Wednesday 1st May

Well pinch and a punch for the first of the month....and white rabbits.  I did look out for a tank to parade up my main road but couldn't find one.  They were all commandeered  in the main towns.  The day of the workers!!

Seven start and it was a leisurely morning.  I didn't have to be anywhere until nine fifteen and took my time getting there.  I went round picking up what the wind had disturbed yesterday and putting them back in their allotted spaces.  I was most surprised at the catch basket for the grass mower finding itself in the middle of the grass, well away from the  mower.  I ambled over to Haciber's house and took the keys that I hold to my Avatar's house.  I wasn't sure of her arrival time and wanted her to have the keys to hand in case they were needed.  As it happens...Avatar hasn't arrived yet so I would have been OK holding on to them.  

I phoned the Librarian to confirm that I would be meeting her just before ten on car park at the dentist's surgery and that our Fotinovo 'newbe' would be with me. I got into the Nipper heading for Fotinovo, parked up, joined him for coffee and we walked over to the health centre and met up with the Librarian.  We climbed the steps, went into the surgery and he was waiting for the Librarian and was very surprised to see two other victims.  We explained why we were there, He indicated that I should get in the chair, examined the tooth with the problem and decided that it was due to age, nothing wrong with the tooth on the gum margin and insisted that he put a surface coating over the area to alleviate the pain.  I asked him how much he wanted for the work, said that today was free and I've arranged to go down to his other surgery for an x-ray after my guest has left.  Telephone numbers were exchanged, we left and left the Librarian to her fate and she updated us later at the house....and was now minus three teeth....and was on her way pretty soon to get over the ordeal.

We headed out to the local restaurant in Fotinovo...three lunches and one pudding for ten leva....why feed yourself.  I left after lunch and headed to see Ms D of S but one Mr D was in residence so we sat with coffee and she returned not long after with the little one.  Lovely afternoon...the little one is a hoot, never stops talking and lovely with it.  I came home with tomato plants and a cyclamen corm and the tomato plants will go in tomorrow.  

Lovely day, very chilled...more please and free dental treatment...result.  LN....And Avatar still hasn't arrived.....LN

Thursday 2nd May

What a day....Toasted ham sandwich for breakfast, out to the garden and it was non stop until two thirty this afternoon when I came in for a coffee.  I came back from D of S's with tomatoes and they needed to go in but I had to clear the ground first...along with all the other spaces in the veg patch.  Last year's beetroot were heading for the compost.They started growing too late, I overwintered them and now they have marvellous tops and lousy bottoms and are now in the compost.  As for the weeds, they went over the wall for the sheep and any passing trade.  As it stands...only the onions to finish weeding and the old beetroot bed needs a final digging over to get to the roots of the bindweed and couch grass.  All seems to have run riot in that bed.  

Funny happening at around twelve.  I heard a car pull up but didn't see it, two men came into the garden and it took me a while to recognise them.  Two guys from CID.  Now they speak a little English and firstly them mentioned Saturday and Sunday and I immediately thought of speeding but it was nothing to do with me.  Last week I posted pictures of the digger working on the lake and apparently it was to repair it.  Persons unknown have damaged the perimeter and the underside of the lake and he showed me the picture on his phone and most of the water has disappeared down the hill and far away.  The question was...had i seen or heard anything untoward on the said night in question and I hadn't.  It's the first malicious incident the we've had in ten years....it might be down to rakia or a vendetta against the farmer who put the lake in in the first place.  Strange but I couldn't help them and they asked that if I heard anything could i let them know.  Of course....and it's now a talking point in the village.

So when I came in for my coffee and five minutes, my neighbour over from Turkey was at the door and asked me what I was doing,  I explained I was just making coffee and did she want one and in she came, sat down and promptly took out her knitting.  She was only using the one needle as they do round here and I was fascinated.  Seems rather odd but very efficient.  She eventually left, I headed out again to finish off and tidy away the tools and came in at six having achieved fifteen thousand steps on the Fitbit.  Quick wash and change...I had Pilates at seven and had to get a wiggle on.  I saw my ex-student after I parked up, he is home from university in Sofia and had great pleasure in telling me that he has his exams and then is hopefully off to America to work for the summer vacation in an hotel.  I did suggest that he shave his attempt at a beard off before he applies for his visa....he's quite swarthy looking.  

Off to Pilates and it was a little more difficult tonight, a lot of back work and mine's not really up to it.  As we started to walk home we met my garage owner who'd been for a fish (carp) takeaway and chippies and he insisted that I have a couple of portions for my supper.  Not bad but I wouldn't use it myself...I prefer cod.  Home for eight thirty and my Avatar has at last arrived.  I went round to take her keys and offered help if she needed it to settle in.  It was late so I left them to it and half an hour later she is round to borrow the foot pump to get the car sorted for her DIL tomorrow.  I told her not to bother returning it until tomorrow....I shan't need it over night,,,

Ten my time...everything is late tonight.  I might be lawn cutting over the road tomorrow or if not, finishing off my garden.  Tomatoes are in, celeriac, mini-cucumbers and more beetroot seeds are planted, carrots, parsnips and new beetroot are weeded and only onions to finish off.  I've yet to buy cucumber plants and might get those tomorrow at the market....otherwise nothing imperative to get up to.  LN....Tired but happy....LN

Friday 3rd May

Early start and washed and dressed and ready for the bread van.  My bread from Lidl was looking distressed and needed replacing.  My Avatar is holding on to the foot pump...they ought to get the tyre fixed..they've been borrowing the pump for two years more or less.   She managed to stop the van outside her house while I had to walk down to the bottom of the village...age brings it's benefits...maybe she was just jet lagged from her journey from Germany.  I found out at the van that Zelinger has returned from Turkey so I delivered her late Easter pot plant and pot and some chocolate eggs.  She wasn't very well and is sporting a cold...I didn't stay long.

Out with the strimmer this morning and I managed to do the yard, the grass between the house and the front wall and little garden wooden surrounds before the battery ran out.  Back on charge ready for the afternoon shift.  I didn't feel too good after the morning effort so took to the sofa with the Kindle and was out for the count for a couple of hours but woke up with vim and vigour and back to it.  I used the strimmer now that it was recharged to start clearing the weeds from the shrubs along the wall by the top bench and now I can actually see the garden.  I stuck at it and eventually came in at six after putting my toys away and refixing the handle on my trusty fork.  It popped off as I was using the form to twist the weeds from the soil.  It was the side that hadn't been glued so glue in the hole and a quick bang with the hammer and it seems to have done the trick,  Proof of the pudding tomorrow.

In the process the bench had to be removed and virtually fell apart when I did it....probably hammer and nails at the ready tomorrow at some point or a complete remake might be on the cards.  Off to find supper, there's got to be something there.  LN...Made a dent in the weeding....LN

Saturday 4th May

Last night's bath didn't seem to do me much good.  I went off to sleep quite quickly but at three thirty I was tossing and turning and it seemed to take ages to get off again.  Seven start, watched a little of breakfast television, washed, dress and ready for the day but still didn't feel on top form.  I decided that an omelette for breakfast would set me up for the day so put some local white cheese in it and it was just the job.  

I was out with the strimmer by nine thirty and the intention was to clear the bottom wall of the grass that had started to creep towards the top of the wall.  I started at the little house terrace and worked my way down the long tall wall and was down to the bottom my around twelve.  It was time for a break anyway so came in for a glass of water and went out again until one thirty.  It was pretty slow going when I got to the bottom wall.  The chickweed and bindweed are quite easy to remove but it's thickness makes it difficult.  It seems to intertwine with anything that's growing there so at one thirty I'd had enough and was running out of steam.

I found my usual place on the sofa with the Kindle and yes, you've guessed it, I was out for the count for just over an hour.  I'd had a visitor, my Avatar had returned the foot pump and left it by the outer fly screen.  I put it away so that I'd know where to find it when she needs it next time and headed for the bottom of the garden at three thirty and came in at six thirty...I'd had enough.  The washing that I'd done this morning is  now on the clothes airer in the bathroom.  I lit the fire since the temperature has dropped and now the rain's set in and looks like it's there for the night.  Beans on toast was a quick supper and I watched the exciting semi-final of the snooker while eating it.  Looks like a house day tomorrow.  There's a lunchtime session at my Avatar's house tomorrow to celebrate her return.  I've told her that I shall get thoroughly dressed up for it...a worthy occasion.  LN...I should sleep well tonight....LN

Sunday 5th May

Well it's been a weird day.  I woke up at six. went to sleep again and didn't eventually surface until ten twenty and thought it was about time that I jumped to.  I didn't bother with breakfast thinking that I was going to my Avatar's house for an early lunch so instead moved the washing into my bedroom so that it would dry off in the sun and emptied the household rubbish and headed for the bonfire.  I took my trusty fork with me, got a good fire burning and decided to stay in the vicinity and clear out the crescent shaped bed at the bottom of the garden.  The weeds seemed to have taken hold and there were some that I've never noticed before with long trailing roots which took ages to dig out.  I cleared most of it, viewed my work from yesterday and intended going into Kardjali to buy another strimmer but the weather changed so I didn't bother.  Tomorrow is another day.

I got washed and dressed to go for my lunch date and the next thing my Avatar is at the door telling me that everyone is waiting for lunch and why wasn't I there.  We walked over the road together and I was surprised when we ended up at Haciber's house.  Most of my neighbours were there, it was home made banichka for lunch followed by a really sickly cake and I'm not in the mood for supper at all...full to the gills.  I have a bit of an issue at these lunch sessions...the neighbours all insist on speaking Turkish so I sit there only picking up a few words.  My Avatar said that she's forgotten most of her Bulgarian since she's now listening to German and speaking Turkish with her family so her son suggested that she came and stayed with me for a while and got back into speaking her native language....which I though was funny.

So home for one thirty, I lit the fire, the weather had got much colder, the clouds had come over and it looked that we were in for a pretty rough night.  The wind got up to gale force, things started flying so I was out there securing 'stuff' and then the rain started hammering down.  I went upstairs to watch the snooker, went down for a coffee and suddenly noticed that the UPS to the log burner had it's emergency light showing and was making a noise and the only time that it does that is if the power supply is interrupted.  The television was still playing so there was electricity to the house, the panel didn't show that there was no supply to the plug so I decided to empty the wood burner into the ash can.  I put it outside, realised that it was blowing a gale so doused the burning wood with water creating a sauna in the yard but better safe than sorry.  The noise has stopped and it needs more investigation tomorrow, it might be the pump or maybe the pump was just getting over used and the output from the UPS was greater than the input.  I'm not an electrician.

I was about to take the pickies for the blog but I had a phone call from the UK and by the time I'd finished the call it was virtually dark so nothing to declare your honour.  Promise to do better tomorrow.  LN...Back to the snooker...LN

Monday 6th May

Another stupid night.  I watched the snooker, that silly programme that everyone was raving about and I still don't know who is 'H'.....all answers on a postcard please.   Why do they rev it up and then let it fall flat on its face.  Fantastic acting to a very bad script....rant over.  I somehow then went over to Stephen Fry, headed for bed and was wide awake so played Soda Crush and just kept winning.  I heard the mosque go off...it's the start of Ramadam...checked my watch and it was four in the morning.  Anyway, eventually got off to sleep, awake at just after seven and felt fine all day.  No afternoon nap.

Washed, dressed intending to go out to the garden and carry on with the clearing but the weather got the better of me and boy did it thrown it down later this afternoon.  I found the superglue and managed to repair the broken part of the electric strimmer and I'll see how long it lasts.  I don't think there's much change of buy a new part but the original only cost fifteen leva so I've had my money's worth.   I set to on the house, the guestroom has had it's final titivation and he arrives next week.  I've washed the curtains that were in there and have put up another set that I had by me but they might not be the final ones to hang there.  I might even make new...I'll be hunting in my material chest tomorrow.  I had a surprise call from Fotinovo friend in response to my yesterday post about the UPS.  I'd covered all bases so there was nothing else to do, we had coffee and off he went.  

The weather cleared up this afternoon but the temperature has dropped.  I'm heading in to Kardjali tomorrow to get the new strimmer, pay my phone bills and pick up a few things from the supermarkets.  The grass is too wet to get the mower out so I'll leave it for a couple of days, at least the rain is good for the garden.  LN....Last session of the snooker...and back to normal...LN

Tuesday 8th May

Fortunately the snooker had finished before the internet went off or I'd have been spitting feathers.  Just would add that the best player won even though it wasn't the result I wanted.

Very restful night....I snuggled down under the weight of duvets and slept the sleep of the just, waking up at six this morning.  A glass of hot water and my daily tablets and eventually I got out of bed at eight.  There was no rush, the shops didn't close until ten at night.  I went over to see my Avatar to take her some Nivea cream since her daughter was asking what I used on my face and in return she handed me a bar of chocolate from Germany and insisted that I put it in my jean's pocket so that Haciber wouldn't see it.  She'd had one of the locals cut down her grass and I happened to mention that I couldn't see the buddleah that I'd given her last year and he'd beheaded it.  Eventually we managed to find one stalk with a small green shoot so it should survive.  I came back home and sat at the desk forgetting completely about the chocolate and when I took it out it was very pliable so into the fridge with it.  

Into the Nipper by ten fifteen and stopped off at the local car shop to check if she needed anything from Kardjali and while I was there I asked her to check my blood pressure and she said that it was OK.  The doctor would have said 'high' but I feel OK so I'm not going back for more tablets.  I'd written my shopping list so stopped off at the first major hardware shop for a garden shredder but it was expensive and I didn't like the design soon to the next.  I did managed to buy five odd floor tiles with a wood grain finish that will make a superb top for a table.  Next stop cheapy clothes shop and managed to get a pair of curtains, fully lined and very attractive that I'll find a space for eventually....probably my bedroom when I tire of the present ones,  Down to the euro shop and picked up a few items, back to pay both telephone bills, Kaufland for chicken legs and more breakfast cereal, eggs and two sad neglected roses  at a reduced rate.  And home....  I unpacked the car and put everything away, trimmed up the roses, sat on the sofa and promptly fell asleep for an hour or so and woke up cold and it was raining.

I lit the fire and watched it carefully to see that it was behaving itself after the other night's hiccup and sure enough the pump clicked in at the right time and everything seems normal.  The fire just takes the chill from the air and makes the house comfortable...I know it's May but it's cold for May...not as I like it.  I don't need supper....I was tempted by the food outlet at Kaufland and managed a hotdog and chips in the car.  To top it off I had a packet of local smarties ...that's me finished.  LN....Another lazy day tomorrow if the weather is like this...LN

Wednesday 8th May

Another good night's sleep but by eleven I could easily have gone back to sleep again.  Perhaps it was trying to digest the cornflakes and yogurt that I put myself through.  It was a toss up between the new muesli and the cornflakes and the cornflakes won...but probably shouldn't have done.  I stripped the table cloth from the winter lounge table, spent an hour looking for the polish between doing other jobs and eventually came across it at four this afternoon.  I sorted out the tools from under the said table, found the tool box which was empty in the little house and now know where things are.  Unfortunately I ran out of steam about two and got my head down for just over an hour.  Maybe the tablets or the new cracked rib that I seem to have acquired.  It wasn't painful at first but after a few days it really is giving me gyp so maybe I didn't sleep as well as I thought i did last night.

At four I found myself in the little house putting something away and I decided to move the geraniums out on to the terrace.  I cleaned them up, weeded and watered them and put water catchers underneath to give them a good chance of getting back to normal.  From the terrace I was drawn to the yellow flowers in sporadic patches in the garden...and heaved the thistles out of the borders and slung them back on the the hillside from whence they came...I live on a field so the weeds are always encroaching and I seem to get different varieties each year.

Supper in the oven at six and should be ready any minute.  Chicken with roasted vegetables....I am back to normal with my diet....three weeks of being careful and only lost a couple of pounds so I reckon that I'm not eating enough.  Time to top[ up and get back into the habit of cooking with my guest arriving next week.  I've already ordered home made yogurt from my Avatar for Tuesday and she's ordering me farm eggs from her supplier.  So supper ready...I'm off to the kitchen.  No fire tonight...it's fairly comfortable in the house and I've tested out the system and it behaved perfectly well.  LN....Chicken, veg and mayo ,,,here I come.....LN

Hi Elsa, Pics are great, the garden looks very good, and with the flowers coming out, you must have green thumbs & fingers...lol
All good here, hope you had an enjoyable Easter. Take care us in OZ..xxxx

Thursday 9th May

Thanks Linda....love it and hate the garden....today wasn't my favourite but the grass is finished....stripes going in different directions but at least the birds can find the bugs in the grass now.  Easter was quiet and a bit disjointed.  I delivered eggs and flowers to my ladies in the village but they're Muslim so don't really celebrate it but the friends that do celebrate it a week after us so I gave them eggs on the Wednesday in the middle of the two weekends.  

Six start and by the time I got to getting out of bed the sun was up but it was quite and funny light.  The clouds were rising over the mountains and eventually it burnt off the hanging mist.  I'd gone on to my bedroom balcony to take the first pickies but I didn't stay out there long and checking the thermometer in the lounge, the outside temperature was showing four degrees and inside twenty so the house had held the temperature well considering I didn't have a fire last night.  Cornflakes for breakfast, washed and dressed for working in the garden but my heart wasn't in it so I cleared the kitchen, read for a while and settled on the sofa.  I'd opened the windows earlier, suddenly realised that I was cold so went round closing them and settled back down.  I had a surprise visit from the Librarian at around one thirty and a visit from a lady from a charity in aid of deaf and dumb children so donated and she gave me a receipt...  The Librarian stayed until three and I was tempted to take up the initial position but instead decided to tackle the grass so it was out with the trusty mower.  

It was a slow old process and quite damp underneath but I persevered, got to the end of the big house grass, the machine ran out of petrol so I turned it on its side and cleaned underneath before filling it up again.  So forcing myself I finished it off, the starling nesting in the cherry tree was a little disturbed by the noise and was chattering at me but it had to wait.  Silly thing is I know where it's nesting but they're still wary.  I put the machine away, brushed off what I could but damp grass sticks so stripped off in the conservatory down to basics, made a coffee, put the boiler on and intend luxuriating when this is posted.  I've actually knocked up thirteen thousand steps on the Fitbit and feel much better for it and tomorrow  I'm off to Djebel for a few odds and ends and checking out the rugs that I've seen in the material shop.  Cold chicken tonight....it will fill the gap.  LN....Bath time.....LN

Friday 10th May

So I stopped up last night to watch 'Question Time' and there was so much anger around.  Nigel didn't have much opportunity to state his case, he was interrupted constantly buy one of the others who what remain nameless.  The one comment that struck a chord with me was made by the business man on the panel.  He observed that in business to get the outcome that you want you have to be prepared to walk away.  If our PM had been prepared to do this, I believe she would have got the deal that Britain deserves.  By the time that it had finished I was wide awake and ended up watching the spoof Countdown...very funny and off the wall.

Well we've had all sorts of weather today.....sun, rain, thunder and lightening and I have watched the grass grow by the minute.  I did a little more sorting out after I'd gobbled down my cornflakes for breakfast, eventually got dressed with a view to going in to Djebel but changed my mind as the weather deteriorated.  I'd managed to get the washing done and out on the line and fortunately it was more or less dry before the raindrops started and is now in the bathroom on the airer.

I stopped for lunch at one and I mixed tuna, mayo, sweetcorn, beetroot and cheese and wasn't sure I was going to get to the end of it.  It was a pretty full bowl and I managed it but not sure I'm going to find a space to supper.  Avatar appeared on the terrace at four thirty with a climber that she'd dug up from her garden and I've never seen a root that long on anything before.  Exchange is no robbery and I'd already put three shrubs ready to take over to hers but as I've explained before...some of my neighbours don't miss a trick and I hadn't enough for all of them.  I took the one from her and took the three out of the pots as she said that she was going to plant them up immediately and put them in a carrier bag for her so that no one would see.  I'm getting as bad as they are.  She left so I took the garden spade and headed for the bottom of the garden and planted it so that it could grow up into the trees.  I did think about clearing some of the shrubs down there to give it more light but the rain grew heavy so it was tools away, into the house and I lit the fire.  It's mainly for comfort, it's not that cold but I don't do damp and cold very well.

The cats have been on the prowl today using the wall as a motorway between the usual food dumping point over the wall and the bonfire pit at the bottom of the garden.  It's amazing they still go down there, I cover it up with piece of metal and the bottom of the old burning container.  Two of them have been doing what comes naturally seemingly all day, squawking and screeching so we'll have another batch of kittens pretty soon.  I suppose they do keep the vermin down.  Tomorrow I'm off to Haskovo to check if they have the garden shredder that I want but I have found one from an English company and to deliver to Bulgaria is fifteen euro.  I shall probably order it tomorrow if I don't find one.....it's a good make and reasonable.  

So early to bed tonight....and maybe something to nibble on for supper.  LN....Time to hunt something down.....LN

Saturday 11th May

Six start this morning  and stayed in bed until seven thirty...I didn't have to be ready until nine thirty more or less was when I expected the Librarian.  Washed and dressed and ready for the bread van...I toddled down and most of the ladies were there already.  I asked for a cheesy bread and my Avatar had had the last one...so I grumbled to no avail.  I came back with a sliced loaf and as I was walking back to the house, Avatar met me outside her gate and gave me three eggs.  I told her it didn't make up for the loss of the last cheesy bread and we laughed about it.  I made toast and Marmite for breakfast, washed up the kitchen items, put my gardening gloves on and cleared some of the weeds from round the Greek plants, looked at the onions and decided that the weeds could stay until tomorrow...there were a lot to get out.

The Librarian arrived just before ten, I'd already got the Nipper out onto the grass outside the wall and we were ready for the off.  First stop was at Kaufland, I wanted a two step ladder with a hand rail on top...it's a safety precaution, I want to paint the rest of the beams with anti-bug stuff.  Next stop Haskovo and the stationery shop and I bought some big reels of sticky tape for my dispenser and envelopes while the Librarian picked up her favourite writing paper.  Next stop was out favourite nursery, the lady immediately recognised us and we were left to our own devices.  We headed for the cheap section at the rear of the building and I picked out four new shrubs that I haven't got in the garden and one berberis for my Avatar.  I managed to find a very large plastic tub to carry the shrubs to the payment point, noticed that they had some seventy litre bags of potting compost to bought a couple and the total for those and the shrubs was sixty leva and she threw in the tub for me....my lucky day,  I drove the Nipper nearer to the stack of compost, the bags were loaded, the tub went in complete with shrubs and we were on our way to the hardware superstore.  I was only interested in looking at the price of shredders but as it happened they only had one and not a particularly good make so I've settled on the one from the internet and will order it later.  Back to Kaufland for some chicken legs for my Avatar, stopped off in Djebel for some seeds for the Librarian and home for four and off she went.  I unpacked the car and used the sack barrow to transfer the seventy litre bags from the Nipper to the little house,,,good for burning calories and it reminded me of something from 'Strongest Man' competitions.

At five Avatar appeared with a bowl of rice and meat for my supper, I gave her the chicken legs and they went up under her jumper so that no one could see.  I followed behind with the shrubs for her holding it behind my back so that her neighbours wouldn't see and then when cars drove up behind us I held them upfront.  When they overtook us I move them behind my back and we laughed about it.

I've just looked up from the desk while writing my update,,,the bee eaters are back.  I only saw two and one really strange big white bird in the walnut that I couldn't really get in focus.  I'll have to keep watching out for it again.  Housework tomorrow...it's getting close to 'arrival day' and the rest of it will be spent putting my new shrubs in.  LN....I've had a lovely day....LN

Sunday 12th May

So last night I couldn't understand where the light was coming from and thought I'd left a light on but I hadn't .  It was the moon but over in the west....not where I'm used to seeing it.  So I went into the back bedroom and took the pickie and then went back to bed and by this time it was quite late.  I'd stayed up to watch the television again to check out a new late night show and I've decided I have to get out of the habit.  It's not doing me any good at all...early nights from now on.

I still woke up early and it was before the sunrise.  The sky was that lovely shade of pink and blue that promised another good day.  I had gardening to do and meant to get on with it but I was a late starter to it.  I went out to the garden and started taking more pictures with the sunlight on the house and the garden.  Even I was surprised how the house appears to have changed...the shrubs have grown up round it and I have some cutting and shredding to do when I've managed to buy one.  I made poached eggs for breakfast and poodled around  for a while, sorted out the clothes in the bathroom and into storage with them.  The winter PJ's, tights and vests are all away.  I've declared spring is here.  By this time I'd wound down a little, a friend passed over yesterday and it set me back a bit even though I was expecting it....a sad end to a successful life....Alzheimer is a bugger.

I had my nap and roused round at around three and decided I didn't want to waste the rest of the day.  A plant that I bought in Greece is planted up in the little garden near to the bonfire, the new white one is in one of the small beds near to the walnut at the bottom of the garden and one of the nameless ones has been transferred to a bigger pot in the new compost.  I've cut back one of the forsythias at the bottom of the garden so that the new white one had room to grow.  I bonfire got rid of most of the weeds and the rest of the forsythia is ready to take new cuttings.  Bekir came round early evening to bring back the heavy duty strimmer that he borrowed last year and it's here for when my guest arrives tomorrow.

I came in at seven thirty after putting everything away.  I took a phone call from the UK, put forward a few new requests before the suitcase is sealed tonight.  I caught the end of the athletics and I've just realised how late it is...almost time for bed and supper looks like it's not going to happen tonight.  Last minute hoovering tomorrow and bathroom cleaning, I shall be heading into Kardjali for the pickup depending on which bus my guest manages to get from Sofia.  LN....I'll await the phone call...LN

Monday 13th May

Well if push hadn't come to shove, I would have been married  for forty seven years today.  I was almost tempted to send my ex and anniversary card but I'm not sure his current partner would have seen the funny side of it.  There's no pleasing some folks.

Six start today and out on to the balcony to catch the early morning glow.  It didn't take long before it was up and running but there wasn't so much heat in it...well there might have been but I was too busy to notice.  I did walk the garden and said good morning to the new shrubs and checked them out and they seem to be doing OK.  The only one that seems to be suffering is the one that my Avatar handed over to me...perhaps it didn't like been wrenched from its home on the other side of the road.

So at seven thirty this morning my working day began.  I'd made my list of 'things to do' last night so I reviewed and only added a couple more items.  I made toast and jam for breakfast and sat down to eat it, washed up the plates, took my tablets and first job was to take the hoover apart and empty the dust box.  It's a bit of a complicated one but on the fourth attempt  it was all back together again and all systems go.  Bedrooms first, down the stairs with the hoover and then I washed them down and it was surprising how much muck they accumulate.  Now I was on the ground floor and the tiles in the downstairs bathroom had been worrying me for a while.  The two down boxes for the chimney are in the bathroom and with the best will in the world there sometimes a very small smoke leakage from the woodburner pipes and obviously with white tiles....they show it all.  So I grasped the nettle, unpacked my new two-step ladder and it was much quicker than I thought.  Downstairs rooms hoovered and the tiles washed over, furniture polished and bring on the guest.  

Strange thing was, I got an early morning phone call to say that he was ready for boarding and my response was that it hadn't got off the ground yet.  I hadn't had a phone call to say that it had touched down so I checked the flight  tracker to find that it hadn't arrived and had a delay of two hours for take off.  The journey down from Sofia to Kardjali again was a two hour delay so I had plenty of time to get into Kardjali, get the shopping and be in plenty of time for a five thirty pickup.  I had my phone call as I was packing the shopping, left the Nipper where it was on Kaufland car park and I walked to the cafe which was the meeting point.  I stopped on the way home for gas and we made way home.  Car unpacked, I had a phone call from my daughter which was a very pleasant surprise., all systems go with hamburgers, chippies and baked beans, not very dramatic but quick.

Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow....I think he needs to recuperate from a long day and I need to get over a day of full on housework...but it's worth it.  LN....The eagle has landed....LN

Tuesday 14th May

Well I woke up at seven thirty and it was a dull old day. We'd had rain overnight and the terraces were very damp and the flower pots full so that was my first task of the day.  I made coffee and sat quietly drinking it only to be disturbed by the snoring from the guest room and eventually at almost eleven I deliver a cup of tea and told him it was time to get into gear.  Last night he'd discovered that he'd left his Kindle on the bus coming down from Sofia so prior to waking him, I'd found a phone number on the back of a wadge of discount bus tickets, phoned them, the Kindle had been found and handed in to the Kardjali office so I was able to deliver good.  I arranged with the man to head into Kardjali to pick it up later...we had a purpose for heading in to town.  Since my Avatar had delivered me twenty eggs yesterday, I hard boiled around eight of them and they're sitting in the fridge for egg mayo, and the outcome was that it was decided that we would have boiled eggs for breakfast and they were done to perfection and tasted good.  

Eventually we got out of the house by twelve thirty and I'd identified that I needed SD cards for my mobile and Chuwi computer so we had more than one thing to achieve.  We arrived at the bus station and the office wasn't manned so we headed up to the lev shop and made a few purchases, back to the office, OI telephoned the number on the door and the man arrived and we got the Kindle back.  Result.  On to  phone shop and one was unlocked and I managed to get my card bought and fixed and my phone now works correctly.  The phones these days download so many apps and basically all I want is a phone but that seems difficult to achieve.  Down to Lidl for a few items and home for five...and time for me to start supper...chicken and roasted vegetables, washing up done, only one photograph taken and it's time to get my feet up....it will soon be time for bed.  

Nothing on for tomorrow so far...but things change as you know.  Weather permitting I'd like time in the garden so that I can attack the bottom wall....fingers crossed there's no rain.  LN...It's may and should be better than this....LN

Wednesday 15th May

My big machine is playing up.....it's been doing an update for the last hour and a half so I've reverted to one that appears to be OK  but with a very sensitive key pad.  The thing is about to find itself on the grass outside if I get more of this.

Good day...quite a lot achieved and the pickies will go on later or tomorrow depending on what time Windows decide to give me back my system....It's been a dull miserable morning, cleared up for the afternoon and appears to have settled down a little.  I've worked my guest hard today....he's huffing and puffing and heading for a shower before he rests his weary head and the rest of him.  The door handle in the little house has been repaired, we are half way to installing a two hundred litre water butt to the roof down pipe on the little house which means that I can give my house plants reasonable stuff that's not loaded with all the extras that the waterboard feel they have to include.

No plans for tomorrow except to finish the water system, I'm planning on making a few more plant surrounds so that I don't shorten their lives when I'm strimming and I might even tackle the grass again.  The clover is looking very pretty....but it's not to my liking.  LN....I'll put my slave driver's whip to oneside....LN  

Thursday 16th May

What a few days.  The blog doesn't seem to want to run, Google has been playing up and I'm not sure where the problem lies at the moment.  I tried to put pickies on last night and it was very reluctant to open up the screen for me to do it so bear with me for a while...I might get the same result tonight...joy on joy.

I sat out on the terrace this morning as sun was burning off the mist that was rising.  I rolled up my sleeves and that's the first time this year that the arms have seen the light of day...it's not been warm enough.  My guest was not so quietly calling home the sheep, the stork shot low over the garden at nine and the camera was no where in sight,  I'll set my alarm for tomorrow. My painter was out on the hillside and walked along near to the bottom wall and we had a morning greetings.
He was obviously walking to his first job, or so I thought but appeared about an hour later with a bag of mushrooms.  He again mentioned an old oak barrel that he said that I could have and I'd forgotten about it so we arranged that I would collect it on Saturday morning and he said that he would telephone to arrange a time and we left it at that.  The It's been a day of achievements...I have my water catchment completed and no sign on rain tonight....sod's law egh.  My garden fork is repaired yet again with a great big coach screw and that should have fixed it good and proper.  Around  lunch time my painter arrived again, with the barrel this time in his wheelbarrow and also clutching the reel for his strimmer which he asked my guest to load for him.  We went into the workshop, gave him a swift tutorial and he should manage it himself next time.  As for the barrel...it needs anti-woodwork stuff putting on it, the metal bands need painting with anti-corrosive paint and the oak needs staining and a preservative.  That's my work for tomorrow sorted then.  I decided to take the lawnmower for a walk on the top part of the garden and out with the strimmer and uncovered several plants from the frog garden that I'd forgotten about.  This year has been particularly bad for clover, a very pretty wild orchid type flower and we have the start of sticky willy...that clings to everything.  Another job, that bed needs forking over and clearing of weeds...I've got lots of seedlings that need homes.

Supper of chilli beans and rice and after serving ours up I toddled over the road and handed my Avatar a bowl of the same stuff with strict instructions that if she didn't like it she was to feed it to the local dogs and cats.  We thought it was OK so I reckon the local wild life could go hungry.  Washing up done and kitchen finished, nothing so far tomorrow apart from the work that I've handed myself from the list.  My guest is busy planing down wood to make an easel for my student....so we both are fully occupied you'll be pleased to hear.  LN....Lemon needs repotting...something else....LN

Friday 17th May

Beautiful start to the day...sky pretty dramatic and lovely mists in the valley.  Down for coffee and listened out for the bread van....I needed bread.  My Avatar was working in her neighbours garden again, Haciber isn't able to use the implements as fast as Avatar but since they process the outcome together,...it's fair trade.

I had a good day in the garden, digging over and weeding the spare beds in the vegetable patch while my guest busied himself weeding the onions.  After that it was in to the workshop with his and he got on with things while I carried on repotting and generally sorting out the old pots.  The lemon was the main one to tackle...I decided that it will go in the new barrel but I have to refurb it first and it is now in a large plastic dustbin which will fit inside the new old barrel.  There's method in my madness.  I can hardly lift the barrel when it's empty so with a tree and soil inside it it would be impossible and I have to bring it in in the winter for it to survive.  

More of the same this afternoon clearing things out of the posts so that I can put in the new seedlings that are coming on in leaps and bounds.  I came in at seven, supper is last night's remnants with a potato topping and it's almost ready for serving so I shan't be long....I have two hungry mouths to feed.  I've had a message that the Kardjali museum is open without charge tomorrow night...apparently it's European Museum day....we might even go.  LN....That could be the highlight of our day....LN

Saturday 18th May

Early start but I managed to dog doze until six thirty, crept downstairs, came back with a coffee and went out on to my bedroom balcony to enjoy the morning.  There were about three cuckoos singing their little hearts out, the starlings nesting in the cherry were kicking up quite a fuss.  It seemed as if there was a challenge on for the nest or maybe the youngsters have made it out to the big bad world and mother and father were still keeping tabs on them.  There was just a lot of activity and noise.  As the sun got higher the mist started to climb and eventually you couldn't see the sun and I came in because the temperature had dropped.  I crept down for my second cup of the morning but didn't need to..my guest was rising from the ashes and I'd left a kettle full of water for him.  Unfortunately he found red berry tea bags, not a problem but not what he was expecting so my next job was to sort the tea bags out into their respective jars leaving the berry ones well hidden and the detox to the back of the cupboard.  Next job breakfast so we settled for bacon and egg sandwiches which set us up for the day.  

I popped over to my Avatar's house to pay for the eggs that I'd ordered yesterday ..we seem to have got through a fair few.  I had a message from my student's mum saying that they hadn't made their minds up about going to the museum in Kardjali but I messaged her later in the day to say that we wouldn't be going.  It would have ended up eating in Kardjali maybe and it wasn't organised so I'd rather do something with them another evening.  They had both been working as well so he'd probably be tired.

So it was out with the battery operated strimmer until it needed recharging and then I decided to try my electric little one that I'd repaired to see if the glue held...and it did and still is.  I paid peanuts for it two years ago and it's been a good investment.  I got down as far as the burning bucket, the clouds rolled over , the thunder started so I put the tools away and headed for the sanctuary of the house.  It looked like we were in for a huge storm but there were only a few spots of rain, the clouds dispersed, so I went out and armed with the garden fork that's been repaired, I dug over the side bed and have given some of the buried plants a chance to shine.  There is so much of the very pretty wild orchid plant but it does cover everything so it had to go.

It's a beautiful evening, we were going out to eat but neither of us could raise the energy so I've put the boiler on for a bath and that's happening any minute now.  I've just noticed that he moon is full and is hanging over the mountains.  There are sun streaked clouds covering it...quite a strange phenomenon and the sun has just left to the west.  LN...Bath time...LN

Sunday 19th May

Lovely bath last night, washed my hair but the way that I've worked up a lather in the garden today...was it all worthwhile.  I did managed to dry it so that I didn't get into bed with it wet, stopped up to watch Britain's got Talent and I wondered why....it seems to be getting worse.

Lovely start to the day, the sun was up and it's more or less stayed clear for most of it.  The clouds came over around lunch time and it was almost thundery but it passed over which was pretty fortunate...I'd done a load of washing earlier in the day.  Breakfast of bacon and egg sandwiches and the pack of Lidl's 'cooking bacon' is no more so a trip to Kardjali might be on the cards for tomorrow.

So what did we get up to?  I strimmed the grass between the wall and the front of the house and round the top garden.  It's an area that you look at when you sleep in the downstairs bedroom but having moved upstairs and turned it into my guest room, I'd not noticed how my garden grew.  It's now strimmed back into shape with only the small flower beds to sort out.  I've done the big one and taken out a lot of the poppies to give the shrubs more chance of survival and chopped back the spirea that's finished flowering.  The shrubs needed more room and they've got it.  Next stage was to use the lawnmower to join up the strimmed sections and while I was in the mood I finished the big house grass down to the bottom and made in roads into the little house grass.  I don't like it when it's half done.  My guest was woodworking in the little house workshop and when he'd had enough of that took over lawnmower duties.

I came in for a brief interlude and watched some of the athletics from somewhere in Asia and didn't catch where, was about to nod off so went out again for more weeding.  Avatar's garden is now tidy.  A neighbour's husband had cut down the grass but hadn't managed to get it back to his place.  The trouble was that the grass was beginning to grow underneath and she would have had a similar problem when the mower is just not powerful enough.  Any way he turned up today with his grandson and between them they moved about four loads...that poor donkey was struggling...he's getting old.

So toys away, we're off to find somewhere in Djebel to eat tonight....I'm too tired to think what to cook...it's the thought process that goes in to it.  LN...A menu makes life simpler.....LN

Monday 20th May

Well we found a restaurant and yes, it was much easier with a menu.  Tomato and onion salad, cheesy chips, liver and hamburgers, beer for my guest and sour cherry juice for me...result.
We had actually missed the Djebel show and Avatar mentioned this morning that the reason there were so many coaches from Turkey in the square was that it was to commemorate the date that the Turkish locals were told to leave Bulgaria.  The coaches were free to get them to Djebel to be a force in the town.  We walked round the square and thee was a band playing and the tables and food stalls were all out on the square.  The crowds had obviously thinned down and we were home for just after nine thirty and we watched the firework display from the upstairs bedroom.  A lot of money must have been spent.

Dull old day this morning and I managed to catch a mackerel sky and a bea-eater in the walnut both of which I managed to get pickies of.  I had my coffee on the terrace, came in for a second one and went out again.  It was quite cool but I love sitting out there listening to and watching the birds.  There was a fair old fight going on at the base of the cherry tree.  I think the couple that have hatched the first fledglings still want to use it for the next batch while there are more trying to get in but they're not budging.  I popped over to see my Avatar in my PJ's fairly early on to take over some yellow daisy seedlings that I dug up yesterday.When she comes back from Germany she ends up putting in annuals so that's why I've given her shrubs and I thought the daisy plants would be up and ready for her when she got here.  I came back with her bonfire burning rubbish, took mine from the house and headed to the bottom of the garden and got rid of it all...another job done...as I normally say.  Washed dressed and ready for town by eight thirty, in the car and out for nine thirty...not bad timing.

On the way to Djebel I saw a local who had obviously missed the bus and it reminded me of a comment that is going round Bursa that if the 'English woman' sees you on the road, she will always stop to give you a lift.  Not a bad epitaph.  I parked up in my usual central spot and headed for the cheapy shop and for just under three leva I bought two tops for me and a cardigan, a sweater for my guest and a leather overcoat that I'll use to make the seat cover for the new stool.  Back to the car-park and I left my guest sitting on the wall since he was running out of steam and I went to check on phone bills and none were outstanding.  We walked to the square and he changed up some money, then on to the garden machine shop and I bought a new strimmer with two years guarantee.....I hope it's a German not a Bulgarian guarantee..  Kaufland, Lidl and home, washed the new old clothes and put chicken legs in the oven for supper.  I roasted vegetables and put in enough for Avatar, ran over to her house when they were cooked, woke her up to accept them and came back home to eat ours.

Watched the bea-eaters again and this time there was such a wind blowing that they took to ground feeding at the bottom of the garden.  Washing in, more gardening tomorrow just to finish it off except that if you have a garden there is really no finishing point....there's always something to do.  The update is late, the internet has been off most of the afternoon and hasn't long come back on so I'm trying to get this done before it's off again.  LN...An enjoyable day....LN

I think your new barrel is a milk churn. https://www.objectlessons.org/.....-original/s64/a1049/

Tuesday 21st May

Sorry Trevor....my little lady who has the garden next to mine reliably informs me that they used to do the pickled vegetables in it for the winter.  She must be  getting on in years and probably remembers it well.  As for me....I will use it to hold the container for my lemon tree.  I was going to plant it in the 'barrel' but since it has to come inside for the winter or into my little house...no way could I lift it  with full contents so I've come up with a 'work around'.

So I woke up at six, dog dozed and eventually hit downstairs at eight.  My guest had been up, had a cuppa and since there were 'calling them home' noises from the downstairs bedroom I left him to it.  I went outside and unreeled the electricity cable with the intention of strimming the bottom of the garden.  I also grabbed the shears and the loppers thinking I might need to bring them into use.  As it happened, my attention was drawn to the cotoneaster bed in front of the little house terrace, it was full of the slipper orchids and sticky willy and it took me a good half an hour to clear the bed leaving it in a heap to pop over the wall for the animals.  By this time my guest had surfaced so I ended up cooking breakfast and the morning had almost disappeared so I cleared up the kitchen, put in a pork sweat and sour into the slow cooker to save having to think about it later.

I headed out to the garden and decided to plant up the petunias that were looking very crowded in the seed bed.  I also thought it was about time that the Greek tree seedling went outside and started making better roots.  Thee was one long root hanging from the bottom of the ten inch pot that it was in and now it's sitting in a much deeper pot supported by a couple of my old tyres from the Beast and I've surrounded it with more petunias.  I have so many seedlings, tomorrow will be another day for sorting them out.

So there was much muttering from my guest regarding the petrol strimmer but eventually he set to work down the bottom of the wall below the walnut but then he has problems with the machine  so back to the drawing board Cecil.  I took my trusty Bulgarian digger and prodder, along with the tools I'd selected earlier and cleared the area of more slipper orchid and sticky willy throwing it over the wall for the animals.  I used the cutter to remove some very spiky bushes that the locals use to keep the cows out of their gardens and now I can actually get into the corner to dump the grass cuttings to start building up the soil level and quality of the bottom of the garden.  All tools away, I rewound the unused electricity cable with a promise of it coming out tomorrow, locked up and prepared rice to go with the pork thingy.

Supper over, all washed up, I caught the end of 'The Chase' and 'Eggheads' and now it's in to relax time.  Early night for me...I'm knacked and more of the same in the garden tomorrow, along with seed planting.  I've got a million lavatera to go in and my 'Forking Larkspur'...what a name for a plant.  LN....Time to socialise....LN

Wednesday 22nd May

A bit of a sleepless night.  I was awake at three and not sure what disturbed me so I ended up playing Soda Crush until the urge to get my head down again kicked in and I managed to stay asleep until seven.  I headed out to the terrace and my first cup coffee, went back in the house and had my second and went over to see Avatar's house and sat watching the birds eating the bread that she'd put out for them.  I said I recognised a few of them...greedy beggers.

Bacon and egg for breakfast again...I shall be putting on weight although I reckon I worked it off today.  I set about the clearing of the stones and weeds at the bottom of the garden where it had been strimmed....sat down for five minutes on the wall at the bottom of the garden and noticed the Librarian had come to visit.  She's knacked her ankle so she too took up position on the wall until I suggested coffee  so she hobbled back to the terrace and I was out about five minutes later with the brew and a crepe bandage that I'd found upstairs in my medical box....

She left just after one, I took up my place on the sofa and got my head down to catch up on the sleep that I'd  missed and felt much better for it.  Back to it after a long drink of water, started the bonfire to get rid of the rubbish that hadn't burnt through yesterday and added to it.  Most of the big bushes at the bottom of the garden are now brought down to size, I still need to move soil around and old grass cuttings to get the levels sorted and that will be tomorrow's work.  

Supper was simple...I shelled boiled eggs, shredded carrots, boiled potatoes and made potato salad, opened tins of tuna and sweetcorn and it was a nice easy meal to put on the table.  Yogurt for pudding, washing up done and my work is over for today.  No pickies.....I'm updating on my little machine while my guest is watching his 'cannot be missed' and haven't quite mastered the art of processing the reducing program on here.  LN....I'll put more effort into it tomorrow...LN

Thursday 23rd May

So mare of a night last night.  I've been having trouble with the daily Fitbit statistics and all those 'walks' that I'd done hadn't been recorded and my daughter was beating me every week.  I knew that I'd done more steps than it was showing on my weekly report.  Last night I decided to do something about it.  I wasn't sure if it was the Bluetooth so I got out every device known to this woman and tried them all.  Eventually the machine asked me to log in to Google and where is a password when you want one.  My guest was on my big machine and I was struggling to type out things that needed entering and so eventually I asked for a new password to be set up.  At one point the system told me that their system was down but I was getting emails from them.  It was now close to midnight , my guest had gone to bed, the message was going to come through to my phone and my phone was dead as a door nail.  I put the phone on charge and when it got to five percent, I picked up the text message, entered the code and I was in.  The kindle went away and did its own thing and in came the backdated information.  I should smash Princess this week....result and I am a mega-achiever in the steps category.

Six start this morning and it was a good day to wake up to...well any day is at my age.  I went out to the garden, dug up some tall white flower seedlings and took them over to my Avatar.  I didn't bother to knock and left them by her shoes in the shade.  Came home and settled on tot he terrace with a coffee enjoying the morning and watching the birds...such a hard life.  I walked the garden checking up on the clematis that's about to go, had words with the under achievers, stopped at the old fire pit bed and realised that I had lots of zinnias and could spare some for Avatar so I grabbed the hand spade, dug some up and took them over for her.  She was really pleased.  She got back from Germany late and no one else has giver her any.

I cooked breakfast and used the rest of the chunky gammon that was supposed to be bacon  in the slow cooker with onions, chilli and cans of kidney beans and tomatoes.  I washed up, cleared the kitchen and supper was cooking.  My guest busied himself in the little house workshop and somehow I got to be the 'goffer' so my plan to transfer the junk corner by the table in the stairwell into some semblance of order in the bedroom cabinet that I bought has gone by the way.  Tomorrow is another day.  Holding wood secure and the zero end of the tape measure was order of the day and by this time the clouds were rolling over and the thunder seemed to be getting nearer.  Eventually it rained and I can now reveal that the water butt experiment was more or less OK.  We have to put the angled pipes in over the down pipes, water was coming out of the junctions but all in all, it was a success.  I have two hundred litres of rain water for my terrace planters.

Supper at seven and it was delicious.  There is one portion left so the slow cooker is in the fridge plus the remains of a tin of sweetcorn, that will make soup for tomorrow.  The project in the little house workshop is a narrow bookcase to take my tall gardening books....the plans are drawn up and being modified as we speak....oh dear.  Nothing on the agenda so far...we'll see what the weather is doing.  LN...And now for pickies.....LN

Friday 24th May

So today is the day that the Bulgarians commemorate the introduction of the Cyrillic alphabet and education in Bulgaria.  Lots of flag waving and dancing and we missed all of it.  I was busy digging out the weeds from the parsnips and carrots uncovering in the process an ants nest with lots of eggs that are now scattered to the far corners of the veg patch and covered with ant powder.  How very dare they!!  I suppose they did leave some seeds that managed to germinate but half a row of beetroot is missing.

Six start and out of bed by seven thirty.  The Soda Crush game that's been bugging me will bug me no more.  For reasons known to itself if managed to put the right tiles in the right place and I finished the game with eight lives to go and with a score of five hundred more than anyone else.  I'm top of the leader board but now it's presented me with another that lets you eat the chocolate and it appears I'm on a diet.  Scrambled eggs for breakfast and it was almost eleven when I was washing up.  I did move the things from the desk into the new cupboard and used a Metaxa Brandy box to create sections...job well done.  It was a bit cold today, no sun shining first thing and I stayed around the house for a couple of hours before making my way out in gardening boots to tackle the weeds.  My intention was to  clear a couple of the side borders so that I could plant out my seedlings but again, it's saved  for another day but at least the veg garden is tidy.  Beyser came round this afternoon and was impressed with the garden.  She's spent all her life here and still doesn't understand Bulgarian so I really do have trouble communicating...just the basics for me.  

The rain came at six, went at five minutes past but has just started with a vengeance.  Unfortunately there's no more space in the water butt.....maybe time to work out how to put in an extension.  Supper was the remains of last night's with curry powder added...a novel twist to a chilli followed with lemon sorbet, the fire is going well and we're in for the night.  We might do Kardjali tomorrow unless it's persisting down and it will be 'keep the home fires burning ' with books at the ready.  LN....Bath and Bed I think.....LN

Saturday 25th May

Oh Noah didn't it rain!!  It had stopped by the time that I dragged myself out of bed and fortunately I'd put the cushions away from the outside chairs and they were dry but the cushion on the sofa was soaking.  I sat out with my coffee, it was around fourteen degrees so not so bad and then burst into action.  I saw that the tall flowers that I'd no recollection of planting at the end of the little house terrace  needed supporting.  I had a flash of inspiration and removed the fence propped up against the little house and dragged it towards the end of the terrace and it fitted perfectly.  I used string to support the fence so that it didn't fall over on to the flowers I was trying to safe and again to tie the flowers to it.  Result...

I dressed quickly knowing that I needed bread and heard him toot his van horn at the stop before ours.  I went down the road ordered one of each and six eggs, practised a little bit of Turkish with my ladies and came back to cook breakfast of poached eggs on boiled ham.  Kitchen finished, washing in, out on the line and by this time the clouds had rolled away so pegged out the clothes.  Because it was good we decided to go into Kardjali, we wanted a few things from the supermarket and my guest wanted a few tools from the hardware shop.  The cheapy shop had nothing to talk of and I've noticed that their prices have gone up and where it used to be two lev a kilo, it's now gone up to five so I think I'll stay with my other outlets.  

On the way back the heavens opened and I suddenly remembered that I'd got washing out.  Fortunately by the time we got to Djebel it was dry roads and blue sky and fortunately it had missed us.  I stopped at the supermarket in Djebel to by spicy sausage and some cream eclairs and after putting the shopping away I sat on the terrace with coffee and two of the said calorie containers....delicious.  I got the washing in since the clouds were coming over and by this time my guest was resting his eyes pretending to read so I went out to the terrace with a bowl of hot water, gave myself a pedicure  and re-painted my nails.  I can not grace any beach.

Hamburgers and chippies for supper tonight and I'm just about to start it.  It's a lovely evening, blue sky with just a few white fluffies and let's hope it stays that way.  I did fancy a trip down to Greece tomorrow but I'm not sure how busy the border will be...it's getting to be the silly season.  LN.....Time to don my white hat...kitchen bound....LN

Sunday 26th May

Silly night....I lay on the bed while my guest commandeered the computer to watch the formula one grid placings, promptly nodded off in my day clothes, he came in to switch the light off and I woke up....He went off to his downstairs bedroom and I started watching Monty Don at the RH Show and I think I went to sleep watching the screen.  Undressed and at three thirty I had cramp in my legs and boy was it painful.  It might have had something to do with the packet of strawberry jelly cakes that I knocked off before going to bed.  I just don't learn,,,probably a sugar rush.

Seven start this morning, bacon and eggs for breakfast and washed up and finished by nine thirty so I headed out determined to get my seedlings in,  As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intention but my attention was drawn to the forsythia which is covering lavatera so to date no flowers on it.  Out with the loppers...it's been cut down to size as has the big forsythia in the frog garden.  I can now sit on the terrace and look at the bottom of the garden which previously was hidden.  I've also cut back the wild rose at the bottom of the garden and the slow 'very old tree' with the intention of turning it into a topiary lollipop....It might take a couple of years or possibly might die but we'll see.

Had a visit from OH today and we sat out in the sun and put the world to rights.  He'd brought round a canvas that I admired and since it was under threat of being painted over, he'd relinquished it to my care.  Lovely day for sitting out, the sun was really hot and it's the first real summer day that we've had.  Unfortunately the clouds rolled over around three this afternoon but they were short lived and we had a cloudless sky for sundown.  My neighbour from with the next door garden came round and delivered a bag of newly harvested potatoes and we had them tonight with a roast chicken.....delicious.

More of the same tomorrow except those seedlings have to go in.  I've cleared some of the spaces for them and that's been the problem....I've got lots of ivy and bindweed starting to get a hold so that needs to come out first before anything goes in.  The bea-eaters have been out and about but not so many as previous years.  Maybe more will appear as the weather settles down.  That bath that I was having last night is on the cards for tonight...the boiler is on and getting up to temperature nicely.  LN....Making a move to the bathroom....LN

Monday 27th May

Much of a muchness today.  It started off with bright sunshine, I sat out on my balcony with coffee but I wasn't out there long.  Down for more coffee and changed positions and this time on the lounge terrace and tried to make a list of things to do today but reckoned it would get too long so gave up and did things as they came into my head.  Sausage and egg sandwich for breakfast which didn't stay a sandwich for long...too my sausage and not enough bread.

So most of those seedlings are in.  I attacked the frog garden, dug out logs of bindweed, clover and couch grass if that's how you spell it but however you do...it's a complete pain.  The roots burrow along and really take some getting out.  Anyway the upside is...the front of the frog garden is planted up with lavatera and the rest of the garden has lavatera, zinnias and petunias.  From there I moved on to the little beds in the grave garden and they are more or less clear of clover and bindweed but I didn't dig too deeply there are some rather lovely white tall flowers that are currently around four inches high so they need lifting, the bed digging over and replanting.  It's a job for tomorrow.  

So next on the list was the grass and my guest kindly got stuck in with the lawn mower and has done half of it.  I set about the topiaried bushes and gave them all a haircut.  My shepherd's wife was leading them safely home and asked me what I was doing.  I said that i was tidying up the shrubs and she made a circular motion with her arms...and I confirmed that I was making them into balls.  At first the villagers thought it strange that the 'English woman' shaped the wild plum shrubs but it wouldn't surprise me if one or two started it...they have been admired....

Tools away and I was putting out supper when my guest said that there was an owl on the roof so I took my camera and tried to get a decent shot even though the light was fading.  By now it had moved to the roof above my bedroom over the balcony and I think it was trying to get under the roof to nest.  Action will have to be taken...I really don't want the tiles disturbed.  So back to supper, I've left the washing up and hopefully the washing up fairy might be completing it as I type.  LN...I'll leave it a little longer to make sure....LN

Tuesday 28th May

Up and about fairly early and we were breakfasted my eight thirty.  The plan to head into Benkovski was underway.  I phoned the Librarian at around eight to see if she wanted to come out to play but there was no response so either she was having a lie in or was out early doing other things.  We were in the Nipper by nine fifteen and over to the market by just after nine thirty, parked up fairly easily but there were lots of people there but obviously not using cars to get there.

One of the first stalls had petunias so I selected eleven of them all different colours at the bargain price of eighty stotinki each where I normally pay one leva.  He also had Sweet William so I had four of those and now need a place to put them.  I paid the man and asked if he would keep them for me until we'd done the rest of the market which didn't take too long.  Markets in Bulgaria are a bit of a muchness....the clothes are typically Turkish and the shoes are mainly plastic.  We found our way back to the plant man, I parked my guest on a wall with the other old men and I took the plants back to the car.  I rescued him and I noticed that there were more plant stalls in a different section of the market so we walked down and the man had some very interesting shrubs.  I picked out one, it was more expensive but unusual and it's now sitting in a new pottery pot that I'd bought last year.  I also bought a clematis for the bottom of the garden and some more big yellow daisies that will appear each year.  Back to the car and we headed out to the fish restaurant just outside the town to check if they have filled the pool yet and they haven't and on the way back we stopped off at Mr and Mrs D of S, ordered coffee and tea and sat out with them for a catch-up.  The little one is coming on in leaps and bounds...

Heading home around  lunchtime I suggested that we went into the soup kitchen for lunch at the grand cost of five lev and back home for around two.  My guest promptly fell asleep o the terrace, I got my head down on the sofa and felt much better for it.  So much so that I potted up the new shrub and got stuck into cutting the grass and now it's all done.  I felt absolutely knacked and supper was a knocked up spicy sausage fried off with onions, baby tomatoes, beetroot and with added chilli, melon to finish and I feel replete.  Late knocking out the blog and just remembered that I had to look out for the owl and I forgot.  I'll probably hear it rattling around under the barge boarding in the middle of the night.  LN....Shower and bed...I'm really knacked....LN

Wednesday 29th May

It was a beautiful morning, I was out of bed by six, first coffee made and out on to my bedroom balcony watching the rest of the morning unfold.  There were so many birds in the garden, the jay was stealing the forming cherries. other birds were attacking the mulberry. starlings were chattering on the lawn and chasing each other and the bea-eaters were quietly getting on with their search for food.  I went down to the kitchen to get my second cup and back on the balcony until eight and then I did my tour of the garden, pulled a few weeds from the bottom beds and then it was time for kitchen duties, bacon and egg followed by fruit loaf with butter.  At around ten I checked my Messenger and there was a message from OH....his doctor hadn't the equipment to check out his issues and he was recommended to try Momchilgrad.  I wasn't there to hold his hand...only to be a translator just in case there was no one that could speak English...and there wasn't.

He arrived and explained the problem with the doctor and I said that I'd seen the ear, nose and throat specialist in Momchilgrad when I went down with Labyrinthytis.  He was a lovely old timer with the magnifying glass on a band round his forehead and reminded me of a mad professor.  OH said that it was just what he needed so off we set, straight to reception and the lady said that the doctor was outside.  I'd vaguely recognised him and as he came back into the building the receptionist suggested that we follow him to his surgery, I explained the problem and no sooner the word but the blow and the subject was on the couch and under examination.  The ear trumpet went in, there were some odd screeches from the patient which were ignored and he was told to keep quiet, the kettle went on and both ears were syringed out.  All in all it took about ten minutes and he had firm instructions that he was to have no fizzy drinks and no cold beers.  One of the other doctors came into the surgery and I recognised her as being the other doctor that had seen me and she said that she remembered me despite the fact that it was almost ten years ago.  One prescription for homeopathic drops picked up from the chemist at a third of the price of the item in UK and back home via the garage in Djebel.  

Off he went and I decided that my work for today was to tidy out the wood store, sweep up the leaves from the garage including those under the Beast and neaten up the table and benches underneath the big trees by the front wall.  I used the dry leaves to get the bonfire that I'd had yesterday going again and got up a fair head of steam.  If I don't the cats try to get inside the bin despite the fact that I put a sheet of metal over in and the bottom of the last bin as a deterrent.  A little more weeding around the buddliea, more round the mulberry bed and tomorrow I'll be planting up the petunias that I didn't do today.  

I love it when I can help with unusual problems and apparently the hearing was almost instantly restored...a little fuzzy but it's good to know that some of the old timers are still gainfully employed, still using the same instruments he's used for years and knows that his techniques work.  No antibiotics for him...just old fashioned treatment and remedies.  LN....Kardjali tomorrow...got a few things to do....LN

Thursday 30th May

Well...another beautiful day weather wise...heavy white fluffies and the temperature at eight this morning was up to twenty degrees and climbing.  I had my coffee on my bedroom terrace as is my want to watch the morning, went down for the second cup and instead of sitting down to drink it left it in the conservatory and headed for the bonfire with yesterday's waste and the garden fork for attacking one of the bottom beds.  A woman's work on a hillside is never done...the weeds are never ending.  

By this time my guest had raised himself from his pit and was playing on his Kindle periodically watching me work.  We were on a deadline for ten more or less to head for the garage so I came in and cooked scrambled on toast. got washed and dressed and we were both ready for nine fifteen.  I popped down to see my Avatar to see if she ewanted anything from Kardjali but she wasn't at home and I found her in Beyser's garden having a chinwag.  Beyser was washing out her not so smalls in a bowl of soapy water and Avatar made a joke about her being a washing machine and I responded that she was a machine without electricity which got us both giggling.  I suggested that I go home and bring down my washing and she could do that for me and she was an easy target because she doesn't understand Bulgarian.  She brought me out coffee and I could only manage half of it...they put so much sugar in it that it sets my teeth on edge.  So my shopping list for my Avatar only contained tomatoes and mine wasn't very long so there was not that much to do in Kardjali.

When I got home OH was already there and my guest was playing host on the coffee front.  I grabbed my back,phones and list and we set off at around ten thirty to head for the garage in Djebel.  The car was duly dumped for the work that needed to be done and the three of us headed for town stopping off at Basmar for the piece of wood that we wanted which took minutes and then we headed to a new department store that's opened with five different floors....a real store with decent clothes, luggage, shoes and a floor for children's clothes and toys....just right for Bulgaria.  I did manage to find a pair of canvas shoes that will replace my plastic gardening shoes, as it gets hot they get very slippery inside and I end up falling out of the old ones.

Next stop was Kaufland and they were selling neglected geraniums for forty six stotinki and they will be easy to revive or take babies from so I bought three of the things.  Back into the Nipper and gas from the fuel stop and onwards to Djebel and by this time the work had been finished.  We carried on to the car park in the centre of Djebel and went to the soup kitchen for lunch.......another meal I didn't have to think about.  On the way back to the car I stopped off at my favourite cake shop and bought a thumping big chocolate gateau, arrived home and unpacked the shopping, delivered the tomatoes with a slice of cake and put a joint of pork into the oven.  I watered the new plants and some of the new babies, pur some veg into the over to roast including beetroot that was donated yesterday and thank you...it was delicious.

A little more weeding while supper was cooking, pork and roasted vegetables served, cake served, washing up done and now into shutdown for bedtime.  Nothing on the agenda so far for tomorrow....I've had no information about the delivery of the shredder I've ordered so I don't know whether to contact them.  In England there aren't many deliveries on the weekend but this is Bulgaria so it could come before the allotted day.  Bit of a poor show on photographs...I've somehow been busy but I promise to do better tomorrow.  LN...Finger's crossed for good weather....LN

Friday 31st May

So I woke up just before six and by the time that I got out of bed to see the sunrise it was up and hiding behind the clouds.  Fortunately it popped out for the rest of the day though we've had a lot of high white fluffies, a couple of dark grey ones and it was threatening a downpour, a few drops and that was the end of it.  Not it looks like the heavens could open at any minute so the cushions from the outside furniture need to be stashed away.  The cats will have to sleep on the bare boards.

I made my first cup of coffee and for the second I used the little electric kettle that I'd bought for my trip to Turkey, to boil the water.  A couple of days ago I'd taken a small jar of Gold Blend to the bedroom so made my top up and even went on to the third.  By eight I was on my way down, my guest was compos mentis and so I started his cooked breakfast and I settled for cornflakes.  Kitchen tidied and plates washed, a quick meander round the garden and I settled for sorting out and planting up the rest of the new plants and the aloe vera that have struggled over the winter.  I think the soil was too heavy for them so I've concocted what I think is a suitable mix and now have the separate pots of the things and fingers crossed I might get a flower out of one of them this year.  I headed down the village to Avatar's house but she wasn't there and was with Beyser.  I'd noticed a wheel barrow near to the gate and thought nothing of it but it was Avatar's rubbish and she was heading down to the container in the square.  Zelinger joined us in the garden so I went home, got the rest of the cake and delivered to the ladies, I left with Avatar, she said that it was her barrow so I upped and ran down the road with it towards the container with her trailing after me,  It's a good job she did...when I came to life the sack from the barrow it was almost as heavy as if she'd got a body i there.  In fact I may be an accessory to a crime that I know nothing about.

So I had my afternoon nap and then went out again to carry on with sorting the pots, spraying buckets blue and making the place pretty and it is.  The new petunias have a beautiful aroma so two of then have found themselves in the conservatory and smell almost like cloves...very peasant by the in door.  No supper tonight..we had toasted cheese snacks and cake around four thirty and neither of us are in the mood for food and I'm certainly not in the mood for cooking.  I'll make the mince that I got out of the freezer into hamburgers or a shepherd's pie for tomorrow and one for Avatar...I have to look after her.  Nine my time and I'm ready to get my feet up, I'm pleased with the results of today's labour.  LN  Just a few pickies...LN