Sunday 10th June

Six thirty start for me and I crept down the stairs and heard the gentle snoring of my guest so made coffee and headed out.  I sat out on the terrace absorbing the morning and as I headed in for another coffee I disturbed a lizard and we were both surprised.  I went in for the camera and managed to catch him on the edge of the bench before he hid himself away under the bucket so I left him be.  I set to in the garden and dead-headed the roses and the yellow daisies and felt very pleased with myself...another item off the list.

At nine I was getting peckish and still no sign of life so I cooked bacon and fried and egg and was just about to sit down with it when the mirage appeared.  I put the kettle on for him and then left him to cook his own breakfast....I'm such a superb hostess...it's that that keeps people away.  So at tenish I had a surprise visit from the Librarian and then a minute later the outer veranda door opened and Remsier was checking that it was OK for the youngsters to come up later. climb the tree and pick the linden blossom.  My guest messed around with the Librarian's computer, she'd somehow managed to snap the charging cable and he managed to fix it for her.  Off she went, we went back to the gardening and I've planted up the acers, an oak and four jasmine that arrived with him from the UK.

It got pretty warm this afternoon so I settled in to watch the Triathlon from Leeds and joy of joy...UK first and second.  Back out to the garden, the youngsters came to pick the blossom and I managed to put supper in and it's ready any minute now so I'm not going to linger longer.  Nothing on the agenda so far for tomorrow...I think he's just enjoying the peace and quiet.  LN...A few from today....LN

Monday 11th June

Six thirty start for me and I heard noises in my kitchen and I reckoned it was either a big mouse of my guest was having an early morning.  It wasn't a mouse....Coffee was made and presented to me, we sat outside and enjoyed the view.  My Avatar has asked me for some linden blossom from the tree in the garden so I got the loppers out and took off two laden branches and as I delivered them to her noticed that she was sitting with two more neighbours in the next garden.  I went in to chat and in turn they wanted some so I chopped another four branches and took them over and said they could split it.  It was quite chill and the plan for today was to get my car into the garage early for them to investigate why my needle on the temperature gauge wasn't moving far and as I watered the garden I ended up weeding the two smaller beds and removing the bindweed and exposing my one germinated carrot.  The ants must have had a field day.  Beetroot is doing well though and I have two cucumbers already and flowers on my tomatoes.  It's veritably put to shame by my neighbours offerings but hey...I have more flowers and shrubs.

I decided we would have breakfast in town and it would give my guest the opportunity to meet and greet the friends he's made over the years of coming here.  The Beast was dropped off and the problem explained to one of the guys that works there and he said that it was because I was running the 'climatic' which I knew to be rubbish.  I saw the garage owner as we walked back to town and explained the problem to him and he said that he would look at it for me.  So breakfast of banichka and yogurt drink, we walked the market, bought a couple of antique brass coat hooks for the second hand salesman.  My guest hadn't seen the mosque since it had been renovated and what a good job they've made of it.  I hadn't been inside the courtyard but it was a very peaceful oasis in the midst of the market bustle.  Very expensive renovation paid for by some kind people in Bursa in Turkey.  Spotted the stork in the bus-station with a couple of chicks but the one was camera shy and then we headed back to the garage.

As I approached the Beast, the garage owner was coming from the opposite direction and he'd been looking at the old vehicles in the yard and found the transmitter he wanted to fix the Beast.  It was put in place but unfortunately it was the wrong one and I've just been messaged to say that the correct one has arrived and can be fitted tomorrow.  That's service for you,,,

Home for about one thirty and we both got our heads down for a while.  I went into a really deep sleep and couldn't have told night from day and it took me ages to come round.  I popped over to my Avatar's house and delivered cucumber that she'd asked me to buy for her and all hell had broken out apparently about the linden flowers.  One neighbour complained about the quantity I'd delivered to Avatar, the other said that the second lot wasn't enough to share so the other one said keep it then so she did and one was left with nothing.  I went round and asked the 'little bear that was left with none' if she wanted any and she said that she did so I told her that tomorrow I'll take her some round after breakfast...children egh...big children...

Spicy sausage with onion tonight and different sorts of salad finished off with bottled plums and yogurt and thoroughly sufficed.  Kitchen finished and tidy for tomorrow and again....back to the garage...not sure what the rest of the day holds.  Almost ten my time...soon to get my little head down.  LN...Splendid day....LN

Tuesday 12th June

Seven start and I was out cutting more linden blossom for one of my 'older' children just to keep her happy.  As I was walking down to the bread van I noticed her more some dried looking branches so I asked her if she really needed them since she had some and she said that hers were not good and yes she would appreciate some...Babes egh.  So I came back from the van with cheesy bread and an unsliced and breakfast was bacon held in a cheesy bread sandwich which went down very well.  And then off to the garage so they could fit the new part.

We arrived and they had the part already but had to wait for the engine to cool down before they could fit it.  We sat in the shade, I'd remembered to take the Fitbit down that I'd bought for my student as a gift for finishing school and he's soon to be off to university in Sofia.  He chatted with us for a while and his English has really come on in leaps and bounds and I mentioned that I'd been to Cappadocia for a holiday and he said that if I'm going again he wants to come.  I've got the impression that he thinks I'm quite adventurous for an oldy...and I'm now adopted as his second baba.... All I need is my actual grandson over here and we can arrange a trip...that would be fun.  Beast fixed, checked out what could be my new runaround and gave it a test drive round the yard.  It was a bit confusing for me going back to a manual car...I'd forgotten what to do with my feet...doh.  My student gave the Beast a wash while I was playing with the soon to be newby and I headed up to pay for the repairs at the shop, we did a little shopping and headed to the soup kitchen for lunch.  

Back home for two more or less. I got my head down for a while and then headed out to do a spot of tidying on the little house terrace and upset an ants' nest in the process.  Supper in the oven and we have chicken with a pepper sauce with little roasted jacket potatoes...nothing too strenuous on the kitchen front for me.  A few pickies of the garden. it might be a day at the pool tomorrow if we can find one with any water and if not....another day of gardening...there's always something to do.  Supper is ready, down to keep my guest company, he's done some more of the lawn today so I've kept him busy....LN...Let's get fed.....LN

Wednesday 13th June

Silly night last night....my hands felt like they'd been nibbled and itched like fury so I got out of bed and found the sting relief cream from the bathroom and liberally applied it.  I got back into bed and there was a zzzz of a mosquito or a gnat but didn't manage to spot it.  I played stupid soda crush until my eyes were heading southwards and managed to get off again until six thirty. Out with a coffee on to the terrace and the sun was way up in the sky already.  I watered the garden and the terrace pots and noticed that I now have four cucumbers and flowers on my tomatoes.  The cucumbers are about four inches long...such a pity I don't like it but my guest will be force fed on them.....soaked in vinegar with onion I can just about manage,  Bacon and eggs for breakfast to set us up for the day...more coffee, kitchen tidied and to horse.

It was a full day gardening ...the strimmer was out and I managed to get down to the bottom of the garden and round the flower beds.  I took down three mid-sized wild plum trees from the little bed in front of the burning barrel and that should give a lot more light to the shrubs that I planted last autumn.  There's a couple of honeysuckle down there that definitely need more light and should be happier now.  I tackled under my favourite tree, there was a lot of grass making its way through the juniper and cotoneaster used as ground cover and now it's sorted.  Haciber was on duty today and we had delivered three pancakes, I had mine with lemon and sugar and my guest had his with fig jam and lemon juice.  Brief interlude in a hectic afternoon.

My final trip of the day was to take the food that my Avatar had prepared down to the mosque for the hojja and the rest of the boys.  We put it into a plastic basket that I have which they were all intrigued with and orders were placed,  I dropped her off and noticed that the fizzy had somehow not made it to the mosque so I offered to take it down.  She said that there was no need but in my book ....if you have nothing to drink you can't sing and in Bulgarian the verbs to drink (pia) and sing (pea) seem to go together so I came up with ...ne pia, ne pea....and on the way back I let a white car with Turkish number plates pull out in front of me and when I got back to my Avatars it was her daughter arrived from Turkey.  I came back from Avatars with a bowl of rice, I fried off a spicy sausage with onion, added the rice and that was supper for us followed by a banana and creamy sheep's yogurt.  Sorry no pickies...I didn't give it a thought while I had the strimmer at the ready.  I did try to take a small green spider with red markings on its back but it was just too quick for me.  It's a late update.....more poppies to come out tomorrow and iris to be distributed...I'm on to the tarting stage.  LN....Time to relax....LN

Thursday 14th June

Woke up at five this morning with the bedroom light on and I'd obviously gone to sleep playing a stupid game last night...and I didn't win.  So the light went off, the covers were pulled up to the nose and off I went again until six thirty and I got out of bed just before seven.  Down for coffee, out on the terrace but it was a bit of a cold morning so I didn't stay still for long, I started on the little bed bear to my special tree and gave it a deep old dig to get rid of the rubble before planting it up.  I went down to the bread van coming back with farm eggs and a sliced and by this time my guest had risen so I made a start on breakfast.  I was running with the philosophy of a good breakfast and that should do me until supper time but there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell today.  I fried off a spicy sausage to use it up, added bacon slices and fried a couple of eggs and that was followed by toast and my grapefruit marmalade which went down really well and ten out of ten from my guest.  Washing was done and pegged out and fortunately the clouds lifted and it turned into a marvellous morning.  I spotted a frog in the water bowl in the yard and the poor thing looked like he was trying to get out and couldn't manage it so I put a half tile in the bowl thinking that he would manage to climb up it...He still appeared to be floundering so I left him to it and no sign of him, her or it...later.

So as for food for the rest of the day, it was the day for fluffy pancakes and they came in thick and fast.  My neighbour from Turkey was the first to arrive, secondly was Beyser, thirdly my neighbour who has the garden next to my house and last but not least...Zelinger from the bottom of the village.  Haciber wasn't making this year, she was off to a funeral and as for my Avatar...I shall have to have words.  Now as well as the ladies providing food the children come round for sweets and I was given wrong information by Ms D of S.  She said they would be round tomorrow...Friday but when five little ones appeared at my door it was as well that I keep a jar of sweets at the ready.  I put some into each of the bags and off they went.  And next week they'll be off to the dentist...they aren't encouraged to look after the ones that they have.  According to Ms D of S...her neighbour got it wrong...

Carried on with the planting, moved down to the bottom of the garden and removed the old poppies from one of the beds and then the clouds rolled over and the thunder started.  I don't stay out long when it gets like that but I took in the washing pretty quickly and not long after the heavens opened and it chucked it down.  Rain stopped play so we moved inside, I watched a little TV-Catchup, started to read a real paper book but couldn't really get in to it.  Out for the tools when it stopped raining, washed some of the windows in the little house but they look like they need another going over.  I thought the rain would wash off the soapy stuff but no way...the eaves protected them...back to the drawing board Cecil.

Walked the garden with my guest and we sat at the bottom on the wall looking at the different coloured greens that make up nature.  He is amazed at the amount of unadulterated land there is around my village and the other villages in the neighbourhood.  That's why I like living here.  Time to make supper and there were potatoes left from yesterday that I fried off with an onion, a tine of corned beef was added along with baked beans and some sliced beetroot...delicious and it filled the gap.  Kardjali tomorrow to see if my favourite swimming pool has been filled yet, a top up of provisions and probably lunch in town.  LN...Reminder to self...check the weather forecast....LN

Friday 15th June

Fairly early night but the neighbours were out in the garden yattering away and I had to shut the bedroom window. It's Star Mushe's old property and it was a good job he was only five feet six more or less..he could stand up in it but I have problems....you have to be short to live there so obviously, they're living outside and hence the noise and when it rains there's no roof on so it seems through the concrete and everything gets damp.  They've painted the well though in the land going down the lane and that looks much better...

Not much was achieved this morning...I paid a visit to Avatar to find out if she wanted me fetch the containers from the mosque and my shopping basket and she did.  I got the Beast out about nine and went down there but everything was unlocked but no sight of the hojja.  I reckon he'd done his morning prayers and was getting his head down before the next rendering.  I couldn't even see the things I was supposed to collect so I didn't longer long.  Cooked breakfast and in the Beast by ten fifteen heading in to Kardjali.  I had to go to the bank, we went in to the cheapy shop and got a newish t-shirt for my guest....he comes with very few clothes and keeps a supply here so one more for the collection.  After that we headed out of town to my other favourite swimming pool to check out whether or not the pool had water in it and it did.  Unfortunately we'd not bothered with swim gear since it had forecast thunder and rain but only a smattering of rain came down.  Kaufland for top-ups, Billa and we've now got a new hardware come home ware supermarket where the oriental shop used to be.  A few of the other shops are going to be hit by it but I think it is more for the Greeks from over the border...they appear to spend a lot of time and money here...things are much cheaper.   We gave Lidl a miss, the weather had really closed in and I just wanted to get home, unpack and grab myself a coffee.  There were some really loud claps of thunder and lightening strikes on the way home and it was a toss up whether I took the low road or the dirt road home but I settled for the dirt road.

We had a snack for lunch and I put a chicken in the oven and we've had an early supper.  Everything was finished off and washed away by seven and there's half a chicken left for cold tomorrow.....organisation at its peak.  I've just had a phone call from Guldjan who is now living in Germany.  She posted a picture on FB of her and her husband at a party and the lighting was very green and so were the faces on here photo.  I commented that any friend of Shrek was a friend of mine...and she phoned to explain that they were fine.  World cup seems to be interfering with the usual tv programmes....bah humbug.  Lovely still evening and hoping it stays that was for tomorrow.  Nothing planned but watch this space.  LN....Down to entertain my guest....LN

Saturday 16th June

Five thirty start and it was grey as you like...or don't like.  No mountains in sight and even the bottom of the garden was nowhere to be seen.  I grabbed coffee and went back to bed and had another attempt at yesterday's print out of the DM Sudoku and I failed again but this time it went well until the final few numbers.  You change one, then you change another and then you rip it up and start again.  I went down for more coffee at seven thirty, guest up and running by eight and breakfast of bacon and scrambled eggs by eight thirty.  I washed up and tidied the kitchen and planned to go outside to plant up some more baby plants but the weather put paid to that.  The thunder rolled in along with forked lightening and then the rain came down.  It was a time for setting up camp on the sofa and waiting for it to clear itself up.  It looked like it was going to and then it started all over again.  Eventually at three it cleared, I dug round the little beds in the grave garden and planted up marigolds, petunias and snapdragons, cleared the weeds from the Greek plant square bed that used to be the burning pit to give the zinnia a fighting chance and planted more in the mulberry garden along the side.  It's all go here.

I headed down the garden and started to dig out a hole near the bottom wall to put in a buddliea and that was hard going.  It's pretty much all shale down there but eventually I removed enough to fill the hole with soil from the smaller bed down the bottom and stick some plant feed in there.  I took the pot of buddliea that I'd grown from cuttings to the veg patch and separated them out and have five with really good roots on.  One is now fighting for survival at the bottom of the garden the others are in individual pots with some going to Ms D of S to go against her fence.  I've also got about six rooted forsythia and some that I'm not sure what they are....time will tell.

Six thirty my time and tools away.  We've had a few rumbles of thunder yet again and looking at the long term weather it looks like it will be like this for the next few days.  I'm about to go to the kitchen and do something dramatic with the remains of last night's chicken...probably a curry...so I'm not going to longer too long over the blog.

Nothing on the cards for tomorrow....it's not worth going far if the weather isn't good....there's always something to do in the garden and I've picked up some cheapy curtains and they need making into covers for the outside furniture...we'll see when that happens.  LN....Kitchen and supper.....LN

Sunday 17th June

So it was a five thirty start ad then I went back off again until just before eight.  That’s a lie in for me.  Down for coffee, more or less time for breakfast so I delivered bacon and eggs followed by toast and it’s done us for most of the day apart from a few pickings of chip sticks and sesame biscuits.

It’s been a gardening day today again.  It was out with the strimmer and I cleared around the house, the outside grass and the pathway to the grave garden from the main gate.  I’ve also cut back the bushes and have lots of cuttings waiting to be planted up,,,may be I could set up business selling them…We also trimmed the bush behind the berberis halfway down the wall and I cleared the weeds and wild flowers from the base of it and it’s now looking better down there.  I carried on along the wall and removed the old straggly poppies that had seen better days and started digging out the bindweed that was busily growing until I got fed up and moved on to the bottom garden.  I’d spotted a patch of self set tobacco and now they’re inside the garden not out of it.  Next I moved to the little garden at the side of the frog garden and attacked the weeds…there are just so many of them and in competition with the flowers,  Flowers win, weeds removed.

So we packed up at six deciding that we would go out for supper tonight but then nature looks to be against us. The clouds rolled over, the thunder and lightening started and the heavens opened and it’s still chucking it down now and at one point the guttering wasn’t keeping up with it…it was and still is pouring into the yard.  So plans scuppered….I’m heading to the kitchen to see what’s available.  LN…Just the weather for ducks…LN

Monday 18th June

Seven start this morning and the day has just flown by.  Coffee out on the terrace first thing in the cool morning air and back in to cook breakfast for the troop.  Bacon and fried tomatoes on toast and an egg for my guest...I don't like the mixed flavours so I gave it a miss.

The morning was spent tidying up from yesterday.  Some of the plants were a little shaky in their pots because of the water level so I was emptying out the buckets especially in things like the larger shrubs and the lemon bush where there is a bucket without holes underneath to help them through the hot spells.  No need at the moment.  I shall be doing the same tomorrow after today's deluge....and didn't it come down.

The clouds started gathering around one and there was just time to get the washing in as they got darker.  The thunder was rumbling round earlier but only faintly but a few good claps, I took refuge in the house, settled on the sofa and the heavens opened.  The gutters were bursting and it was pouring out over the yard and I suddenly remembered that the pipes underneath the concrete by the entrance gates hadn't been cleared out for a while so I donned a waterproof. a hand trowel and out I went quoting Oates as I left the building...'this may take some time'...I was right...it was about six inches deep and covered about three square meters so I cleared the drain holes and sent it down the lane.  The main drain outside the house didn't have any water flowing down it but they have dropped a load of soil in the path further up the road and I think that's probably blocking it.  So if stopped, more thunder, it started again and it's taken until seven to ease off completely.  Such strange weather.

Supper's in and I can smell that it needs attention.  I've put in barbecue pork spare ribs with small jacket potatoes and it should be ready any time now.  Pleasant day despite the weather and lots of little jobs achieved.  LN....Might be indoor swimming tomorrow...LN

Tuesday 19th June

Silly five o'clock start, my hands were itching like fury and I can only guess that there were a couple of gnats in the bedroom having a field day.  I went to the bathroom to get some cream to put on them to stop the itch and noticed that the water heater was going and that the temperature hadn't risen much at all.  I've got the water heater on a timer clock that kicks in around three thirty and goes off about five thirty so that it doesn't cost me a fortune so I checked the timer and it was an hour out.  The electricity must have gone off so I reset it and put it on override... I wanted a shower and to wash my hair ...I was over the sell by date.  I went back to bed and got the little Lenovo out and did emails and FB and started to play Soda Crush and joy of joy...the one that I was stuck on yesterday is no more and further to that I knocked off three others in quicksticks and then came the difficult one that I'm now stuck on.....ah well...

Down to the bread van this morning for sliced and unsliced, eggs and coffee biscuits.  Before it arrived I sat in my Avatar's garden and we started talking about ants for some reason and she complained that they were on one of her pretty flowering bushes.  I mentioned that cinnamon would deter them and asked her if she had any and she came out with a powder and it certainly wasn't cinnamon so I legged it home and came back with my pot and left it on the wall while we walked down to the van together.  I fancied a cheesy bread for breakfast but she had the last one so in jest I told her to enjoy it but in Turkish.  The driver cracked up, she offered to let me have it and I refused and we walked back together to her garden and I smothered the flowers and her plant in the cinnamon....and let's hope that it works.

Ms D of S popped in with her little beauty mid morning and we had a joyful interlude.  She picked up my treasures, I took them from her and we were on to the next.  Eventually we decided that the garden was the place to go where she could run around and we spend a while 'talking' to the sheep that were happily munching in the field next to the wall.  A few quick 'baa's' and they all started....I can now be classed as a sheep whisperer....maybe...

Off they went, I put wood preservative on the 'activity centre' bench that now has arms and I now have to do adjustments to the cushion and make new covers.  I've got the curtains to do it and let's see how long it takes me to 'get round to it'....Too nice to be in and doing but I've had no excuse over the last few days but having said that...the rain threatened around six this evening but it went over and so far so good.

Supper was pork breaded cutlets covered with the remains of last night's spicy barbecue sauce served with boiled potatoes, peas and carrots.  I don't think I'll be getting any Michelin stars yet awhile but I'll keep trying.  The wind that got up had died down and it's turned into a pleasant evening.  I'm hoping for a better night tonight, I shall be putting the mosquito thingy out to frighten off the wee beasties and fingers crossed it will do the trick.  Nothing on for tomorrow so far...it's all pretty weather dependent.  LN...Rest time....LN