Monday 11th February

So that bath last night didn't happen....I saw that one of the stations on TV-Catch-up was showing Matilda so I watched that and it took me back to when my grandson was small and we used to watch the video...over and over again.  We loved it.

I woke up at two this morning and convinced myself that I needed to get back to sleep and I did...six ten on the second awakening.  The fire was just in so I nurtured it to life. It had been a warm night in the pluses  but that wind was biting when I went out to throw scraps out for the birds. I made coffee and went back to bed with my book...Games of Thrones is finished and I still wonder why I bothered to re-read the last book.  A lot of the good characters have been left out of this one and hopefully, the last in the series will bring it to a satisfactory conclusion.  Everyone has waited so long for the final chapter...I just hope that the fans will not be disappointed.  So now I've gone back to the Jim Butcher series...wizard extraordinaire..and I like them because it's easy reading unlike G of T where there was such a lot of descriptive text.  It reminded me of Jean M Auel and her Ayla series of books and having to flick over several pages to get back to the story.  

I took lots of pickes of the morning sunrise.  it turned from red to pale orange and grey and the sun eventually did break through the clouds but it wasn't enough to tempt me out for garden activity...that wind was really cold.  I had my bath at eight, lingered until nine and dressed by nine fifteen.  It had started to heat up in the house so I put a small log on the fire and then left it to do it's own thing until four this afternoon when I started it off again.  I was on stand down from Kardjali and I checked my car documents and I don't have to renew my car tax until April so I'll do it with my house tax in March.  I didn't even bother to go to Djebel.  

We're supposed to be in minus figures tonight, I have enough bean soup from last night in the slow cooker and it's ready when I am....to be served with a chunk of bread. Not sure if it's Kardjali tomorrow....I'm waiting for the Librarian to let me know.  LN...And now to settle in for the evening....LN

Tuesday 12th February

Monday night for me is TV night....'Only Connect' and 'University Challenge' and then to bed for a really good night's sleep.  I woke up at six, rescued the fire, made coffee and headed back to bed.  It was nine when I emerged from the nest and the Librarian was on the phone...her car was ready for collection so we agreed to meet at ten thirty at hers.  I was a little early and headed up to her house, rang her number to see if she was still there but I'd missed her at the restaurant on the turning.  I headed back down to the main road and she was walking towards me so I picked her up and we headed up the death highway to Kardjali.  

First stop was the garage to pick up her car and we left it in Kaufland car park and then set off for the rest of the challenges that lay ahead.  Firstly to the hospital reception to get the forms to allow is to get tests done for obtaining a Bulgarian driving licence.  We had two doors to go through, the eye test and secondly heart, lungs and a few prods.  We didn't have to wait long, two consultants that looked like they've been there since the days of Communism but they signed the form...so issues with that.  We moved back to the reception desk, got the official stamps and we decided to have lunch at the hospital to save time, bean soup followed by creme caramel with a total value of six lev.  Good value even at twice the price.  The optician had indicated an eye test on the form so we hopped round to my optician and made an appointment for her for next week.  So over to KAT and the girls were so helpful....my lovely man was there and we joked about needing an addition to my licence so that I could fly a helicopter...he said he had one so we were covered.  Forms completed and she picks up the licence in one month.  Kaufland and to her car, I said cheerio and went to pay my phone bill, bought new perfume and a sweater that didn't come from a charity shop, filled up the Nipper with gas at the fantastic price of eleven lev and stopped off at my garage shop for a chat and chocolates.  


All objectives achieved...one happy Librarian and I've got my new perfume that I spotted in a shop in the centre of Kardjali.  I used to use it when I was nineteen...I just hope it's not out of the same batch.  Supper was creamy brie with biscuits....the bean soup is still lingering in the gut.  Planning some of the rest of the week around a day out with Mrs D of S at a time and date to be fixed and it's supposed to be sunny and cold until the twentieth of the month.  Might include a trip even further afield.  LN....Eggheads is on.....LN

Quoted from Elsa Peters

Tuesday 12th February

Monday night for me is TV night....'Only Connect' and 'University Challenge' and then to bed for a really good night's sleep.  I woke up at six, rescued the fire, made coffee and headed back to bed.  It was nine when I emerged from the nest and the Librarian was on the phone...her car was ready for collection so we agreed to meet at ten thirty at hers.  I was a little early and headed up to her house, rang her number to see if she was still there but I'd missed her at the restaurant on the turning.  I headed back down to the main road and she was walking towards me so I picked her up and we headed up the death highway to Kardjali.  

First stop was the garage to pick up her car and we left it in Kaufland car park and then set off for the rest of the challenges that lay ahead.  Firstly to the hospital reception to get the forms to allow is to get tests done for obtaining a Bulgarian driving licence.  We had two doors to go through, the eye test and secondly heart, lungs and a few prods.  We didn't have to wait long, two consultants that looked like they've been there since the days of Communism but they signed the form...so issues with that.  We moved back to the reception desk, got the official stamps and we decided to have lunch at the hospital to save time, bean soup followed by creme caramel with a total value of six lev.  Good value even at twice the price.  The optician had indicated an eye test on the form so we hopped round to my optician and made an appointment for her for next week.  So over to KAT and the girls were so helpful....my lovely man was there and we joked about needing an addition to my licence so that I could fly a helicopter...he said he had one so we were covered.  Forms completed and she picks up the licence in one month.  Kaufland and to her car, I said cheerio and went to pay my phone bill, bought new perfume and a sweater that didn't come from a charity shop, filled up the Nipper with gas at the fantastic price of eleven lev and stopped off at my garage shop for a chat and chocolates.  


All objectives achieved...one happy Librarian and I've got my new perfume that I spotted in a shop in the centre of Kardjali.  I used to use it when I was nineteen...I just hope it's not out of the same batch.  Supper was creamy brie with biscuits....the bean soup is still lingering in the gut.  Planning some of the rest of the week around a day out with Mrs D of S at a time and date to be fixed and it's supposed to be sunny and cold until the twentieth of the month.  Might include a trip even further afield.  LN....Eggheads is on.....LN

Only Connect and Uni Challenge also a Monday night  ritual for me. I'm quite good on the board and the missing letters but mostly useless on rounds 1 and 2 with the occaisional brilliant week!

Wednesday 13th February

So after a very laboured labour 46 years ago my first born came into the world at three fifteen in the morning, nine seven and I settled for French knots since we'd just joined the Common Market.  I was offered blanket stitch but it seemed so old fashioned...   As for you Tabs....it's been such a long time that I've heard from you...it's good to know that you still pop in.  

Silly old night again.  Two o'clock wake up and I read until six and went off again until seven thirty,  The Fitbit doesn't know what to make of it and I must have been so still watching TV this lunchtime that it put it down as an afternoon nap and honest, I wasn't.  The height of my activity today has been from the sofa to the kitchen to the log store and back to the sofa again.  I've got two of the log carriers in the conservatory so I should be alright if it does decide to drop a load of snow.  We've had flurries all day that have amounted to nothing, the temperature has not got above one degree, the wind has been howling and the birds bombing the cat for the bread that I threw out first thing.  I did manage to cook bacon and egg for breakfast and used the remainder of the bacon for the base for a vegetable soup.  I peeled the rest of the celeriac, an onion and a carrot and into the slow cooker with half a bag of frozen peas.  And that's ready for when I'm ready.

I spent part of the morning trying to send a gift voucher for my son by email from a well known site and boy was that a challenge.  Eventually I managed to do it and sent it on to him by email...I've never had these problems before...why do they keep changing things.  The rest of the morning I spent looking at You Tube.  I'd bought some glass paints yesterday from my stationery shop and thought I better look up the technique and then it got complicated showing me how to make my own flexible paint and I was too cold for that sort of nonsense.  I was intrigued by making concrete flower pots using material and shapes and coming up with other items such as candle holders but it needs to be warmer for me to become creative.  I have a little house crying out for a home industry when the pot plants hit the terraces in the spring.  Let the creative juices flow...but not yet....much too cold.

The plans I'd made with Mrs D of S for Friday might be on hold...I think she's gone back into hibernation and I won't be long following her.  Sunday trip to Greece is still on...weather permitting and according to Accuweather it's gong to be sunny but cold and that's OK with me.  Supper time and then a snuggle by the fire and hopefully I won't get the first two hours of sleep in.  I'd like to see a decent report on my Fitbit tomorrow.  LN....Kitchen calls....LN

Thursday 14th February

Six start and I went through all night...the fire was still in so I put another log on, made a coffee and went back to bed to play Soda Crush.  It's a funny old game...I think because you refuse to buy other lives it let's you win and then you move on to the next.....and it starts all over again.  I eventually got out of bed at eight thirty, washed dressed and sausage and egg for breakfast but the first egg broke so that's the one that the cat had along with the bits of sausage that I burnt.

So today I printed off this years Baba Marta cards but I had to change one of the cartridges first and now I have very blue fingers.  I've a couple of birthdays that I had to get cards sorted for and a present for my local birthday buddy.  I eventually managed to get out to Djebel, I needed gift bags from the leva shop, envelopes and hoped to get the birthday cards in the post but the post office was closed even though it should have been open but this is Bulgaria.  I managed the gift bags and envelopes and delivered the birthday buddy present to her father's shop and as I walked back to the car I bumped into her coming from school.  She was with a couple of friends so I wished her happy birthday for Sunday and decided to stop at the currency exchange shop to get some euro for Sunday.  

Nipper put away, some good shots of the sunset, lit the fire...it's supposed to be another cold one so my trip out with Mrs D of S is on the back burner at the moment.  A decision will be made tomorrow.  The remains of yesterday's soup is almost ready for tonight...I like this 'making it one day and there's enough for two'.  A few more cards to write and envelopes to address and all go in the post tomorrow..let's hope it's open.  LN...Supper and relax...LN

I like making it today and there is enough for 3 days better.  

Friday 15th February

Happy birthday to my grandmother...nice memories of when I used to stay with her while my grandfather went out for an early evening drink with my father on a Saturday night.  She was the one that let me be adventurous.  My mother brought some wax matches back from an Italian holiday, I used to cut the heads off them, pile them on a silvered tray and light the stalks pointing in towards the heads.  A little mini explosion...I must have been eight at the time and allowed to do experiments.  She let me be me and with only two days between our birthdays...my soulmate.

So I looked out this morning and put on the outside floodlight and it was chucking it down.  This looked like it might be messing up plans for today.  I lit the fire, I hadn't banked it up last night so had to start from scratch but it didn't take long at all before the water was belting though the radiators.  I made coffee and went back to bed and read for an hour and despite the weather, I decided to have my shower and wash my hair just in case the snow stopped and I could managed to go visiting with Mrs. D of S.  At eight I dropped her a message, she thought it would be nothing to stand in our way but she was wrong, it still kept coming down and we decided against going.  It's now been rearranged for Monday...according to Accuweather it should be sunny.

I settled for scrambled egg for breakfast and have been filling time all day.  I had a conversation with my student about going over to their house tonight and that I thought it was best to call it off.  The snow has cleared but if the temperature drops tonight and it starts again...it wouldn't been good driving back through the forest at ten or thereabouts.  So new arrangements have been made and I'm seeing Mrs D or S tomorrow weather permitting and supper will be rearranged for next week. I can't be bothered to cook tonight since I've been picking all day and settled for brie and crackers followed by mini chocolate cakes.  No soup in the pot for tonight, Trevor... The rest of the evening is going to be spent on a little TV and a little reading.  LN....The plans of mice and men egh...LN

Saturday 16th February

Restful night's sleep...woke up at five and decided there was another hour to be had so I headed back to the land of nod but that was after I spruced up the fire since I wasn't sure how the day would pan out.  Washed dressed and ready to face the day by seven, it looked as if it might turn into a lovely day but there were a few clouds out there to start off with but all came good in the end.  It was cold though...only one degree outside and it's stayed at that despite the sun.  The wind has been very cold.  I heard the bread van and headed down for a few items and delivered the soup dish to Haciber and put a few ready mixed coffee sticks in the bag for her.  You have to put them in a bag so the rest of the crew don't see them....certain things remain private.

Message from Mrs D of S confirming that they would be over later in the day but that she was having a slow start.  At nine thirty I took the Beast into Djebel with a little shopping list.  I wanted a cake and candles, so that I could get the little one to blow them out later, and the cake would feed the ladies of the village tomorrow.  I bought ham and cheese and cheesy things for lunch and ice-cream.  I was back by ten twenty and so I was just waiting.  I didn't have to wait long, they were here by eleven thirty so we must have crossed on the road as she headed for Djebel.  The little one settled in very quickly and gave me the card that she'd made me and my new name is 'night-night' apparently and it's pretty close to nana when you're only two and a half.  She settled in very quickly considering  that I don't see her very often, we walked the garden and she remembered that I had a toilet upstairs and wasn't content with using the one downstairs.  Lunch was ham, cheese, potato puffs and I'd bought her a special apple juice drink in a sports bottle but that didn't seem to want to work so we found a cup.  She liked the cheesy bread that I'd got from the bread van that morning and really did well with her food and the strawberry ice-cream slipped down.  The finale...I put candles on the cake and lit them allowing her to blow them out...again and again and again...it was such fun.  I cut them a chunk to take back to Mr D or S and off they went just before two.

I cleared the table and washed up and decided to check out the television and didn't realise that the indoor athletics was on from Birmingham so I've had a very restful afternoon and the highlight was Laura Muir attacking the mile record.  So it's dark, the sun went down very quickly and the three quarters moon was in a very clear sky.  It's still cold and can only get colder tonight and tomorrow I have an early start.  My friends from F want to start at eight thirty but it looks like it might be a very sunny dry day in Greece with a visit to a garden centre, the market and the fish restaurant if it's open.  I've picked up my euro already for the market...the card will have to come out for the restaurant and it will be the second time I've been there, the last time was with Princess and family when they were over in October.

Not really interested in food, I had chocolates from Mrs D of S for my birthday and they somehow found their way next to the computer as I watched the athletics and I have nothing more to add.  It's the Voice tonight so I'll be settling in for that but not sure if the bath comes before or after.  LN....Decisions, decisions....LN

Sunday 17th February

So it was an early morning start for the birthday girl....I lit the fire. made a coffee and went back to bed to fill in the time between waking and diving into action.  At seven I burst into action, washed, dressed, cake for my compatriots in crime for today and into the car by seven forty five.  It was a cold old morning, minus four when I set off but if promised to be a splendid day.  There were no hazards along the way apart from the clock that is still showing the old time so when I got to the village I stopped and reset it and was at the rendezvous point as arranged.  I went in and there sitting on the worktop was a big heavy birthday pressie for yours truly and it was a couple of hanging baskets and a bag of compost so that's part of my week sorted out.   What a lovely surprise...

We set off more or less straight away and headed for the border and onwards to Greece.  I'd invited them for lunch at a fish restaurant in Porto Largos but firstly we had to negotiate the market and sort out the bargains from the not so goods and this time I kept my purse firmly in my pocket.  I've really been spoilt by Mania in BG....and when you're having to pay in euro...it appears to be twice the price.  So onwards and upwards and we followed this up with a trip to a couple of garden centres and I was amazed at how low the prices were and most of the plants appeared to be very healthy.  I was approached by the manager when one of the assistants told him that there were English people in the store and he asked me how I found his nursery.  I said I was very impressed by the plants but because they didn't have any trolleys or carts that we had bought less than we would have done and explained that in England all nurseries provide trolleys to go around with.  He understood immediately and said that he had been in England earlier in the month and was expecting twenty trolleys that week....job done.

Back to the restaurant and by this time it was heaving.  There were no tables outside and very few in but we were seated almost immediately.  We didn't get everything we wanted...the sardines were out of season, the only moules were served with rice, I ordered a whole squid grilled and a plate of prawns in garlic and we had a Greek salad and chippies that I requested without oregano and at this point the owner remembered that I had been there before.  I've worked out that if you complain in a positive manner that you get remembered for the right reasons...result.  The food was amazing, beautifully cooked and served and worth another visit later in the year.  

Back via the lakes and the flamingos to Fanari where we found a place in the sun to have a coffee, looking out over the sea from a raised terrace.  Back into the car and over the border and home for five and the temperature out of the wind was still very reasonable for February.  Into my car and home for six, my fire isn't all that willing to go tonight, it must be the direction of the wind.  No supper...I really pigged out today....I have cake for my ladies to take round tomorrow and I also bought a kilogram of clementines to hand round to them as well.  The cauliflower cheese that I intended making with the small cauliflowers that I brought in the market will be brought into play tomorrow...Do I feel another year older?  No...the spirit is still young, a little wiser maybe but not a lot.  I've returned the telephone calls that I've missed since I've not been here to take them, the cards are probably sitting in the post office but I'll find out tomorrow and I've had some lovely messages on FB.  LN...I've had a lovely day....LN

Monday 18th February

So after the excitement of yesterday, I'd like to say a thank you to all the messages on FB wishing me a happy birthday.  I had conversions last night with Princess and various friends and I went to bed feeling very relaxed but unfortunately the sleep bucket was full at about five.  I made coffee, went back to bed and was out at seven, cut up the cake and got it in little plastic containers ready to whip round the village with it.  Out into the Nipper by nine, distributing to the needy along with the clementines from Greece and was heading for Djebel by nine thirty.  I met my painter along the way and gave him a lift to the mayor's office and a little further along the road I met up with the mayor's father and took him into Djebel.  I stopped off at the car shop and the garage owner was there so I told him that I suspected that the brakes needed attention and the handbrake certainly did.  He set off for the garage and followed him and met up with Mrs D of S and the little one at the garage as arranged.  The rest of the cake was left with the garage...they would demolish it for me.

So we drove via Momchilgrad to our destination and stopped at the watering hole so that Mrs. D of S could fill up the blood nicotine level.  Ten minutes later we were at our destination so that the children could play together.  They live in an old school so the children had plenty of room to run around in but the little ones native tongue is Danish and the soothing tones of English did nothing to calm him when mother went out of the room.  I shall have to learn more words of Danish.We had coffee and went out into the garden so that the children could play on the swing and slide and chase big bubbles.  It was a lovely day but under the huge pines, not much heat got through and I was pleased when we drew it to a close, got in the car and headed home.

We stopped off at the garage on the way back, the car was ready and they had replaced the front brake pads.  I paid the bill and dropped to see my student's mum at the shop and she had a present for me.  I stopped chatting for a while and realised that I had letters to post so headed for the post office at four and it was open...what a surprise.  There was a police check on the way back but I was waved through...I'd shown my documents last week.  Lit the fire when I got back and that's ticking along nicely, I don't need supper....no need to fill up unless the tank is empty. I shan't be late tonight....I'm feeling a little jaded after a couple of early mornings and very active days.  LN...Nothing on the agenda...gardening tomorrow..LN