Sunday 1st August

Stashed up in an hotel after a friend's birthday party.  Sun, swim, lots of birthday cake and good conversations.  More details tomorrow when I get home and lots of pickies of the venue.  LN....I should do this every weekend....LN

Monday 2nd August

So I was up at seven this morning that my next door neighbours had their own party when the rest of the hotel was asleep.  They were on the balcony having a drink, then there was a lot of noise coming from the hotel room and I almost banged on the wall but...what was the point.  I got my own back this morning though when I scraped the chair on the balcony and move the clothes airer and his snoring stopped.  Point made.  I took several pictures of the lake and hotel before the hoards descended and tried hard to catch the fish as they jumped out of the water but it's such a big lake that you centre on one point and then the fish jump in the opposite direction.  I won't make a nature photographer....I've come to terms with the fact.

Down to breakfast by eight thirty and not much choice.  I anticipated a buffet and got 'Princessa' which is toast with ham and cheese on it and I was disappointed that tat was the only choice.  It did come with two slices of tomato and two of cucumber, Turkish black coffee and I waited twenty minutes for a glass of water...perhaps the well was running dry. I packed up the room and got swim gear on and must have been in the water for a good hour or so, back for a shower, paid the bill and set off in convoy to my friends' house and by this time the thermometer was showing forty degrees.  I left at two, stopped off at their local shop and bought bread and a few more items and had a conversation with the shopkeeper that I've know for around ten years and caught up with local gossip.  Back in the Nipper and took the highway to hell back towards Kardjali and took the back lane making sure that I did early signals and braked so that the idiot behind know that I was going to attempt an unusual move,  Success, I arrived home in one piece, unpacked, put the shopping away and turned on the TV and settled down after opening all the doors to let the wind blow through.  I also managed to wash the swimming gear and that needs fetching in...it's all go here.

It was good to get away for the night and mix with the locals and renew friendships.  Supper is going to be a limited affair,,,not hungry and much too hot.  LN....Now back to the Olympics and The Blacklist.....LN

Tuesday 3rd August

Seven start and it was eight when I got out and started my daily chores.  The plants needed watering, I wanted a bonfire and I had to reattach the handle to the body of the garden fork....it had rotted and was in need of repair.  I opened up the little house and made swift work of it by renewing part of the shaft that fitted into the handle, used loads of wood glue to secure the wood and smothered the surrounds of the shaft with wood glue, replaced the handle and screwed everything back into where it should be.  I checked this afternoon and every thing seems to be solid and secure...good job done.  I watered some of the beds and got the hose down to the bottom of the garden and close to the burning bin, a fire when everything is so dry is dangerous hence the precaution of the hose to hand.  That underway I replaced the lid and left it to its own devices which left me free to move the garden hose around and give everything a good soaking.  

By this time I was in need of watering so went into the house and got myself a bottle of water which was to be the first of many I've had today.  I had five minutes with the Olympics which stretched out to an hour or so as I watched the sailing where we won two golds and a silver medal.  Next job on the list was to use the grass mower that I'd got out earlier to remove the long plantain heads and stalks and the yellow daisy things that bashed against my ankles each time I walked the garden. I managed down to the mulberry in the first session, more water required as we were now in the 'extremely hot around forty degrees' time of day, more sport on the tv and then back out to finish the rest of the big house grass.  The rest can stay for another day and the petrol ran out on the last run so I thought that the machine was telling me that it had had enough for one day too.  My Avatar appeared at the door with an unknown and he wanted a tool of some sort and I just didn't know the word.  He got his phone out and was fiddling and suddenly I hear the words 'spirit level' and now it was obvious what he wanted so into the workshop I went and found on, handed it to him and off he went to carry on with the work at Avatar's house.

Time for a shower since my skin was leaking like there wouldn't be a tomorrow and washed my hair and sat watching more Olympic roundups.  At four I decided to go into Djebel for potatoes but didn't leave until six.  I stopped off to have a few words with my students mum since she was still working and suggested that we all go for a pizza if she hadn't planned anything for supper.  We waited for her husband to finish work at the garage and went to our local pizza restaurant and had a special evening.  On our way back we noticed that the water fountain in the square was lit but there was no water.  I suppose the holiday is over and it won't be going again until the next one.  The went home, I went to the supermarket for ice-cream and potatoes and was home for eleven fifteen.  A dish of the ice-cream is finished, the rest is in the freezer and will live for another day.  LN.....What a busy life I've got at the moment....LN

Wednesday 4th August

Six thirty this morning, coffee and up and at it quite early.  I watered the garden, got the grass mower out and by eight thirty I'd finished the rest of the grass and was putting tools away.  I didn't see anything of the tortoise, I checked the side gardens at the bottom but nothing...not even a rustle of leaves witch normally gives the game away.  I came in for water but settled for another cup of coffee, turned on the Olympics, caught some of the skate boarding and then turned to the red button for the cycling.  By this time breakfast was calling so I removed a pack of frozen bacon from the freezer, fried off half of it, added an egg and made fried bread and sat in the lounge watching more of the athletics.  It will be over at the end of the week so I'll probably take to reading books or sewing, it's much to hot to be outside, again it was thirty five degrees and counting.  

I settled on the sofa and caught up with a little sleep and after the exertion of the morning and woke myself up with a shower and removed the dust from my feet that had accumulated mowing the grass.  Actually thee wasn't much action except for on the hillside in that the shepherd's nephew was racing around the hillside on a motor cross bike revving for all his was worth so I sauntered down the garden but I didn't manage to catch him in the process but I did later,  His cousin was screaming up and down the road in a little blue car and with so many old women walking about, somebody is going to get hurt.

At half seven I went out to water the garden and noticed Blue heading for the main terrace and Rosy coming out of the garage.  I found the snow shovel in the little house and scooped up Blue and put it down on the grass, went back for Rosy and she got deposited back in the garden and as I walked back up the steps I saw the other Blue by the terrace chair and did a double take.  This one also was scooped up and put back in the garden.  I can only think that its cool in the garage that's why they make their way there, I'll have to put a dish of water in there for them.  I carried on watering and watched them disappear to the bottom of the garden and heard the latch go on the gate.
It was the sheep farmer's nephew with a wedding invitation for me for one of the sons so I took the opportunity to asking him why he was racing round the hillside and he said that he was gathering in the cows.  I think he should get a quad bike, it would be less noisy.  I also asked him to tell his cousin to keep his speed down.  

I think I shall be doing some early weeding tomorrow, a few beds need sorting and then another easy day.  I've earmarked Friday to get the Nipper MOT'd and get that out of the way.  It's not due until next week but hey ho.  LN.....Now time for another shower and fresh clothes....LN

Thursday 5th August

Six thirty start, coffee, walked the garden and started weeding the old veg patch.  The only bed left to do is the sunflower bed....too many roots might be disturbed and wouldn't want to disturb what is a beautiful display,  No tortoise in sight but I didn't investigate the back of the garage just in case they are having a secret meeting.  I finished in the garden at eight, the temperature was climbing already so I settled on the sofa and put the Olympics on and watched some of the skateboarding until I got bored and switched over Netflix and the Blacklist.  I was beginning to get hungry to used up the rest of the bacon, made sandwiches and that did me for the rest of the day except that the ice=cream is no more.  I had a quick shower and dressed and the rest of the day has been spent lazing o the sofa in front of the TV except for a flurry of activity in the little house.  The empty water bottles are hung up, the old lavender is put with the rubbish for burning and that's a job for another day, there was too much wind today.  I had to secure the fly screen from the porch to the yard, the wind was whistling through the house and forcing the plastic clip fastening open.  It's now secured with a hair tie.

Lovely surprise today, Princess phoned for a catch-up and to check that I was still OK.  They are replacing the kitchen in the house and when she told me of the work that she had boon doing and said that I would have been proud of her, I know now that she's a chip off the old block.  The push comes this weekend when the kitchen is delivered and installed so they're not living on a building site.  We had a conversation about her growing up, my ex doing his 'home improvements' that never seemed to end and me cleaning up after him.  It's amazing what childhood memories we hold on to.

A little sleep this afternoon, it's down to thirty four degrees and my next job is to water the plants, the wind today must have been brutal for them.  Hamburgers for supper tonight, still too hot to linger long in food preparation.  LN.....Kardjali and the Nipper tomorrow for its MOT and maybe a hotel for a swim afterwards.....LN

Friday 6th August

Six thirty start and I was out in the garden by seven even relinquishing my coffee until later.  The sun was hiding behind the clouds but it was really hot and humid, not nice at all.  I set about watering the garden, I'd not done it last night so thought I better get on with it.  I caught sight of one of Blue by the cranberry tree so filled up the lid with water and in it got.  Firstly I thought it wanted a drink but then it got all the way in so I filled it up and wondered if it was trying to debug itself.  My doctor told me that they are normally infested with ticks, hence that why I use the snow scoop to move them down to the bottom level on the garden when I find them on the terrace.  Apparently they lodge themselves between the scales on the legs.  Garden done I set about weeding the bed between the steps to the grass but didn't get very far.  There seemed very little air about this morning so I went inside.  At eight I phoned the internet company, the internet had failed last night, I'd run diagnostics this morning and the return message was that there was a problem with the modem.  I'd unplugged it, left it, put the plug back in but still no connection.  The one number I used put me through to an answering machine so I tried the next number I had and again it was an answer phone so in stilted Bulgarian I reported that I had no internet.  Just before nine I got through to a person, who spoke no English and hadn't got a lot of patience to try to understand, she found my account eventually and i put the phone down.  Just after nine I tried again and realised that they must have had a problem at their end and service was restored so I phoned her back to let her know and this time she appeared quite friendly....Job done.

Toast for breakfast and my first coffee of the day.  It was now almost ten, my plans to get the Nipper checked over and MOT'd dissipated so I went down to my Avatar's house to check that she didn't want to go into Djebel and the cash-point.  I found her in Beyser's garden with other ladies from the village and we agreed that we'd do the trip on Tuesday when her money would be in the bank which suited me fine.  I was offered coffee but they put so much sugar in it that it's like treacle so I declined and headed back home.  

The rest of the day has been a bit of a blur.  I've done a lot of nothing, it's been hot, humid, I was out of energy and snoozed in front of the TV watching the Olympics.  The cycling was fantastic with another gold for Britain by a fantastic points margin and the girls won ten of the twelve sprints in the event with five points for each and made up a lap on the rest of the field earning another twenty points leaving the other teams to scramble for silver and bronze.  Eventually the clouds rolled over and the thunders and lightening started.....and then came the rain and the upside of that is that I don't have to water the garden tonight.  The temperature has gone down and the air seems much fresher.  I saw a baby owl on the lonesome pine, grabbed the camera and off it went....quicker than I was!!

Baby party tomorrow in Kardjali and I think I have enough instructions to find the restaurant and it's not until twelve anyway.  I'll be finished by two so might even find a swimming pool and then do my shopping....two birds with one stone.  LN.....Time to find something for supper......LN

Saturday 7th August

So I left myself with an awful lot to do this morning to be on time for the baby party at twelve at a restaurant that had been described to me but I hadn't manage to locate on Google maps.  I was up early enough but the Olympics got the better of me, boxing, diving and cycling and I'm pleased to report that the Bulgarian female boxer took the gold medal beating the Turkish contestant into silver medal.  This served as a good talking point at the baby party but it's obviously not a recognised national sport.  I think I was the only one that knew.

It was a beautiful morning, mist in the valley, hardly a cloud in the sky and temperature pretty warm from the off.  Lots of birds out there that I could hear but not many I could see but I did manage to catch the woodpecker but unfortunately it was in the shade.  The flycatcher was lingering on the electricity lines, shooting off to catch breakfast and then returning to eat the said bestie and then off for the next.  Blue was out marching across the grass towards the bottom of the garden and the cat just sat on the perimeter and watched.  It was obviously looking for breakfast but I didn't want to see it.

At ten thirty I made my move.  I cleaned off old nail varnish, had a shower and washed my hair, dried it, found something to wear and was in the Nipper at eleven twenty.  I went down the rough road and it took me ages to get out on to the main road, there were streams of Romanian cars going both ways.  The holiday season has begun.  The journey into Kardjali was very slow and I fortunately managed to find a parking place near to the starting point of the directions I'd been given.  I headed for the square and asked three youths if they knew where the restaurant was and they were more interested in asking where I was from not where I wanted to go.  One even ended up speaking to me in German so I responded in German that I didn't understand him and all I wanted was directions to the restaurant....so I moved on and asked at the ice-ream kiosk and was pointed in the right direction.  Two minute walk and I was there and they make a big thing of baby parties here.  There must have been almost two hundred women there if not more.  I found my student, her sister (mother of the child), the mother of my students and was show a place to sit,  At first you don't see anyone that you know but when I settled down I was sitting next to someone that I did know, well I knew here daughter when she was eleven and time moves on.  

We had the usual menu, chicken soup, chicken and rice, cake, a fridge magnet to take home and a few sweets.  People drifted off, some had to go to work and we were soon down to family and I felt more at home.  Because of the virus I hadn't seen some of them for a year or so and we caught up at a distance.  I ended up loading the Nipper with things to take back to Djebel including a rather large bunch of balloons tied together and after a stop at Lidl I delivered the item to their home.  Home for four thirty, I didn't manage my swim, unpacked the shopping and settled for a bottle of water and a yogurt and the chicken wings will have to wait for tomorrow.  I'm still waiting for photos of the event to be sent to me, I didn't want to take my big camera and the little one is playing up so really must get that one sorted.  Garden calls, the plants want water, it's been another hot and humid day.  LN...the baby has well and truly been photographed and shown off.....LN

Sunday 8th August

So another silly night last night in that I was watching TV and didn't realise that time was marching on and it was three before I got my head down.  That said I still kept to the routine of waking early so at seven thirty I was out in the garden with the hose-pipe doing what's necessary to keep the garden alive.  The flowers weren't so bad, I'd given them a good soaking last night but I knew we were in for another hot one and I was proved right.

I came in and made breakfast of bacon sandwiches, realised that my camera was bugging me in that it would not record to the card and no way would it let me delete the contents and reformat it.  I would normally have taken my camera with me yesterday to take shots of the baby party but relied on others to do it for me and sent them over and since they were mainly of me, those don't get published.  So after breakfast I sent out a message to my friends in the local village to see what they were up to today and if I could pop over with the camera.  He uses a machine running Linux which isn't so sensitive and after lots of deliberation, we came to the conclusion that it was the SD card that was the problem, he inserted one of his and the photo was written to it so tomorrow, I buy a new card...easy.  We put the world to rights, I refused lunch the bacon sandwiches had done what they were supposed to and I came home around five this evening.  Fortunately most of the Romanians had headed to Kardjali earlier and my turn off onto the rough road to my village was negotiated without any difficulties, put chicken wings and vegetables into the oven and supper was ready for seven.  

Tomorrow I'm off to the garage to get the Nipper pre-MOT checked over, having breakfast with my student, off to Kardjali to the garage but not sure if she'll be joining me or not.  The rest of the day post MOT is going to be...as it comes and might even entail a swim at my favourite pool.  I've washing up to do, the last of the Olympics is put to bed and all that's left is my 'Blacklist' that is still entertaining me when there's nothing but rubbish on other channels.  LN....Nine thirty my time...soon time for bed said Zeberdee.....LN

Monday 9th August

Usual start with coffee but instead of getting on with the watering I sat on the balcony in the morning sun and thought about how lucky I was to have chosen this path.  The garden is more or less tamed, the shrubs are established and on the point of cutting back to keep the garden in shape and the grass is not a burden just now.  It was in the spring and will be in the autumn but at the moment it's behaving itself apart from the cutting back of the seed heads and that's OK.  I did set to with the garden hose and found Blue in the bed at the bottom by the bonfire station looking to position himself for winter and as I walked up the garden towards the little house I caught sight of one of them on their back with little legs and neck flailing about so turned it up the right way, put it in water basin just in case it had been struggling for a long time, it had a drink and then moved on so back to doing what it does for the rest of the day.  I managed to get two loads of washing done and pegged out and then set of for the garage to get the Nipper checked over for it's MOT and made my way to my student's home for breakfast.  She cooked toasted cheese and salami and served it with tomatoes from the garden and t was all very civilised.  We caught up on where we might go for a holiday together, she has an outstanding airplane ticket that I'll book and pay for, that was her birthday present from last year.  The plan was to go to Antalya in Turkey and then Cappadocia but that's been shelved at the moment because of the fires.

So off to get the MOT and as for the best laid plans, the rollers for checking the brakes weren't working and I have to go back tomorrow.  He was sitting with his wife outside the office eating an ice-cream and he very kindly offered me one...I'll take him up on it tomorrow.  Next stop the hardware outlet and I was tempted by a new umbrella which was in the sale but I managed to stop myself, it wasn't a big reduction on the original price and then on to Kaufland where I bought a kettle as a spare and also to use on the landing for morning coffees...at eleven leva I thought it was a good deal.  Over to the computer shop for a new SD card and he tried two of his but neither worked so next stop Lidl to replace one of the solar lamps that was duff and to try a new one, into the electrical shop next door and a very nice man found the correct card and the camera is now working....good to go.  Home for four thirty, television on to watch the episodes of my Netflix that I'd slept though last night while drinking fizzy water with bottled cherry compote in it.  I'd tried to stop for ice-cream in Djebel but the road is being resurfaced and they blocked off the carparking so I settled with what I'd got.

So tomorrow I'm going in to Kardjali to try again with the Nipper....I've got until the twelfth so it's not desperate but I want to get it out of the way.  Washing in and I have to make up the bed before I can go there, I've had cheese and breadsticks so I shan't be cooking tonight.  LN....Another hot, sultry night it's going to be....so shower and bed....LN

Tuesday 10th August

Six thirty start and back to the routine on boiling the kettle upstairs for the first cuppa but forgot the cup so I still had to go down before I could say...jobs-a-guddun.  Lovely morning and not too hot, we had clouds in the sky and a slight breeze but eventually my curiosity was aroused as to which tortoise was legging it down by the bench on the long wall side of the garden.  I went down with a filled watering can to top up the water lids for the tortoise and I spotted Rosy lingering by the one so filled it up and Blue was heading down the garden at full steam so obvious he was OK.  I know if they were on the hillside they would be having a rough time, at least I water the garden and supply watering holes but for next year I'm going to install concrete walk through shallow dishes for them...spoilt things.

Watered the rest of the garden and didn't rush, I'd worked out the agenda for today and it was money from the cash point first, start insurance process, over to the council office to pay my car tax for the year and house tax that I'd forgotten about and then back to the garage shop.  There was only one hold-up, the insurance document wasn't completed until one but I was at the MOT garage by one thirty so that was OK.  There wasn't a queue and I drove straight in, the promised ice-cream from yesterday materialised, the MOT was completed and everything in the garden was rosy. Next stop was to pay my phone bill, back to L|dl for a few things, filled up with gas and home for four thirty.  Not a bad day's work.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in sheer food debauchery...Toblerone, Coca Cola, cream cheese and bread sticks and television and of course...a nap.  It's been in the mid thirties today again and quite draining.  I've just been over to see Avatar to check on what time I'm taking her in tomorrow to Djebel and we agreed on nine.  She also asked me if I minded taking her to a village outside Djebel to see her brother, she's not seen him for a year or so.  I saw his wife at the baby party on Saturday and I have no problem.  I joked that I would charge her for the petrol to get there and we agreed on one hundred lev so that's her weekly pension gone.!!  Alternatively she can work it off splitting the remaining logs ready for winter...

Nothing for supper except maybe a few grapes and lots more fluid and looking at the temperature for the rest of the week, we're still going to be in the mid thirties.  LN.....I might be finding a pool tomorrow afternoon.....LN