Monday 9th May

Well the weather stayed dry today but the wind was cold again....that Baba Marta has a lot to answer for....  

Picked up the men but Beauty seemed to be playing up...maybe  a little jealous that I have been using the Beast over the weekend and she was hickupping so I turned round and went out in the biggie again but by 10.30 she had warmed up enough to go into Djebel.  Ordered more material but did not have enough cash in the house so was heading into Djebel just as the lorry arrived so Bekir sorted it all out and said that I would pay in Djebel after going to the bankomat.  Now this turned into a bit of a fiasco.  I didn't know where I had to pay, tried the normal shops but couldn't work it out so headed home.  A little while later my little neighbour had come back on the bus and brought me the bill for the materials with the instructions that I was to give the money to the bus driver when he was on his way back from the upper village so I dutifully counted it out, got Bekir to check it, put it in an envelope, stopped the bus, gave the money to the driver, so now no outstanding bills....sorted.

Had a lovely surprise today.  My daughter-in-law has sent me a beautiful picture of my grand-daughter at the end of her first year at school....now in the lounge with grandson and my father's picture....just a little taste of home.

Now for pictures....the men  are constructing the stone wall around the terrace and what a job is it.  They're good boys though and everything has to be just right.  While they were building I put out my tomato, pepper and cucumber plants and just for the record....I don't eat peppers or cucumbers but it's my token to the village...when they offer me all this stuff when they have a glut I will be able to say that I have some already...method in my madness.

Pickies....I digress...snake from a couple of days ago.....the men in a welcome break and a little frog that I disturbed when I was collecting stone for the men.....and just for you Danuta....I'll skip along to the stork nest with my tape measure and let you know....

Monday 10th May

So today I have sorted out a new keyboard and mouse and maybe I won't make so many spelling errors.  They're not so much spelling as missing out letters where my old keyboard on my laptop is very spongy and the letters just don't register.

Three men working, one wall built and tomorrow it is concrete, metal and more concrete.  The three of them do work well together and after I had taken the two back to their home, the third who lives in the village arrived with two huge mushrooms that have been earmarked for breakfast.

Went into Momchilgrad today, a town about 10K for my village and took in one of my flyscreens that needed a repair.  All done while I waited, door catches for the outside doors to the balconies and screws to fit them at the princely cost of ....nothing.  Went round the market and bought a linen jacket for ...2 BGN, a pair of trainers for 5 BGN and some sewing cottons.  Got some fish from Lidl reduced to half price and it was delicious with new potatoes, carrots and mayo....and a phone call from Gouljan could I pick her up from the bus stop in Rogochez and deposit her home since she had missed the bus to Dushinkovo....easy done.

Just a few pickies of nightfall....LN....I am going to my little pit with an extra blanket on....it is a little cold and this is May for goodness sake...Baba Marta...are you listening????  LN

Oh mummy , I'm disappointed to hear that you have a new keyboard, your smelling pistakes make me giggle! Hope you are well, you certainly seem to have been very busy.

Work is okay, very busy, but as I am frequently reminded by the naughty ones, I wouldn't have a job if it wasn't for them!

Callumazoo is growing bigger every day and cheekier by the minute~ parents evening next week so I should get to find out how he is really doing at school...... When I ask I get the standard answer " fine"......

Right, I'm off to do dinner now, chicken filled with chilli cheese and wrapped in bacon. The diet has gone out of the window for the time being but I can't do everything!

Love you, moon and back, Princess xxxxxxxxx

Wednesday 11th May

So today April showers combined with strong winds...but it's MAY.

Have a lovely beef.  Yesterday I had an email from my internet web provider saying that they were cutting off my service  within seven days since a payment had been 'declined'.  Now this bill was for six pounds and so I phoned the my bank in a bit of a panic and they said that they had not declined any payment and I knew that there was ample to cover it....so...I phoned the service provider and they said that it was probably one of their 3rd party providers that was responsible for the breakdown that caused my payment to be declined.  At this point I was fairly boiling over....not my concern but threatening to cut me off.....considering that I was phoning from overseas....we resolved it by processing the payment manually but then they had the audacity to confirm that the payment had been made but then they thanked me for updating my card details....a stongly worded email is on  the way to them....

Bekir has been pointing up my wall, Sally has been building, Emaula...my sunbed fancier has been sorting the stone from the earth and has been having a lovely time.  I got an emergency call to take my camera down to where he was working and there was a huge centipede that he was determined to put his spade through but Bekir convinced him that he had a right to live, the centipede that is not Bekir.  It was dutifully lobbed over the fence.

Supper is in the slow cooker, my guest is snoring in the lounge so I now have to slam some doors because I am hungry....LN....just to post the picture of the centipede.....

Thursday 12th May

Just for you Princess I'll make sure that there are a few 'spellers' to keep you smiling .  As for those naughty children.....just go for one or two converts.....

Cloudy, cold wind and threatening rain.  I woke up early but then decided 'five minutes more, five minutes more' and was late to pick up the men....still all back safely, just served them their first cuppas and with a little bit of creativity, Bekir has made a tamper to use on the lounge patio foundations....pictures to follow....it made me laugh anyway....to horse....

Thursday continued

So now I have a concrete terrace which is now shrouded in polythene so that the rain doesn't get at it and yes, it is throwning it down tonight.  Bekir with his forsight got me to buy several meters of the stuff x 4 meters wide and now I have a polytunnel growing....nuffin.

The lads worked really hard today.  It was 8.20 when they made their weary way towards Beauty and off we went.  Supper tonight was sausages in the slow cooker with red wine and chiili and it was delicious with a handful of rice thrown in before the finishing time.  Washing up complete and now ready for bed, it's been a long day. Just a few pickies....

Friday 13th May

Thirty nine years ago today I was walking up the registry office steps and I always said that if it went wrong it was due to the fact that it was the 13th.  Unfortunately it did after ten years but we are still good friends now so what really did go wrong...different time, different space, different pressures.

I now have two terraces and a set of steps on to the the garden and it looks just fine.  The decision was three or four steps and the phrase that surfices is 'whatever you want' so in this case I left the ball in their court and it looks brilliant.  No photos....it was pretty late when they finished but tomorrow will be the photocall.  Potted up lots of bulbs today and petunias....the petunias really smell delicious...not what I expected at all.

So next week they are on to the septic tank in all it's glory but we do have one day out for a 'holiday' in Dzebel.  Street market, music, dancing, sheep barbecued and all systems go.....I'll see whether I'm up to it or not.

Three more bags of cement and down to one remaining.  Monday heralds the return on the balast wagon and yet more bags of cement.  Can't decide if we are off on our travels this weekend or not...I'm pretty tired from all of the early mornings and decision making so I'll see what the weather is like before I'm commited or as some say...should be....LN...short post tonight...

Saturday 14th May

So my patio chairs have been in every position possible to catch the sun on the new terrace.  Facing east with a morning cup of coffee, south when I decided to soak my feet and shave my legs and give myself a pedicure (and not before time).  Got stuck into a book and three quarters of the way through wondered why I was reading it as it seemed to have been written with not much of a story line but several blank pages to fill and finally to move them round to the west to catch the dying rays.  I did have a brief sojourn onto my sunbed to get in a few zeds...but that was short lived by the sound of the router coming from the new workshop in the wreck........

Today has been hot sun, warm wind, few clouds hiding the sun, cool breeze so a day of contrasts.  Tonight it seems there are no clouds in the sky so let's hope for tomorrow.  We didn't venture out today...I just felt too tired, partly because there have been early mornings with the men and late nights because the weather has been up and down and I have had just more to do having someone here....I think it caught up with me today.  Let's see how I feel tomorrow as to whether we get somewhere.  I do want to go to Assenograd and pick up some more shrubs and stuff....we'll see what tomorrow brings...LN...I'm thinking about an early night...21.16 for me here....LN

Sunday 15th May

Beautiful day today...moved earth, moved stones, moved my chair to catch the sun and burnt my ankles...not such a good day after all.  One of my neighbours did bring round some onions so I plaited them and they are outside drying so something achieved.  I decided that my most sensible attire was to put on my Turkish pants since they covered up my ankles (much to the amusement of my disco magazine when he arrived) and to Gouljan who came round with another script to be translated.  This time we did the 'Treasures of Bulgaria' and I'm still not sure who is teaching what to whom....the translation that she comes out with sometimes courtesy of 'Google' leaves a lot to be desired and we both rush to see who can find it in the dictionary first.  Hers is somewhat more concise than mine but we come out with some interesting words.  

So now I've learnt that there is lots of golden treasure, some Byzantine and some Bronze age and the value of the haul.  There was one section that dealt with the treasures going over to Spain for an exhibition and the transport involved an alluminium double skinned chest that was supposed to be able to withstand an air crash.  I said I doubted it and suggested that they should have put it in the black box since that is always found after an air crash but that suggestion was lost in translation along with the rest of the text.

Now I'm tired, I've just managed to throw my visitor off the computer to get this done but I think the most sensible thing to do is to hit the sack and try to compose something sensible tomorrow.  As you can see we didn't go anywhere today....just too calm in the garden to think about driving for the sake of.  Tomorrow have to order another lorry of ballast and cement so the weather is bound to change...we always reckon that once the word is out that concreting is on the cards, the rain starts to come down in buckets

LN....time to hit the sack....I was thinking of putting up and cutting a ribbon when the unveiling of the steps to the garden takes place tomorrow...not sure they would understand the protocol though...watch this space...I might just do it...LN

Monday 16th May

Too late...tonight...tomorrow....just woke up infront of the computer...LN...it's been all go here....all day!!