Tuesday continued

Why wont the 'diet pills' and other advertising people leave me alone...I do no harm to no one and want no one to do harm to my site....I am just going to delete you...get the message.....

Wednesday 18th July

Up at a sensible time this morning and worked in the garden trimming tomatoes, getting rid of weeds that seem to spring up at the slightest hint of rain and strangle them.  Now the art is to keep the tomatoes well trimmed so that the goodness goes into the tomatoes not into the green growth so they tell me and forget to mention yesterday that I'm luck to still have them after a rogue sheep got into the compound despite the gun turrets etc.  Could I get her out, could I buggery so I let it carry on munching the weeds at the bottom of the garden and I must admit, she did a fair job but then panic set in when her mates started to disappear over the hills and far away.  She tried several exits but the barbed wire held but then found her way out the way that the cow managed to get in so word must have got around.

Suddenly caught a glimpse of Spike, Kingdoms orphan and realised that he didn't look at all happy and it was time that he was found a bigger home.  Let's hope he likes it there...he has actually quadrupled in height since he was taken into care towards the end of last year.....update to follow as to how he's settling in,

Phoned up about my insurance document and what was in the back of my mind was correct.  They do it all on computer now and so I wouldn't have had a handwritten white notice attached to it so I was probably searching for something that I hadn't a clue what it looked like but I can have a reprint tomorrow so that I shall become legal once more.

Cut the slats for the sofa today and nailed one lot in place.  All I have to do is to attach a back rail and nail the back of the slats into place but play was rained off today when I saw the tail end, literally of a snake disappearing into the stone pile by the wreck.  Not sure who was more shocked, the poor snake or me but it put me off working in that area for the day.

Early supper then decided to get my head down for an hour or so....it's been another of those hot days but at least I managed to work through it.  Phone calls tonight hence the delay in the update and almost time for bed again.  Not such a busy day tomorrow.....my student is swimming in the morning so we have a date for three tomorrow afternoon so I'll probably take the Beast in tomorrow and get the insurance sorted and a new MOT for it...busy time July for me on the car front.  All for now...got to sort out a new book....LN....got to make the bed before I get back into it again...

Glad to see 'Spike' is doing well, 12m (36ft) when full grown.  Still raining here..............

Quoted from KingDom

Glad to see 'Spike' is doing well, 12m (36ft) when full grown.  Still raining here..............

I'll be sticking him next to my special tree in the garden then....

Thursday 19th July

So out into the garden this morning looking for the snake that put the wind up me yesterday.  I even had the binoculars out but didn't spot a thing.  It is probably one of the children of the one that was dispatched last month....this way boys....she is the one that got our dad or mum

No student this morning....as I said I have moved the allotted hour to three o'clock so that he can have his swimming lessons and it worked for me.  I tidied round this morning, sorted out towels and stuff and my guest arrived at about eleven with a little bit of a hangover from partaking of a little of the liquid nectar with some hairy bikers that he met yesterday on his travels.....apparently they had a few old comrades in common....as you do after a few bevvies.

Lunch was salad and stuff which went down very well and I left him to read his book and probably snooze while I went to drag words of wisdom out of my student.  I asked him where his homework was....and the reply was that I didn't set any.....so I rephrased it and fortunately remembered what I asked him to do and then he remembered.  Ah well and his homework for today is to investigated the names of the nuts and seeds that we have and I want a list of Bulgarian and English names.

So out to supper...at my favourite restaurant....and you can guess what the fare was...salad, cheesy chips, chicken wings and chicken livers with onions.  I was fortunate.....I wasn't driving...I managed two beers but bought two bottles so that he can top up now that we are home.....I'm off to get my share of the bottle now.....LN....we have a little drinking to do....

Friday 20th July

Six thirty start, guest slept OK and was forced into making the coffee while I watered the garden and generally on the look out for snakes.  Despite last night's watering it's still very dry and the zinnias along the back hedge are not looking too good.

Into Djebel after a breakfast of fried tomatoes on toast and to the car shop so that they could reprint another copy of my insurance document for Beauty in case it is demanded by the police and left the Beasts documents so that it could be processed ready for when we came back from Kardjali.  Business in Kardjali completed, had lunch, paid my M-Tel bills and back to Djebel via the shop to pick up the documents.  Both cars fully insured and documents will be fully complete when I get the Beast MOT'd and I have until the end of the month to do it.  

Now my guest drives a Toyota Prius and I have never seen a battery and petrol driven car before and neither had the garage.  Lyubo and my student had a rice in it and couldn't get over the technology and I sat in it waiting for it to start when we set off and didn't realise that the engine was actually going since it was on battery only....really weird feeling.

Arranged to meet the family for supper tonight and just got back....the food was not as good as last night but it was adequate and five and the little one eating for thirty leva (about fourteen pounds with drinks) seemed about right.  Off to bed soon since I'm feeling a little jaded tonight...it's was a busy day in Kardjali and it was well into the mid thirties today.  Tonight the starts are so clear, not a cloud in the sky and no moon at all...crickets going ten to the dozen.....a beautiful night.....LN

Saturday 21st July

Early start....garden watered by six thirty, arranged for my garden to be watered for me for a few days and I am off on my travels.  My guest has opted to drive to our special website get together and celebrate a splinter group gathering.

Set off at about ten and programmed the location into TomTom and the arrival time was set at approximately one forty and we were met at the centre of the village.  A good time has been had by all....I have taken photos but forgot to bring my connecting cable so they will have to wait until tomorrow.  Ended up having a swim and watched the sun go down from the pool.....Supper at a truck stop and ready to sleep the sleep of the just.

LN....it's short and sweet....my internet connection is a little fragile so back to the red wine and into my jimjams...LN

Sunday 22nd July

Awakended this morning not to the sound of cow and sheep bells but two rather loud male voices bellowing in the lounge....just what a girl needs on a sunday morning.  Now I'd threatened to visit the local church if the bells rang.....they did last night but not a peep was heard apart from the clatter, clatter of the storks on the telegraph pole.  These have now been threatened with an elastic bands on beaks to stop the noise.

Breakfasted on the terrace and we made a decision to head off into the unknown guided by some silly female on Tom Tom that hadn't a clue.  Unfortunately I had forgotten the book of maps so it was left entirely up to her to screw up the journey plans.

Lunch in Tryadva, tea close to Veliko Turnova and supper back in the homestead.  Had a delicious desert made out of Buffolo yogurt with mixed berries ....something that needs to be had again and again and again....Shipka speciality.

Tom Tom kept telling us to turn round again private and they must have felt like complete dicks when the distance from home and time to location increased not decreased with miles travelled....bloody thing.

I'm on the last of the summer wine, home James tomorrow I am missing my little pad on my mountain top...I do promise to post pictures....didn't manage to find a cable...LN...the other lightweights are drinking tea...

Monday 23rd July

Such a busy day today and tonight I am absolutely knacked....I'll update tomorrow if you'll all forgive me...I have some funny stories to tell....and loads of pickies...

LN....I'm just starting on the Ariana now....

Tuesday 24th July

This morning showed the full extent of the damage done by one cow in my garden yesterday....My Avatar was so upset when we got home from our travels and she said that she had blocked up the hole.  As I thought, that small hole by the side of the outside toilet that I thought I had blocked wasn't and through it came.  So what did it eat....all my cabbages, green beans and beetroot and flattened tomatoes and cucumbers.  Bastard bovine and today to add insult to injury I had three sheep in the garden so tomorrow it is guests out on their travels, me getting back to routine and fence building and securing the perimeter fences against attack, up with the drawbridge and fill the moat.

Really cool wind overnight and it didn't get fully up to temperature until the afternoon.  Lunch was potato salad, coleslaw, tuna and mayo with tomatoes with fresh crusty bread from the mobile shop.  I moved upstairs glass in hand but when the eyelids rested on the cheeks, I decided that it wasn't conducive to hitting the correct keys on the keyboard so a slight diversion was called for.  Yes I got my head down for a couple of hours and woke up at six, headed into the garden with the hose and then into Djebel for supper.  Arrived back about twenty minutes ago from my favourite restaurant....guest headed for the downstairs bedroom after a cooling shower and is in for an early morning start with a six hour journey ahead of him.  He's off to meet a solicitor for document signing....Did I want to go?...it took me a few seconds to decided that it was a big NO....I'm about to catch up on my peaceful life again, sheep and all.

Stories of the Shipka, Communist deserted head offices, wind turbines and man with gun will be divulged tomorrow....it was quite fun.  LN....I need some beauty sleep and I'm just about to take a bite out of this apple that a lady with a cloak gave me....LN