Monday 26th September

So a leisurely soak last night and slept like a little log until six thirty this morning, waited for the sun to show her little face, single coffee and set off to fetch the men.  First day back and they were there with their little shoes blacked, lunch and clean work clothes to hand and I think they are pleased to be back.  We set off for the materials yard, ordered five hundred cement blocks, thirty bags of cement, metal for the construction and wood to hold the concrete until it's set.  The final wall of the fortifications is going up...cows and sheep eat your hearts out...

They had to settle back in again, their old workshop in the little house is taken up with old wood so there's not much room in there.  They set themselves up in the workshop and started to assemble tools for clearing the top part of the fence and trees and digging the trench.  The resorted to the electric reciprocating saw to remove some of the tree roots and branches and they've completed about five meters so far.  We did have a short sharp downpour when it was a rush to get the thirty bags of cement covered up against the elements but it was short lived.  

I went into Djebel just before lunch to get some money out of the cash machine to pay the bill but when I got back they'd already delivered but this time they'd used a forklift to deliver the blocks on pallets.  Normally they're offloaded by hand hence I ordered five hundred and not the thousand as I did last time.

Prepared a pork curry and it was cooked by the time that I got back from delivering the men to their village.  I did stop off on the way back to do some baby worshipping...it would have been rude not to....I'll give more details later.

Rice is cooked so time to serve up....so down to the kitchen I go.  LN....It does smell good...LN

Tuesday 27th September

So it was a six thirty awakening and eventually got out of bed, dressed and ready to go by seven thirty.  I took the photos of the sun from outside on the terrace today and sipping my coffee in the interim.  The men were waiting and soon into the car and we set off for the materials yard so I could pay my bill.  I hate it when I have anything outstanding.  There was one purchase to be made...a new pick....they broke the other yesterday...the ground is so hard.  Bekir and Sally played around for a little while while we were deciding whether to save the tree or not and how we could remove the roots of the one that we didn't want.  I think there's a bit more trimming to do before the final decision is made...I'd like to but if it's in the way...it can come down.  My painter also put in an appearance with his electric cutting machine and set himself up in the garage.  The rest of the small wood was finished which put pressure on me to get it stacked so that Beauty could go into the garage and be out of the yard.  I was doing really well, the Painter had set off with his machine on his wheelbarrow refusing my request to put it in the back of the Beast and as I lifted one of the fairly large logs, it slipped and dropped on to the top of my foot....painful.  I slapped some Arnica on it, didn't bother with the ice which I should have done and it's really aching and turning a lovely shade of blue.  I'm hopping around like an oldie.

The lads struggled on with the wall and telephoned Semile to see if he could come along with his tractor to straighten the metal for the wall support.  He was eating when Bekir phoned and we started to take bets on whether it would be today, tomorrow or next week....and hush my bunny...I heard the tractor around two in the afternoon.  The men set to, all the coils are now straight and cut into lengths and it makes their lives much easier and that kept Bekir off the end of a pick for the rest of the afternoon.  Sally couldn't find anything else to do.  I got the garden watering in early today, lit the fire and was ready for their home time by five before six.  We decided to test out the lane way down to the Greece road and up their rough road to see how many kilometres difference it was than my normal route.  I zeroed twice and it was three kilometres difference the usual way to the lane but it seemed much quicker...the road is better.

Supper under way and should be ready in about ten minutes.  Chilli spicy sausages with potatoes in tomato sauce...I'm looking forward to it.  It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow...the wind was cold today but fine in the sun which kept popping behind the clouds.  LN...Bring back summer....pretty please....LN

Wednesday 28th September

Well it's been another busy old day.  Six thirty start and I was amazed to see the moon at about thirty degrees from the horizon...I thought it was much earlier in the night.  I got the book out and waited for the morning proper and was washed, dressed and completely ready to face the day by seven thirty when the sun came.  I didn't take any photos, into the car and off to get the men.  They were on time and jumped in and we were home in quicksticks and the first job of the day was to order the sand and gravel mix for the concrete.  No sooner the word that the telephone call and the materials arrived and got dumped in the lane.  I only hope my neighbour stays in Turkey....I don't really want any hassles.

Sally slogged on with the trench and made the land fairly flat so that he could push the wheelbarrow safely to the trench without it slopping everywhere.  Bekir was busy with the rest of the supports and the first lot was mixed and went in.  We're not too bothered about the height at the moment...blocks can go on later...it's all about getting the foundations right so that we don't have the wall collapsing into the field.  Breakfast was beans on toast...I couldn't drum up much enthusiasm to concoct anything else and then I was busy in the garden clearing weeds and grass from a couple of the beds...they've taken off now that the cow shite has gone on.  The day sort of rushed by today....I seemed to do a lot but it didn't seem to count for much and I'm sure we all get days like these.  I was a bit hampered by the foot, the Arnica has really helped and the swelling has gone down.

Decision was made early on...I wasn't cooking supper tonight....we were off to the restaurant when the men had been dropped off.  Not sure what state Bekir will be in tomorrow...he was going to the dentist tonight for some maintenance but the objective is to get them all capped.  I'll take a good look tomorrow to see if it was worth the effort.  Sally has been quiet today...I think the novelty of being back has worn off...trench digging when the ground is so hard isn't easy.

So the restaurant is one that we've been to before and we sat by the pool but out of the sun was cool and the wind off the water had a nip in it.  The food was good but by the end we were both glad to get in the car and get home.  It was eight thirty but I lit the fire...can't have my guest cold....and I'm going down as soon as I've posted to enjoy it.  LN...The fire calls....LN

Thursday 29th September

Another week, another month nearly gone...We're heading into winter although the forecast for October looks really good.  I'll wait and see though ...they have a habit of getting it wrong.

I woke up at two this morning with my Kindle on the bed and glasses on so safely removed both and managed to get off again until six thirty and off to fetch the men at seven thirty after downing a cup of coffee.  I had half written the instructions for Mrs D of S's visitor on the best way to get down from Sofia Airport to the house and it was to be one of the jobs when I got back.  I took the rough road down to the road to Greece and their rough road and was there in quick sticks.  I did take the main road back again...poor Sally does get sloshed around in the Beast.  There were still snores from my guest bedroom so I was out helping the men when I dropped a plank of old wood on my foot and a rusty nail went through the strap of my shoe and into my foot.  I couldn't see to release the wood from the shoe buckle and when I did there was lots of blood when the nail came out.  I took the shoe off and hobbled to the bathroom, cleaned it up and applied iodine directly to the wound and slapped on a cotton wool pad and got my shoe back on again so that the strap could hold the pad in place.  Once more in the wars as my mum would have said,

Breakfast over we headed into Kardjali and I left the kettle outside for the men to make their coffee.  I went to the Poly Clinic first...I know that my Tetanus is sadly overdue so saw my doctor, she gave me a prescription for the stuff for the injection and told me to come straight back and she would give to me.  Ten minutes from consultation to implementation at a cost of one lev eighty stotinki.  Meandered around and wasn't able to get the new chain for my Painter's chainsaw or the oil they were out of stock of both.  Sorted out my bank to make sure there was enough in the account to pay my direct debits, lunch in the pizza place, Kaufland for a few items and Lidl to finish off.

Back home for just before five to be told that the kettle didn't work...strange ...it did for me so I made them coffee and we had a laugh about it.  Dropped the men home and dropped off a exterior hard drive so that I can scam some series from Mrs D of S....all set up for the winter.  Not really into food tonight....the late pizza did me in.  Egghead calls....I'll sort some photos out for later....LN...Checking up on the newbies...LN

Friday 30th September

Woke up again with the room illuminated by the Kindle.  I've found that by playing Candy Crush it doesn't switch itself off.  Not to self...put the thing to bed before I go to sleep.....

Awake by six fifty, dressed and ready for the off by seven fifteen and round the garden with coffee in hand.  I was having five minutes by myself before my guest appears and the men are grabbing tools and working quietly in the background.  It was a Narnia morning with the mist in the valleys and it was a 'good to be alive'day.  It's very therapeutic.....the sun comes up and all's right with my little world before the fun starts.

I went the back lane again to pick up the men before the cows were set free to wonder and at their restaurant before the allotted hour.  They were in the car and we were back here by eight twenty.  They set to immediately and by the end of the day I had the beginnings of a breeze block wall and it was all down to me to decide the height since the garden is much higher than the outside world and is the other wall in reverse.  I spent the morning having a burn up and they've really shifted some cement and ballast and just over a hundred breeze blocks have been laid.  I have a new pallet to play with and five more heading my way.  

I headed down to the bottom wall and used the water from my free water supply (that no one wants to know anything about) but using a coffee can on wire, dropping it into the hole and filling a bucket.  It appears to work well and I managed to get three buckets of water from it and it fills up immediately back to where it started.   Mums the word.

So chicken in the oven and a of mixed veg in the oven to roast while I took the men home.  I came the back way up the rough road and met up with Gouldjan's mother driving her cows home.  I found out that Gouldjan is off to Germany tomorrow with her new husband and not long after arriving home, she came round with her new husband to say goodbye and I had to dry her eyes.  I just gave her a pep talk...told her to embrace the new life, she was married now and joked that she would be in a head scarf and baggy pants now that she was married and that brought a smile to her face.  Off they went....supper over followed by ice-cream and my diet starts on Monday.  LN...nothing on the agenda for tomorrow so far...I'll have to think of something to do....LN