Sunday 1st May

White rabbits and a new month greeting...where did April go?  

So this morning I have just sat for an hour watching my woodpecker in what appears to be his/her new hunting ground.  One of the old beams from the old roof timbers that I put into the fence a year ago seems to be favourite.  I also had my red shrike and the martins are out catching the early morning flies.  

Yesterday the toilet door was fixed since the nails that I had used initially weren't up to the job so they were substituted with four inchers and the hinges with even bigger ones.....I suppose it serves its purpose outside .....no cows this morning....the adjustments to the fence seem to have worked....8.10 my time....down for another coffee and I think it has to be a 'cooked' this morning....update later....

Monday 2nd May#

Well what a day.  I went down to Fotinovo today to order the several bags of cement to complete the balconies and the concrete around the building....thirty one bags delivered and several sheets of ready fabricated sheets of metal.  The balast comes with a different wagon and came about lunchtime...

Apart from that it had been rather a normal day....cement, balast,  and everything ordered.  The lads went down today with their pipe filled with water to identify the levels of the balconies and steps....I think you know what I mean whenI say that I trust Bekir.  He works on this as he would his own house and that's fine by me.

So today we had  mother's meeting by the front gate and it was all to do with the amount of cement I had purchased...I think my avatar's eyes fairly swivelled at the cost of 31 bags but I gave my drop on carry one lady a spider plant which caused some amusement.  She wanted flowers, bells and whistles and when I told her that it just had babies....not to her liking but hey....that's what it does.

So tonight for supper, beans in  onion, tomato, chilli, honey sauce with gammon and served with toasted chunks of bread....and it was good.  We finished the rest of the wine from last night but I had this bottle of Martini hanging around so it just had to be done.

Photos will be published tomorrow..my connecion is not good tonight....L.N....sleep calls....

Tuesday 3rd May

What a mixed bag of weather...it looked like it was brightening up from this morning's shower and then 'April' showers, a month late, but there again we had snow last month so perhaps the seasons have just moved on one.  Tonight though at about six the heavens opened and I could hardly see out of the windscreen when I took the men home.

Lots of birds in the garden.  I had the hoopoe this morning, the hawfinch working its way through last years wild damson stones, the cuckoo singing out and the woodpecker doing its stuff.  There are so many bird songs coming from the garden it's hard to work out which tree they are in.  

So what have we achieved today?  They sorted out the levels for the patio and I was having a problem trying to decided whether we needed another step into the house or from the lounge out of the house and I just couldn't get it pictured but all sorted now.  The ground has been levelled, the downpipes from the roof are all in place so there should be no water lingering around the house...very important when you see how much comes down.

As well as preparing for the patio they have started to build the stone wall from the patio down to the garden and it's fascinating watching them work...but to be honest it is good to watch anyone work...    Supper over, going to get into a book tonight....haven't done much reading having someone here....aways seems something to do.  Now for some pickies....LN....

Wednesday 4th May

What a mixture of a day weather wise....it started off well and since I didn't have a phone call from Bekir I assumed they were working and again they were outside the cafe since it wasn't open.  First job when we arrived back...fill them up with coffee just to get them kick started.

My new lad from along the road came round and he was hired for the day...the lads continued with the terrace and now I have a whole load of cement going off despite the rain and a stone wall holding it all back.  They worked really hard today while I.....well I reorganised my garden and sunk in some terraces and walkways....and now it looks more...defined.  It will be good when I can steal some of my wood that the men have stored for roofing etc.....when they are not looking.  I regard it as their wood....but when I think about it.....I paid for it so it's mine....and they are on holiday on Friday....so I might be able to complete my garden.

So I built my polytunnel and then the heavens opened on the newly laid concrete so my polytunnel was dismantled to shield the concrete from the rain.  My hawfinch was back today and descended just where I was working and I'm not sure who was more surprised.  He's very ugly but the rest of him has remarkable colours...I think it is the elongated beak that makes him look so bandit-like.

Anyway...men home, supper was sweet and sour pork with roasted veg and it went down with a bottle of the red stuff....catching up on my diary and then hitting the sack....I'm feeling pooped tonight and the front door is completely out of bounds. I'll post pickies of the terrace tomorrow and I've already worked out that geraniums and nasturtiums in pots will show it off no end and now I want a table and chairs so that I can have my breakfasts outside....better get the hammer and nails at the ready....this calls for Bulgarian workmanship..   LN...

Thursday 5th May

Morning sun and afternoon rain....this is not good.  But I have a patio/terrace and it has been calculated at 34 square meters...how's that for having your breakfast on ..I looked out of the staircase window and with all the polythene over it to protect it from yesterday's rain I thought it has snowed in the night....and me with new cuttings out there...fooled....the polythene was taken off and my maestor Sally set to work scrubbing it over and making it 'perfect' and we can't walk on it for a couple of days.  Main thrust today was digging out the foundations for the lounge terrace and putting the water canals in for the water from the roof ....all in place and so tonight we are testing it ....well not so much us....as the gods in the heavens....let's see who wins.

Went into Kardjali to try to get a sink for outside but it had to be metal and only 30centimeters wide so that it sits on the column....no joy so tomorrow if the weather is good off to Asenograd to the hardware store/ market garden to see what we can come up with.  I do need lots of plants for the garden but I have taken lot of cuttings from the ones that I got from them last year....forsythia, honeysuckle, japonica keria and I have orders for them already.

So tomorrow I'll see what the weather holds before I make a decision as to what happens.  I was taking my 'guest' on a trip into the mountains but with the weather being what it is...not much point in spending money and seeing nothing because of rain and mist.....updates to follow....no men tomorrow they are celebrating the equivalent of St George's day and apparently it is the day of shepherds and the army (so work that one out) and you are supposed to roll naked in the morning dew so I'm out with my binoculars to see if there is anything worth watching but Bekir said that he goes out and catches the dew and washes his face in it for strength and they are supposed to swing on a swing for things to be good.  If you are infertile, this is the day that you should be out there and I am supposed to hang anything green on my doorpost/gate to welcome St George.  I did ask the question if they are Muslim how come they celebrate St George but apparently it is also a Turkish tradition to celebrate this day....rolling naked....early start for me then.....Gouljan and myself though it would be a good idea for her to roll down from her house and I would from mine and we would meet and Cemile's pond for a swim....but with the weather being as it is....not much chance of that then...anyway.....LN....I have lots of planting tomorrow and have to move my outside bonfire site since that has now become.....a soakaway...grrrr.

LN.....I need to sort out the fire and my glass is empty....not a good sign but the bottle isn't....LN

Friday 6th May

So I was up this morning at silly o'clock with my binoculars but didn't see any of the local farmers rolling naked in the morning dew but there again, neither was I....   It was grim this morning which gradually transpired to being a glorious day.  We set off for Momchilgrad, went via, via to Krumelgrad and then took in Talul Bizanteem ruins on the way back.

Bought a super Azalea in Krumulgrad market, a really lovely blouse and a...wait for it....laundry basket...well...I needed one.  I'll post some pictures tomorrow, my connection is not so good and I'm absoutely zonked after being a chauffer for most of the day. LN promise to post pickies in the mornng.....LN...

Saturday 7th May

Sorry...didn't get round to posting this morning...work got in the way.  Two loads of washing out of the way, a new door for one of the rooms in the wreck so that I can start clearing the house, bonfire fired up so that I can move it to a more permanent site, plants that I 'acquired' from yesterday's trip planted and generally a bit of a garden tidy.

So on the way back from Krumevgrad yesterday we stopped off at an archeolgical dig site that is supposed to be Byzantine holy burial site so we were doing the tourist route.  I was surprised how many people were there,  Americans who are reponsible for the dig, Bulgarians on coach trips and lots of local and Turkish visitors.  Very busy little place.  The entrance fee was 3 BG Leva but they had obviously had lots of ticket printed at 2 leva so we had to have three ticket for two people...don't know what they would do it there were three of them

So to the pictures....here goes...on the way to Krumelgrad....storks on the way back....Tatul...and something else that we found that we haven't yet identified in the guide book.  Only trouble with Tatul is that the way to the site, you have to drive through the local rubbish dump....must advise the EU about it,

Just a few more

Can't post stork pickies they are currently nesting on a chimney stack lying horizontal...need to fix picture so Danuta...that one will be for you...

Sunday 8th May

What a buggar sudoku can be...I waisted about on and a half hours this morning trying to do one of the Daily Mail five star puzzles and it won.  I reset it a couple of times, print screened on it so that I had a reference point and still haven't managed it ...grrrrr

Went out to the garden and dug my soakaway at the end of the roof downpipes so that it doesn't become a nuisance to me or anyone else and it ends up on my veg plot....it seemed like a plan and resited the bonfire so that it is now away from the new water pipe.  Gouljan appeared and I had my Bulgarian lesson and she had her English lesson....exchange is no robbery ....and I think she comes here for peace and quiet. She has her sister over from Turkey and her nephew who has taken to calling her giraffe because she is so tall and willowy.  Rain started this afternoon and seems to have set in and it's cold so the wood burner is doing it's stuff and now that the insulation is completed, the house is holding it well....just like it should have done for the winter.... ...but at least it's OK for next year.

Will Young playing....glass empty....so off to refill, have a shower and early to bed tonight....must get stuck into a book at some point....it seems to have gone by the way when you have someone staying.....so much to do.

So tomorrow, 7.30 off to get the men unless the rain sets in in which case....no men...LN....and just one picture to post to Danuta and sorry, but I couldn't get any nearer and one that I can't post yet because may battery is flat on my camera....I had a snake in the yard yesterday...thin and scraggy and yet to identify what it was.  On to a shovel and despatched to the hedgerow....bit surprised when I first saw it....about 60 centimeters long and it was enjoying the sun...and now it can enjoy the hedgerow....LN...that picture will get posted tomorrow  

Thanks Elsa.  Great photo, I am not disappointed.  How high up is that?