Thursday 18th June

Hey Trevor...not my tin....'Old Holborn' is the 'trading name' of the guy that I went down to Greece with for the day...along with his wife may I add. I did the same thing only I gave up cigarettes at twenty four, telling my mother one Sunday night that that was going to be my last cigarette and she laughed.  I used Selotape to seal the packet up, carried it with me for a year, it became me against the Selotape not the tobacco.  I've still got the packet in my 'treasure box.  I did the same thing with alcohol three and a half years ago but fortunately didn't have to carry the bottle around....

Now as for today....what a change.  I slept well, woke up at six thirty, washed and dressed and headed over to Avatar's garden to wait for the bread van.  It was cold, had been raining and not much sign of the sun and it's been hiding itself all day.  I came back from the van with eggs, bread and cheesy bread and the cheesy bread was my breakfast.  I'd had a bit too much sun yesterday on my ankles and they were a little 'pink' shall we say and really very itchy.  I'm normally very careful but we were on the beach, I was paddling with my jeans rolled up and that was my downfall.  I soaked them in diluted apple vinegar which was fairly successful but then the itch came back so I headed up to the terrace and sliced off an aloe vera leaf and slathered it all over the affected parts.....and found immediate relief.  By this time it had started to rain, I began to get cold so put socks on, eventually fell asleep on the sofa reading my book but woke up really cold in the middle of a  downpour.  I made coffee and one of the packets of biscuits from Lidl yesterday made its way to the sofa and half of them are gone already, the rest are there for tomorrow.  

My work today has only been cleaning up the roasting tins that I left soaking overnight and making sure that they are pristine for the next time.  I'm very careful about putting fat down my drain so I soak them in a washing up bowl and throw the dirty water over the wall so that the birds might find something to peck at.  Another book down and I've moved on to book ten so only three to go and I'll be back in the same position with nothing to read.  Hopefully by then the sun will find a permanent home in a blue sky and this spell of rain, cloud and thunder will disappear..fingers crossed.  LN....Bring back summer.....LN

Friday 19th June

Seven start and I meandered through the morning.  I didn't feel like making breakfast straightway and as I came downstairs dressed to face the day Avatar was on the terrace.  I went out to see what she wanted and in her hand she was clutching a giant Toblerone and my dish from the other night containing freshly made yogurt.  The chocolate was a gift from her grand-daughter and she really didn't know what it was.  When I was about eight years old I used to buy a small one with my pocket money and used to ration myself breaking off a triangle and then folding up the packet until the next day.  I knew what they looked like but she had no idea so I opened the packet and showed her the chocolate and she was surprised at the shape.  I snapped a piece off and gave it to her despite her protest, asked her it she wanted kitchen roll to put it in and I think it was probably eaten before she'd got home.  It's been a temptation for me all day and now there's only about half of it left...

I stayed outside and potted up the cuttings that I'd stolen from Greece and I've fingers crossed that a couple of the six may take...if not more.  Avatar had also mentioned that the lavender plant that I gave her last year had gone to Turkey with her daughter so having another couple that had taken successfully I put them to oneside and she had also mentioned that my painter had cut down the Buddleia that I gave her a couple of years ago and it appeared to be struggling.  I had three that had taken in one pot so I picked up the lavender and took them over to her house.  She was sitting in Beyser's garden with some of the other ladies so I dropped the pots into the garden and went to join the ladies.  I was invited for coffee and sat in the garden, maintaining two meters apart and walked back to Avatar's house with her explaining that I'd dropped the plants in her garden and she was very grateful.  

It's been a funny old day weather-wise, showers on and off all afternoon but now it's settled into a very pleasant evening.  I've read most of the afternoon except for when my eyelids went southwards and had a very relaxing day.  It has been too wet underfoot to get the mower out and finish the grass, it's on for tomorrow if it doesn't rain overnight.  It's the only thing on at the moment for tomorrow....I have enough food and only have to pay my phones over the internet, that's all that's pressing.  Unfortunately I have another issue....the water is off so I might have to go into Djebel to get some bottled water, not sure why and for how long it will continue...and I might be fetching for my neighbours too if it doesn't come back on.   LN.....And now back to the tenth book....LN

Saturday 20th June

Seven start this morning and at eight I was asking if anyone wanted water from Djebel.  The water was still not on and we had no idea when it would be reconnected.  Avatar didn't want any, Haciber did and I definitely did so I set off at eight thirty to go into Djebel.  I met my painter as I was getting into the car and he questioned who the bees belonged to.  I said I thought that he was having them and I'd paid the man for his work to take them away and apparently the man hadn't told him that and I think was requesting payment for the bees.  Local politics egh...that's why I pay my way.  There was a police checkpoint just after the fifty sign as I approached Djebel but I sailed through..I waved as I passed them and reckoned that they'd be stopping me on the way back since they were on the other side of the road.  The waterboard vans were going in the opposite direct heading for our village and the digger was making its way following on behind.  Things were happening.

Only one car on the car-park, I took a trolley, water bottles are heavy and I had two to buy.  I bought tuna, mayo, spicy sausage, two loaves of bread and a bag of chocolate caramels.  I'd thought I'd weaned myself off them but yesterday's Toblerone has given me the taste for chocolate again.  Better get a few more steps logged on the Fitbit.  I drove home, the police had gone so I had an uneventful journey home except for the waterboard tractor insisting that I overtook him within fifty meters of my house and he waved as I parked up.  I took the water to Haciber and almost fell down as I traversed the 'drive' and cricked my ankle.  It seemed to be OK but this evening it's caught me out a couple of times, once going up the stairs, I'll probably need to put an elastic bandage on it, from one part of the body to the other. Haciber was on the phone so I opened the door and popped the bottle inside and limped round to join Avatar and finished off half of a cheesy bun that she'd bought from the bread van.  She wanted to cook me eggy bread but I refused, I had shopping to put away.

Shopping away, the water wasn't still on but at least I knew there were men working on it. The grass was calling and I was hoping that the morning's sun had dried it off but I was determined, so started it at one.  I finished the big house grass and came in for water...it was pretty warm out there and went out at two and started again.  By now the clouds were starting to roll over but I continued and by the time I'd finished, it was very black overhead, lightening was flashing and a few heavy raindrops were falling.  Machine away, gloves and rooting powder removed from the outside table, bottle and watering can put away securely, not only was there a storm happening but the wind was gale force.  I came in, had more water to drink and noticed that the water was back on, toilets could flush again so I settled at the computer and then the electricity went off.  It's a weekend of utilities failing.  I went down again and settled on the sofa with my book but realised that I was very damp from working hard in the garden so ran the bath, the electricity was back on so I switched the water heater on so that I could top the water up and stayed there for around an hour and a half, washed my hair and carried on with my book....bliss....

I cooked one of the spicy sausage with an onion and that with mayo was supper.  I've not dried my hair, it's plaited and clipped up and it should be dry by tomorrow.  Sunday tomorrow...a day of rest,  LN.....I'm sure I'll find something to do........LN

Sunday 21st June

So last night I had my first night in my balcony bedroom upstairs and spent the night roaming around the bed....it's huge.  I'd not sorted out the quilts and I was warm and had forgotten that the upstairs is so much warmer than the downstairs bedroom which seems to maintain a regular temperature,  I should be fine tonight...I've changed the quilt.

I woke up at six, I hadn't closed the curtains and it was mountain to mountain mist...not that I could see any of them.  The sun vaguely broke through around seven thirty and then promptly disappeared.  I was washed and dressed by about eight, I'd got fried onions left over from last night so I put the frying pan on the stove, added bacon, fluffed up a couple of eggs and made an omelette adding cheese at the last minute.  Two loads of washing done but there wasn't much chance of pegging it out so it went on the airer in the bathroom.  I emptied the waste bins and headed down the garden to have a burn up taking the garden fork with me.  I cleared the burnt cans out of the burning pit and they're now ready to take down to the container in the square.    Clouds were gathering yet again but I managed to get the fire going well and turned my attention to weeding the bed next to the fire pit.  I worked on it for around half an hour and then the rain started, not much but it wasn't pleasant out there so I came in and turned to my book and took up my usual position and yes you've guessed it, my eyes went southwards for an hour or so.  It wasn't so much a 'sleep' but a 'dog doze'  By this time there was thunder in the air yet again, the air was very humid and my Fitbit was encouraging me to go for a walk and that wasn't going to happen...it was still raining.

I'd lost interest in outside work so turned my attention to sorting out the summer clothes from last year and putting my winter ones away.  I've done most of it, I've washing to do to freshen up some of the blouses, the t-shirts have to be sorted into keepers and leavers and a very large pile that is to go to a charity shop when I find out where they need to be taken.   It's been a good afternoon's work and something I'd been putting off and at least the bed is cleared so that I can crawl into it tonight.  It's turned into a reasonable evening but we still have clouds hanging around. Supper is going to be tuna with mayo with pickled beetroot and I'm off to the kitchen now.  LN.....I need food...LN  

Monday 22nd June

Silly night...I was awake at three thirty and didn't managed to get back off.  I think it's something to do with the weather or lack of the right sort...I need sun.  The mosque was active at around ten to five and as the morning broke I saw that there was mist rising from the mountains. the sky was cloudy and it continued to get better.  I was washed and dressed by seven, a quick bacon sandwich and two loads of washing done and on the lines by eight...I'd done my blouses, summer dresses and I was hoping that the sun would break through and get them all dry.

I was in the Nipper by eight thirty and popped over to Avatar to see if she wanted anything from Kardjali...two kilos of chicken wings were on the list...but only if they were on offer.  I'd written my list, Djebel was busy as I drove through, it was market day but I carried on.  Uneventful journey in and I was very aware of speed limits, there's been a sharp increase of fines apparently and I didn't want to find out how big that increase was.  As I drove by the opticians I noticed that the door was open so I parked up by the 'House of Culture' and made my way to the shop.  It was a different person behind the counter and I said that I wanted to see the optician and since the last time he's changed his consultancy room.  The guy made the appointment for me for Thursday, said that I would need a taxi to take me because it was a difficult area to get to.....but I asked the right question later of my student's mum and she found it for me on Google and I now know where it is and it's not going to be a problem.

I paid my telephone bills and everyone was social distancing and waiting...one in and one out, walked over the road and bought a new bikini and another cotton top from one of the cheapy shops that has suddenly got much cheaper and then made my way to Kaufland.  Both cash machines weren't in operation so I walked over to one of the others in the square and there was a roving gypsy, who I know by sight hanging around the cash point and I felt uncomfortable when he approached me.  I didn't know why he was standing there, the person in front finished his transaction and then handed the man some change.  I didn't want anything to do with him so I walked back to Kaufland and paid by card.  I made a few purchase including another plastic storage box that was on offer to add to the collection.  I'm going to use it for shoes and boots...get them tidied away.  Over to Lidl and bought a beach chair so that I'll have my own next time I go to Greece and not have to borrow one.

I stopped off at the garage shop on my way through Djebel and we had a catch-up.  At this point I noticed that the weather was really building up and as I left the shop the rain started and the drops were huge.  I ran to the Nipper, legged it home and there wasn't any rain on the road but the sky was very black.  I left the car outside the gate, opened the conservatory door, ran down the garden and cleared the washing line in quicksticks and dumped it in the house, put on a raincoat and brought the car into the drive, took the shopping in to put away but left the rest of the purchases and they're still there.  At this point a terrific thunderstorm started, I took to the sofa with a coffee and slept the afternoon away catching up on what I'd missed last night.

It was six when I woke u, the sky has cleared and the sun was shining...this weather is just pee-ing me off.  Supper of chicken wings and boiled potatoes and I went to deliver some to my Avatar and there was no reply so it's sitting in the fridge.  Maybe she's had an early night.  LN....Ironing tomorrow I think...first time for everything....LN

Tuesday 23rd June

It was an early start, five thirty but I rolled over, went back to sleep again and it was twenty to eight when I faced the day.  It was a reasonable morning, I sat out on the bench with my coffee under the bedroom balcony, the other bench on the terrace was dripping from last night's rain.  I came in and filled up the cup and went out again. I walked the garden, the vegetable garden wants weeding, I've got other seedlings that need to be planted up but instead I came in, tidied the kitchen and made a potato and cheese omelette and that was breakfast done and dusted.

I contemplated doing the ironing but instead brought in the chest that I'd bought yesterday along with the collapsible chair that I'd bought for the beach.  When I got to the checkout yesterday I noticed that the cover had split at the bottom, it was the last one on display so I decided that I could do something with it and I did.  The sewing machine is always plugged in in the third bedroom so I unpicked where it had gone wrong and stitched it correctly.  The chair is now back in the bag, in the back of the Nipper and ready for the beach.  I negotiated the chest, still in its box, up the stairs and assembled it but this time reading the 'destructions'...the last time I'd done it out of sequence, struggled to get it unclipped and I wanted an easy time of it.  That done, I've done very little all day, the chest is still lying empty, to start filling it I have to 'break eggs' and I've got enough broken already...clothes that need to find a charity shop so I moved more out of my wardrobe in my bedroom and put them in the third bedroom on the ceiling hanger.  Tomorrow is another day.

So true to form at three thirty the clouds rolled over, the thunder started and then the rain came.  It's so predictable and it's still raining now.  I'll need to get out there and empty the pots that have solid containers underneath otherwise they'll all be turning yellow and drowning.  Supper is going to be the chicken wings that I took over to my Avatar last night, there was no reply when I knocked on the door, so I brought it home and I'll make the potatoes into potato salad.  Ironing tomorrow...if I've remembered how to do it...it's been a while.  LN....Bring on another goodnight's sleep.....LN

Wednesday 24th June

Funny old day today.....very misty this morning and cold but I think inertia has set in.  I made fried spicy sausage sandwich for breakfast with tomato sauce followed by another cup of coffee and really hadn't got much enthusiasm for getting out there....so I didn't.  I'd joined a FB group for finding elusive relatives so I posted that I'd hit the brick wall and that I needed help.  I've not managed to find a birth date for my five times great grandfather and still haven't.  I'd posted confirmed dates on his marriage in 1819 and the comments that I got back was that I'd got dates wrong and I was offered another date for his death.  Nothing very constructive but for the rest of the afternoon I was searching through previously printed documents.  His wife got married again in October 1841 and her husband of twenty two years died in January 1841 so hardly cold.  I haven't found any records of him on the census for the in between years so maybe they weren't living together.  Their only son was born in 1832....any your brain fries when your trying to play with dates and search through records,

I had to stop though...the internet saved me from myself when it went down but my brain didn't stop.  It didn't come on again until five thirty so I filled the time with reading book twelve of Uhtred of Battenburgh...Alfred is long gone but several Ethels from Meria and the Saxons are just about to go for each other and they've both got designs on knocking off Uhtred....the thot plickens.

I did manage to have a brief interlude of tidying the draw packs in the bathroom...I was going to put the winter tights and vests away but who knows...there's still time for me to have to get a pair of tights or a vest out...it was cold this morning.  I munched on salted peanuts this afternoon so there's not much demand for food...it's not high on the agenda.  Nothing on for tomorrow except for seeing my optician late tomorrow afternoon and I'll have to get there in good time since I'm not really sure where the new surgery is.  I've got a rough idea but it's supposed to be difficult to park up there...I'll wait and see.  LN....Eggheads has been superseded by a game of football....pah...LN

Have you tried this web site?
https://www.freebmd.org.uk/

Thursday 25th June

Thanks my loverlie, I gave it a quick look but the records don't start until 1837 and I've gone back further than that already.  I had some luck today though, I checked the Death Duty Registers and the recipient was...his wife Maria Sherwood and so I confirmed that he did die in 1841....he was mine.  I still haven't found his birth record in the Parish records but I'm one step further on.  That's the good news for today.

Really good night's sleep again last night and I was determined to get on with some work in the garden but not that determined....tomorrow is another day.  I've not mentioned this before but I've had sticky eyes and at night they've felt as if I've got a load of sand in there and they've been difficult to open in the morning.  My uncle had an issue with his eyelids and they wouldn't stay open and I was worried that it was moving on another generation...hence my visit to the optician today.

I made coffee and as I walked outside I noticed something on the little house terrace and as I walked up the steps I saw that it was a little bird, lying on its back so there was nothing to do except get shovel and put it in the bonfire.  I thought at first it was one of the martins that have their nest over the door to the little house but both little heads were poking out so back to the bench with my coffee.  I had a top up and by not it was knocking on for eleven, my breakfast had been buttered fruit loaf which didn't take much effort at all.  I decided that work was off the agenda and I settled on the sofa with my book and around twelve I heard my gate latch go so I headed to the door to the conservatory and Avatar was there and she'd come to check that I was OK.  I mentioned that I'd taken round supper one night and hadn't managed to get her to unlock the door and she said that she was in the shower so I'm very pleased she didn't make it to the door.  Off she went and I went back to the sofa and the book and at two went for a shower and washed my hair in preparation for my imminent departure to Kardjali and the optician.  

So hair washed and dried and I left for Kardjali at three thirty leaving enough time to find the new practice.  I'd got a rough idea where it was but I was still having to ask questions in Bulgarian.  I drove down the back lane to the main Greek road and fortunately I was going in the right direction.  There was so much traffic going down to Greece and most of the Romanians.....I suppose we'll have lock down set in again soon.  Anyway I parked up by the Polyclinic and walked towards where I thought it was but had to retrace my steps and found myself in another opticians.  They frowned at me and when I eventually found the eye clinic emblazoned on the front of a brand new building, they were probably pig sick that most of the clients had moved over the road to the new one.  I walked in and the receptionist was the man from the old shop who recognised me and shook my hand and showed me to the waiting room.  The doctor came out and again I was recognised and soon it was my turn.  I explained that I felt like there was sand in my eyes at night and I was given the full treatment and at the end gave me the good news.  He confirmed that all it was was dry-eye and prescribed drop, three times a day for as long as it took and there was nothing at all wrong with my eyes.  Such good news.

I made my way to the garden machine shop and bought a new head for the strimmer, carried on to Lidl and bought another beach chair in case I have visitors later in the year, a french stick and toiled rolls and then filled up with gas...ten leva's worth.  Home via Djebel and I took my drops into the garage shop to confirm that it was only one drop in each eye and I'd understood him correctly.  A chicken schnitzel for supper on french stick with mayo and I'm about to eat a pear from the ones that I bought today.  Nothing for tomorrow, gardening on the agenda now that I have the new strimmer head but since it rained again this afternoon, it might be too wet to bother so the little electric lawnmower might be out...the rain doesn't seem to bother it.  LN....Pleased I confirmed his death date...and now to continue..... backwards....LN  

Friday 26th June

Six thirty start....misty morning, it had rained again overnight and it didn't look very promising for the rest of the day.  Quite used to it by now though so I didn't think I'd get up to much for the rest of the day  and I didn't until three thirty this afternoon.  I did get washed and dressed, thought about heading in to Djebel to get some more coat-hangers but then it started to rain so I thought I'd carry on searching for my five times before and still no luck.  I followed up on the Death Duty Register using the reference but there are so many options on there that I was chasing myself up dead ends so I ended up going for an online chat.  Helpful?  not really, he recommended that I tried to tie up the 127 reference with the 126 reference and I still don't know the difference between them and he obviously knew his stuff but he didn't elaborate. He did send me a link and I think that confused me even more and by this time I was getting hungry.  

I switched the computer off and made a ham baguette for brunch and sat down in the stairwell and noticed that where it had dried up it was now wet again and there seemed little change of that strimmer coming out.  I washed up, moved on to the sofa with my book and settled down with Uhtred who's now stranded in London with enemies all round.   I felt very sleepy but didn't nod off and it all started when I went to get the strimmer out of the wood store to put in the new spool that I'd bought yesterday.  By now it was beginning to dry up so thought I'd test it out on the drive but it was so slow that I got the electric little mower out, lowered the height of the wheels and did the drive.  It was throwing the odd bit of gravel around and I thought that I should really be wearing goggles but I carried on regardless.  I decided to move on to the grave garden to the side of the house but I had to raise the blade, the grass was damp and was sticking inside the outlet even though I'd half raised the exit shoot to the grass catcher leaving the box off but I had to give up.  

I moved to the bottom of the garden where there's not much grass but lots of weeds but not thick juicy ones taking the mower with me.  I threw it around very successfully until one of the wheels dropped off and at this point I became a lawnmower repairs person.  I levered the centre out of the wheel, saw how to repair it, found the washer and the split pin and put it back on.  Twenty minutes later it fell off again but I'd more or less finished so I took it to the terrace, had another look at the problem and realised that the split pin had actually broken so found some wire, made another sort of split pin and I'll replace it with the real thing later.  It should last a while longer.  I finished off down the bottom of the garden as much as I could, it was very long and very wet down there and it will need revisiting when it dries out.

Tools away at seven and I've managed to knock off almost eight thousand steps.  It's turned in to a very pleasant evening and hopefully if it stays dry overnight I could continue with the bottom of the garden tomorrow and I might even get the biggie out and do the rest of the grass.  I also need to attack the vegetable garden...this weather has done marvels for the weeds and somewhere I have beetroot lingering.  I did managed to find the peppers, the tomatoes have outgrown the weeds but need stringing up and the butternut squash are taking over so I've decided to build a strong frame to grow them vertically.  Nothing planned for supper so far, those baguettes were big and it will probably be Camembert and biscuits later.  LN....More a day of two halves..lethargy and activity.....LN