I ran out of paint. Nice. I have to buy a new batch of paint tomorrow. Another visit at the craftsman store. Other than...

I applied the final layer of spackling paste to the walls in the hall this morning. This means that tomorrow, I can smooth the surfaces with sandpaper, apply the necessary pre-paint liquid, and paint the walls in the hall.  I worked on two wooden rods this afternoon, which are the handrails of the fence. I had to use the grinder to get a smooth and even surface, and I made it, eventually. I also painted them. I applied two layers of paint, and tomorrow, I have to add two more layers to prevent them from any weather and sun-related exposure. It was marvellous to work outside. The weather was fantastic. It's still summer, although it's the 20 September! While I was waiting for the locksmith to finish the job on the stairs, I could study a bit. It wasn't much, though. But at least I checked a couple of phrasal verbs and even asked chatGPT to teach me some. Well, this is it for today I'm afraid... I wish the DIY weak was over!

I finished the kitchen today. It wasn't easy, but I did it. After applying a silicon sealing layer to the sink and the tiles, I had to wait a few hours before placing the kitchen items back in their places. While the silicon was drying, I made a few plans to continue with the DIY week. Since the hall needs sandpapering and painting, I'll sacrifice tomorrow morning to complete the job. The sandpapering will take the most time and effort, as the painting requires merely thirty minutes. Okay, I need to paint the walls twice to cover all the patches, but it will look amazing. Charlette's English class was phenomenal. Today was the first time I felt how fluent my speech was while conversing with her. We were talking about difficult topics, and there was no hiccup, cringe pauses, or stuttering on my part. I think I'm on the right path, and my progress is tangible. I'm so happy! The weather was strange today. The morning was cold, rainy, and gloomy, but the afternoon broug...

The locksmith came today to install the stairs in the front garden. He arrived on time, at 9 a.m., and left at 1 p.m. He couldn't complete the job because the things that should be at the top of the stairs - some corrugated metal sheets - were smaller than needed. Although he promised to come back tomorrow, we don't have high hopes. While he was working on the stairs, I spent my morning in the kitchen. I wanted to complete the walls because the spackling paste dried. I had to clean the window frame before covering the wall above the window with a plastic sheet to protect the kitchen from the dust from the sandpapering. I couldn't believe it took me four hours to complete the job. Now the kitchen looks new. The white walls are beautiful, the clean window and its frame pop out, and there are no more cracks and dents in the walls. I tried to learn today but wasn't in the mood to buckle down to it. Actually, it wasn't my mood but the tasks that were waiting for me. To t...

Summer's back, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. I had a better night's sleep than my previous ones; however, it could have been better. Of course, it could have been worse, so I shouldn't complain about it. Anyway, after breakfast, I applied another layer of spackling paste to the kitchen walls, and when I finished, we jumped in the car and drove to IKEA to replace some window shading we couldn't install.  The Swedish dish was delicious, and they are masters of meatballs. We stopped by the craftsman store on the way back but couldn't find the thing we were looking for. The rest of the day went fairly quickly after we returned home: spackling paste, foot massage, slumber, dog walk, shopping, planning the lesson, dog walk, working out. The weather was incredible today. The highest temperature was around +30-31°C, typical of August, not September. Fortunately, next week will be similar, and we love the extended summer period. The deers enjoy it, too, as we can...

I won't write about my shitty nights anymore. It's not worth dwelling on something awful, even though it significantly impacts my days. So, after waking up, devouring breakfast and slurping the much-needed coffee, we set ourselves into waiting mode. The locksmith had promised to install the stairs in the front garden today but didn't show up. He called us to let us know that the paint couldn't dry, so he'd come next Monday instead of today. We got so upset that we had to visit two craftsman stores today. Anyway, I could study a bit today. Not as much as I thought I would, but you can't have it all, can you? The tiresome running about between the stores took time, so I could only deal with the lesson plan for my next class with Ági's students and a bit of revision. Tomorrow, we'll have another round in IKEA, and besides buying things, we'll have lunch there. At least the Swedish food and the coffee are delicious.  The weather is unbelievably good. The...

Despite taking the natural sedative, which stinks like an athlete's feet, I slept terribly. The constant interruptions vex me. However, I feel more relaxed after these "pills", so there might be a waiting time for the ingredients to come into effect. Fingers crossed. After my morning student, I had another class this afternoon. Both went well, but this meant I had little time to study. It'll improve over time. Summer said goodbye to everyone today. The imminent change in the weather, the fading foliage, and the dawns that are getting earlier and earlier are clear signs of the advent of autumn.

Today, I made a significant step towards finishing the DIY session. I buried the trench I'd dug the other day to prevent water leakage. After applying the waterproof layer, a thick plastic sheet on the previously lubricated walls, I covered the rut. It took me almost two hours in the +34°C to complete the job. I was knackered. I was sweating like a sloth on the running track. When I dragged myself to the living room, I couldn't do anything but sit in front of the TV and watch silly YouTube videos for thirty minutes. Nevertheless, the job is done, so fingers crossed that the imminent rain won't cause any problems. I couldn't study today due to the excessively long to-do list. All I could do was plan the lessons for tomorrow. It was challenging because I needed to develop a lesson plan the beginner student would enjoy. I hope she'll like it. The other teaching session awaiting me will be in the afternoon. Well, it won't be a teaching session but rather an introduc...

The DIY session continues. After waking up and having a delicious hot dog for breakfast and a much-needed coffee, I grabbed the adhesive tape, cover foil, and spatula and started the morning shift. I had to sand the spackling paste I'd applied to the walls in the kitchen yesterday, but before I buckled down to it, I'd made some precautionary steps by covering the surfaces with the foil. Once I completed the first part of the job, I prepared my next class with my beginner student. It took me an hour to devise a useful lesson, and I got peckish by the end. Before dinner, which was meagre, I applied the pre-painting liquid to the walls. We ate kefir with a Spanish baguette, which was not abundant after a long physical and mental exercise. Anyway, the last sip of espresso made me jump at the opportunity to check if the walls were dry and ready for painting. Fortunately, they were as dry as bone, so I could buckle down to the painting activity with a broad smile. By 4 p.m., the kitc...