Saturday 17th April

So I stopped up last night to watch the 'so many cats watch Countdown' and it was pretty late when I laid my weary head on the pillow...and it worked.  Seven when I woke up this morning and it was...raining so my weeding prospects went out of the window fortunately and I've spent the day doing relatively little.

The cats had the rest of the pork with Chinese sauce for breakfast, I made the mistake of economising from Lidl buying two packs of a different type than I usually do.  I'd managed to cut them into four packs, into the oven with one of them with roasted vegetables and I couldn't get the hang of cutting them into individual ribs when they were cooked.  I shan't be buying them again but at least the cats benefited.  Toast for breakfast along with toasted bun loaf and I've been picky all day.  I washed and dressed with the potential of driving into Djebel for some black paint and a cream containing Arnica.  When I was carrying one of the large geranium pots yesterday and aiming for the stack of tyres to put it in to, I caught the edge of my boot on the gravel surround, sank gracefully to the floor bashing my shin on I know not what.  I felt a bit of a bump under the trousers but when I stripped off last night for my bath I noticed that I really had scraped the skin off the shin and it really was a bump.  As it happened, I started chasing ancestry for the morning, no way to get stuck into the garden and I didn't go anywhere.

I lit the fire around two this afternoon, it was damp and drear outside and it did dry up a little but not enough for me to venture out.  I continued watch the Netflix series I've been watching until I fell asleep, woke up, realised I was hungry so made toast and opened a small tin of tuna and mixed it with mayo and that's me finished for the night.  At five I turned over to the funeral service and what a superb format it was.  I did drop a tear at the sight of the Queen sitting on her own and after all that time together, she has lost not only a husband but a friend to have a giggle with I'm sure....and we all need one of those.  I switched off and went back to ancestry chasing and solved one issue and opened up several more.  The trouble is the website send over so many hints and potential links to other persons' trees and some contain lots of rubbish and it takes ages to sort them out.  It's much better to ignore them.

Just sorted the fire out and it should be enough for the rest of the night.  I don't need to think of supper, I've got caramel chocolates in the kitchen.  Grey clouds make a blanket for the sky, it's pretty still out there and it isn't raining at the moment and I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow....I do want to get some weeding done.  LN....I'm down to the fire, warmth and chocolates.....LN    

Sunday 18th April

I was so tired last night that I went to bed around eleven and hoped for the best.  I managed until one thirty, messed around on the Kindle until three thirty and eventually got back off again.  On the plus side, I didn't wake up until eight thirty and launched myself gently into the day.  It was cloudy but dry and it picked up during the day but went back to cloudy, cold and with the potential to throw it down any minute but I was out there until six this evening and I've had a good day in the garden.  

I made toast for breakfast with peach jam and when I went into the fridge for the butter I realised that the half duck was still lingering in the bottom of the fridge so still in my pyjamas I went out to throw it over the wall for anything that wanted it.  I didn't break it up and left it that if one of the cats got it, it might very well hide it if it was too much to manage at one sitting.  As I walked back to the house from the garden I noticed the daughter of one of my neighbours coming into the yard carrying a plastic bag.  She handed it to me, I looked at it and realised that they were rubber washers that my painter chappie had left me.  He might have come into the garden but not seeing me around wouldn't knock.  I asked her why she wasn't working and she looked at me strangely and said that she was and was off to get more of the local 'barbed wire' that grows on the hillside to keep the cows out and I asked her why she wasn't working in Kardjali.  Doh....it is Sunday, not Monday...I'm ahead of myself.  She looked at the plants that are out on the terrace and pointed out the ones that she wants babies from...there's no stopping her.  Off she went with her billhook....she had work to do.

I punched holes in the two pots that I wanted to put in the small oil drums that I spray painted.  The one now is sporting 'bizzie lizzy' and I've put seeds in the other one.  So then to the task in hand that I've been putting off...weeding.  So I stuck at it, firstly on the frog garden and then moved on to the new bed which was part of the vegetable garden until I reduced it.  My day was interspersed with brakes, coffee and a packet of biscuits but it's been productive so now on to the other beds tomorrow if the weather is good.  I've not got much to get from Kardjali.

So fire going, chicken wings in with jacket potatoes and they should be ready in around twenty minutes.  The snooker is on but Higgins is playing and he's not my favourite to watch so I might give it a miss and see if anything else is worth watching.  I've just checked the Fitbit and I've managed just over fourteen thousand steps today...who'd have thought it...good start to the week.  LN....Fire and food.....LN

Monday 19th April

So this morning woke up to another drab miserable day.  Last night's sky had had a pink tinge to it and the sun had already set...quite spooky.  It wasn't raining but was full of possibilities and it was cold and after yesterday, I was quite disappointed.  I'd got into weeding and was almost looking forward to it, I say almost and then the heavens opened and there was no way I was going out there.  April showers came my way or not so much showers, it bucketed it down.

I comforted my self with bacon sandwiches with brown sauce and sat in the stairwell with a steaming coffee and watched the rain.  I took the remains of last night's supper out for the cats and they must have been hiding somewhere, not one to be seen.  I did check out the Busy Lizzies that were at the side of the house in the converted oil drum and the intention was to bring them inside but they looked OK so I left them where they were.  I didn't know what to do for the rest of the day.  Outside work was out of the question without there was a rapid improvement, I toyed with the idea of dragging one of the benches into the little house and sanding down the woodwork but lethargy got the better of me so I put the computer on on the landing and added people to my ancestors but this time to my uncles side of the family.  I added my cousins and their line until I met another brick wall so switched off and finished watch the series I'd been following on Netflix.  Series over I turned over to the snooker, got the fire going and now am back on the computer for my update but this time in a warm environment.  It remains cold and damp, miserable and I'm sure that I can literally see the weeds growing so when it dries out, the mower will have to come out again.  It's all go in my neck of the woods.

Not sure what's on the menu for supper, might be tuna salad with hot potatoes, I'm not moving far away from the fire to linger in the kitchen.  If the weather's like this tomorrow I'll be heading in to Kardjali for a sprint round the shops, especially if it's raining hard.  And now it's thundering.  LN....Need to find another Netflix series.....LN

Tuesday 20th April

Early start again and so by nine I'd washed, dressed for the garden and breakfasted on buttered toast.  I was still full up from my tuna and potato salad last night, it was a big one.  I'd found a new series on Netflix but decided to flip back to Beeb 2 to watch the last two semi finals and now we have the four contestants for the final.  It's surprising how some of them got there, maybe by default, it depends who is up against them in the heats I suppose.  I do enjoy trying to answer the questions but no way would I put myself up for it....not my style....and not that confident.

The weather looked quite promising, cold but adequate for getting the weeds out.  I decided to tackle the two beds on the short wall surrounding the wild cherry and the acacia.  I knew there were surround stones under the grass and clover so out with the fork and head down.  The weeds had really put their roots down and the poor old daffs that had finished flowering fortunately were wobbling a bit but on the first bed they were OK and the second bed, I staked them and tide them up.  They've finished so I might be knotting them soon.  I used the little strimmer until the batter ran out and checked out the bigger electric one and managed to get it working.  I thought I'd had problems with it when I'd put it away last year but all's good.  I used it to trim round the back of the beds but it was really too wet to make much of a difference and then, rain stopped play so it was a matter of packing up the tools and clearing away.  At least I've made a start and found a couple of marigolds grown from seed this year and now they're moved into smaller bed by the log.

So I went in and made coffee and started to chase a few more on ancestry.  I'd also got a couple of important phone calls to make and had an interesting chat with Moonpig about a delivery that I'd setup.  Checking the website it said that the card was in 'printing' and there were no further messages as to what was happening with the order.  Poor Daniel found himself in the lion's den, I did say that it wasn't his fault but that someone was responsible down the line but we wished each other a good day.  

Just phoned the said recipient of the flowers to wish her a happy birthday, they've arrived and they're beautiful so well worth sending them.  It's settled into a dull evening, I've had a packet of cheese biscuits so not in a hurry to get something for supper but the boiler is on for a bath tonight.  It was hard work digging out the weeds, the ground is so wet and cloying so I'm going to relax in a Badedas bath.  LN....Sun tomorrow please.....LN

Wednesday 21st April

Seven twenty start and a very relaxing night after my bath and hair wash,  I should have dried it but didn't so that was the first task this morning to try and get some order in to it.  It was enough, I was only gardening today and it looked like it was going to be a good day.  I washed and dressed, made an omelette for breakfast with cheese triangles, washed up and cleared the kitchen and prepared myself mentally for weeding.

The sun was shining and mulled over where to put my attention.  I settled on the garden behind the little house terrace, it was full of chickweed and as I started to clear it I noticed that I'd also put some shrubs in there last year that I'd forgotten about.  I also removed a very rough fence that had been balanced against the terrace wall behind the shrubs, propped it up against the lawn mower and found the pot of old engine oil and the brush...I had work to do.  I found the hammer in the little house and set about knocking in the old nails and bashing them down on the other side.  I think this section of fence came from when I relied on a fence to keep the cows out and it was fairly rough, nails everywhere.  It's still in fairly good condition and with an extra level of protection, it will do for another few years I'm sure, the engine oil covers a multitude of sins and age.  I carried on with the weeding and moved round the corner and cleared round the under terrace bed, it had got sticky willie climbing up the conifer.

I came in for a coffee, sat down doing a Sudoku and suddenly heard the pitter patter or rather thud of heavy raindrops.  It had started again so it was a quick trip round the garden to bring in the tools and my camera that was sitting on the bench.  It went on for quite a time so I decided to make tuna potato salad and that was going to be enough to see me through the rest of the day and so far so good.  I've just had a phone call from my Princess with family updates, she's back at school after the Easter holidays.  From what she's been doing in the garden, she's going back for a rest.  The sun has come out and it's all calm in the garden but it's too late to start again.  The fire's lit and it's warm as toast in the house and time for me to settle in for the night.  LN....April showers, egh....LN

Thursday 22nd April

I've worked out how to stop myself waking up at one thirty...go to bed at two and then an undisturbed sleep until seven this morning,  I opened the curtains and the sun shining on the lake was blinding, I did take a pickie but when I looked at it it reminded me that the windows want cleaning so I put it on the list and it's one that I won't be posting tonight.  I made toast for breakfast, I didn't have to make a plan for the day, the weeds are a priority but it sort of went askew.  Dressed and ready for action at around nine, I ended up playing around with ancestry while the day warmed up enough to be out there and by ten I was putting my boots on...I meant business.  I did stop for a while and watched the interplay between the sparrows and the martins.  There seemed to be a bit of a battle on as to who would claim possession for the summer and I thing the martins have it.  

As I walked through the conservatory I noticed that the sweet peas needed to be put in and thought they would be OK in the tyres on the workshop terrace.  The tree that had started off in there hadn't made it so the first job was to clear it out and put new compost on top of the old and in went the sweet peas.  I didn't put anything else in, I'll see how they do first and I've got a few left and now to find another place.  It was walking back to the house for some more equipment that I heard my first cuckoo and now I'll be listening out for my one with hiccups.  So back to the terrace and out came the wood from the upstairs of the little house and the bed is now with a wooden surround which makes it much easier to strim.  Surprisingly I didn't end up covered in engine oil but I need to  get some more from the garage...I'm running short.  I found garden tiles under the weeds and now I've put them under the bench which makes it look better and filled up the log carrier to take the weeds down to the bottom of the garden.  As I glanced down at the bottom garden I suddenly saw Rosie, my tortoise and there was Blue Boy...looks like they hibernated together and have come out of it together.  The nail varnish needs renewing, it's looking faded but I checked on them at around five and they've cosied up either side of a very large stone and are both more or less buried.  

Tools away, I came in at five thirty, managed my ten thousand steps and despite not doing what I set out to do, I do love making new areas, but back to the weeding tomorrow.   I have to think about supper to keep my strength up but at the moment nothing is getting my creative juices flowing enough to head to the kitchen.  I'll think of something.  LN....I have guests, I'll have to put the watering holes out......LN  

Friday 23rd April

Another silly night where I woke up in the bath at twelve last night and the water was cold.  I got out to get warm, straight into fleecy PJ's and into my nest for a very good night's sleep.  I slept through until seven thirty and the day has just shot by.  I set myself up for the day with a bacon and egg sandwich and it did me through until tonight.  I sorted out the kitchen before I went out to the garden but even before that I logged in to ancestry and think I might have stumbled on a murder victim that belonged somehow to the family that one of the ladies married in to.  It's a common name and the dates are more or less right but the day was moving on and I wasn't.  I had a garden to sort,

I armed myself with the electric strimmer and grass mower, unreeled the cable and connected up the strimmer.  The reel needed sorting, only one of the cutting strands wasn't showing so I took the reel off and one of the eyelets that it threads through was bent.  As I tried to do a running repair, the eyelet popped out on to the grass and look as I might, I didn't find it.  So I put it back together without it and it worked but then it didn't so the mower came in a as reserve.  Because I operate it without the grass box and the flap at the back open and held up, I found the face protector which is a little larger than the glasses and despite the fact that stones were being thrown up, I was unscathed.  I was doing well, had a little chat with my next door gardening neighbour, told her I'd got my tortoises back and you could almost see her eyes go back in her head.  Maybe I should keep quiet about some things.  The tortoises were out but not moving far from the burrows.....it was cold and damp.  I noticed that Rosy was munching on the grass but by the time I put the tools away, they were both entrenched and possibly drenched.  

It started to rain, there were a few large spots, it stopped again and I carried on until the grass was too wet to mow.  I'd managed to do more or less half of the surrounds but it was impossible to carry on.  I'd also moved some of the debris that was once the roof of the outside toilet and cleared behind the stacked tiles and could see what needs to be don.  The escalonia is looking sick and needs pruning back and one of the japonica kerria looks like it needs to be removed.  When it really started to throw it down it was tools away quickly, cable rewound, little mower cleaned and left open so that the air can circulate until the next time it comes out.  I took my boots off outside and they were full of grass, the trousers badly stained so everything was put in the washing machine and it's now on the airer.  I put a thick sweater on, lit the fire and sat on the sofa and noticed that my ring wasn't on my little finger. I went through the mental steps where it could be. checked the washing machine and walked the garden and as a last resort checked the bed and there it was.  Panic over.

Supper was spaghetti bolognaise.  I'd taken out what I thought was meet from the freezer when I'd gone for the bacon and left it to thaw so added more tomato sauce to the  mush and put the pasta on to cook....and it was delicious.  I should do that more often.  Tomorrow it's going to be cooler with 'spotty showers'......so I think gardening might be out of the question.  Benches do need sanding down though....there's always something.  LN....Another good day despite the rain......LN

Saturday 24th April

So as predicted it's been a miserable day...not much as even a glimmer of sun and I hadn't got the incentive to get out and do anything,  The benches will have to wait, it was too cold in the little house.

Awake by seven at bacon and egg sandwich made, eaten and washing up done by nine.  I toyed with the idea of going into Kardjali or even Djebel but really didn't have much enthusiasm for that either so I signed on to ancestry and played around with a few of my much older relatives.  When they have ten children and they all marry you have to research the partners and then the children and I've added around twenty new entries.  When it got too much for me I went on a tour of the garden to check up on Rosy and Blue Boy and they're still buried with only the nail varnish blobs on show.  I also checked on the sweet peas that I put in the tyres yesterday and they are already getting established...good stuff.

I went back in the house and made a coffee and began to watch a new series on Netflix.  It looked like I would be in for the duration and then I looked out of my downstairs bedroom window and the length of the grass disturbed me enough to throw on a body warmer, boots and a hat and head out.  It was very damp under foot so I decided to use the big mower, filled it up with petrol, fired it up and went for it.  It struggled and I had to keep emptying the grass box but I managed to do two thirds of the big house grass.  I put the machine away, have just realised that the petrol is still on the terrace so I must do that before I lock up for the night.  I left the flap up so that the air will dry it off on the inside and before I use it again, I'll have to clean round the base of it, lots of wet grass has accumulated.  I came in just before five and made coffee, sat down with the intention of watching another episode and decided to put supper in the oven instead, a chicken leg with potatoes and onions.  Back to the television and the snooker, food ready so I moved upstairs to watch Transponder on the computer and took it upstairs with me.  

I've just put the boiler on for a bath tonight and I'll made sure that I stay awake this time....I don't want to wake up in cold water again.  If the weather's good I'll finish the grass tomorrow and save shopping for Monday.  I might even do some weeding now that I've uncovered the grass edgings and have something to work to.  LN...It's time to relax....LN

Sunday 25th April

A beautiful night's sleep, I had trouble coming out of my dream and didn't want to.  I can't tell you what it was about, I can't remember and should have written it down immediately on waking and give it some analysis later in the day.  I didn't so that left me plenty of time to get on with the gardening.  I made toast for breakfast and everything was washed up by nine.  It was too cold to go outside and start work so I waited for it to warm up, I watched a couple of episodes of the series that I'm following and at eleven it was on with the boots, body warmer, hat and I continued with the mowing.  It is still very wet and clover has a lot of moisture in it anyway and the big machine grass box had to be emptied every few runs.  I did the little house grass first so I could see that I was achieving something, and then went in for water and came out again and sat on the bench enjoying the sun that had made an appearance.

Before I started again I cleaned the underside of the mower, it was better but still not as good as using it on dry grass.  I moved on to the big house grass and carried on where I'd left off yesterday.  It was tough pushing the mower but eventually I more or less completed it and gave up when the petrol ran out.   I cleaned the machine thoroughly and left it with the flap at the back open so that the air will circulate.

I thought about carrying on weeding and decided that I'd done enough. The body warmer kept the cold out but the effort made me sweat which then went cold and it was uncomfortable and without a hat, my head got cold but with one, my hair was wet with the effort.  So I filled up the log carrier and locked up the woodstore, lit the fire and locked the outside door...I'm in for the night.  It's a beautiful clear night and a full moon has appeared.  With the cloudy skies that we've had lately and rain, you lose track of the phases.  I've had supper already, tuna, mayo, beetroot and hot cubed boiled potatoes but this time without onion...I'm fresh out of them as I am with lots of things.   Tomorrow Kardjali is definitely on the cards, I have a telephone bill to pay, vegetables to buy and bread for the freezer, just a general shopping trip.  LN....Off to the city....LN

Monday 26th April

Again another long interesting sleep and I didn't wake up until almost nine.  I'd run out of bread so couldn't make toast, had only one egg so couldn't make an omelette so the odds were stacked against me.  It was a beautiful day, the wind was quite blustery and chill but I did go down in my PJ's to check on the 'little ones' and they were all tucked up as good little ones should be.  I could still make out the nail varnish marks and it reminded me that I have to renew it at some late stage.  So at eleven I was still in my PJ's, syncing the Fitbit and doing sudoku when there was a face at the wide window....a guest had arrived.  I unlocked the door, apologised for my attire, made coffee and he had brought me some things to look at for input, ask for my help on a few things and offered in return to clean my windows.  It's not every day that you get an offer like that so I said that I would agree if he would only do the four big ones on the stairwell, inside and out, that I can't reach.  I think he reckoned that I protested too much but eventually he agreed.

He'd brought his own collapsible ladder. I found a bucket and the cleaning solution and after a coffee he was straight to it.  I took the opportunity to get washed and dressed and afterwards watched his precarious positions as he straddled the ladder to do the top half of the long windows and the bottom.  It must be around five years since I'd made an attempt at them.  We agreed the plans to get out second jabs for Covid on the 5th May.  Unfortunately Bulgaria shuts down for Easter and there's very little activity over five days...everything shuts down.  Windows done we had a walk of the garden and found Blue Boy but Rosy was on her travels and I eventually found her by the bonfire eating grass.  Off he went home via the rough road to meet up with the Makaza road, apparently the direct road from his village to mine is closed for repairs and no one tells you about it until you meet the men doing the repairs, so he was choosing the other way home.

The day had moved on and I really hadn't done very much.  I walked up to the garden next to mine and had a chat with my gardening neighbour and she said that she'd herd the mower going yesterday.  She was still had turning her garden and I feel so sorry for her, they'd had a tractor in to turn the ground over and it had obviously cut through and spread bindweed and couch grass and that's what she was fighting against.  At two I changed from gardening clothes to blouse and sweater because if felt as if spring had arrived....that sun was out and warm.  I managed to park by the telephone shop, walked to my cheapy shop but it was closed.  On the way back I walked by a flower shop with a beautiful little garden outside with a very pretty variegated grass growing in it.  Two men were working on it so I went into the shop to see if they had any plants for sale and the man said that they didn't and said that it was like a weed and grew everywhere very quickly and then he proceeded to pull up some roots for me.  I asked him how much and he wouldn't accept anything for them and now they're sitting in water and will be planted tomorrow.  I drove to Kaufland and on to Lidl finally finishing in Djebel to pick up bread, biscuits and chocolates....rude not to.  The little packet of biscuits only have about seven or eight in them and satisfy the urge without stuffing your face completely.

Home for six, shopping away and six half loaves of bread stashed in the freezer....I don't waste so much this way.  I had a cheese pastry in the car coming home so no need for supper or even to think about anything yet.  As for the windows, just a little titivating and they are such an improvement....the streaks are gone.  LN....Weeding tomorrow...looks like it's set to be a good day.....LN