Monday 26th March

Beautiful day in the sun....had a text from my visitors asking if they could come home again before they set off for the airport and we have just come back from the restaurant.  Supper was cheesy chips, liver in tomato sauce, chicken wings, pork with onions and a big plate of salad.  Rather nice tonight...I had a chauffeur and so I could have a drink.

Back home now so tea and coffee and a huge box of dark chocolate with cherries and while I am up here updating they are having the box all to themselves so this shouldn't take too long to do.

Started both cars today and .....both kicked off first time.  My water bill came and I paid the man just over four leva for three months water and almost fell through the floor when he told me how much.  Note to self...must be more economical...   Got a phone call from my builders...can they work tomorrow....yet please....I'm off to pick them up at eight from the cafe.

I'm getting withdrawal symptoms...the chocolates are calling me so I'll say LN....well I think it's the chocolates...it could be the beer....

Tuesday 27th March

Slept like I was waiting for an alarm to go off and I was but it wasn't mine.  Started moving with noise around six twenty to make sure that my leavers knew that it was time to jump into action.  Coffee delivered to the landing (I don't encroach on bedrooms), showers underway, toaster at the ready, chocolates hidden, and they were on the move.  Said goodbye at seven thirty and on my way at seven forty to pick up my men.  They eventually came out from the restaurant at eight ten and I told Bekir that his daily rate had gone down....joke...he had been buying new rubber shoes with grip tight soles knowing that his life hinged on same for purchase on my roof.  He lived to tell the tale...he is safely back in his own home.

Went to Djebel this afternoon with a shopping list for ....nails.....no not mine, theirs and the bag was so heavy that I moved my car to outside the door of the shop.  Did my student, chatted to his mum, commented on how she serves up fishing bait to customers......I couldn't and she keeps it in the fridge next to her.....home and no way did my men want to go home tonight.  I dug them out at six fifty and told them home or forget it and you're sleeping in the wreck.

Men home.....went round to see D of S and his lady love and came back with onions, parsnips and liver that they couldn't manage to cook, had a phone call from another visitor to the area and arrangements have been made for tomorrow.  My home phone is not working so a trip to Kardjali is on the cards.  Tomorrow I am off to the builders merchants with my men, picking Annie up on the way back and we are off for a girlie time in Kardjali with the intention of meeting new guests for lunch / saving it for supper,

Home...supper was sweet and sour barbecued pork chops with chippies....just had to be done.  Washing up can wait until tomorrow...well there is only me now....my next days are organised now that new visitors have arrived.

LN...it's been a lovely day.

Wednesday 28th March

What a day...sorry late again but just finished off at the restaurant...I have more guests.

Off to the builders' merchants this morning and Bekir threw his toys out of the pram because he felt that we weren't getting the attention that we deserved...   He considers that I am a good customer, pay my bills on time and that he should have attended to our needs a little quicker and get that coffee delivered in quicksticks.  Anyway all eventually sorted, delivery is promised for tomorrow and I ordered more wood for me for furniture making and it has the summer to dry out.  Five meter lengths of 14 cm x 7 cm for fifteen leva a length so I've had five of them and another couple of really biggies for a table at 25 leva each.  Result.  Picked up Annie on the way back and KingDom is really suffering with man flu and it is somehow much worse than women flu we have decided so we left him to get himself back to bed and self medicate.

So on to Kardjali to meet the next of my visitors and sort my telephone out.  My house phone had taken a turn for the worse when it told me that it was out of battery and I inadvertently plugged in my laptop power supply and I reckoned I'd knacked it.  Now I wasn't going to tell them that so I just mentioned in broken Bulgarian that it didn't work filling in with English words when I didn't know the Bulgarian much to the amusement of Annie.  The guy removed and replaced the battery, plugged the charger in and said in perfect English, it seems to be working OK.  With this I smacked him over the head with the instruction book but ever so gently and and then he handed it back to me.  I said but it's not working and he said that he had switched it off.  Now I had looked for the on/off switch and asked him to show me where it was and I opened up the manual and he showed me that it was button seven and said 'cried' which apparently means 'stop'.  I repeated 'cried' and said that yes I did when I couldn't get it to work or find the 'cried' button.  Now I know it's number seven.  He found it very funny too but his boss didn't get it at all.

So a little more shopping with Annie.  Picked up some man flu tablets in Djebel and home in time to make the men some coffee before we started for home dropping Annie off on the way.  Out to dinner tonight in my favourite restaurant and the meal was appreciated....into the Supermarket and got a bottle of brandy because the temperature has dropped tonight again but fortunately the fire was still going and the house warm....LN.....settled for red wine tonight, the brandy will keep and live to fight another day or night....almost time for bed....just one Daily Mail Sudoko to achieve before I get my head down....LN and fence repairs tomorrow....I have a cow problem in the making...

Thursday 29th March

Posting early today since I am off out tonight for supper again and can't leave you in suspense for so long.  There was frost on the car this morning and minus one on the thermometer and I thought we had done with that stuff but no.  Picked up the men and unfortunately the promised delivery of the remains of the wood for the roof did not materialise.  We've worked out that we are going to knock off one percent off the bill per day or delay the payment by one month for every day that it is late.  We are still working on the final details

Visitors this morning and off to my student this afternoon.  Gouljan is back in town from Turkey and was telephoning for a lift back to the village from Djebel...she had missed the bus.  Men have almost finished the hardboard on the roof and seem to have gone as far as they can without that delivery arrives so I think another telephone call is called for.  Tried to phone to see how the English Patient was this afternoon but his phone is not working...might have to call in at some point.

Thanks Andrew...your parcel has just been delivered my my mayor and of course I had to open it in front of him...I think I explained that it is par for the course....I explained that it was books that I could read on the computer and he thought it was a 'novel' idea.

So men about to finish.....and me about to do my chauffeuring bit....just a few pickies.....the Baba Marta bands came off today since the storks are flying high and have been put onto some of the new bushes that haven't flowered this year.....LN....I'm rushing this bit now....I have men chaffing at it....

Friday 30th March

So the plan this morning was that Bekir would phone the yard this morning to confirm that the delivery was coming before I set off to pick them up.  If it wasn't coming then they could have the day off...no materials...not able to work.  I got my first phone call at 7.40 saying that the yard owner was not answering his phone so I said that it was OK and to keep trying before the decision was made.  Eight o'clock I got the call to say that they would not be working and I was imagining a day of sheer bliss and making my plans when my phone went again and the delivery of wood and the likes was arriving so off I set and got there for about nine to pick them up.  Mrs Bekir handed me twelve eggs from her chickens and Bekir gave me an acacia tree from the lady at the restaurant so it was a lovely morning.  I gave Mrs Bekir a hug, we got in the car and home James and don't spare the horses.

So we waited and we waited and we waited.  Lunch time came and we still waited so I went out and did some weeding and planted out my rosemary bush and split up my lavender making four plants in all.  Had a bonfire and generally played and we still waited.  Sally was getting twitchy and started clearing up the wreck so Bekir wanted to join in the fun and I have one very clean wreck and we still waited.  We designed the door to the upstairs balcony in the wreck and in the absence of a cigarette box we used graph paper and I am still none the wiser and we haven't decided on the height of the wall (yet) but the opening is two meters sixty and the balcony one meter thirty before we add on another meter or so over the kitchen window.  Changed a few of the upstairs beams around to give us more of an access to the door and it's looking good.

So eventually the lorry arrived at sixish and I think they have had their own problems.  My wood unloaded first, cement, lime mix (var), two pallets of building bricks and now we come to the serious stuff.  The wood gets tipped on to the grass verge and then hand-balled into the garden.  Sally on the outside, Bekir on the inside stacking and me in the middle until one of my neighbours decided that he could help so I was relieved in more than one way but it was short lived.....he had to go and sort his cows so we made the decision...no stacking....just get it into the yard and the rest could be done on Monday.

Dropped them off at silly o'clock like almost nine, went into KingDom's office but he must be ill...he hadn't made it to the pub.  Got them out of the bedroom where they had been watching Only Fools and Horses and am seeing them tomorrow after I visit the library, pick up the laptop that is running like a dog and deliver it to KingDom's medical centre.  

Home, fire going and I have been warned that there could be snow on the high ground but nobody said how high the ground had to be.....not hungry tonight but a little red on the go.  Shower and then to bed...tomorrow could be another busy day....lovely skies tonight front and back.....LN...my glass is empty...

Saturday 31st March

So what can I plan for tomorrow, It's April's Fools Day'....

As for today...brilliant.  Seven am start, washed my hair in the shower and dried it...didn't bother with breakfast, last night's supper was still lingering.  So nice not to have anything to do...no places to go and no people to see...

I went to the library for half ten and sat around in the sun.  They have a lovely new puppy that I could really take to.  He was a 'road dog' that one of the librarians fell in love with and jobsaggudum.  He stays out because he has not yet to find out that inside is not the place to drop messages and deliver wee-wees but I'm sure he'll learn.  Came back with a crown of rhubarb and that can't be bad....Planting tomorrow.

Ate all of their cheese puffs, sausage rolls and ham and cheese thingies and then on to Kingdom's place clutching the librarian's pc for a health check.  PC was OK.  Not much to delete but it's just old and I  know the feeling well.

He messed around with the Librarian's PC and got it all working again.  Left KD's around four thirty after they declined a dinner invitation but hey there you go.  Got back around six thirty and decided that supper should be paramount.  I'd had lunch at the librarians but the hunger pains were calling so into the casserole dish went some onions that were fried off, part of a gammon steak, honey, chilli powder, curry powder and ginger...rice added and on to the woodburner and the rice was done to perfection.

The fire is belting out, wine had to be given the kiss of life since it was a new bottle and hadn't breathed for a while but the flavour was out or rather 'is' out.  Supper is over, the wine is flowing and it's an early night for me.  Only eight o'clock here but the next couple of hours will be in the company of the 'Parson's Daughter' courtesy of Catherine Cookson' and then beddie byes for me.  It's been a long and interesting day.

LN.....early to bed early to rise.....tomorrow has to be sorted..... but leisurely would be preferable....