Tuesday continued

Umed and arded about going in for my student but the call for topping up with essentials was coming in loud and clear....so phoned to apologise for being late, had a wash and brush up to look fairly presentable for my appearance in the grand metrolopes and set out to face the elements.  My first brush with the snow was coming out of the drive.  I underestimated the gap but Beauty pulled through.  The village road to the highway was not too good but made it and arrived in Djebel in good time.

Did my lesson, went to my one leva shop and bought a sweater made in China that is eighty percent wool with a silk mixture for eight leva   , topped up on essentials, and even checked out another local hotel for someone that is coming over next week.  Choice of three rooms. central heating, and wood burners available on request...thirty leva a night for the both of them....fourteen pounds thereabouts....think that might do.  

Got home, unpack the shopping and put it away....first job, rescue the fire that I had given up on and stick more coal and wood on it, batten down the hatches early, open the wine and head for the PC to check on emails and do update.  Everything in the garden is rosy...well if I could see the garden it probably would be....but it's night and I can't.

Had a phone call from my son today to say that he enjoyed the cheesy e-card that I sent for his birthday....but silly me ordered for him from Amazon a printable gift voucher not an email one so I have to go in to it and sort it out.

So everything 'hubov' the wine is open and for all those friends wondering it I would survive the drought...I'm fine...I have the drip in place and it's replenishing the parts that others don't reach....LN...I'm about to raid the fridge which could result in home made chippies and mayo, or hamburgers, or fish fingers...the choice is all mine...LN

Wednesday 15th February

Happy birthday grandma...no longer with us but fondly remembered.  As for last night's supper...it was chippies and mayo and really delicious.

So this morning it was six thirty when I raised my sleepy head.  The fire was hanging in there by the skin of it's teeth so gave it mouth to mouth and it was whizzing water round the system in quicksticks.  No need to panic though that sun came up and my green house started to warm through.  I decided to do my emails and horror of horrors, I couldn't get into Hotmail.  Last night I dreamt that something was eating my software on the pc and I thought that this was the start of it.  Not me though....sign in issues with Hotmail and about an hour later I could log in.  It made me realise how much we come to depend on contact with the outside world.  Decided to tidy up my sewing box, well not so much a box it is a large empty olive tin.  Moved all my reels of cotton that I have been given into another container, got the sewing machine out and made a bag for my knitting needles and put all the sewing needles into the needle pack that I made last year.  I really don't know how they escape...well I do but I'm not saying.

Suddenly a knock on the door and it is my mobile library but since she didn't tell me she was coming, she didn't have any new books for me so on Friday I have arranged to go over for the day, sort out the internet connection and exchange my library books.  They've got load of them over there so I think they should share them....

I didn't realise just how cold it had been in the night until I went to show their neighbour the wreck.  On my walk way to the wood store I had my own skating rink. There was about an inch of ice all over it, with water underneath fortunately so I did the conducted tour explaining what was going to be where and when they had left I was out with my scoop.  Ice and water slung it on to the heap of snow covering the bit that's going to be the outside terrace.  So workout complete....relit the fire and got the little wood burner going....it's going to be minus ten according to one weather site,  Supper tonight is local hamburgers, mash and peas...going for the healthy option, can't have chip twice in one week.  

Forgot to mention...one of the freasia supports has started to bud...who's got green fingers then?

LN...I'm off to tend fires, be creative in the kitchen and see if my bar tending skills are up to scratch....   ;)

Thursday 16th February

Six thirty this morning and my bastard fire wouldn't go for love nor money....It was alight but would it roar into action...big no...I emptied the ash can, I poked it, I prodded it, I added small pieces of wood, a lump of coal here and there and then suddenly, all my efforts came to fruition and the radiators were warm as you like.  I think when the wind gets in a certain direction, it confounds the beast...so no go.  And at that point the sun came out and my outside central heating kicked in but my was it cold overnight again.  I checked my skating rink but I'd move too much water out yesterday so Torville and Dean wouldn't have stood a chance.

Walked the garden and the snow had frozen so I was walking on top of it.  My lake at the bottom was frozen over too.  My man with the penny whistle was out again so I sat in my swinging chair and made peace with the world again...not that I'm at odds with it these days.

Played on the pc and decided that I was suddenly suffering hunger pains so a couple of poached eggs were delivered and dispatched.  I was going to have a shower and wash my hair before I went off to see my student but decided that tomorrow was another day and that with a wash down, that was going to be adequate.  

Did my lesson....booked the hotel for guests next week, phone Gouljan since I was in Djebel to see if she wanted a lift home but she had her student after work.  It started to snow quite heavily and although 'white cloud' was forecast, nobody said that it would be dropping anything on the homestead.  Got home, rejigged the fire so that it was burning brightly, started to prepare leek and potato soup for tonight's supper and Gouljan appeared at the window.  She came in and we sat in front of the wood burner with a glass of the red stuff and had a little chinwag and she headed home before it went dark.  I did offer to drive her but she declined.  Tomorrow I am off to the library weather permitting...it's not snowing now so it should be alright.  My soup was delicious, my wine is not the best but adequate, my fire is belting out and the little one is going as well so it can do what it likes outside.

LN...my glass is empty and it's a long walk down those stairs.

Friday 17th February

It's my day today....but I'm not raising a glass this early in case AA come a knocking on the door.  Joy of joy, I was reminded how old I was when I picked up my DS this morning while I was waiting for the fire to come to life and it gave me my first happy birthday greeting and displayed my age on the screen.  Now I regard age as a number...and it's what's inside that matters.  Your general outlook on life determines how old you really are despite the birth certificate .

I've opened my parcel from Princess.  I have cards from her and her husband and from my grandson CJ and included were six individually wrapped pressies.  No...they are still wrapped....I'm going to show some will power and open them slowly over the next few hours....I want this birthday to last.  Gouljan delivered her parcel last night and again I'm leaving that for a little longer.  My birthday is for the whole day....

Happy Birthday! I hope you have a marvellous day Mine was the 15th so I'm finishing celebrating (commiserating) being another year older

I know I have said it on our other site, but never mind.  Happy Birthday dear Elsa. Hope your day has been wonderful and you have opened all or at least most of all those presents.  

Happy Birthday Elsa   I know you will ENJOY your day  

Happy Birthday Elsa

I hope you have enjoyed opening your presents throughout the day

Drinks are on us next week

A and J

Same as Danast, wished you all the best on another site but heh we only have birthdays once a year, so all the best and hoping you enjoyed the pressies from your daughter.  

Friday continued

Thank you so much all of you for the tremendous support and well wishes...it touches the heart and soul.

I've had an amazing day apart from the fact that I had to get the Beast out of the drive....you know how it is... something was telling me to take the Beast this morning and I hadn't realised the pitfalls.  I started it up, undid the gate and worked out that the snowbank on either side of the drive needed increasing before the Beast would get through the gap...so out with my shovel and realised it was frozen solid....   Dug a bit, pushed a bit and thought I would give up but I had this nagging feeling that I had to take the Beast.  So now I moves Beauty onto the patch under the bathroom window...comes out at an angle from the gate and towards the well, I close the gate and then reverse out onto the road and am now facing in the opposite direction to where I want to go...so I drive down the road, turn, drive back up the road to the amusement of my neighbours and reverse, eventually into the gap that I have come out from.  It took a few attempts, the snow banks were high.

Off I set for the library....the road was not too good with icy patches but eventually got there and left the car about a hundred yards from their gate but turned it round ready for lift off.  My son phoned as I walked to their house, we had a little chat and I thanked him for his e-card....never one to remember dates...had lunch, changed my library books, birthday cake and sausage rolls into a goody bag for me for when I got home.  Drove back in the dark since I was playing around with their computer loading free security packages and trying to get a Hotmail account set up and had to go down the road to reverse so that I could reverse back into the lane.  No way was I going to try to get it back into the drive when it was dark.

Fire was out so that was the first job, no, I tell a lie, I grabbed a sausage roll from my goody bag, then lit the fire and poured a drink.  When the fire was going, I put a candle in the cake, lit it, took the photo and now I am making my updates.

My first present from Princess was a little square one and it was a fridge magnet with a lovely message on it so at that I shed my first tear...the rest of the presents I am going to open one a day....I like things to last.  Lots of emails that needed answering and thank you for the kind wishes (you know who you are) and for those that didn't bother....your absenteeism has been noted.

Any way...thanks again...I look forward to seeing some of you during the year....I have four bedrooms and only need one....LN....my straw in the bottle needs sucking....