Monday 10th September

Five thirty start...I think I slept too much yesterday.  Too dark to do anything except play Soda Crush, six it was coffee time and seven it was a trip round the garden, watering and weeding.  The frog garden is looking like a garden again with the grass removed and it was so dry underneath that the hose was left on it for a while.  I want some rain that counts, not just to wet the top soil.  Gardening in PJ's, back in the house by eight thirty so washed and dressed and breakfasted on toast and my home made strawberry jam.  I started to make a list of the things that I wanted to achieve today and I think I've knocked a few of them off but not many.  I've been deviating and did some that weren't even on it so that's the end of lists for me.

I didn't manage to see the birthday girl today...I'll save it for tomorrow.  I've done two loads of washing, the guest room is ready, floors washed over and windows cleaned and bed made up.  My guest will have the choice of upstairs or down...she lives in a bungalow so might prefer the lower living.  So starting the windows meant that I moved into my room and did those as well inside and out.  I didn't move into the lounge...the men have yet to do the stairs so there could be 'shite' everywhere.  Having done the floor over in the guest room I moved down and gave the porch tiles their first clean but it needs to be a little more thorough.  Grouting takes some moving .   but again it will be when the men have waved fond goodbyes for the year.

No photos today...just been too busy.  One week and counting before my guest arrives,  men are working tomorrow and in my book the stairs are my priority....I'll  be comparing it to their list.  Good day today but knacked.   LN....I should sleep well....LN

Tuesday 11th September

I'm going to apologise in advance...I am upstairs and the cameras are downstairs and a ladder is in between.  Six start and over for the men at seven thirty and it's been all systems go all day.  More wood from Djebel and a lot of 'stuff' from the hardware shop.  We'd bought some stain to match the woods on the front door but the first one looked like a first baby's nappy so that was abandoned, the second was more of a match but less of what I wanted and so we mixed the two together and unfortunately for baby bear it was not quite right so tomorrow I'm off to Kardjali to try and get some proper wood stain.  I'm such a perfectionist.  

So the wood was removed from the Beast, we briefly talked design yet again and with a lot of effort the old stairs came out.  I cleaned up the area, Sally was busy going over the areas with var where the old stairs had been and the new design is taking shape.  The original plan was to use some of the uprights but after the wood had been planed and sanded there was going to be too much of a difference in colour so it will all be treated the same...I couldn't wait years for the old to match with the new...it would never have got there.

Nails have all been removed from the old wood and it's stored in the garage, the house is a complete mess but omelettes and eggs spring to mind but another good day on it and it should be back in use.  I popped in to deliver a card for the little one's birthday and she's got lots of new toys and things...lucky little two year old from Samodiva.  I stopped for a fruit juice, managed to scab some lavender plants from them which will go in tomorrow and home for eight more or less.  It was such a beautiful crescent moon tonight but too dark to really take it and as I said...camera is down, I'm up and that ladder is better negotiated when there is someone else in the house...and there's not.  LN...All will be revealed....LN

Wednesday 12th September

So no time for pickies again today.  Phoned the Librarian last night after hearing that she'd had some bad news from home and has to go back to the UK.  Unfortunately her printer was naff so couldn't print the boarding pass or to add her additional details to the booking so that took up most of the morning and had to ascend the ladder to get it done.  Her computer downstairs and my printer upstairs with a ladder in between is not conducive to instant access to either so the computer came to the printer.  Then we had the bother of printer drivers when I swapped mine over but eventually we got there.  Next stop was Kardjali to get her bus ticket for the six a.m. to Sofia, more screws for Bekir and I managed to get the wood preservative for the door frame to match the existing.  

It's also been a day of making more plans for the stairs.  I think Bekir both have fixed ideas and it was trying to find the compromise and I think we're almost there.  Sally looks on and sides most times with me but not always.  So men home, the Librarian is tucked up in the downstairs bedroom and the alarm set for four thirty, I've climbed the ladder yet again to get the blog done and to hit the sack but everything should be back to normal tomorrow.  Yet again the camera is downstairs and I refuse to tempt fate....I've done that enough today.

Score me a black mark...I can take it....five days and counting before my guest arrives.  LN...Better get a wiggle on...LN

Thursday 13th September

So I set three alarms for this morning so that I could get the Librarian to Kardjali for the six o'clock bus to Sofia and the first one brought me to the surface at four fifteen.  I washed and dressed, descended the ladder in time for her alarm going off at four thirty.  Coffee, scouted around and sorted out a few things and we were in the car by five ten and Kardjali for five forty five.  As the day's worn on I've been feeling more knacked and it won't be long before I lay down my weary head..

It's been full on with the men today.  Bekir seemed to be doing OK on his own with Sally moving in with the support for the stairs so I set him to work building me a shelving unit for the porch using the old stairs and it looks really good.  The on going plan is to attach a shelving unit to it under the kitchen window and a hanging section for winter wet clothes and wet shoes.  It's coming together nicely and that should be happening tomorrow,  

I think Bekir has hit a few snags with the stairs and at the moment I'm still not sure how it's going to look but at least it will be stronger than the previous ones.  There's still some tweaking to do and I can always get some more wood...the only thing I don;t have is time with my guest arriving on Monday.  Bekir has already said that he will probably be working on Saturday and any changes can be made after she has left.  I then have fourteen days more or less before my Princess and co arrive.

Tried to go on to TV Catch-up and they appear to have made some changes and again with Daily Mail Sudoku...why can't the world stand still for those kind of things.  I have to sign up, there may be a subscription later on for downloading stuff but all I want to do is  watch the normal UK channels.  I'll give it some thought.

Just a few pickies of the last few days....I need something to get my mojo up...let's see what tomorrow brings.  LN....Biscuits and bed...LN

Friday 14th September

Well at three fifteen this morning I was wide awake and looking for fun and I found it but trying to get to the bottom of the mess that I'm in.  Everything is everywhere and waiting for a space to be cleared of workmen's shite so that I can sweep up, collect the debris and get reorganised.  On the positive side we've got lots done today but what a drain on the energy banks.  If only I had Duracell...

So as I said very early start and had to negotiate the ladder once more but at least I was standing on one of the flats near the top so that I could bridge the gap.  Having had my recent fall, I'm taking it very carefully....I don't really need a season ticket to the x-ray department.  I washed  and dressed, I was desperate for a cup of coffee and so desperate that I forgot where I'd put it down and eventually I had to follow my nose.  It was on the halfway point of the stairs...or what there is of them.  I came to a conclusion before I picked up the men....the other treads have been recessed in and the second section will be surface mounted with supports underneath.  I acknowledged that t's not going to be finished to my standard in time so we have to compromise and revisit it later.  It's now been established that we need two half landings so that we can manage the stairs easily and that should make tomorrow's work achievable.

Now as for Sally....he chugged on with the old stairs that is now a shelving unit, I had a full length shelf put in and hanging section for wet clothes with a plastic container underneath,  Winter is coming John Snow.  He painted it with a new lot of stuff that I managed to get from one of the shops in Kardjali and it looks really luscious...deep in colour and hides the crap wood.  So at five tonight we got a phone call from the wood people to say that my winter wood was on its way...eight cubic meters of it but this year it's already chopped and just needs moving and stacking.  It never rains but it pours.  The upside is that Sally will work tomorrow and so the two of us will put it away, Bekir is working on the stairs and at last the plan is in place and it should be ready for my guest's arrival on Monday.  

I dropped the men off, put the Beast back in the yard and parked Baby by the wall ready for tomorrow morning, came in and carried on with the painting where Sally had left off.  I had to clean two of the uprights that had var on them so I'll leave that until tomorrow morning when the wood is dry.  Not a clue about supper...looks like I'm going to have a rush to the finishing post again...situation normal except that everything should be fine for when Princess arrives...I'll only have to top and tail it.  Beans on toast I reckon.  LN...The ladder calls...LN

Saturday 15th September

Four thirty start and I seemed to fill the morning with something until it was time to go and pick up the men and that seems such a long time ago.  I just knew that it would be yet another day and I was proved right...I am picking them up in the morning,

Sally and myself settled in and put the wood away into the workshop and I think it was in record time'  Sally was on the wheelbarrow and I was on the stacking until he was beating me so he came to help stack.  I suggested that we could have five minutes and he said that we would when it was finished.  All put away and I swept up the floor, carried on and cleared away the remains of the stack using the rake, picked it up and dumped it at the bottom of the garden and I have to do the same again tomorrow to clear the rest of the yard from the sawing and planing.  

I headed into Kardjali after lunch and managed to find everything I wanted in Lidl including a new metal kettle, back home and sat under the trees in the yard with the men with their afternoon coffee.  I'd mentioned that the door to the woodstore and the frame needed a new finish so he finished it with the new stuff that I bought from Kardjali.  I also have a new top shelf on the hanging space in the porch and back to work they went.  I made a start on the windows, out with the hose and did the outside of the stairwell four with just water with the spray jet on and they look OK.

By five thirty it was obvious that we were in for another day so I'm picking them up and I'm hoping it won't be for a full day...I have so much to do.  Men home, the gas ran out in the car on the way home and I toyed with going back to Kardjali and then instead headed home....I really needed sleep so I came upstairs and put on the computer and sure enough, I put in two solid hours of t.v and watched absolutely nothing.  I'm off to bed now,,,it's early but very necessary.  LN....Hope it's a better news tomorrow....LN

Sunday 16th September

So fell asleep in front of the computer last night for three hours or so, woke up, went to bed and came to at about six thirty and boy did I need it.  It's been a bit of an uphill struggle for these last few days culminating in me having to fetch more wood for the handrails for the stairs.  One is up, one is ready to go up...I have stairs now from the bottom to the top and no more 'mind the gap' and ladders to negotiate.  

It's going to be a quick update...I still have the hoover to throw around and they are working tomorrow.  The handrail yet to be erected is fairly crucial when you don't know the property.  The other one going across the windows to protect them will go in also but the one that stops my desk falling to the lower level can wait....It's a heavy old desk but with the old rail demolished I shall have to find somewhere else to hang my wet bath towels...

Guests called in this afternoon and made me slow down for an hour or so and asked if there was anything they could do....I almost gave the list and said 'pick one' but it would have been in jest.  I did the garden this morning since there wasn't much opportunity of finishing anything in the house, the dist and sawdust just keep rolling in despite their best efforts.  I've more or less finished the windows, only a couple left where they're working and ornaments and things to redistribute in the corner where they're working.  All fun and laughter here at 'OK Corale'.  

I'm down to the kitchen for a ham sandwich to fill that gap and it won't be loog before my head hits that pillow.  Photos tomorrow...just too knacked.  LN....Plovdiv by eight tomorrow night.....LN

Monday 17th September

It's another quick one....picked up the men at the usual time and it was all systems go.  I have handrails on the inside of both flights and a long one on the wall to stop anyone crashing into the windows.  As for windows....Bekir did his monkey act and managed to clean the atrium windows both inside and out straddling precariously between ladder and window sill and it was best not to look.  Sally with his forty five kilograms was standing guard on the bottom of the ladder and not for those with a nervous disposition.

I kept busy with the garden and out of their way.  I couldn't start until they'd finished and eventually I threw them out at two of the clock and I was back home for just after half past and then it was all systems go.  I needn't have rushed so much...I showered at four thirty, washed my hair and it was in a heck of a mess.  I'd been lazy and hadn't put a brush through it for a couple of days so plenty of oil went in and I eventually managed it.  I didn't bother to dry it but but he time I got to Kardjali most of it was dry and it was scooped up anyway into a hair clip by the time I got to the airport.   I seemed to fly up to Plovdiv...I pulled off on to a side road and waited for the flight arrival time and then made my way to the car park.  They've introduced new parking charges and I managed to get away with only two lev.

My guest arrived and not having seen her for thirty five years we looked at each other and it was 'is it, isn't it and then she smiled and it was.  Into the car and we broke the journey for a kufte and cheesy chips and then carried on home.  It's late...twelve thirty and tomorrow is going to be a lazy day.  Pictures of the completed stairs tomorrow...I promise...LN...Tired but now to relax....LN  

Tuesday 18th September

Well I was awake at seven and what a wonderful night's sleep.  I think I woke up at two and switched the light off but went straight back off.  I went down and made coffee, the morning was cloudy, no sign of my guest and by eight I was sitting on the terrace beginning to wonder where she was.  She eventually appeared, had slept well in the downstairs bedroom and appeared on the terrace in nightdress.  I made her a tea, she went inside to find a dressing gown since the morning was a little nippy, I was in my velour 'night and day suit', heard the bread van and skipped down the road as I was for a couple of loaves and he had tout manik.  Breakfast was solved. ...eventually we managed to shut up enough to eat the cheesy buns, washed, dressed, a tour of the estate and we headed in to Kardjali around lunch time.  I managed to pick up my new glasses, the shop was at last open and I'm pleased with the ones that I've got for driving, the flashy new purple'

We drove down to my usual parking spot and found an empty place and parked up, down down to the Bureau de Change kiosk, set off around the bazaar and bough a kilo of seedless grapes and then off to Emona restaurant on Kardjali lake for a fish supper of carp and cheesy chips.  Very filling and only twnety seven leva for the both of us.  With the Bulgarians and the  Romanians picking it out of the lakes in the UK...it going to become as rare as hen's teeth.  Lovely evening on the lake and we were rewarded with a very gentle sunset.  The canoeists were coming home but I couldn't catch them.  I'd forgotten my camera and was using my phone.  Set off for home at roughly seven after a very successful day as tourists.  LN...Another gentle day tomorrow...LN

Wednesday 19th September

Min e was a seven start and I was out for a coffee watching the morning come to life.  The sparrows were very active and the finches getting their breakfasts and my guest lingered in her pit until around eight fifteen....she'd had a restless night.  I got dressed and was ready for the bread van but he still had no eggs.  Haciber was arranging lots of goodies for a mevlit so I carried the boxes back for her to her house and as a reward I got three eggs from her...we now had breakfast sorted.

Poached on toast followed by toast and jam and we sat around in the sun watching anything that happened in the garden.  There were various visitations, a woodpecker, more finches attacking the zinnias and a pair of circling eagles riding thermals.  We had tuna mayo for a late lunch, took the Beast in for a wash and brush up and this evening headed into Momchilgrad for supper at a very reasonable restaurant and up the back lane and home for nine thirty.  A lovely day of rest, recuperation and general chit-chat on past, present and future.

Just a few pickies of today.  LN...a well needed rest for both of us....LN