Thursday 7th July

I'm late, I've just come in, I need a shower and I've been working, working, working.  Weeds, because of the last few days of inclement weather, like p*ssisting down, mnogo...are gynormous and everywhere.  Turn your back and there's another one.  I decided to fork over the bed by the long hedge/fence or excuse for one until a few more shrubs fill in the gaps and it's as well I had it prepared and weed free.  Gouljan's mother appeared this afternoon out of the blue with some flowers that needed planting, like millions of the things and I get very protective about them...they all have to have a stab at survival and I haven't the heart to throw anything out unless it's a weed of course.

This morning as part of my filling up my computer with lots of programs that I can't do without, I sat waiting for one to download and I suddenly realised that my mouse mat was a souvenir from the open day at Lewes Crown Court.  Now I'd never really read it but when I did I fell a little bit miffed.  It's produced, and advertising for want of a better word, the Community Legal Service offering help with Benefits and Council tax, problems with children's schooling, debts out of control, unfair treatment at work, problems with landlords and it stated that they could help with all of the above.  It's a free and confidential advice service paid for by legal aid but the criteria that you must fill....you had to be on a low income ...or on benefits....so if you are Jo Public managing to provide a subsistence for you and yours with not a lot to spare but managing....you have to sort everything out yourself. No sorry, can't help, you earn just over the threshold and you're not on benefits.......England, my England.  My coasters also came from there as did my peg bag...and nobody checked if I was on benefits before I acquired all of these goodies.  

So Gouljan's mother loves my house.  She went into every room about three times asking how much things are.  You don't have to take offence in Bulgaria....everything has to be accounted for and there are two comments...skupo (you've been ripped off) or eftino (bargain).  She loves my kitchen and is going to get the guy that made it for me to make her a unit to go over her washing machine and sink so the next time that I give Gouljan a lift to Djebel (that's if she comes back from Turkey) we're off to see Christoph.  

Enough for tonight....It's a beautiful evening and I'm going to sit out with a beer and just enjoy the fading rays...LN...

Hi Elsa, if the birds flying about have white bellies they are house martins and if they are just dark all over they are swifts and they make a very piercing sound that hurts my ears - we have a flock of them outside our building too. We also have Colorado beetle but we are knocking them off into a jam jar as they are quite sedentary little beasts, they don't jump or fly off or anything. Quite stupid things really!

Times, they are a changing in the UK. People are being expected to take responsibility for themselves and their actions. Just imagine the horror.

Quoted from Joanna

Hi Elsa, if the birds flying about have white bellies they are house martins and if they are just dark all over they are swifts and they make a very piercing sound that hurts my ears - we have a flock of them outside our building too. We also have Colorado beetle but we are knocking them off into a jam jar as they are quite sedentary little beasts, they don't jump or fly off or anything. Quite stupid things really!

Watch out for the Colorado things...apparently they are impregnated when they over winter so don't have to get laid to lay if you get what I mean, Joanna.  

As for the things a' changing in the UK OH...don't joke me...you can't undo three generations of benefit dependants when the pickings are so beneficial.... a bit like you, I can't forgive my parents for teaching me personal responsibility and my kids probably will never forgive me using the same criteria...

Well that explains only finding one adult beetle and lots and lots of the little bleeders. Still the potatoes are holding up well as long as we go and find them every few days. I think this year for the first time ever, I shall actually burn the potato tops.

Quoted from Joanna

Well that explains only finding one adult beetle and lots and lots of the little bleeders. Still the potatoes are holding up well as long as we go and find them every few days. I think this year for the first time ever, I shall actually burn the potato tops.

Since we grow a lot of tobacco in the region and it is closely related to the potato, tomato family, I go down to the local hardware shop and for 3 leva you can buy enough to do 15 litres and that's a lot of spraying.  I've spotted a couple today and so tomorrow, blitz day...they have no right to my potatoes....that's if there's anything under that green stuff at the top...all will be revealed...I think I just might have a look tomorrow...

Friday 8th July

So seven forty five when I woke up this morning so the schedule was a bit tight so I decided to sit out with my coffee, wash my hair and have a shower, dry my hair and then go out and get all sweaty again in the garden and that includes my hair.  I had to come in and get a hand towel because the perspiration was going into my eyes and making them sting.  Silly me I thought, so I got a job in the shade.  Now that 'perching bench' for the flower garden, that had to go back on the drawing board....didn't actually get on the drawing board....I found some wood, got a rough idea of what I was doing...of course it's the prototype and the next one will be better but it's OK for 'perching on' when you're absolutely knacked and it's in a shady spot.  And it's still standing...amazing.  One of the photos that I took makes it look a little bit 'leaning to the left' or 'p*ssed' in the vernacular but it works for me.  I put wood stain on it after I removed the cement since it's wood that the men had used so didn't really cost me much.

So can I come in please miss, I've done loads to day, honestly....and so now I'm in.  Lunch was a tin of tuna mixed with mayo and onion and don't you just love / hate it when that little metal ring pull just don't pull and snaps off...so out with my trusty electric can opener that I have only had to use once before but it was worth the carriage from England if only for today.

What else have I done apart from woodwork?  I'm digging out a new vegetable patch, taken some of the earth off my top garden since I kept looking at it and thought it needed a little improvement, and sunbathed a bit with Monty Don.

LN....time for drinkies, relaxation with Neil Diamond.  I certainly get the celebs out here...Sleep tight but not that tight that you're hungover in the morning....

Saturday 9th July

Well the morning flurry of activity dissipated round lunch time today since it was too hot to do anything constructive.  I was in the garden at 6.30 and worked until about 9.30 generally moving things that were in the wrong place and weeding.  There are some really beautiful blue wild cornflowers that are scattered over the garden so I have tried to round a few up and create a new 'wild flower garden' working on the principle that they still flower and there's no way that I've been watering them so down the garden they go.  So it will include Euphorbia, daisies and poppies and anything else that I come across that is pretty and not too invasive. Perched on my new perch to have my coffee and guess what...it's still standing.

There was a lot of noise going on earlier so out came the trusty binoculars and it was towards the lake.  Now I'm not sure if the fence that the farmer put up to keep the animals away from the water since the ground was so uneven, has been taken down or knocked down by the beauties.  It's now down completely and removed so perhaps the farmer decided that it was dangerous half up, a bit like the Grand Old Duke of York and his men.  Chased a couple of sheep out of the garden this afternoon.  They managed to get in where I had filled up the hole with some spiked bushes so obviously that didn't work so need to get out the nails and hammer and 'I'll hammer in the morning'.....and won't hammer in the evening...

This afternoon, it just got too hot so I thought I'd lie on the bed for a few minutes .....and two hours later.... thought, that was a quick few minutes.  Beautiful evening though, got the watering done and over with and disturbed two little frogs/toads that didn't seem to like the water at all.  Strange seeing where they started off life.  So fly screens definitely have to be kept closed to keep the pesky blighters out unless they've been to limbo classes but I'll just have to wait and keep my eyes open.  They do have to negotiate the steps on to the terrace though and they were very little.

Enough ramblings....I think I need another shower to cool off...my skin is leaking and a drink to liven me up.....LN....

Saturday evening continued

Just had to get out there with my camera from my bedroom balcony.  The sun had gone down but the sky had that lovely pink tinge to it ...the moon is up...so here goes...LN

Sunday 10th July

So what is so special about a Sunday?...Day of rest or so I'm told.  The intention was that I went out at 6.30 this morning and sat on my perching bench and drank my coffee and the intention was honourable until I spied, with my little eye something beginning with 'r'.  So I picked up the said something beginning with 'r' and proceeded to rake up the piles of stones that had accumulated at the bottom of the incline from the top garden and then I spotted something beginning with 'w-b' and ended up filling it with the said stones.  At nine thirty I decided it was time to get out of my pyjamas, have a shower, have breakfast but somehow I ended up emptying the said wheel barrow and having a bonfire.  And that is how the day progressed.  I eventfully boiled up half a dozen eggs with the intention of waiting for the disco magazine since I was out of decent bread, mayo and beer and what did he have on board, only beer, no uncut bread and no mayo.  Now I could have gone into Djebel since I had had to raid my stotinki money box to get the money together to get the provisions, to see if the cash point was working but the effort was just too great.  I ended up with a couple of hamburgers that I had found in the freezer, fried off and caramelised an onion, made home made tomato sauce out of tomato paste, vinegar and honey and sat out in the garden and 'enjoyed'.

I then found that it was pretty cool working under the tree half way down the garden and that seemed to be my spot for the next few hours.  I have a new sport though, trying to find the plant with the longest tap root and the couch grass with the longest root run.  Oh when boredom creeps in, it's amazing how the mind occupies itself.  My other one is when I am sawing or chopping wood, I find I count the saw-cuts.

My baby frog was out there today and I discovered that he has his home in the bricks surrounding my garlic patch.  I thought about adding a little roof but ....the neighbours are starting to talk already what with my frog with the hat and kimono dragon in the garden.... eventually gave up, this skin of mine needs two showers a day since it leaks so much.  You have to keep up your fluid level so I'm off for a beer, not in the least bit hungry tonight after my hamburger blow-out so just going to wash the salt off, get into fresh PJ's and think about getting my head down.  It's 9.30 here and morning comes round pretty quickly.  LN...off to desalinate....