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Wednesday 28th October

Thanks Linda, I read somewhere else that it could be Christopher but I was bordering on the late fifteenth, early sixteenth and really wasn't sure he was related to my family so not really pursued it.  Like you I have days of ancestry, give up and wait to start again.  I really must start on our grandmother/ great grandmother/ grandfathers records but I'm waiting for winter to arrive.  No gardening possible under three foot of snow   

Another funny old night and day.  Awake at two and again at four, read until six with a coffee, back to sleep until nine and woke up feeling shattered.  I managed to make bacon sandwiches for breakfast, toyed with the idea of going into Kardjali or Djebel but the weather wasn't good so I meandered through the morning, loaded logs into the log carrier and lit the fire.  A load of washing was put on the clothes airer in the bathroom and while I was there I sorted out the four baskets under the washbasin shelf and now I've established that I've got more socks than any sock shop in existence.  

Twelve o'clock came round quickly, I threw a log on the fire, started to read a new book that I don't remember downloading to the Kindle and once I'd got settled the electricity went off.  This isn't a huge problem, the pump for the wood fired central heating has a battery backup and fortunately the fire wasn't raging so I didn't panic, left it in the lap of the gods and went to sleep waking up around four thirty and felt much better for it, so much so that a packet of biscuits was demolished with a cup of coffee.  The weather tried hard to clear up and it might well have done while I was asleep but I haven't seen much evidence of the sun today.....although my little solar lights are lit so there must have been some at some point.  No supper, the biscuits are blocking the hunger gripes and I'm hoping that my afternoon nap won't upset my night's repose.  LN...The cupboard is bare so I might have to head for Djebel tomorrow.....LN

Thursday 29th October

Thanks for the information Trevor....I'll have to give it a go.  Hope you are both keeping well and prepared for winter although it seems to be a little late this year...we've normally had one lot of snow if only lasting for a day...

So again my five o'clock internal alarm went off and try as I might, I couldn't get back off to sleep again.  It had rained overnight again and it had started to dry the terraces but it took until three this afternoon before the sun broke through and I burst into action.  I made some effort, I put yesterday's washing away, made up the downstairs bed with the winter duvet covers and bottom sheet and found out a fleece blanket to make two pillow cases for the large feather pillows but that's for another day.  Bacon sandwiches again for breakfast, the fire was still going so I threw a log on it and it cheered the place up.  It was dull and lifeless outside, even the little black cat wasn't in evidence but she/he/it was probably sheltering somewhere warm and dry.  After clearing the kitchen I settled in the chair in the stairwell, got the Kindle fired up and carried on with the book that I'd started yesterday.  I'm not too sure about his writing style but I was too lazy to see if I had more books on the computer that I could have loaded on.  The fire was ticking along beautifully and it was one o'clock before I knew it so I made coffee and has some peanuts.....just to fill the gap and then carried on reading.  

At three I went out to have a bonfire, I was feeling lethargic and needed to do something.  By this time the sun had come out, I'd put an over sweater on since it hadn't warmed up much and ended up collecting seeds from the tobacco plants and checked on the wall flowers that seem to be growing fantastically well.  Urged on by the sun, I fired up the lawn mower but didn't put the basket on the back and cleared from the top terrace down to the mulberry mainly to chop up the leaves that had fallen,  Having got in the mood I carried on down to the Acacia and then moved over the other side and cleared under the cherry tree.  The grass is coming back in spurts and some of the weeds are really getting established, taking the tops off might slow them down a bit but I suspect I shall be digging them out and reseeding.  I cleared the leaves from the garage and the yard and put them in the composter, saw my painter and he's on standby for barrowing sheep poo after the lorry arrives.

Jacket potato for tonight and I've taken out a couple of hamburgers...the cupboard wasn't totally bare.  I didn't make Djebel or Kardjali today, it was too damp this morning and I was too busy this afternoon.  I'll save it for the weekend.  LN.....At least a few more steps on the Fitbit...LN

Friday 30th October

I was awake at six, drinking coffee at ten past and playing games after that back in bed until I suddenly remembered that painter chappie was coming round to trim the rest of the wild plum tree so that I could get better reception (supposedly) over the internet.  Washed and dressed I went out and opened up the workshop and got the ladder out for him and left it by the door and went back in the house to make breakfast.  I was half way through toast and apricot jam when I spotted him walking away from the tree and he'd already got the ladder up and was looking for more equipment to do the job.  We both went into the workshop and came out with a saw that I knew was as blunt as you like but I couldn't managed to find the new red handled one.  He carried on up the ladder and I realised that the saw was crubbish so I set about finding the other one, managed to locate it hiding in the woodstore and took it out to him.  The job had suddenly got much easier.  The top branches were taken away but unfortunately it doesn't have seemed to done much for my internet...blasted thing is still freezing so tomorrow I head for the shop and let them know.

The fire was still going this morning and I'd topped it up so it was quite a comfortable place to laze around.  I toyed with the idea of going out and planting bulbs, the sun had come out around lunchtime but instead I put the computer on to do emails, ended up watching an episode of 'The Last Kingdom'. metered myself and only watched the one and then carried out with ancestry.  I don't know what lead me down the path but I've suddenly got back to a Richard that I've not managed to get the birthdate for but his son, William was born in 1577.  Now I'm adding the children of each of the children but the system went down this afternoon to rain stopped play so to speak.  The bag of peanuts is no more and that's put food out of the reckoning for tonight....they've sort of got stuck half way down.

I've cancelled the lorry of sheep poo...it turned out to be around seven and a half ton and no way did I want to start shifting that in a wheel barrow.  I'll buy it by the bag from my local guy.....and much easier to handle.  No photographs today...the ones of the woodies at the bottom of the garden were not very clear due to the mist and I didn't managed to get out there this afternoon to take any more.  I've remembered  to take in the bougainvillea and the busy lizzie, the temperature is about to drop to single figures tonight so better safe than sorry.   LN....Kardjali tomorrow....shopping list required.....LN

Saturday 31st October

So where did this month go.....and not many pumpkins out this year....this virus has a lot to answer for.  We've still not gone into lockdown here, universities have closed along with the secondary schools but not the junior yet.  Home schooling over the internet for some that are lucky enough to have computers but as for the poorer families, so far nothing is being done for them....maybe a word in someone's ear.

Six thirty start again so my internal clock is trying but not yet succeeding unlike the weather clock that sits in the hall.  I changed the batteries yesterday, the display was getting very feint and managed to reset it or so I thought.  The buttons are on the back. the display is on the front and with five buttons to choose from in limited time, setting it is a bugger.  Unfortunately the alarm somehow got set and went off at midnight last night, I pressed what I thought was the appropriate button to switch it off but in the light of day I had to have another attempt....no alarm symbols are showing, so fingers crossed I worked it out.

I had toast for breakfast and sat out on the bench eating it.  I'd dressed for Kardjali, written my shopping list and then it suddenly occurred to me that I need to go in on Monday to get my new driving licence so why make two journeys when one will do.  Instead at ten thirty I started off for Djebel with a much reduced list, picked up a man waiting for anyone to come his way and so took him in to Djebel.  I dropped him outside the supermarket at the beginning of town and parked up outside the car parts shop and went in for a quick chat to catch up on my student's mums results for the online course she's taken and it was very positive.  She got the second highest marks for the years...very well done.  I went into the main street supermarket for a few things and as I came out I noticed my painter was by the door and I guessed he wanted a lift home.  We walked towards the car and the man that I'd taken in was sitting with a bottle of beer between his feet and smoking so I guess he had done his shopping.  We loaded into the car and I dropped them both off at the Kmet's office in the centre of my village, I asked my painter to find out how much a tractor load of manure would cost and just as I was nodding off this afternoon he phoned me and gave me the news.  I didn't manage to head off to sleep again, played a few games, lit the fire and went upstairs to watch more episodes of the Last Kingdom and I've rationed myself to only two.  

Supper is in and should be ready anytime soon.  It's been another beautiful day saying that it's the last day of October and all my solar lights are twinkling on the terraces and I must get some more of the little ones....plastic, good and cheap.  Fire needs a lot, supper needs serving, kitchen calls.  LN....The bulbs might go in tomorrow.....LN