Wednesday 17th October

Lovely sleep of the just and it was seven ten when I first saw the light of day.  The sun was up, the temperature was rising and it looked like we were in for a good one.  The mist was hanging round the mountains and I tried to point out my little house in the mountains to my SIL but it was no use so we might be up for a trip in the Beast tomorrow so that they can see it.

Toast for breakfast and we were ready to roll at ten fifteen and we were on out way to Greece.  We managed the border very comfortably and the only thing in front of us was a white van.  After about four minutes the guard came out of his little hut and indicated to the driver of the van to do the same and asked him to open up the door of the van which was secured with a metal bar.  He opened up and inside were rolls of material which my current passengers commented that he could have all sorts hidden in the rolls and flat packed in the fabric.  The driver and the guard then made their was to the side of the van and obviously the guard had the same impression as my lot and he turned him round and headed him back to Bulgaria.  We stepped up, passports over on to the next cubicle and passports were returned...we were in Greece for the day.

I seem to stick to the same route...I was only there on Sunday but Princess and co have never been before so it was a pleasure to take them.  We walked the beach, Princess had a paddle in the sea, CJ took his t-shirt off but it soon went back on and we headed to the restaurant for coffees.  After a  ten euro bill we moved on to the fishing village so that I could show Princess the spider webs on the roadside and she has a thing about flamingos and was amazed to see them on the salt flats.  We had a walk along the quay and headed into a fish restaurant not realising that it was solely fish but found enough to fill us up.  Grilled prawns and squid for the girls, cheesy veg and halumi for the boys and we also went for a Greek salad that came with a real chunk of cheese and four dishes of chips.  Unfortunately they'd been sprinkled with oregano so didn't go down a bomb with the entourage but the rest of the food was really good and we all came away stuffed.  Back in the Nipper and over the border to Bulgaria getting questioned as to how many people were in the car despite the fact that he had four passports, he asked where I was going and who the passengers were and where they lived and I said that they were family over for a holiday and all this in Bulgarian.  Any way it must have been understood, he raised the barrier and off we toddled.

On the way back we stopped off at Ms D of S so they could meet up and were surprised when the newbies from F arrived after we'd been there for a while.  On our way after about half an hour....Nobody wants any supper...it will probably be a cheese board much later on.  LN.....Lovely day with lots of giggles......LN.  

Thursday, Friday, 18th and 19th October

Two into one...that can't be bad.  Last night was just too late, there was packing going on, eleven to bed and up for five and on their way by six and I suppose I was heading for a downer knowing that the house would be empty when they left for home.

Thursday turned into a bit of a mad day.  They wanted to see my little house in the mountains so we left at ten, headed down the rough road towards the village via Momchilgrad and we were there for about eleven.  I'd pointed out the cake shop on the way through and it was part of the itinerary to head back the same way and pick up some chocolate cake and anything else that anyone fancied.  We went for a walk up near the house, it's so beautifully quiet up there and the views are spectacular.  It's almost tempting to do something with it but there again it's pretty remote and would only be used in the summer.  So back into the Beast and with my grandson hanging on to the grab handles we were back on the main road and headed for Podkova and decided to stop for a coffee in a small restaurant that I know of.  Blow me down there were a couple of friends in there so we headed off on a jaunt to see another property that's being renovated.  The intention was to go to the oldest mosque in Bulgaria but those plans were shelved until we'd done the mountain hike but as we cam down the mountain and back on to the main road heading towards the  mosque, the call for the cake became stronger so a three point turn was executed and it was back following our noses to the cake shop,  It was about four when we got there, eclairs and chocolate cake for everyone and back home via the back lane.  As we drove back through the village we were flagged down by one of my ladies and we parked up and Princess and myself headed down to meet them.  We met up by Beyser's gate and they indicated that we should walk to the bottom of the village but by this time there was packing to do so we were about to offer regrets and the presents started coming out.  Poor Princess was overwhelmed....she filled up and overflowed a little and they were doing the same.  She came away with biscuits, Turkish delight and chocolates all wrapped in newspaper and was really touched by the hospitality.  I gave her a big hug as did the rest of them and we sniffed out way back home.

Panic set in...I'd lost the Nipper keys.  We'd sat outside until the sun went in and the temperature dropped and I'd come in to light the fire.  Silly me had put the keys on top of the lid of the fire lighters and put it back under the table and four of us looking and going over old ground and this time with torches it seemed hopeless until Princess got her cleaver head on and found them.  Task achieved, none of us got changed and off we headed to the meat restaurant in Kardjali, worked our was through the menu trying to decide what to have when we noticed a particularly large skewer of meat heading for the next table with cheese filled bread from the oven,  The decision was made.  An hour later we were all stuffed to bursting point since that wasn't the only thing we'd ordered, back into the car, I filled up with gas on the way home and we were back for ten thirty.  Lights out by eleven and alarms set ready for the morning call...they were leaving at six to head back to Sofia for London.  All went well, despite the misty morning they arrived in Sofia for nine thirty and boarded on time and should now be back in the UK and home.

As for me.  I've had a very lazy day and am still in my PJ lounge suit and spent the day realising how empty the house seems and finding more relatives on the ancestry site.  It's would have been my father's birthday today and I found out that despite his grand parents having several children, two boys and several daughters, neither my father or his brother managed to keep the family name going and of course it was lost when the daughters got married.  He was really disappointed when the two boys that he did produce both died and birth and what did he get next....yours truly.  I think he would be proud of me now though.

Beautiful calm, still autumn day once the mist had cleared away.  I made mushrooms on toast for brunch and finished off a packet of fruit cakes.  My diet can start tomorrow.  Haciber came round with chocolate croissants from a Mevlit that they had in the village for someone from Turkey....it's all go here.  TV- Catch up has now introduced a subscription and I have to decided whether or not to take it out.  They seem to get you all ways.  

Just had a call from Gouljan....she's been out collecting fir cones and her father hasn't come to collect them with the wheelbarrow so would I go down to the lake where she was waiting...another mercy mission....Found her at the road side, stashed them in the Nipper, delivered her and the fir cones home, stopped for coffee and biscuits and just got in.  I did come back with a giant pot of home made yogurt for my troubles so can't be bad.  Everything locked up for the night.  LN....Relax....LN

Transponder TV now says for me,

"You are on our limited free plan. Please subscribe if you'd like features such as recording, multi-screen viewing, HD channels and higher quality viewing."

To be honest it is no different. All that is missing is recording and playback etc, which I never used anyway. Did you?

Saturday 20th October

Only difference is Trev that they cut down on the channels you can view or so it seems and I don't like the reminder every forty minutes or so.  I'm going to take out the very basic which is fifty pounds or close to for a year.  I don't record anyway or play back....CBA.  If I miss it...tough.

And now this update is going to be a quickie...the thunder is rattling round and my electricity has gone off and just come back on again so I might not have any Strictly tonight.  The day started well, I collected up the towels and got them in the machine, stripped the beds with the intention of getting in another load but the acceptable morning turned into a cloudy lunchtime and by half twelve we had the first spots of rain so in came the washing.  The second load came out of the machine and now adorns the bathroom with the first load and the third is dry and waiting for attention and it can wait.

At twelve thirty  there was a knock on the door and one of my neighbours said that Remsie was killing a calf and that she was going to buy some of it and did I want some.  So never having been invited before I grabbed my purse and we headed up and it turned out that it was only a small one and there was nothing to buy so we headed home.  She came in for a while and she talked at me...she doesn't seem to slow it down much when she speaks and tends to slur her words a little so I end up nodding and putting in the occasional comment when I more or less get the gist but not the detail.  Anyway off she went and I went on to the computer and settled in ancestry hunting and at about two there was another gentle knock on the door and it was Remsie with some of the calf.  I offered to pay for it and she refused anything for it and again she sat down for twenty minutes or so and she's another one that mumbles a little  and at two thirty she make her escape...she had things to do.  I opened up the bag that she'd given me and trimmed up the meat and it's now in the fridge...it's too new to cook and needs to rest for a while.

So back to my computer and now I'm back to early seventeen hundreds and the sleep bug got me so I headed down in front of the fire on the sofa and got my head down for an hour or so.  I think it's the business of having people here and then nothing.  It's catch-up time.  No supper for me...I had a couple of giant ham sandwiches for a late lunch and I've pigged out on biscuits and coffee since I've come round from the land of nod.  I've got to sort out TV Catch-up tonight and make the subscription....it's not a lot to pay to save the hassle of finding the programme again.  As fore the family....they certainly timed it right.   LN....Quit while I've still got power....LN

Sunday 21st October

So I stopped up last night watching the television till silly o'clock but straight to sleep and it was eight thirty when I opened my eyes.  I meandered around putting the washing away and generally tidying a few things away, it was a dull old morning so I wasn't in too much of a hurry to get the rest of the washing done.  I got back into ancestry chasing...there's a bit of a problem with one of the names....I'm having trouble sorting out a 'Mary' / 'Maria' back in the turn of the eighteen hundreds with a 'several greats' grandfather.   I'll get top the bottom of it eventually and it amazes me how many of the cousins had the same name within families especially the boys.  

The hunger pains began so I found a couple of sausages that I'd bought when the family was here so they got cooked along with bacon and a couple of eggs...and that was breakfast done and done with and then back to the ancestry stuff.  I've worked out that I need some really large sheets of paper or a roll of plain wall paper so that I can visually see the relationships.  It's difficult on the screen and you can only print screen and hope when you print them up so tomorrow I'm off to my favourite stationery shop and we'll wee what they've got on offer.  They do industrial printing so my lady is bound to have something.

Eventually the weather cleared and two loads of washing done and dusted and now finishing off in the bathroom and over the banister.  Fascinating today watching the starlings.  Firstly they gathered on the electricity power cables and the pylons and then most of them came into the garden and were obviously finding something to eat in the grass.  They took off in dribs and drabs and suddenly they all moved to the next field, something obviously frightened them and up they went circling the next village.  Back they came again, circled again and back to the pylons and now they're in the poplar trees.  

No cooked supper for me.....I've got cheese left over from the visit so that will do me.  Kardjali tomorrow for the paper, cheapy shop that requires a visit and that's about it.  I'm still topped up with enough food to withstand a siege so will probably avoid the food shops. I did pay the yearly subscription for the television channels.....I wasn't going to but for a pound a week I felt I could stretch to the occasion.  It doesn't freeze any more and advert free...well worth it.  Bath and early bed tonight...I'l still catching up.  LN...Boiler on then.....LN  

Monday 22nd October

Silly night last night...I was watching t.v., got stuck in to ancestry and it was one before I knew it.  As for the bath it didn't happen so it was a shower and shampoo this morning to get ready for the big city.

I didn't have a lot to buy but intended heading into my stationery shop to get big sheets of paper for setting out the aunts, uncles and grandma's grandma and grandma's grandma's grandma along with their respective spouses.  I now have about ninety residents in my chart so hence the big sheets of paper to view them easily.  The screen is rubbish.  The Librarian arrived at around nine thirty, coffee and packeted croissants for breakfast and off we set at ten thirty.  On to the open road Toad in the Nipper, Kardjali was busy but we managed to park up in the central car-park and headed firstly for the cheapy shop.

My first purchase was a pair of snow boots for twelve leva that are on offer on ebay for loads of dosh....but there is no danger of selling them...winter is coming John Snow.  We headed down to the stationery shop and I managed to find very large sheets of paper, not the finest quality but adequate for rough work at twenty stotinki a sheet.  We went to the market chicken restaurant and had lunch and I still had the paper, headed for the Euro shop and I gave the paper to the lady on the cash desk so that I could check out other items, bought a couple of highlighters and promptly forgot to ask her for my paper and it was only when I got home that I missed it.  Guess where I'm going tomorrow....

Home for three thirty, it was time for a nap, I felt shattered and I'm still catching up I think,  I lit the fire, had peanuts for supper, a little more ancestry and managed to catch Egg heads at it's new positioning in the schedules.  Why don't they leave things as they were?  On the plus side though, Connect four is now before University challenge and that's got to be good.  

The moon was up tonight but then the clouds rolled before I could get a shot of it.  It's not full yet...we have a bit to go so I'll keep you in suspense.  LN....Kardjali tomorrow...again...LN

Tuesday 23rd October

So it was six this morning when I woke up and it was so dark I thought it was the middle of the night.  Back to bed with the kindle and Candy Crush for a while before I legged it downstairs for coffee.  While was down in the kitchen I took the meat that Remsie had give me from the fridge and carved some of it into cubes ready for the slow cooker and the rest went into the freezer to live for another day.  I looked down the garden and though I was seeing double,,,obviously two sister kittens were heading for the burning pit and it reminded me that I needed a bonfire but I left them to their fun and waited until they'd finished searching the contents...and there was zilch.  So down to the burning pit and got rid of the rubbish.  I walked back up the garden and was surprised by the odd patches of colour that were still showing,  The nasturtiums had been dug up once in error, replanted and had survived the ordeal and the petunias must have been on the third flowering.  

So dressed and into the Nipper for eleven thirty and heading for Kardjali.  The objective was to retrieve the paper sheets that I'd left in one of the shops but I stopped off at the Tuesday cheapy shop and managed to pick up a pair of curtains that reflect the colours of my lounge,  I'm not sure what I'll use them for yet,,,the material might be put to other uses but I loved the colours and for twelve lev...bargain.  I moved the Nipper to the bottom of town, my paper was there for me and I headed to Lidl for a large bottle of water and then over to the gas station for gas.....another thirteen leva worth.  Back via Djebel and I stopped off at the car shop and my student's mum and we chewed the cud for an hour or so until I realised that I was cold and needed to get home and get the fire lit.  I parked up and unpacked the goodies, filled up the starter wood bucket and got the fire going, switched the slow cooker on again for later and decided to have a back because I was tired and needed to chill.  I lay there for about an hour and a half, went to sleep, topped up the water again and eventually emerged for Eggheads, Kevin was knocked out and the contestants won.

Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow so I might spend part of the day cleaning up the garden and taking seeds from the plants that I'm removing.  Another on the 'to do' list is to chop more starter wood.  Could be a real work day.  LN...Supper to sort....LN

Wednesday 24th October

Silly night....after my super switch down with a hat bath at about seven last night I ruined it all by having cheese and biscuits around half ten last night.  It seemed to stick and at one this morning felt as if I'd slept for ages and I still had hours to go.  A few games of Soda Crush, a few pages of Game of Thrones on the Kindle and I was out for the count until seven thirty so every cloud has a silver lining.  At one the moon was full and it was just like daylight outside but at seven nothing to see at all.  The mountains had gone and even the birds weren't moving around very much...quietly spooky.  At eight I sent out to thrown out old bread for the birds and noticed that one of the cats was tucked up on the sofa.  It lazily opened one of its eyes and then shot off heading for the wall and freedom.  Tomorrow the covers will be taken off the outside furniture, the cushions are heading for the little house....despite the weather...November will soon be here.  The remnants of the fire from last night were soon brought back to life and I regretted it as soon as the sun broke through.

The fog eventually lifted and it turned into a beautiful day.  I had a general tidy round, made up the downstairs bed, washed up and found a pot of sheep's yogurt in the fridge and sat on the terrace eating it after I'd put a dollop of strawberry jam in it.  It was pleasant being outside but the mood to start sorting out the garden didn't kick in so spent most of the day between pottering ancestry finding another twenty to add to the tree.  I'm still looking for a 'John' who worked on the passenger liner Transylvania as a second cook and eventually became a naturalised America subject.  Fascinating and also frustrating.  

Sofa time this afternoon, more wood in, fire going for tonight and house is very comfortable and warm.  Beautiful full moon tonight so I better draw the curtains so that I don't get disturbed.  LN....Gardening tomorrow..... LN

Thursday 25th October

Seven fifteen start, reasonable time, coffee, washing in and was just about to go out to start on the garden but instead I got waylaid with moving the garden furniture cushions...the cat sleeping area was dismantled and the covers put in for a second load,  I washed up from the last couple of days and tidied the kitchen and was filling up the log basket and going back for another and I noticed Gouljan's father walking towards the upper village.  He said he was on his way to Djebel.  Now I know there is no bus until tomorrow and that he was walking it so I shouted that if he waited five minutes I would take him in.  I'd intended taking the Beast in for its winter check up so back he came, I pulled on boots and grabbed my purse and off we went .  I dropped him off at the centre of the town and I carried on to the garage and there were no other cars waiting so they started work straightaway.

Oil, fuel and air filters were all changed, oil leak was investigated and apparently it was on bolt that had worked loose and was not sorted, I'm good to go to minus forty more or less, oil changed and tyres checked.  Bring it on John Snow.  I thought about going to the soup kitchen for lunch then remembered I had food that needed finishing off from when the family were over.  Ham sandwiches for lunch and I finished the grapes off from my last trip to the Greek market and I was amazed that they were now almost two weeks old and seemed as fresh as the day they were bought.  

I spent the afternoon reading and generally chilling out,  I sat out for a while in the sun...it was too hot in the house and it got up to almost thirty degrees...and it's late October.  I also unpacked my new Dirt Devil and gave it a whirl round the conservatory....it was great on the tiles but almost sucked up my lightweight rugs in my winter lounge even with the air vent totally open.  Need a new carpet in the corridor.  Did a circuit or two of the garden and noticed that I had roses flowering on the little house terrace and yet more to come.  I also spotted that the mole has been very active...the tablets will be posted in the ground tomorrow....how very dare he.  

Peanuts for supper...not really in the mood for food and must admit that the Cadbury's chocolate has taken a bashing today...thank you Princess.  Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow......LN.....I'm sure I'll fill my day with something....LN

Friday 26th October

Seven thirty start this morning and I started playing stupid Candy Crush and it was half ten before I knew it.  I completed game after game and I kept getting more lives and bonus lives and in the end I had to put the thing to bed.  I had more fish to fry so to speak.  Fortunately I got dressed and ready for the world before my guests arrive and none was expected.

Kettle on and coffee cups out for R of F and his adoptive who is over for a holiday.  I'd tidied the house so wasn't too intolerant of visitors, there was only the kitchen to do and that still needs doing.  The Librarian popped in to deliver items that I'd left in her bag when we were out on Monday...she was up this way on a mercy mission for the villagers and it wasn't too far out of her way.  She didn't want coffee so that's one less cup making the kitchen untidy.  

So everyone left about one and the rest of the day was mine.  Now this ancestry has been concerning me....I was getting very confused about a Maria and a Mary that were both married to a Thomas and within a couple of years or each other.  The problem is now solved...the one is listed as Thomas and the other as Thos and I eventually tracked down the correct census record for each one and now my tree stems from a Robert and Alice and not a Thomas and Maria....and I'd lost a George within the time frames and now he is found. I've now put it to bed....I've had enough and at last satisfied that I can now allow the Maria to marry for the second time where before Thomas date of death meant that she would  have been an adulterous female but now I can allow her to move on and update the record.  I thought I'd found some scandal but everything in the garden is rosy again.

I lit the fire around six and it's been ticking over ever since. It's still twenty five degrees in here with no fire to speak of...very comfortable.  My neighbours arrived yesterday from Turkey and everything was out on the line airing or drying out....not quite sure which.  They're only here for five days so by the time that they get sorted they're off again.  So ten thirty my time...where has the time gone today.  Greece tomorrow for the market....I've got fifteen euro to spend...last of the big spenders...that's me.  LN...Camera battery is on charge.....LN