Sunday 27th March

Bit chilly this morning but I must remember that the clocks have gone forward so it's yet to warm up....so as the sun went down on me last night...up it came this morning but it's gone cloudy now but let's hope it burns off. I've got more digging and planting to do. Those burial plots need to be productive if only to help my reputation in the village....

Sunday 27th March continued

Did lots of tidying of the back door area and put the wood that I had stored there back in the old barn.  It was looking a little bit the worse for wear and I had been a little untidy.  Swept it all out and the storm this afternoon brough it all back in again....oh well....Had my Bulgarian lesson today but her heart wasn't in it.  I think her job and the salary do not compute but not for me to ask.  She found out too that her sister in law is earning about twice as much working in a perfume/cosmetic outlet and I think it doesn't sit well.

We had thunder and lightening this afternoon and a brief tornado and downpour but it's all quiet on the western front now.  I have just spoken to D of S and he has offered me some yellow cherry tomatoes to go in one of the 'plots' in so much as no one else in the village has them and I've decided sweet corn, normal tmatoes and green beans in the other....if ever the bl***y cravas decide to take a pop at any of those....it's in the freezer as sure as eggs is eggs and I don't care whose cow it is....

So tonight the remains of leek and potato soup with a smattering of Indian Spice courtesy of Garry of Nikolovo with a great big chunk of bread and then to bed early....I can never get this thing about clocks forward...should I be tired or not....well I'm not so ..no I shouldn't be....I am one hour on....got it....LN ....I'm off for my supper.

Monday 28th March

What a beautiful day ....in the garden....I think not.  I ache, I have blisters and whose silly idea was it to get rid of the asbestos and broken tiles and lower the level so that it is smoother....MINE.  I have just completed the marathon of gardening going backwards and forwards to the bottom of the garden with the rubbish and thinking...just one more....and it's now 7.50 and I came in about twenty minutes ago.  That's the trouble now that the clocks have gone forward....you lose track of the time.  As well as another polythene mine I also discovered a metal depository....oh what a fun time the previous owner must have had but I did dig up a little treasure. I'll wait for you to get to the pickies....not going to tell.

Have a new bird in the garden....I've got my bird book out and at last have identified it as a Red -backed Shrike....and it's an evil looking thing but fantastic colours.  Really tan coloured but the facial markings and the beak make it look evil.  Looking at the book it says that 'it loves rough grassland' so it must have taken one look at my garden and thought 'that's the place for me'.  I tried to take a photograph but just couldn't get near enough.  It has a strange way of just sitting there on the ground with it's head going all the time as if it's on the look out which is probably is.  I'll look out for it tomorrow.  

So apart from working my little socks off on the new bit of garden....I did take five minutes off to look at how the rest of the garden is going.  Just a few days of sunshine and warmth and the wild plum has come into blossom, the Forsythia is just about to burst into bloom and so is the Japonica Keria.  I love spring.

Short post tonight....my supper for the last three days is bubbling away in the slow cooker....again with just a huge chunk of bread and that will be me done for tonight....must have a shower to take away the aches and pains before they get established...LN

Tuesday 29th March

My men are back......I had a phone call last night from Bekir and he said that they could start this morning.  I think it was when I phoned and said something about another man that Gouljan had told me about.....works for me.

They have said their 'hellos' round the village, I have finished my little garden and got rid of all the asbestos and broken tiles, washing is dried and now it has turned colder and Sally is cold.  They have just sat out to have their lunch and the wind has suddenly got up and it all depends which direction it is coming from....we seem to get it from all ways.

Got to go to Djebel to get some money out to pay the men for the last week before Christmas....the weather suddenly 'broke' and they were not to be seen again until today....so I wonder if I should pay interest.  I think my digger man has just arrived...hang on...now for the full story....

My avatar has just had a well dug in her garden so that she gets water...without having to pay for it for her plants.  So I found out that it is her son who has access to the digger and this morning I asked Bekir to find out how much for one hour and it's 45 leva.  So he has just been to 'case the joint' and between them they have worked out that the stone will be much better over my fence and onto my other garden....so the forsythia has to move along with the japonica keria just as they are both coming into flower...ah well....when you think how long it would take my two to dig it out by hand...this is quicksticks and I shall be able to park the cars on the premises as opposed to in the lane by the well....probably coming Thursday or Friday and jobsaguddun.....now back to moving my garden and I think the lilly of the valley is due for a move as well...update later.

Tuesday continued

Had to go into Djebel to get to the cashpoint and ended up being a taxi on the way back to two neighbours and phoned Gouljan to see if she wanted a lift.  Apparently the bus was on its 7.00 pm schedule that the neighbours didn't know about.

Took my men home, called in to see D of S and his man flu is still lingering so I didn't stay long....I've avoided it mostly this year and that's the way I want to keep it.  Went down to Djebel to get some fuel for Beauty since I did Djebel in the Beast this afternoon and decided to go to my restaurant for supper since there was nothing waiting for me when I got home....lazy bones....cheesy chips and deep fried chicken wings, fruit juice (well the car is outside) and home by 8.45 ish but couldn't remember where I'd left my phone and it was in the Beast in the side pocket and I doubt I would have found it in the morning....

LN...bed calls....I have work in the morning....got to get the men, plant potatoes and onion sets and then move some shrubs ready for the mechanical aid.....LN

Wednesday 30th March

Little bit late picking the men up but I'm sure they don't mind the extra coffee.  So what have I achieved?  I've planted my onions, moved my broad beans that survived the winter so that they don't get crushed under the stone, moved my garlic and onions into the new bed, planted parsnip seeds, moved loads of soil into the polythene mine and thrown some seeds over it and they have two choices, moved the three main shrubs that I have in the first garden and that's about it really.  Just gone to get some pictures of Bekir's craftmanship and I have no space on my camera....bear with me...

So I put my camera on to transfer the pickies on to my 'Book' and it was going to take two hours so I let it do it's own thing and the downside is...no pickies of the achievements of Bekir and Sally today or of my gardening efforts but I promise, promise, there will be some tomorrow.  So I got back from dropping them off at 7.30 and at that time I am well into the night.  Didn't put anything in the slow cooker again but I did manage to get through a good few slices of fresh bread and that wonderful combination of tuna mayonnaise so I can't say that I have hunger pains yet.....

A couple of gripes.....I had a survey from a travel company and I was asked to complete it.  Having had several cruises with this company I thought, well why not.  The first question was a little obscure, I ran with it but at the fifth, I realised that I was completing the same information but in a different form so I sent them an email setting out my thoughts and suggesting that if they paid money to have the survey compiled that they should ask for it back....and I received a response saying that it has been passed to the appropriate department and thanking me for my comments...oh yea....So tonight I have received one from Tesco saying how would I like to treat my mother to one of their supper offer.  Considering that my mother passed over twenty years ago I comment to them that I thought the email was very inappropriate, almost offensive at this special time of the year.  I also made the comment that they are obviously not doing targetted marketing and would this encourage you to shop at Tesco  Now what do you think....

LN...I'm off to sort my fire out and look for something tasty in the kitchen.....I'm not hungry...just pickish...LN

Thursday 31st March

And another month gone....where does time go to.  Well my men have been really busy today.  They have put the winter wrap on the Eastern wall so it will insulate it from the ....SUN....but it does look good.  They have to put another layer of the stuff they are using on tomorrow and then that will be the two biggest walls completed.  The South facing is mainly windows and the West wing is only half the size of the East so it's all downhill from here, (figurately speaking).

I caught them out having a rest when I delivered coffee but the beer came out at about six tonight.  I recognised the point that it was required since they were trying to get the wall finished before they went tonight.  Bless them.  It was seven when they left tonight and considering I pick them up at about eight...I reckon that I get good value.

So what have I done today.  I decided to take out the central bed base on the old outside toilet.  It was a quick job last year so I worked on it all day.  Instead of two beds I now have one and I've got rid of a lot of the stone that was around it.  I also have spend the day looking at the hedge.  If it is turning green it stays, if it is 'dead' looking and is stuff that as been put in just to keep the cows and livestock at bay, it is being removed where there is wire netting behind it.  I did a lot of layering of the hedge last year and it appears to have worked.  Where it hasn't I am digging up suckers growing where I don't want them and planting them in the hedgeline.  

So now I have just lit a fire even though it's not that cold tonight.....poured myself a beer and must think of something for supper.....now let's put a few pickies on....