Friday 20th March

Lovely start to the day...woke up at five thirty, sun was just about getting the energy up to come over the mountains and there was no wind...a perfect day for gardening...well it looked that way.  I made breakfast of poached egg on ham and toast, I'm down to one egg and economising.  No need now...my lovely neighbour deliver ten while I was working on the computer upstairs and I've just come back from paying her and catching up on the gossip but at about three meters apart.

I tidied round and did little else and at ten I thought it was about time that I got out of my pyjamas so headed upstairs.  I had a wash when I heard the outside door open and someone come in so I shouted down to ask who was there and was very surprised when I found out it was the Librarian.  I made coffee, we sat either side of the lounge and I kept my distance.  I don't care if I insult people,,,I just don't want the virus,  She stayed for a couple of hours and discussed her upcoming plans, we talked tracing back families and she gave me one or two names that I promised to look up for her...and I did this afternoon.

I played a few games of Solitaire, Lit the fire, I managed to get dressed and suddenly realised that it was five o'clock....Where has the day gone and no gardening done.  It was then when I noticed the eggs just inside the door to the conservatory so locked the door and headed down to the bottom of the village clutching four leva in coins, saw my neighbour about to go and milk her cows and at a distance she told me that we'd had the police in the village.  As O walked back home Haciber came out to ask where I'd been so I updated her and noticed that she was wearing a cover over her mouth.  It seems that the word has got through.  I came back and took photographs of the different types of daffs in the garden and noticed that I had one tulip about to break cover.  The breakfast is still lingering so at the moment not bothered about supper...maybe I'll be hungry later.  LN....Gardening tomorrow if it's anything like today.....LN

Saturday 21st March

So the energy levels were up today.  Six start and by seven thirty, breakfast was cooked, fire laid for tonight and at eight I was looking for things to do and I found something,

I prepared the legs of the table that I want to make and decided that the easiest way to envisage the space and measure properly was to remove the big outside table that spends its winters inside and sometimes its summers, if I'm feeling lazy, or the weather isn't good.  I moved all of the accumulated 'bits' from the table and managed to get it into the conservatory, the rug went outside for a good shake and the table cloth went on the washing line and I promptly forgot about it.

The spider plant had a haircut, I hovered the floor and the bottom shelf of the stairs and suddenly decided that I really hadn't got the design straight in my head so I left everything where it was....I'll sleep on it.  I moved up to the landing and put the computer on and settled down to finding out if I could go even further back in my ancestry and I managed to find the name of my 'greats' father and mother and I'm now back to seventeen seventy.  And now the chase begins again,  I did find out that my 'greats' wife ran a pub near Maidstone Kent and it's still going...I found it.  This took me until five thirty and I suddenly realised that the rug was still out. unshaken and unstirred so I jumped to and sorted it out and put it down.  I rescued the table cloth and that's folded up ready to go away.

I lit the fire and realised how hungry I was so cooked a couple of hamburgers, chippies and fried an egg and demolished a half packet of biscuits.  Apparently everything is on lock down in Kardjali.  All traffic is being stopped and drivers being asked where they are going and why.  With only food shops and chemists are open, I think I'll stay at home.  LN....Table tomorrow.....LN

Sunday 22nd March

A very silly night last night,  I stopped up to watch 'The Voice' and I don't know why this year, there's nobody that I want to win,there's nobody that is excelling and I can't really tell one from the other.  The ones that stood out for me as being musically well versed have all gone.  Eventually I got to bed around two, I stopped up to watch the Michael Jackson story and another angled prosecution case with no justice handed out for the ones that leeched the money out of him.  Just my opinion.  I woke up at three, realised how silly it was and then settled down and it was seven before I lifted my head.  I made coffee and sat in the stairwell watching the garden come to life.  I'm fresh out of bird food and muesli so put out some toasted bread for them and five minutes later, I saw the black cat descending from the bird feeder....and that's another one I have to keep a look out for.  I sorted out the bits and pieces that have accumulated from the table, took one of my small tables from the lounge and that's now sitting under the stairs.  

Work finished, I wasn't ready for breakfast so I decided that I was destined for the bath this morning...a Badedas bath...the Christmas present from my son and somehow I managed to get it in the suitcase to bring it back with me.  Hair washed and dried and I headed for the kitchen and made a bacon and egg omelette and sat at the table in the kitchen now that the big table has gone.  Another job that needed doing has been complete...my toe nails wanted sorting and repainting.....I'm now wanting sun and a beach but goodness knows when that will happen again...we are definitely on lock-down but I shall have to go shopping at some point....I'm out of biscuits.

Lazy day again but I made a chicken curry and put it in the slow cooker so I wouldn't have to be thinking about food later.  My mother's day cards are up, my daughter phoned to wish me a happy day and my son emailed because he couldn't get through so I emailed him back, thanking home and telling him not to bother...it's only another day.  I played around again with ancestry until I'd got thoroughly confused, had my curry and now Antiques Roadshow.  I've not even taken photos today...as I said ...a real lazy day.  LN....And an early night....LN

Monday 23rd March

So no noticeable sunrise, there probably was one somewhere but definitely not here.  It was overcast, cold, raining and such a change from the last few days.  I think that's why my cold has been hanging on for so long.  I decided not to light the fire, it was nineteen degrees in the house and I thought that would be sufficient but at twelve I changed my mind.

Another omelette with bacon pieces for breakfast and that seemed sufficient unto the day but it's been a day of 'picking' and I think I'm more or less out of biscuits, the fruit bowl is still fairly full but when the weather is cold...fruit just doesn't do it.  It's been a coffee day too, the water bottle has sat near but the hot kettle and coffee jar had just more appeal.  As for the fire...I got it going but how slow was it to burst into life.  I poked it, prodded it and it took a couple of hours before the hot water was belting round the system so I put another thicker top on.

Another lazy day...too wet to do anything outside and too cold to go into the little house and get stuck into anything.  The remaining chicken in the slow cooker was put onto full power and at five I cooked pasta, not seen on the menu for a while, but I think it's going to become a firm favourite going forward.....and I have pasta and no potatoes.  I seem to be having potatoes that don't stay fresh and as for onions...the last two that I cut in half were rotten on the inside and looked perfectly normal on the outside.  

The house is now up to a comfortable temperature and I'll keep it going overnight to maintain the heat.  I might have to go shopping at the the allotted hour tomorrow...at least the locals adhere to it....communism feeds the mentality.  LN....I'll negotiate the road block.....LN

Tuesday 24th March

So my first waking was at five but I turned over and went back to sleep again.  When I went to the bathroom at seven I was amazed to see the garden white over and it was still sleeting.  It's March for goodness sake and not only that but it was cold, the temperature in the house was down to seventeen and outside it was minus one.  So it's been a cold old day, dull, miserable, the blossom has been blown from the trees and I seem to have spent the day stoking the fire.  I'd rescued it from last night's ashes but it's needed careful handling and luckily I'd filled the log carrier up yesterday so I didn't have to slog outside to get more in.  My only problem that I'm down to the larger logs now so I have to search down to the bottom of the stack.  I did try to split a few of them but the effort involved was too great and I haven't seen my painter for weeks now, perhaps he's avoiding me.

Two slices of toast from the freezer and into the toaster, one poached egg for the sake of economy and that was breakfast.  I wasn't tempted to go into Djebel, the lack of biscuits in the house must be working in my favour...I'll have a lot of kilograms to work off when the weather gets better so the fewer I add now the better.  I'll leave it until tomorrow and stock up then.  I did my usual things and it's been another day of 'nothing to report' but very relaxing.  I posted a couple of pictures of the morning to FB and spent time reading and writing comments and adding to others.  I don't post a lot, and when I do a lot of people that I used to know leave comments that lead to several conversations.

At one I made supper and put it into the slow cooker.  I'd bought a packet of two spicy sausages and one was enough for one night.  The second is in the fridge for tomorrow.  
I bit of a surprise, my phone rang and I saw that it was Bekir calling and wondered if he had a problem and instead he was checking that I was OK.  How nice of him.  I did remind him that he had the curtain rail supports to finish off but joked that there was lots of the year left.  I fried the sausage with onion and half a can of tomatoes, added a half can of beans and some chili flakes and into the slow cooker with it so that it would be ready when I was.  At five I was warming up for food so put some pasta on, I'd enjoyed it yesterday and decided I'd have it again and served it at just after six.  I'd thought there might be enough for tomorrow but instead, I went back for seconds before the kitchen closed for the night, washed up and now I'd relax and let my digestion get on with the job.

So tomorrow I might be heading into Djebel...it depends on the weather.  We're supposed to be having more snow overnight if the forecasters are correct.  LN...Better throw another log on....LN

Wednesday 25th March

Seven thirty start so not bad at all.  I'd taken photos last night around midnight, it was snowing but not exactly throwing it down but again it was white over this morning.  The fire was out so it was in need of resuscitation and unfortunately I'd run out of starter wood so that meant that I had to get to the little house and get another container containing the more.  I opened up the little house and yest...it was really cold out there...and fortunately the container was already waiting and like a good girl guide or boy scout...I was prepared.  So while I was out there I brought more logs into the conservatory, I reckoned it was going to be a day of stoking, there was not a chance of any central heating coming from that great ball that was hiding behind the mass of clouds.  I lit the fire and decided that breakfast would have to wait.  I was on a mission heading in to town to get my shopping,

I didn't get dressed from scratch, I put my jeans over my PJs and added another couple of layers on top.  Purple UGGs finished off the look and I made a mouth cover with one of my scarves in the absence of a manufactured one.  I did contemplate making on from one of my old bras but decided that I would have to get it technically perfect and I hadn't the time.  I had to make my allotted time for shopping.  The car was well and truly covered by frozen snow and it took me a while to clean it all down.  I'd made my shopping list and was expecting a road block which never materialised.  I parked up, got my face mask on, complete my list and there was only one time that one of the locals got nearer than two feet so I made a point of putting my basket down while I waited for my cheese to be cut and moved away from him.  I then discussed with the assistant that I know quite well that it's better to be two meters across than two meters down which she thought was quite clever and I should imagine that she's used it several times today.  Home James, and again no road block, shopping unpacked and breakfast of half of the spicy sausage, bacon and egg was soon underway.

Kitchen tidied, sofa with the Kindle and you've guessed the rest.  I did more on ancestry and I'm still not sure that I've solved the issue of my 'greats' father and mother....I need more investigation.  Supper was the other half of that sausage with onions, last night's pasta, picked beetroot and baked beans.  A bit of a mixture but it went down well and I've still go more left. ...that's tomorrow sorted.  LN.....Another lazy day if the weather continues like it is.....LN  

Thursday 26th March

So another dark, cold, miserable and damp day.  I did manage a sunny poached egg on toast for breakfast but that's been the highlight of the colour spectrum today. I had a good night's sleep, managed to stay awake all day but it was close at one point.  The only activity I've had has been to fill up the log container and get it in the house...I've been topping the fire up all day...either the house is not holding it well or my thermostat is up the shoot....there again I don't do cold and damp very well.

I had a bit of a frustrating morning...I've got subscriptions out on computer security programs and I wanted to transfer them over to my new computer.  Did I manage it...did I heck...I kept getting through to the payment screen even though I could see my account and wanted to update them from this screen.  In the end I gave up and will tackle it when my brain is in the right place...it wasn't today.  It just seemed so obvious to me, the company can see my account and that it's still valid but it didn't seem to work that way.  Bahhhh...humbug....I shall be cancelling and not renewing with them.

I played a few games and read my latest book but for some reason I couldn't settle today.  I made a curry this morning and put it in the slow cooker and now I've just turned it off...I'm not hungry so it will wait for tomorrow along with the remains of last night that's in the fridge.  Checking up on the long range weather forecast...this weather looks like it is going on for the next couple of weeks.  I shall have to start using the old wood from the little house to eek out what's in the log store.  LN....I'll cheer up for tomorrow....promise....LN

Friday 27th March

Slept really well and didn't wake up until ten to eight.  Sixteen degrees in the house, four degrees out, damp but the terraces were dry.  The fire was out so I reset it for later and emptied the ashes, made a cup of coffee and went back to bed with my Kindle and read until ten.  The morning was drifting along and I hadn't anything specific to do.  I had a surprise phone call from Princess last night asking about a recipe for biscuits that I used to make for the children when they were around five years of age...ah...no.... so I googled the recipe, copied and pasted it and emailed to her within minutes.  What a good mother am I.....

So eventually out of bed, washed and dressed and by this time it was getting on for eleven so a late breakfast of scrambled egg and yes, I only used one, on toast.  I tidied the kitchen, switched the slow cooker on to reheat last night's curry and settled down with the Kindle and my book.  Unfortunately I didn't settle for long, I felt cold so I lit the fire, it was reluctant but eventually life came to it and I refilled the log carrier to ensure that I had enough for the day.  I removed the eleven litre bottle from under the down pipe from the roof that usually connects to the two hundred litre water container that I set up last summer.  It's too early for it to go out yet but it seemed a shame to waste the rain water so I picked it up by the blue plastic carrier handle, it broke so I picked the bottle up or at least tried to, took another empty bottle that I had in the conservatory and filled it up from the other one, watered the pots in the conservatory and locked up for the night.  

I put rice on to cook and finished it off on the petchka. the curry was ready and I served it and took it upstairs to eat in front of the computer.  It went down really well and I'm going to add more meat to the rest of the sauce for tomorrow.  No need to go into Kardjali..I managed to pay my phone bill through the internet yesterday and only have my home phone to sort out now.  Kardjali is out of the question for the time being,  LN.....Where's that week gone?....LN

Saturday 28th March

The gods have smiled on me and the rest of Southern Bulgaria today.  It was a bit dull at eight but at ten that yellow ball came through and despite the wind, it's been a gardening and general messing around day.

The fire was just going this morning so I moved the log and used it to get the fire going tonight,  I settled for toast for breakfast, buttered it and spread it with two cheese triangles and that was going to set me up for the day.  I collected up the household waste ready for burning, put a load of washing in the machine and left the dishes in the sink and they're still there now.  I'll eventually get round to them.  I didn't managed to get anything into the remains of the curry sauce so as it stands, nothing ready for supper but there's still time.  I'm filling up at the moment with chocolate caramels that I managed to find in the supermarket when I went into Djebel and I'll have to remember them on my next trip.  

I had my bonfire and got it going really well and then I turned my attention to the lavender that has died in the middle, overgrown itself and has taken over the steps down to the garden.  I've cut it back on the right hand side, burnt the majority of it but managed to save enough to start a lavender bed in the vegetable patch and planted up two more under the wall near to the bonfire.  It looks a bit sad for itself, I'm hoping that it new shoots will appear but I'm not holding out much hope.  I shall probably end up digging it all out and putting in a new one.  It's got two choices.  

I loaded up the log carrier for tonight, noticed the old lawnmower up the corner so I wheeled it out and realised that it was in need to love and attention.  I cleaned it off, removed the air filter and gave it a wash, topped up the fuel and the oil, tried to fire it and....nothing.  I'm thinking it needs a new spark plug so I shall have to get the manual out...I've not a clue where that is.  The strimmer came out next and I used it until the battery was exhausted and that's now back on charge.

Fire going, boiler on so that I can have a bath tonight to ease out the muscles, I've clocked up almost thirteen thousand steps today and feel much better for going out in the fresh air and clearing out my sinus in the process.  Haciber came to the gate for a chat and is missing the weekly market and is obviously bored and my garden neighbour stopped and told me that she's been clearing the garden ready for planting. She works so hard.  The local 'bugle' told me that we have had one death in Momchilgrad and that's a bit close but otherwise, everyone in the village is as healthy as they were before the virus hit.

So bath night. live television is shelved because of the virus so we're down to 'the best of's'  Came across an interesting  programme last night about six celebrities taking the 'The Road To Istanbul', starting in Serbia and visiting the Rila Monastery so I shall be following the series....a Friday night regular.  Book finished this morning so I'm looking for another.     LN..... Now what do I fancy for supper.....LN

Sunday 29th March

So I had my bath last night.  I didn't run it until eleven which when I put the hour on the clock was pretty late and even later when I emerged from the depths, dried off and put on my PJ's and realised it was now two a.m.  I changed the clocks so that I wouldn't forget and land up in limbo land, read for a while, slept well and woke up at seven.  I thought that was reasonable but considering the time that I went to bed...not so good egh....

It rained overnight. the terraces were wet but it soon cleared up.  The sun broke through, the sheep scampered across the field heading for the watering holes and I didn't spot anyone with them this morning,  They obviously know the way.  I attacked the fridge and threw out the remains of the rice and the pasta from the other night and the curry sauce from the slow cooker...the cats had a field day but I didn't linger long to see which ones got the food.  The black and pink one was hanging around the bird feeder but shot off when I went out to the terrace.  I did notice though that the bread that I put out yesterday had disappeared overnight....I should really put a camera out.

I washed up the dishes from yesterday and used up the last of the bacon, fried some of the currant loaf for a change and fried an egg and that was my breakfast sorted.  As for the rest of the day, I've not really bothered with food.  I settled down to my book and suddenly realised that it was almost one.  My body clock hasn't adjusted yet and can't believe that it's almost nine now.  I've done very little all day, I lit the fire at four and it's chugging along nicely with one huge log burning away at the moment.  I slept this afternoon, catching up on the lack of sleep last night so despite the fact that I'd downloaded the 'destructions' for renewing the cable on the strimmer that was purchased last year.  I just couldn't raise the energy to get out there and I'm sure the mower will wait for another day to see if it will fire.  I found out the 'troubleshooting' manual for that and found out where the spark plug is located and again, that's for another day. Leaving it to rest might just do the trick.

I need eggs and that's about it so no real need to go into Djebel, the chocolate caramels have taken a beating today but if I don't get them, I'll probably doing myself a favour.  LN.....I need to start exercising.....LN