Sunday 20th May

Stupid o'clock...not even silly o'clock.  Three thirty wide awake, tried to go back off but no go so read, had coffee. lit fire since I was cold and decided at seven that it was time that I made for the bed and slept until nine thirty.  So meandered the morning in my pyjamas, attended to the garden and then was disturbed by the front gate and Byser was make it hot food to Strar Mushes Kushta and I don't know if she wanted a partner in crime but I was at the ready.  It was the first time that I'd looked into the house / shack and it was grim but on the window sill I saw a pretty little vase so I asked if I could have it and since the things that I get attracted to mean nothing to them.....it is now sitting on my shelf between the lounge and the hallway.  I love it.

So pottered today as yesterday and have had a really chilled time.  Thank goodness the weather has improved and it was almost tee-shirt weather today.  I don't know if you remember but there is a brother of the ones that I bought the houses from who visits about this time and spends about a month here.  He is disabled but has such a beautiful disposition and face and we chat quite a lot.  He is over for the fete worse than death in Djebel and remarked that he had see Bekir and Sally there yesterday.  I asked about Star Mush and he provided me with a video on his mobile saying that he spends most of his days in bed since his hips don't work.  Not much of a life from the one that he had here but that's age for you.  I asked him to give my regards to him if he sees him soon.  Thinned out and replanted my red cabbage and if any one asks how much I shall suspend their member ship but the tally is now three rows....

Supper tonight was barbecued spare rib pork chop with roiste potatoes and my over-wintered broad beans...and they were delicious.  To follow I had baked apple stuffed with my peach and ginger jam with fresh yogurt and now I'm stuffed.

Amazing result with the fire...I lit it at 6.00 this morning since I was cold and made the fire lighters to get it going this evening and unused....it was still going so with a little kindling it was roaring and is now doing what all good fires should do.

So LN....I'm into another fantasy novel and it's getting good...

Monday 21st May

What a day....I've worked on my stone and weed heap all day and at last it's looking almost in shape but I'm knacked.  Weather was up and down ....no rain but when the sun came out it was really hot and then it clouded over but as I said...no rain so that's a bonus.

Not much to report today unfortunately...it's like that when you get into the creative gardening thing.  It is vaguely reminiscent of a burial mound now that it's uncovered so perhaps I could have it identified as the tomb of Zeus or somebody important and start charging entry fees.

Surprise visitor this afternoon....Emaule who used to come and visit my workers dropped by to see if they were here today.  He's been working in Zante for the last two months picking spinach for the Germans...apparently they can't get enough of it.  He's as brown as a berry and puts me to shame.

Sat and watch the kamikasi birds.  They were diving into the other house and coming out of every opening there was.  They went in via the balcony, once round the upper floor and down to the lower and out through the windows or the doors.  Beautiful to watch but they did take a breather on the electricity cable.

Need to go and get creative in the kitchen...almost eight my time and nothing prepared yet....and I think it might be something with chips.  Off to the kitchen...LN

Tuesday 22nd May

Six thirty start this morning and I'm whooping with joy.  Coffee, emails and the weather is well...acceptable but cold.  My last night's fire was just ticking along nicely which I was surprised at but outside was chill.  Apparently there was a earthquake last night but I was none the wiser for it.  Just north of Sofia according to the press.

Found a new feature on my washing machine.  I've only had it for two years and not bothered to check it out but last night I was waiting for the electricity to go into 'cheap time', set the machine, found the 'delay' button and it must have done it while I slept.  Pegged out the heavies this morning but the lightweights were on the airer in the upstairs bathroom and cooked to perfection by one thirty this afternoon.  Sky was going darker so brought in the rest and now hung up, fully aired, might be ironed if I get completely bored but doubt it.

Sorted out my texts for this afternoon, pottered in the garden and uncovered a huge ant's nest....frighteningly so.   Brunch came next with the gammon left over from last nights gammon, potato, onion and cheese omelette so I made fried bread and fried egg to go with it.  Fully stuffed for the day.

Did my lesson, moved on to the next and as I parked the car afterwards near my leva shop there was a bang as I switched it off.  I thought that it was one of the elastic seat covers giving way but when I came to start it again there was a clunk and nothing.  Went back to my student's mum and dad's shop and he came out and immediately there was a downpour.  I hovered with the umbrella, he shook the engine, gave it a go and it turned over.  The thunder started and we were back to square one with the last of summer waving goodbye.  Goodness knows what it was wrong with the car and I'm just waiting for it to happen again.

Home, fish fingers and chippies, supper over by seven thirty normally unheard of in this neck of the woods.  Fire burning well. Now it's turned into a beautiful evening....LN....I've filled the wine lake again so I'm going to embibe... ;

Wednesday 23rd May

What a morning and it's only eleven fifteen.  Silly o'clock start but I fell asleep in the chair last night so by the time that I went to bed I'd already had a couple of hours.  Trouble is, I lit the fire and it's so nice to curl up in front of it.

Breakfasted by eight, toast and peach and ginger conserve, had a bonfire, came in and did some emails and a few Freecell and decided to go out and get in the potting compost that I bought yesterday and sort the plants out.  Thought I might as well 'walk the garden' and looking at the new bit of fence that I'd put up it looked like there was a length of hose pipe sticking through.  Closer inspection called for but realised that it was the tail of a snake got up reasonably close but couldn't see the head of it as it was coiled round outside of the fence.  Now I'm not very brave so I went along to see my neighbours to ask if there was a man they called out in such circumstances but there only solution was to shoot it and I'm not into doing it damage as long as it doesn't do me any.  The consensus is that there are very few dangerous snakes in Bulgaria but I didn't get that close to find out.  

So while I was out, I joined in the loose woman breakfast party and had soda bread and rice with black pepper in it and I explained in Bulgarian about the snake and my trusty translator Hacebar did the rest.  They asked me what the English was for it so maybe they'll remember so when they all speak English it will be my turn to laugh at their pronunciation as I'm sure they do at mine.  But I keep going regardless.  So came back at it's still there but the tail is now outside of my domain so perhaps it's taken the hint,  Lunch I think is over at my Avatar's house and again is rice with veal and onions.....le's see if I'm invited.

Wednesday update

The snake has been disposed of....it was one and a half meters long and was poisonous (so I'm told). It  appeared to have taken up residence in my metal drainpipe that's been in the hedgeline for a long time...shame...wrong place, wrong time.....but I'm not really sad to see it go.  I would have kept looking for it.  

Thursday 24th May

Quarter to seven this morning and I had a pretty lazy day.  The weather's as dull as ditch water, again it rained overnight and today has been pretty grim up until this evening.  Now I didn't bother to get dressed thinking that I would have a quick wash this morning and a shower before I set off for Djebel for my student.  And isn't it always the way....one of my loose women came round on the pancake trail....she had an armful of the things and it was obviously her task for the morning to deliver to the community.  I had my allocated two and I thanked her and said 'breakfast' and she laughed....there again it was twelve o'clock and she'd probably been up since silly o'clock preparing them.  My next visitor was the water board man with my bill and I had to really dig deep to pay it....for one month....four leva and thirty two stotinki.....roughly two pounds....and I make sure that I give him the exact money....I didn't get change once and so I now take care of the stotinki and hope the leva takes care of themselves..

Dull when I set off and so I put on my new coat and it feels good.  I've not known it to be this cold in the time that I've been coming here...what with that and earth tremors...what is the country coming to.  Rain did stay off and found out that the schools weren't working today since they are celebrating the founding of the Cyrillic alphabet so the children were dancing apparently in Djebel and I missed it.  I asked my student if he took part and all he said was....'I watched' and didn't seem to have any enthusiasm for it at all.

Went into the supermarket and got enough to last the weekend.  Got back and unloaded the car and it was at that point that the thunder started for real and the heavens opened but now it's turned into a lovely evening glow.  Everything is very green but after all the rain, it flaming well should be.....'it's Summer' she was heard to yell to the countryside.

Supper over and done with tonight....chicken liver risotto...delicious and last night's fish curry was the d.b's too.  I wrote the name of the fish down but unfortunately my student's mother didn't know what it was even though it came from the local supermarket.  Foreign muck.

Back to my book tonight.  I'm really trying with it, have thrown it down a couple of times but still pick it up hoping that it might just get interesting.  One more try.  Bea eaters are out swooping as are the swifts and so interesting to watch with their aerobatic jaunts.  LN...time I said goodnight.  Pictures are from yesterday...nothing much to photograph today.

Thursday update

Well I said that there was nothing worth photographing today but I was wrong.  There is a huge hare grazing in my garden and he has been for the last half an hour and where is that super zoom camera when you want one...still in the shop or on ebay and I really need to get one.  So beautiful to watch.  He went for the ready cut stuff, then decided that he would go for the 'pick your own' but much as I willed him to move up towards the house, he wouldn't but there again if he'd have been after my red cabbage...I'd have been soon out with the broom like Mr McGregor in Beatrix Potter Tales of Peter Rabbit.  

LN....

Friday 25th May

Seven thirty this morning but I did have a brief respite at one this morning when I knocked off a few pages of the latest book that I've started.  The one that I abandoned is sitting on the table in front of the wood burner on the back burner and I think it's likely to stay there.  It would be providing heat if it were mine, but it's not and it has to go back.

Out to the garden and did a circular tour but came in pretty sharpish...it's cold, it's damp, it's miserable and it's June almost.  Never have I known weather like it over here...England yes....and as I understand it, England is undergoing a heatwave.....sucks.  Played on the computer this morning and created a spreadsheet in Excel where my knowledge base isn't the strongest.  Worked though and all my columns add themselves up and give me a grand total...grand. Phoned and caught up with the library and I'm paying them a visit on Sunday.

Ordered the bit that I want for the Beast from the internet and I got a new one not used and it should be delivered to the UK in time to come out with my next visitor since they wouldn't dispatch to Bulgaria.  Eventually I decided that enough was enough so I put on a fleece and some woolly socks with longish trousers and headed for the flower beds to thin out the tobacco plants and spread them round a bit.  I sorted out the flower bed infront of the wreck, got rid of the grass and weeds and filled it with tobacco and marigolds and then it started to rain.  I carried on for a while but then it got to be a downpour so down tools, made a fish finger sandwich for a latish lunch followed by pineapple rings since I fancied something sweet and lit the fire.  Now not too bothered about supper and the chicken breast might have to wait until tomorrow although....sweet and sour chicken now that the pineapple is open might be on the card.

So my adoptive pigeon Walter is spending time between the electricity cables and the garden.  The sparrows think it's Christmas since they have all that free hay for nesting  and I had the Golden Oriole back, the woodpeckers, a couple of hoopoes, bee eaters and the cuckoos belting forth despite the weather.  Hive of activity it's been outside but not a lot inside.  Waiting to see if my hare returns tonight...it's getting to be its time.  

And I'll leave you with these picture of my little world and I'll imagine you out with the vinegar and applying to over-exposed white patches that are now showing more than a hint of summer....LN

Saturday 26th May

So last night I was watching a film on my pc when there was a knock on my door at 10.40.  Now I don't leave the outside light on but obviously thought that someone in the village had a problem and it was my Avatar clutching a bag.  She asked me if I could drive her to Djebel and I said that unfortunately after a couple of brandy and waters I couldn't risk it.  She explained that one of her granddaughters was off to the Black Sea for three days with the school and had forgotten to take the bag with them when they left yesterday.  Me ever the solutioniser, said that we could go in early this morning....I asked how early and she said that she had to catch the bus at six so we agreed on a five a.m start.

Boots blacked, two ladies strapped into Beauty, two young ladies sprung from their beds, one left to catch the bus, and one brought back to go back to bed at grandmas.  That's youth for you.

It's a beautiful morning and let's see how long it last but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good day.  The plants that I moved about yesterday had a good soaking in and I forgot to mention that the hare did in fact graze the estate last night....can't mention it to anyone round here though....they'd be out with the shotgun and have the barbecue lit ready.

A full day ahead of me...it's only six thirty and I feel like I've done half a day already.....let's see what I can get up to.

Saturday continued

Breakfast was local feta cheese with bread and more coffee and I messed around on the pc until the mood kicked in and out I went.  The flower beds from my downstairs bedroom window needed sorting.  The plums that had popped up from root suckers needed grubbing out and the self seeds were all over the place....all done and dusted but the weather has been up and down.  Moved some of the hay that was cut down so that the grass underneath  doesn't suffer so badly and checked on the weather forecast for the next two weeks and it was now or never to get the lawn mower out.  Tomorrow is destined for rain and is most of next week....rats...but won't be many of those around...it's too wet.

Managed to get the lawn mower to start eventually but it took a lot of swearing on my part and I always believe it helps...well it made me feel better anyway.  You know what it's like...first off it won't start so you get the book out, read the appropriate page and try to follow the diagrams that suffice for three different types of the same machine and you wonder which one in fact relates to your machine.  Go out try it again and this time it's no joke and you mean business ...and then...it springs to life and I managed to do the top half of my garden just before the rain came down.  Result.

I had guests this afternoon and it was the full conducted tour....and I explained that I was working outside so there had not been a lot done inside.  They do live in the village but they needed Hacebar to bring them in ...maybe they were shy.

Supper is underway....and sitting on the wood burner and will be ready when I am.  Beer underway and despite my four thirty start....I've had a good day....library tomorrow to try to root out the rest in the series of the fantasy that I am enjoying...LN...my supper should be ready by now and I'm certainly ready for it...