Friday 1st June

Morning ...white rabbits and if they were out there I couldn't see them for the fog, morning mist, whatever you like to call it.  It might burn off around lunch time by which time the thunder will probably start again and the rain.  I'm not a cynic, I'm turning into a realist and realising that global warming is not happening here.  I even dug out a pair of my winter pyjamas last night and there is a danger that all my winter gear might be replacing the summer stuff that is hanging, ever hopeful on coat hangers as we speak.  Seven o'clock my time and the cheapo watch that I put through the shower yesterday has dried out over night and is now showing the correct time.  It was touch and go or rather touch and not go for a while, but it's pulled through.  Coffee and book spring to mind.  I met up with Remsier yesterday and apparently all the hay that was cut has spoilt so it's going to be got rid of either by burning or dumping it on the rest of the garden that needs cutting down as a mulch.  Drawing board coming into play today....but first coffee.....catch you later

Friday udpated
Managed to finish the weeding of the hedge down the eastern side of the garden and it is planted out with zinea...what will take will be beautiful and I'm hoping that they all do.

As predicted the rains came at 2.10 so I thought the only sensible thing to do was to go to virginal pit and sleep for a couple of hours and it was still raining when I awoke.  What is it with this weather????

Read my book, lit my fire, cooked my spaghetti to accompany the bolognaise that was in the slow cooker, poured a glass of the red stuff and went back to my book and ate my supper.  Not a good day weather wise but as expected...

Finished supper and decided that it would be good to go out and have bonfire of all the hay that was cut and even that was too wet too burn so at nine ten my time I have called it a day but have stacked it all up ready for tomorrow.  

LN...let's hope the weather improves....I have thins to do like the mother of all bonfires tomorrow to get rid of all the rubbish from the garden.  I'll keep you updated....

Saturday 2nd June

Beautiful sunrise and not much to burn off this morning.  You just kept waiting for it to disintegrate though and it gave a hint this afternoon but then it passed over......just the faint rumble of thunder.

So what did I do today.  Pegged out the washing, pottered in the garden, moved the sofa from the hallway outside and put on the outside cushions.....this was if I found the time today to sit out.  I treat this as work and this morning it suddenly hit me that I am allowed a day off.  I feel driven sometimes to get on with things but it's only myself being the task master or in my case mistress.  No one is looking over my shoulder.....so today was one of those days.  I did work in the garden, had a bonfire but realised that the wind was just too strong to get a good one going.  I think there is a rethink as to what to do with the stuff that's been cut.  I think I should plonk it down the bottom of the garden on the builder's rubble and then try to dig it in and see what happens.  I can always run round with the round up to sort it out if too much seeds.  Looked at the lavender this morning and some thumping great dog has broken one down so I gathered up what I could and now it's looking healthier inside in water....

Had a lovely surprise today.  Last year I bought from Momchilgrad a beautiful variegated petunia that had a beautiful perfume.  I thought I had lost it, tried to keep the seed but to no avail but on closer inspection, what I thought was tobacco growing was in fact about twenty five of the said variety.  They are now rehoused, in various flower pots and in the main garden and some have even found their way over to my Avatar.  Only snag is...I didn't realise that I had one big pot inside another so I've got to wait for them to become rooted before I can turn it on its side and slide the other pot out....it's far to heavy now that it's full.

So the remains of last night's supper is warming up in the slow cooker.....I'm just about to put the rice on and add some chilli powder and kidney beans to it....little beer might be called for to help it on its way so I'm off to the kitchen now to make final arrangements....LN

Sunday 3rs June

So I woke up this morning and couldn't work out if it was Sunday or Monday but I now have another day of weekend.  Six thirty this morning ....drank coffee....cleared out the dross from underneath my kitchen work top tiles after spotting a couple of ants and realising that the offending beasts had been brought in on some onions from the local supermarket...the offenders are now outside.  By the front door I have flying ants...I realise these things have to procreate so I was round there with the anti-insect spray and found the site that needed eradicating....it is now eradicated.

I have erected my new over the top umbrella. Yes we had rain again today, only a brief downpour but sufficient to bring my book in and rescue the cushions from my activity centre. The umbrella was downed and only raised sufficiently to dry out.  I did a little work in the garden but decided that Sunday was my day of rest and then found out that the Jubilee celebrations were on BBC so chugged into the channel and watched it.  The best moment for me was Land of Hope and Glory and I still hope it can be but I doubt it....it's for others not for us...but the girls were amazing...soaked but still singing.

Shame about the fly-passed but the weather rules the skies like it rules the waves.  Queenie still looks good as does D or E....got to give it to them....eighty six and ninety...not a bad score.

So .....not a thought about supper...or about any thing else....I'm going to chill mode...LN....here are my photos of the event that made me smile...LN

Monday 4th June

Five then went back to sleep until seven,,,I've decided that if I eat too late then that's the way it goes.  Last night's supper was not the healthiest, egg and chippies with mayo so I got what I deserved.  So full from last night that a cup of coffee, or two was all that I was up for this morning.  I tried to get the bonfire lit but the breeze made it almost impossible to control so I've decided that the cut grass is going to be piled on top of the stuff that hasn't been cut yet and most of it is done.  Underneath the cut stuff, the grass / weeds are wet, the ground brown so I've moved it so at least it can dry off and tomorrow it there is no rain overnight I'll be able to go over with the mower all the way down to the bottom of at least half of the garden.  The rest will have to wait until the man with the scythe is up and ready for action again.  I was very tempted to lob the old cut stuff over the hedge but I'm sure that I read somewhere that it's not good for the animals...memo to self...do some more research on the internet.

Really hot today and decided at lunchtime or thereabouts to get under my umbrella and finish my book. Quite a good story, the author likened it to Hannibal Lector and I would beg to differ.  Nice twist at the end though.  

Lunch was alfresco....onions, tomato, local cheese and a couple of hard boiled eggs...very tasty....must get some more potatoes tomorrow, the two that were left were not really worth bothering with since they were a little soft so they got planted out this morning.

Lawn mower day tomorrow and at last the garden has some colour in it now that the sun has decided to shine.  My yellow flowers out and I noticed the dreaded Colorado beetle has emerged from the soil and is beginning to attack them so tomorrow must get some spray from my hardware shop to eliminate them.  Not quite Monty Don style gardening but no way can I squish them between my fingers. things.  The seem to head for tobacco as well as potatoes suppose it's where they can get a meal.

Tidied up outside, notice that my little fire of household rubbish has just sprung to life so I'm out to attend to it.  LN...a woman's work is never done....

Monday continued

Just had to pop back.  The moon tonight is just beautiful.  My camera just wont catch it in all it's splendour but this is the best I can do...LN

Tuesday 5th June

So it's a quick one tonight..the thunder has started rattling and goodness knows where it came from  ...it has been such a good day.   Well in retrospect only up until lunchtime but I was I was so busy up until then that I never noticed.

Cleared the rest of the hay but since it was still so damp from the overnight mist the lawn mower was not coming out to play...There is another day to do these things.

Showered, hair washed for my student but I'm sure he doesn't notice.  The text was prepared earlier this morning so it was a sail trough to lunchtime.  Into Djebel...bought the Colorado beetle powder, did my lesson, replaced the two buckets that I had given to My Avatar....went round to my favourite restaurant and met the family and sat for an hour with the English book that I had given my five year old lovely birthday brethren.

Home via the supermarket for tomatoes and potatoes and arriving home, left the bucket by the car with a couple of loaves of bread in it while I talked to my Avatar and noticed that Bycer had shunted two cows up the road and only one was visible.  I ran up the road and the loaf of bread was no more so I flung the rest at the calf.  My Avatar at a run now decided that it was for Tommy's supper so rescued it.

Gouljan came round this evening with some plants for the garden and hers make mine look like...well I wouldn't like to mention.  I offered her a glass of the usual which she accepted and we talked boyfriends...hers not mine.  The outcome is that we are off to Haskovo on Saturday since she has no one else to consider.

Supper was a thawed out fillet of an unknown fish that I decided to do it as the Thai's do as sweet and sour...it was absolutely delicious served with pasta....must go now...the thunder's really rocketing around...LN  Two thunder claps nearby and two electrical outages...time I went and pickies tomorrow...LN

Wednesday 6th June

So as morning follows night it happened and I hadn't got a clue what time it was.  The bedside clock was flashing at me and as I went off to the distant drone of the UPS for my central heating pump so this morning it was silenced confirming that we had power.  It was just a horrible night last night.  We are all pretty sick of this recurring thunder, lightening and rain and not just rain, but buckets of the stuff.  It's breaking down flowers, battering the lavender and generally upsetting things.

Having said that....the sun came out so I was out with my trusty fork attacking dandelions and deep rooted things when who should come round but my neighbour and her husband still intent on paying back the debt for the trip I made around Christmas time.  He came round carrying his trusty scythe and his bag of bits, she came round with the pitchfork and just as they were sizing up what was left, it started to rain again.  I told them to leave it but he wasn't having any of it and set to.  It was just a shower and he worked away, she raided the cherry tree and asked for some of my tobacco plants which I willing gave away since they are crowded in the bed.  I planted out the plants that Gouljan brought round yesterday but the remainder will go to my student's mum to put down the garage.  I have just too many.  

Tommy hit the bonfire pit where I'd disposed of the remains of my very hot chilli beef and I thought his eyes were about to pop out of his head.  His tongue was out and he was coughing a bit...that might teach him.  The grim reaper stayed for about an hour and then headed home and sent his wife to pick up his tools at about five.  I don't think his heart was in it and who could blame him.  It came on to rain again as we were loading her up to set off up the road and not sure when will be the next session.

So supper tonight was chicken wings done in the oven and I found a bag of potato wedges that I'd got in Lidl and plonked some of them on the top and they cooked through beautifully.  I'm late tonight.  The sky is mottled with pink and grey and the sun is bound to be shining somewhere.  Hopefully it will be here tomorrow.  Off I go downstairs now...the fire was lit at about six and it's really cosy.  No sign of thunder tonight....maybe it heard me shouting last night for it to be gone...only I didn't use those words.  LN

Thursday 7th June

Six o'clock start but that's good for me saying that I hit the sack at 10.30 last night....slept the sleep of the just and woke up very refreshed.  I went out to test the temperature with a very cloudy start and I soon came in again.  Rather a cloudy start but it burnt of beautifully and it was very hot this afternoon.  

My grim reaper arrived at about ten thirty, left at eleven to get his cigarettes and returned to floor the rest of my grass/brambles/weeds.  I think I amused him by going round the garden and removing all of the long rooted stuff where they would just put round up on it and finish the lot.  Having said that it is at last beginning to look like a lawn of sorts and it I keep taking out the weeds eventually I know that it will look OK.  There's just such a lot of it and the weeds come permanently form the hillside next door on three sides.

Student today...he insisted on munching through a box of chocolate biscuits and offering them to me as he went.  I had a couple but when I went to the supermarket later I bought him a box as a present...if not for him for the rest of the family...was my lesson so boring?  We did the pyramids of Giza and I threatened him that he had to translate it for his mother into Bulgarian.  His home work was good though.  When it came to write two sentences about the water board he thought it was funny to write 'They give us water and we pay them money'.

Down to the restaurant this evening and met up with my favourite restaurant lady and we went to see the house that is up for sale.  The first one I even refused to take pictures...the stone walls were falling down and it needed pulling down and rebuilding but the spot wasn't even worth considering.  We drove up to another one that might be being sold and this one was in a better location with views over Djebel.  Two and a half decara more or less and the house has great potential.....but it all depends on the price.  The local lady is going to phone the owner in Turkey to see if they want to sell and if so how much they want for it.  Pretty house.

Chicken in the oven tonight with some more of those oven roast potato wedges...finished the wine so down to the beer.....tomorrow I am taking the rest of the plants to the garage and digging up some of my strays to accompany them.....then on to the library with provisions since their car is off the road.

LN.....things to do before tomorrow....

Photo update

This is one that just didn't want to post yesterday.....and one of the well...with water....no hosepipe ban here...