Saturday 1st December

White rabbits...forget it....black hairs and I haven't spelled it wrongly.  My host decided to set fire to the kitchen last night with the help of a chip pan and I have spent the day on the wrong end of a j cloth.  Yes we could have been burnt in our beds if we had not noticed the smoke as it drifted under the lounge door so with the help of a fire extinguisher we were left an ash deposit  everywhere but doused flames.  What excitement.  So I've now cleaned out cupboards, we have sparkling crockery courtesy of the dishwasher, we have a new window in the kitchen and a new extractor fan.  The motor was still going but the fan had melted.

So what else have I been doing you may ask....sweet fanny adams.  I've just emerged from the bath and my nails are still full of  grime and I need a manicure NOW.  Thinks that since the shops are closed I'll settle for a bottle of the red stuff, get a good night's sleep, finish my packing tomorrow and enjoy lunch with Princess and the lost boys.  Monday is D Day and checking out what has or hasn't taken up residence in BG.....LN...sweet dreams...

Oh, I am glad you are ok. I always have to keep going back and checking we have turned ours off.  Your holiday pictures are great and it looks like you had a fab time.   We are still trying to sell our house here so we can move over to Bulgaria, but no joy yet. Any idea what Chirpan area is like?  Hope you have a good journey home and fingers crossed we may come over March or April maybe for a look around, depending on the weather.
Take care..
Sarah.

Hi Elsa
So good to here you are safe and well   material things  can be replaced but not YOU !!!!!!!!!!!
Jackie   

Sunday 2nd December

Thank you kind friends....you have to see the funny side and Princess reckons that he did it on a purpose so that he got all his kitchen cupboards cleaned out.  I'll check out Chirpan for you and see what I come up Sarah.  

So packing nowhere near finished and I've gathered pressies from my lovely daughter and the lost boys so I'll have to find spaces for them.  It's almost six, the taxi is booked for four thirty tomorrow morning and I should be home round about five thirty so long as the pilot and the respective bus drivers knows where they are going .  I think some of the summer things can stay here...don't think I shall be needing them.  My big lost boy just checked out the weather for me and it looks like snow on Thursday and into the minus.....bbbrrrrr.

Must get on.....laptop away, my chargers for various pieces of kit seem to have developed legs and could be anywhere.  I shan't be on for a couple of days....my librarian borrowed my internet connection so I'll have to be down to collect it on Tuesday.  My main pc will have to be reassembled from its present location.....the bath in the spare bedroom seemed like a good place to hide it....LN and thanks for the good wishes for a safe journey home.  I hope so too.  Catch up soon.

Hi Mummy, glad you are safe and sound and that you had a good trip. The weather here is cold but I think its possibly too cold for snow although shall keep doing my snow dance!

It was so lovely to see you~so great to catch up........ I do miss you you know  

Big kisses, moon and back, Princess and my Boys xxxxx

Safe journey Elsa.  I am sure you will be pleased to be home and back in your own bed very soon.  

Wednesday 5th December

HELLOOOOO.  

I'm back...and thank you for all your good wishes.  As for you Princess...look after those lost boys for me and don't take any nonsense from any of them...that's at home and at work.  

Too wet for snow here .....journey on Monday was long but my car was waiting for me in Djebel.  The bus got into Kardjali at 4.50, on to the school bus with the English language students at 5.00, Djebel by 6.00 and home by 6.30.  My house was safe and sound, the men had tidied up beautifully when they left the site and yes, back in my little bed with my fleece duvet.  Got the fire going but the house was warm when I arrived.  It went down to about freezing overnight but nothing to get concerned about.

My Librarian arrived on Tuesday morning and unfortunately had forgotten my dongle to connect to the internet so I was without contact with the outside world.  We went shopping in Kardjali, I bought a Santa climbing up a ladder with a string of outside lights as an added bonus, a little food, some beer and wine and everything is back to normal.  Just got back from her house and am now up and running......beer on the go and the fire belting it out.

Lovely one this morning.  I woke up at five and stuck the outside light on just to check the garden and guess what was out there...Nut Brown hare that froze in the light.  A second later he turned round, stuck his white rear up and raced off.  I think it's the same one and now I know why my red cabbage has come to nothing and my leeks don't have tops on.  He'd probably taste good in a pie...but I'd never forgive myself.

So LN....supper calls though there isn't much in the fridge to get worked up about but losing as few pounds won't hurt at all...that cruise did a little damage to the middle bit from the rib cage to the hip bone so light food for me for a few weeks, well until Christmas at least.  Australia seems a long way away and yes it is I know but thank you Linda for the present...it arrived this morning via one of my neighbours and they are now sitting on the table in the hall with the pressies from Princess.  A crime is about to be committed....my tree from the forest some time over the next week...   LN....I'm safe and well...

Hi Elsa, Glad you got home ok. I bet your going to miss the nice weather for a while. But its always nice to snuggle up to an open fire/pot belly fire, and watch the snow from inside. Something I miss here in West Oz. No worries about the pressie, hope you like it when you open it....Take care and lots of luv from here in the west....37 degrees yesterday.....only rubbing it in,,,,hahahahaha.  

Glad to see you back home. I will be in Perth too but only in April, so missed you by a long way this time. I go to greet a new arrival to our family, which should be born sometime in March  

Thursday 6th December

Give my regards to Perth Joanna...maybe in another lifetime and I hope that the birth goes OK.  I had a letter from that same city this morning delivered by my Kmet and so he hung around to see what it was all about.  Not much changes and he delivered an electricity bill for September (doh) already paid by DD and my water man came and demanded eight leva for October.  I gave him twenty and he was trying to shortchange me by thirty stotinki.  Now that's not much in old money but if he collects 100 bills and then tries the same with everybody...soon mounts up.

So this morning I caught the sunrise and it was pretty magnificent behind the dark clouds.  It was nippy, started to rain, turned to sleet and was white over with huge snow flakes by lunchtime.  I don't normally light the fire early but since it was ticking along from last night I shoved on some kindling and another log and the house is at last getting some heat into it.  Unfortunately there is an influx of flies.  According to my neighbours they had a bad attack towards the end of October and I think these beauties headed for my loft and with the warm air circulating they decided to wake up and not go to sleep.  I think some of the original flypapers will be hung in the loft tomorrow to stop them in their tracks.  I hate them.

I got the knitting machine out today but it's not as good as the one that I have in England.  This seems a lot more manual and I think I need to oilo the thing and get some thinner wool.  The stuff that I have seems a little thick but ought to work.  Back to the drawing board Cecil.

Gouldjan popped in tonight after work and the house was warm, toasty and smelling of chicken and a jacket cooking in the oven which now she has gone has been devoured.  We're out to rob the forest of two Christmas trees on Sunday if the weather is good..... like thieves in the night but we'll be doing it in broad daylight. Friday tomorrow...into Djebel and get my car topped up with anti-freeze...looks like winter might be here...LN