Tuesday 21st January

Seven start and when I checked the thermometer downstairs it was minus seven and only fifteen in....and this called for drastic measures.  I lit the fire straightway, the sun came up and the inside temperature started to climb rapidly reaching nineteen.  By this time I'd got dressed so it wasn't too much of a problem for me but my guest was about to have a shower so maybe a few more therms would have made it better for him.  It didn't take him long to get his travelling clothes on though.  I went out to sort out the cats...all three of them and they only got the remnants.  They get fed by everyone though, Haciber being the main contributor but since she is away in Turkey, they've been hanging around here more.  I had a surprise phone call this morning from Princess updating me on their holiday in US of A.  There was one minor setback...she developed an abscess under a tooth and had to have the tooth removed and fortunately everything went smoothly.

Breakfast of bacon and eggs to provide inner warmth, more logs in to keep the home fires burning, I left the washing up...it could be done after I'd put my guest on the bus.  I think he was sad to go and going back to an empty house tomorrow and maybe it will be cold...not much to look forward to.  I shuffled the cars around and got the Beast back in the garage and the Nipper ready for the off.  We got in the car around twelve fifteen, drove through Djebel and on to Kardjali and the bus station and by one fifteen we were depositing luggage on the bus.  Off it went at the allotted hour, I headed to my cheapy shop and managed to find more sweaters for the collection for the princely sum of six lev.  I drove to Kaufland and bought a three pack of saws for the workshop and a painting easel just because I could.  One day I'll get my artist's head on.  Lidl for a few items and home via the back lane by four thirty.  

Two loads of washing done, shopping unpacked and put away, fire sorted and more logs in for the evening.  Phone call was received confirming that my guest had arrived at the hotel and his taxi is booked for the morning to the airport.  His flight isn't until twelve so not great rush for him.  Supper for me was tuna mayo baguette...there was no need to cook tonight.  Lovely sunset though I missed most of it...just caught the tail end.  LN....Now to get back to normal....whatever normal is....LN

Wednesday 22nd January

It was another frosty start at six thirty and I had the vision of taking down the pipes to the wood burner and giving them a clean.  I'd got a whiff of smoke last night and thought it was about time so I got on with it.  There was a fair amount of soot in them but it didn't take long to do and they were back in place by seven forty, fire lit by seven forty five and everything cleared away, floors cleaned by eight when I sat down to have my first coffee of the day.  I'd boiled the kettle several times and just hadn't made it.  I decided to phone my guest in the hotel in Sofia just to make sure he was up and getting ready for his flight and he was just about to have breakfast.

It was all go this morning...I finished stripping the guest bed, moved all the clothes that he leaves behind to the chest in the bedroom and moved his shoes to the spare bedroom.  The bedclothes went into the washing machine and I decided to strip down my bed and get those into the machine as well.  It was a beautiful day so it all went out onto the line and despite the minus seven start, we got up to two figures more or less.  I moved to the computer table upstairs and started tidying away some of the bits and bobs that accumulate on a flat surface and then next minute there was a knock on the outside door and it was....the Librarian.  We sat drinking coffee for an hour or so playing catch-up...I've not really seen her for a couple of months or so, could be even longer.  Off she went at three thirty, I got the fire cheered up so that there was heat coming from it and got the washing in and made up the beds.  I moved to my bedroom and put away sweaters that had accumulated on chairs, I'd got a little lazy during the last few days my guest was here and now I'm getting back to normal and realising what normal is...I'd forgotten.

Lovely sunset this evening,,,very very red sky and I missed it with the camera.  I had a phone call from England, he's arrived safely, lots of mail to go through from cruise companies so I advised him to put them in for recycling...too early to think about another.  LN....Time for supper.....LN

Thursday 23rd January

Six thirty first start, eight second start and I eventually got out of bed at eight thirty.  I had nothing I had to do, no one I had to entertain, the day was all mine.  I started with lighting the fire although it didn't really need it, the sun was up and it was going to be another beautiful day and it was.  I wasn't going to have a cooked breakfast but I'd not managed to get down to the bread van so I cooked some bacon, added an egg to the frying pan and fried off the remains of the French stick and managed to eat it...I think even the cats would have refused it.  To fill my time while it was cooking I peeled an onion and a potato and cleaned up a couple of leeks.  I had breakfast and then fried off the remains of the bacon, added it to the veg in the slow cooker, and that is my supper.  It's the easy life for me except that each time I go outside I am harangued by the local cats and they seem to be hanging around the bird house.  There was an attempt by the ginger and white one where front legs were stretched half way up the support pole but I reckon it thought it was too much of a stretch.  The platform is much wider and fortunately it can't manage the overhang but you can tell that it's working on it.

I collected up the towels that have accumulated and decided that I would try my washing machine on the hot wash instead of the usual quick wash programme.  Three bath towels and two hand towels went in and it took just under two hours so while I was waiting for it to finish, I cleaned the downstairs bathroom and used drain cleaner as a precaution, washed down the walls and now it's pristine again.  The bath towels went on the line, the second load went into the machine but this time on the quick programme and the rest of the day was spent doing a little bit of this and that and when the temperature in the lounge reached twenty nine, my eyelids were beginning to go, so I went up and lay on the bed.  I didn't wake up until three and about ten minutes later a friend arrived for a chat and a coffee and I provided both.  He left around five, the towels came in and are so soft that I think I might be going for the long programme again.  

My supper is ready but I've got no bread to dip in it so I shall probably have to follow it with cheese and biscuits.  Nothing so far for tomorrow but I'm now having my holiday after my guest had his....Greece is beckoning.  LN...Something for me to work on....LN

Friday 24th January

Five thirty first wake up, I opened the curtains saw how white over it was with frost and closed the curtains again.  I did go downstairs though and make my first cup of coffee, settled down to Soda Crush, won a few games and then went down to light the fire.  It was minus six outside, comfortable in and reckoned that I would be letting the fire out around ten and I did.  I made it downstairs to start things happening at around eight, I dressed for outside I needed bread from the bread-van and listened out for it but no go.  I decided to walk down the road picking up rubbish as I went and deposited it in the container but there was no sign of any of my neighbours.  It was a beautiful morning, one of the new cats had followed me down the road and followed me back and joined the rest of the crew, sleeping round the perimeter of the building and waiting to see if anything materialised in respect of food.  This was a long time coming...I was yet to sort out the fridge.  I did get more muesli out though for the birds, the cats followed me again but as to yet, they haven't managed to leg it up the post yet but no one else seems to be feeding them in the village.  Come back Haciber...you are very necessary in the village..I seem to be becoming the cat lady.

So no bread for my breakfast so I fried off some mushrooms in butter and made an omelette and settled down at the table in the stairwell in the sun.  I tidied away, sorted the fridge and found a chicken leg and wing lingering and a half pack of ham.  For last night's supper I'd had Brie on top of the soup but I know most people eat the surround but it's not for me.  I trim it and that could also go out to the cats and again I was like the Pied Piper as I headed for the wall.  The new tortoise one is very demanding and bullies for the rest so I tossed him the rubbish first and threw the chicken leg down for the white and ginger one and the wing for the black one.  The remains went  wherever it landed, I came in...it was cold out there.  

I got a load of logs in and sorted out another load to sit in the log carrier and I'm still undecided to get another ton or not.  The weather is good enough for it to be dry in the wood yard and it might be done on the toss of a coin.  I had my afternoon nap, started reading a new book that I couldn't seem to get in to so I'm looking round for another set.  At five I noticed that a little clip peg that my daughter had sent me around eight years ago with the words 'Mum's things' on it had faded in the sun so I got out the glass paints and now it all back to looking good again.  Meanwhile my BG phone pinged and I had three messages all with the same message informing me of a verification code for an internet company that I'd had no dealings with.  I didn't panic but thought it best to phone my bank card company to see if anyone was making any purchases against my card.  All was good, I checked the phone number recorded against the text message and apparently this is a well known number for dodgy calls.  Coffee and biscuits for supper...I'm in a lazy mood.  LN....Time to throw another log on....LN

Saturday 25th January

Early morning again and watched sunrise and I went out on to the balcony to capture it and boy was it cold.  Minus six again but at least it looked promising when the sun came up,  There were a few clouds over the mountains and I was unsure at first but the sun burnt them off.  I was dressed for the bread van and once again I didn't hear it and I decided to forego breakfast and settled for chocolate at eleven this morning.  I lit the fire at silly o'clock, it did what it was supposed to do bringing the house up to temperature but as soon as the sun really took hold, I opened the windows in both of the bathrooms to get some air through.

I sorted the bird house out and they were really going for it.  Four cats were hanging around it at one point but to date not one of them has managed to bridge the gap between the top of the wall and the platform.  The little ginger and white one sat there for a good half an hour watching one really cheeky bird that kept bringing it's pickings to the side that the cat was sitting near and it was almost a stand-off.  Some of the morning was spent on FB with my grandson.  He thanked me for the money for his birthday and since I hadn't put it into my daughter's account I asked him how much I'd given him so that I found send it to my daughter along with her birthday present.  He said that he didn't know, all she'd told him was that he would be getting money from me.  I've now got his bank details, the money is in his account, it makes more sense.

As for Greece, I toyed with the idea but somehow I got distracted by the contents of the drawers in the unit under the printer and I ended up tidying them up and getting rid of the stuff that should live in other places or be lined up for the bonfire.  I really got rid of some rubbish.  Secondly I went through my old filing stored on top of the unit in a file box and that's really slimmed down now and finally I set about the shelving on the bathroom-landing.  Another job well done.

Fire re-lit, jacket potato for supper and it's in the oven as we speak.  I've got some strong cheddar left over from Christmas and that should make it very palatable.  Saturday night is my Tele night...so bath, supper and relax.  LN....I've had a good day....LN

Sunday 26th January

Four thirty silly start, read for a while and back to sleep until eight and again...dressed for the bread-van and nothing doing.  I think he must be on holiday or I should get my ears checked.  Mushroom omelette again for breakfast...I thought about going into Djebel to get bread but there;s no real need.  I'm going to Kardjali tomorrow and the Librarian is supposed to be contacting me and coming with me....we'll see otherwise I'll be flying solo.  

The fire was still going so I rescued it and put a couple of logs on and then let it go out as the sun came up and the temperature with it.  It was only minus two degrees this morning but it was still pretty nippy.  The remains of last night's supper went out to the cats this morning but after I'd loaded the bird table.  There was the skin from the jacket potato and from the two apples that I'd put into the oven when the potato came out.  I did stuff them with sultanas, butter, honey and brown sugar but the best bit was for me with ice-cream.

I tidied up after breakfast and headed up to the third bedroom that's become a bit of a dumping ground.  I cleared the desk that supports the sewing machine, picked up curtains that I'd bought and done nothing with and tidied the boots away.  It's become a fetish buying boots.  My last two pairs of leather boots cost me approximately four lev...two pounds and it would have been rude not to.  Unfortunately this year we've had no snow to talk of so no opportunity to parade them....maybe next year or later this year...the forecasters don't always get it right.  I also posted a couple of old photographs on FB, one of me playing football at eight or nine years of age and the second of my school class taken in the playground.  Lots of interest, comments, likes and loves and I think some children spotted their grandparents on there...they were well received.  The desk is now duel purpose...sewing and computer table for my old computer.  

Cheese and biscuits for supper....seven thirty my time...relax.  Just a quick Happy Birthday to my nephew who has reached quite a sizable age and I'm trying to work out where the years have gone and again it's my grandson's twenty first tomorrow....and as of tonight twenty years ago, I was timing the contractions while my daughter lay in out bath at home and at five thirty...I had my first grandchild.  LN....Tripping down memory lane today....LN

Monday 27th January

Happy 21st to my grandson...again I would add...where did the years go.  I woke up at six thirty and was disappointed by the weather...there was no white over and the temperature was nine degrees and not much chance of the sun breaking through.  I made coffee and went sat at the little computer in the stairwell and plumbed in Judge Rinder...there's a funny side to the programme and offers good advice for protecting yourself.  At eight I went in the shower, washed my hair and had dried it and was ready to face the day and Kardjali by nine fifteen.  I hadn't heard from the Librarian, thought about phoning her but it had to be her decision as to whether she joined me or not and she arrived just before ten with the offending laptop.  I suggested that we left that part of the visit until we got back from Kardjali.

We had a coffee, she walked the garden while I finished off and off we we set off around ten, parked up in our usual centre car park.  The roads were busy and lots of police out this morning but we managed to avoid getting stopped by any of them.  First stop was the cheapy shop and I picked up another sweater and a pair of boots and the Librarian found a pair of knee high leather for the ridiculous price of two lev fifty.  They used to charge a set fee but now they weigh them....they were just a little more expensive than two hours on the car-park.  We carried on up the high street and I checked with the phone shops to see if I had any outstanding bills and I didn't....a fully paid up member.  I moved the Nipper to the back of the market and found the shop for the bags of seeds for the bird table and bought for kilograms of the stuff but I think I shall have to find how to make a bird feeder from a plastic bottle from the internet.  The seeds will fall out of the ones that I have.  

A quick trip round Kaufland, another round Lidl and into Technomarket and found a male-male USB connector that I needed to set up the little computer properly.  It has an unusual power cable and to get power to it and attach a mouse....difficult.  Back to Djebel and to the soup kitchen for their very homely chicken soup and then back home for the computer task.  She hasn't had it working since last September and I thought it was going to be major surgery but as it happened. it was stuck on an update, I fiddled around with it and pressed a few cancel buttons on menus, switched it of, switched it on again and it was obviously working its little socks off to catch up.  Eventually I got Hotmail up, then FB and sent her off with it just closed down so that she could managed to do lots of deletions at home.  Off she went and that should keep her busy tonight.

I filled up the log carrier and loaded the log basket and noticed that two of the cats had settled them directly under the bird house.  I'd noticed earlier that the black one had done a fantastic leap into the air to try to catch one of the birds leaving the platform.  Not very friendly of me but I got one of the bangers and set it off fairly near to them and they shot off like scalded cats and I've not seen them since.  I sorted the fire out, put a load of washing in, a ham filled baguette for supper, washing onto airer and settled in for the night.  Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow except for a bonfire to get rid of the rubbish that I've turfed out lately and then I might settle down for some hand sewing.  LN.....A cosy day at home.....LN  

Tuesday 28th January

Six start again and it took a long time for the sun to break through and to burn off the cloud.  I stayed downstairs with my coffee, rescued the fire and settled down on the sofa with my book.  I was slow off the mark getting dressed, made poached eggs on toast and used up the rest of the ham sitting in the sun eating my breakfast at the table in the stairwell.  The birds were very active this morning...and so were the cats especially the little white and ginger one.  I chased it off a few times but it kept sneaking back and I caught sight of her sitting just under the wall by the terrace.  The birds were feeding and hopping about when suddenly she made a jump, and she landed back on the terrace with one of them in her mouth.  I went straight out, she shot off over the wall with it still in her mouth and then came back about ten minutes later to take up position.  This time I got a banger from the conservatory and lit it and heck do they make a noise.  The dogs in the lower village were all complaining but it didn't seem to deter the little beauty.  

I headed down the garden and lit a bonfire and she followed me down there meowing for food.  I suppose the bird was the first course.  I cleared the rubbish, removed the old tins from the bonfire and now they're waiting to go to the container.  From there I moved upstairs and continued tidying the third bedroom. the computer is up and running now that I've found and installed a WiFi signal booster that didn't know I needed until I tried to connect to the internet.  The usual connection for the old PC was straight into the modem and I felt quite pleased with myself for working it out and I'd had this piece of kit for years when I used to be in the hotel...and it still works.

Down to the kitchen and I prepared tonight's supper and into the slow cooker with it and it should be ready anytime soon.  I spent the rest of the afternoon tidying the Christmas decoration and boxing them up for next year, curtains that I've bought are in one of the large travel bags until I decided to swap them out and replace the existing ones and another bag of clothes is ready for my attention tomorrow at some point.  I also spent time checking out solar cat deterrents and I shall be ordering tomorrow after spotting the white and ginger cat up in the bird feeder waiting for the next meal to fly by.  I shall be sending it to the firm in England that transports stuff over here, the machine itself is only nine pounds and postage to Bulgaria is nineteen so it's a 'no-brainer.'

Nine my time so I'm late with the blog, I might just switch the slow cooker off and save supper for lunch tomorrow.  I'm more in the mood for a slow bath so have put the boiler on to bring it up to 'roasting'.  Cat patrol int he morning and I might even take the Nipper in for a wash and brush up.  LN....Need some snow....LN

Wednesday 29th January

So I had my bath last night and didn't get to bed until one and played Soda Crush...not an ounce of sleep in me.  I went straight off though and it was seven thirty this morning and will never know the quality of my sleep, I forgot to put my Fitbit on.  I was wearing the none waterproof one so took it off before I went in the bath.  What I enjoy about mornings here is that no two skies are the same.  Very red start over the mountains. not much sun and the colour dissipated and it was quite dull.  The cats were out in force taking up positions underneath the bird table but fortunately the birds were a little slow off the mark.  They don't like the bird seed so it looks as if that might be going to Beyser for her chickens and then I'll get the eggs...exchange is no robbery.

Mushrooms on toast for breakfast, logs in, fire ticking over and I settled in to do a little more sorting and was quite surprised when I had a visitor at around eleven this morning.  I'd received an email with the trailer of a film based in Macedonia, language Turkish and Bulgarian mixture and with sub-titles.  We had coffee, sat out for a while while he had a cigarette, we moved inside and discussed the painting weekend where I'm going to be a guinea pig.  Off he went, I re-lit the fire, tuna mayo on hot buttered toast for lunch and I settled down to watch the film that he'd sent over and fortunately I got to ignoring the sub-titles and understood most of it and really enjoyed it.  Very poignant and would love some of my neighbours to watch it...empathetic feelings spring to mind.  It started to rain as he left so that put paid to me thinking about ordering and getting more wood delivered.

Washing up not done, it can wait for the morning.  I've left the ordering of the cat and dog scarer to my visitor, he can add it to the things that he's bringing over from the UK.  Student tomorrow so I'l spend the morning working on the text for the lesson.  LN....Chilled day....LN

Thursday 30th January

It started off very dull and despite the thermometer reading eight degrees, that wind was very cold. I fed the birds but this time with muesli and cornflakes, the bird seed has now been offered and received gratefully received by my student;s mum for her chickens.  It's totally the wrong stuff for wild birds.  The fire was still going so I loaded it up, settled for toast for breakfast with apricot jam and put the pork spare 'bones' into a marinade with soy sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce and piri piri.  I put it back into the fridge covered with cling film and the original intention was to have the marinaded meat tonight after the bones had been cooked in a very low oven for about three hours but it didn't quite happen that way.

It was a morning of phone calls and catching up.  I noticed that two of the fuscia cuttings that I'd brought back from the UK had started to sprout,  I'd been just about to pull them out and throw them but now they can stay,  I have them in the garden in the UK and they appear to be always in flower...fingers crossed they'll do well and survive winters here.  I phoned Angela to see how she was getting on mid move and one of my long standing friends and we reminisced about our growing up years during the sixties and laughed a lot.  A lot of my time was spent chasing away the cats from the bird table and not even my flaming cats.

I headed into Djebel at about four and my student is no longer at school....the flu has hit and the school had closed.  He seemed to be in fine spirits and wanted to go out on his bike to see his friends, I sat in the shop and caught up with his mother, the boy came back and went off again to get some thing to eat and at this point I decided that it was too late to start a lesson and so it on for tomorrow morning at ten....and no excuses this time.  I carried on to the supermarket and bought chicken wings for tonight and eclairs and unfortunately three of the eclairs went as soon as I arrived home and the wings, diced potatoes and onions went into the oven.

Supper was good, the pork is for tomorrow, fire is going well as the temperature outside drops....it's now down to minus one.  So Djebel for the lesson at ten in the morning, the Beast might be going down to get the heater fixed...it depends how I feel in the morning.  My students father's analysis is that it might be due to the viscosity of the water in the radiator so he's going to check it out.  LN....I'll let you know....LN