Friday 1st October

Well I suppose it should be white rabbits but not seen any sort of rabbit on the hillside now that Harold Hare has gone to the great beyond...well I'm assuming he has, too many dogs around these days.  Seven start after a good night's sleep but apart from the start it's been a pretty poor day all round for exercise.  I had a brief flurry of activity this afternoon but nothing much to write home about.  The washing is still waiting to be put away and I've only just made my bed but I did manage to sort out the vegetable rack and had a brainwave to put the base from an old dish drainer underneath the sliding wire basket.  Every time I pulled it out the skins from the onions would fall on the kitchen floor and I would have to pick them up so now most of them will be caught on the tray as they fall...well that's the theory....it's an experiment at the moment.  

I made scrambled eggs for breakfast using up the last of the village free rangers and the order will be placed for more.  They've got so much more flavour than the shop bought and about the same price.  Washed up and tidied the kitchen and sat at the desk and played around with ancestry finding out more about my nocturnal visitors in one of our old houses,  I've tracked one of the grandparents back to late seventeen hundreds but I still can't solve the mystery of the lady of the house.  I seem to be having issues with connecting my Fitbit to the little computer and I'm not sure if it's the Fitbit or the computer program, it could be either and I'm getting to the point that it's time that I found another supplier.....the last one has been rubbish, I now have two that have no back light on the screens so are useless as watches and if they aren't now able to report collected data...pah...where's the hammer and would I recommend them to a friend?  Pah to that too.

I did bring in the large red pot from the terrace and it's now sitting in the lounge in front of the bookcase with it's wooden top that I made.  It was looking a little dull so I found the brown shoe polish and now it's sparkly and I did round the sides so that it looks pretty professional for a hand made one.  It's probably frost proof but it's safe inside with the way that the wind howls round here in the winter, benches have been known to be removed from the terrace to the grass.  The dogs were out when the sheep decided to feed in Haciber's field.  They were barking like fury and somebody or something and I made sure I didn't go out to investigate and four of them is overkill in my humble opinion and they're pretty frightening too.

Tele this afternoon and I managed to stay awake.  Supper went in the oven around five and I used the potatoes that I've been given and they're now sitting in a net in the porch so easy to get at and I must remember to put a paper sack over them to stop them going green.  I set the fire at four thirty and suddenly I had the urge to take the top of the wood burner and check out the top of the burner.  It didn't draw well last night and removing the lid made me realise why.  It's now cleared out, I put a match to it and I have a rosy glow with just enough heat coming from it.  Chicken and rosties for supper, done and dusted and the washing up done, I didn't have that bath last night but it's on the cards for tonight,  LN......Another relaxing day.....LN

Saturday 2nd October

So the evening just rolled on last night and it was just after one when I realised what time it was and that it was time that I put my pretty little head on the pillow upstairs.  I was straight to sleep and it was just before seven when I woke.  I eventually managed to put the washing away, found the king-size quite from the chest in the guest room and swapped out the single that's meant that my toes were not covered unless I slept curled up even thought the lightweight quilt was covering them.  I'll see how that works tonight.

It was a cold old morning, I had my shower and washed my hair and sat on the chair in the bedroom drying off in my bath towels but then decided that it was time to get dressed, I was cold.  I dried my hair, didn't bother with breakfast, settled for another cup of coffee and meandered through the morning vacillating between computer, kitchen, dressing the bed and ancestry....just one of those mornings.  I made my way over to Avatar's house and took over a new pair of tight and didn't realise until I got there that they were only heeled ones and didn't have the foot part on them.  She'd mentioned that she wanted some so I showed her the quality and next time I'm in Kardjali I'll get her a few pairs.  They normally wear long bloomers and tuck them into their socks so I'm bringing her up to speed.  I came back and tried hard to get my Fitbit to sync and I believe it has given up the ghost.  I've now gone back to the one that doesn't have a display that I used for swimming and hope that it's recording everything else otherwise I shall be getting a new one but now way is it going to be a Fitbit...

Eventually I got my act together and wrote my shopping list.  There wasn't much on it so I was only going as far as Djebel.  I really needed the cash machine, I'd been notified by the money transfer company that the money had arrived but I'd had not email or text from the bank confirming that it had arrived.  I withdrew money today and the balance shows that the money is in my account...relax....I can go spend now.  I carried on down to my friend in the flower shop and she was working away making bouquets.  I'm pleased to see that she is doing OK...it's such a risk starting a new business in Djebel but there is more money around than there used to be.  A little more is getting spent on the nicer things in life.  I went to the supermarket and bought a few items from my list, across to the little supermarket and bought carrots and a beetroot and finished off at the supermarket at the bottom of the village and finished my shopping finalising it with a bar of chocolate for me...all for me.  I had a 'picky' afternoon watching a new series that I'd started yesterday finishing off with a small choc-ice.

The sun came out this afternoon but the wind was cold.  I've just lit the fire and shut up shop for the night, Strictly tonight and fingers crossed that the internet television is not swamped and gives a good service.  It's the first of the knock-outs, I've not really come up with any favourites so far, much too early.  Not too sure about supper yet....I'm working on it.  LN....Could be another easy day tomorrow.....LN

Sunday 3rd October

So I watched Strictly last night and I can't predict the outcome of the 'who's going to leave' debate.  Normally it's a choice of two who are on their way home but no one stuck out for me so I shall have to find out tonight.  Straight to bed when it ended and off to sleep under my first night of the new quilt or old quilt revisited and it was straight through until seven this morning so what a result and a good move on my part.  I've done away with the top sheet too and settled for the quilt and its cover, back to normal.

I made coffee, put away the dishes that I'd washed up last night, sorted my tablets out for the week into my pill dispenser pot and logged on to the upstairs computer to check for anything overnight and needed a response and there was nothing.  I washed and dressed for the garden, decided that I had enough for a good bonfire when I'd collected it all together so headed for the bottom of the garden with the rubbish and the firelighter.  That done I took a packet of bacon from the freezer, fried off three rashers and made a bacon sandwich that kept me going until three this afternoon when I sat down and watched some of the London marathon and enjoyed a packet of mixed nuts.  I've missed out my morning activities though.  The terrace pots were looking a little dry and considering that the temperature was rising I gave them a good watering.  I've repotted the bougainvillea that remained on the terrace, the petunia is cut back and I've collected the seeds, it's a very smelly variety and has survived in the said pot for the last year and half.  It's soon to take up its winter abode in the porch but not quite ready yet, it's started to put on new growth so I'll leave it for a couple of weeks or so.

Checking on the new plants that I've put in I came across a root sucker from the Choisya so I've separated it from the parent and it's now in it's own pot and in the little house so it's not suffering cold nights and hot days.  I've put in some pine seeds, some from the bathroom plant and others that I found in an envelope that I'm not really sure what they are.  I've cleared out the weeds from some of the pot plants and feeling that I deserved five minutes, and maybe an extended break I came in for an episode of the Netflix that I have been watching and that's all that there was, one episode and up came the credits.  That's another one to be added to the list that I'm waiting on, the next season's arrival.

Back outside and I tidied up the terrace, filled up the log container, emptied the ash can and the fire's all ready to light but I think I'll give it a miss tonight.  Zelinger's son came round with a lump of meat this afternoon, they must have killed a beast and so half of it has been in the oven, the rest in the freezer, and it will be served shortly with roasted potatoes, carrots and beetroot and I might even make gravy if I remember how.

Another easy day tomorrow if the weather is good, the umbrella needs to come in and the outside sofa cushions really need to be inside and the quilt cover washed.  I was going to see the doctor in Kardjali but Monday is not a good day, I might have to wait for a while so Tuesday around eleven the rush should be over.  LN...Strictly results tonight....it will be a surprise whoever is selected.....LN

Stinky bug, don't they smell if you accidentally crush them. Brown marmorated stink bug, Aren't those sheep dogs lovely, soft old things if you get to know them. The Karakachan dog, is a breed that originated from Bulgaria. It is related to the livestock guardian dogs of the surrounding countries.

Monday 4th October

Thanks for the comments Trevor, I make a point of not stepping on the stink bugs and have stopped bringing plants into the house in winter, they hibernate in the soil and pop out when least expected.  I'm not really in sharing my place with anyone or anything especially bugs.  As for the dogs, while I agree that they do their jobs very efficiently, I reckon that four is overkill especially as they patrol the street terrorising the old ladies and keeping some of us within our boundaries.  I think a word to the kemet might be in order....I'm one of the old ladies now...

Last night was another of the 'I just couldn't get off to sleep' nights and it was two before I hit the pillow and seven when I eventually managed to keep my eyes open,  I went out on the balcony to take the photos but didn't stay out there long and checking the outside weather station reported inside, it went down to three degrees last night and I hadn't had a fire going yesterday.  The house held seventeen degrees which quickly went up as soon as the sun started to have some heat in it.  I washed and dressed with the intention of going in to Kardjali but changed my mind and stayed home alone.  I walked the garden, threw the remains of last night's supper out for the cat which wasn't to be seen but managed to spot Green Goddess along the short wall taking in some of the sunshine.  I pegged out the washing and coming back into the house I picked up the newly potted Bougainvillea and settled it on the windowsill in the porch and that's where it's staying for the winter.  It's just starting to put new leaves on and should be flowering shortly.

I made a bacon sandwich and sat in the stairwell in the sun catching up on emails and FB, realised that I really didn't have to do anything if I didn't want to so put the TV on with the intention of sorting out the problem with the 'you are accessing an insecure site' and really screwed it up.  Eventually I clicked on Netflix and everything seemed to be working OK but no sighting of English television so I settled in to a new series that supposed to be following the style of on that I've already watched and it kept me on the sofa for a couple of hours or so and eventually I decided to tackle the issues with the television and managed it and it's been working OK...so far so good and it hasn't bombed out on me once or stopping to catch up with itself.  I'm now a tele expert and that can go on my CV.

I went out to get the washing in and spotted the cat sitting on the terrace on a plant pot that currently has nothing in.  I use this type of container for the chopped off oil barrels, they fit the top perfectly and so now have a second calling as cat containers.  I suppose the peat was soft and warm after being on the terrace for the day, it looked extremely comfortable and I rewarded it with some meat that I couldn't get my teeth into...just too tough.  So washing in and put away and I turned my attention to supper and found some spicy sausages in the fridge, fried them off with onions, blitzed a tin of tomatoes, added salt and a dash of Worcester sauce, boiled some pasta and that was supper.  I took a portion over to Avatar and she invited me in to see the house now she's cleaned it thoroughly after the renovations...she's so proud of it.  We chatted for a while, caught up on the activities of the neighbours and made my way home to have my supper deciding that the washing up can wait until tomorrow.

So Djebel first thing to see the dentist to see if I have another wisdom tooth pushing out the last top tooth on the other side.  It's started to get wobbly as did the other and really hurts when I bite down on it and the solution is....don't bite down on it and believe me, I try not to.  Next stop Kardjali and the doctor and finally the opticians to find out the cost of bifocals.  I'm tired of always having to find the second pair when I'm doing anything.  LN.....Monday quiz night and hopefully I can stay awake for it......LN

Tuesday 5th October

So as I suspected I fell asleep in my very comfortable lounge watching television and woke up when it was time to go to bed....I've not a clue this year on University Challenge and who I'm rooting for.  As for Only Connect, another week without mental exercise,  I had a good night's sleep nut woke up at five thirty which was to be expected and I watched the sky turn from a beautiful pink and blue, more nondescript and then the sun came up and it's been out all day.  I was a cold morning though, I washed and dressed and the first job was to tidy the kitchen, get rid of the rest of the lamb and cook breakfast.  I threw the old bread out, took out the cubed up meat on a plastic lid out to the terrace, put it down and went inside to do something only to hear a caterwauling coming from the terrace.  Black cat had obviously found it, was settling down into it to be chased off by a huge white and ginger thing so I rushed out and frightened it off and saw Blackie hiding at the foot of the little house terrace.  I brought the meat inside until I could spot Blackie and white and ginger came back on to the terrace looking for the food so I gave it sharp shift and off it shot.  Eventually I spotted Blackie this time in the grave garden so I stood on the terrace and threw it out to it in individual pieces and soon it had all gone.  The white and ginger came around again as I came back from shopping but this time I just left it to its own devices.

No for breakfast I cooked the half sausage along with the one remaining rasher of bacon and tipped half a can of beans into the frying pan,  Bread went in the toaster and that was my breakfast sorted and I was all ready to get my makeup on and into the Nipper eventually for Kardjali but stopping at the dentist on the way to make an appointment.  I got there for ten, waited while he had his morning break, he saw me said for me to wait while he finished off his patient that so that the anaesthetic could take, she came out and then it was my turn in the chair before his next patient.  I explained the problem and he took X-rays and only said one word 'Out' which I suspected because it is wobbly.  I made the appointment for Thursday and we went through the rigmarole of not eating anything and not taking aspirin before the event and I set off for the garage to sort out if I needed any new winter tyres  but I later learned from his wife that they're OK, he'll balance them and they'll be ready for when I go down to the garage next.  I also noticed that he was holding his neck very stiffly and usually it gets fixed with my Deep Heat but I'm running short so I found another one in the chemist today and left that at the shop as I drove back home this afternoon.  He's to use what he needs and I'll have the rest as a standby.  

So the Lev shop for a plastic tray so that Avatar he can keep her winter shoes inside and the floor won't get damage.  Back in the Nipper and to the central carpark and there was a space just waiting for me,  I paid my phone bill, took two watches that I have down to the watch repair shop and he put new batteries in both, I carried on to Kaufland and picked up some stationery that was reduced, back to another carpark and found my opticians and made an appointment for next Monday.  I was nipping though the list very quickly.  On the final lap, I went to Lidl, topped up the fridge and was back in Djebel for four, a few words with my student's mum and my soon to be younger student 'the brother'  once I get the medical stuff out of the way.  Home for five, car unpacked and shopping away, plastic tray over to Avatar and she's over the moon with it, supper in the oven, lit the fire and I'll be eating soon...be it ever so gingerly until this tooth is sorted.  I've got jacket potato and barbecued spare ribs and I'm hoping the meat's not tough on my tooffff....

Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow so it will be a gardening day if the weather is good.  LN....Really enjoyed to day, it was good to be out in the sun......LN

Wednesday 6th October

So another sleep filled night on the sofa and a disturbed night in bed.  I was awake at five, played games for an hour or so and was up and dressed to face the day by seven thirty.  Another lovely start to the day and there's been a cool breeze but hot in the sun so my t-shirt with sleeves became a little too warm but I was too lazy to change.  I put the bones out for the cat and clicked to see if it was around but nothing so I gave up and put it in the plastic dish under the wild plum tree and when I looked again everything had gone including the bones.  I'm not sure which one had it but it really didn't matter, the dish was bare.  I cooked poached eggs on ham and toast for breakfast and that set me up for the day, played on the computer for a while, made a call to the UK and decided that it was such a good day that I ought to get something done.

I had another brief moment of activity, I opened up the terrace umbrella to see what was lurking and the wasps wee starting up quite a colony.  I know they have a right to life but not in my umbrella so I found the insect spray and used the witches broom to move they up and away.  At this point they decided to rest on the top of the umbrella so I shook it, closed it up and then tried to remember how I'd put it together in the first place.  Eventually I worked it out, removed it from the stand and lay it flat on the terrace, tied a bungy cord round it and wrestled it into the little house for the winter.  I removed the concrete cheeses from the base and stacked them and the base joined the umbrella in the little house.  Having finished that off I grabbed a bowl and was heading to Avatar's house to get the apples and I noticed that her curtains were drawn to I went in the house and settled down with Netflix and a pot of cream cheese and breadsticks and at three thirty Avatar was at my door with the money for the tray that I bought her yesterday and I made her put it back into the pocket of her cardigan....she's so independent but there again, so am I.  I picked up the bowl and we walked to her house, filled up the bowl with apples and noticed that the neighbour from over the way had heard us laughing and had come over to join in the fun.  I was surprised that Haciber had come out to join us but Zelinger was there with her daughter from Turkey so she had her own entertainment.

We were short of a chair so I went into the garage to get one out and the three of us sat in the sun enjoying the last rays.  Eventually Haciber came to join us when her guests had gone and I offered up my chair for her, didn't bother getting another one out so sat on the concrete base to the outside sink.  Unfortunately they really do fall into Turkish so next time I'm going to do language voice recognition on my phone and it will translate and speak to me in English.  That should really sort them out.  Of course if I do it the other way, I'll see how good their Turkish really is.  I came home at six and my neighbours that came over from Turkey for a break were standing outside the gate with lots of luggage and they said they were waiting for the car that was to take them home.  I commented on the number of luggage bags and joked that they were probably taking back meat, rakia and other spirits that are very expensive in Turkey and we laughed about it.  They have quite a journey ahead of them around seven hours.

I've just realised that I've got a whole chicken to cook so I better get it in the oven and I'll have something to go at when I finish with the dentist tomorrow. If I don't feel like doing anything when he's pulled me left, right and centre, I won't have to do anything.  I've shut up shop for the night and pulled up the drawbridge, the wind has dropped and so far it doesn't feel cold at all so I'm not going to bother with a fire.  LN....That chicken will not put itself in the oven......LN

Thursday 7th October

Seven start and no chance of having my morning coffee since I was under strict instructions from my dentist, nil by mouth.....no coffee, no food and my appointment wasn't until twelve fifteen so it was going to be a long morning.  Washed and dressed and at nine thirty was watching my series on Netflix, killing time.  I didn't want to get into a panic, I really don't like dentists and mine doesn't have a particularly good bedside manner so I stretched it out by heading for Djebel at eleven, spending time with  my student's mum in the shop and I was at the surgery for eleven forty-five and took my Kindle with me so that I could relax with a little reading before the event.  The receptionist saw me in the corridor and asked me into the surgery. my dentist wasn't there so I sat down to read and then she ushered me into the chair.  I was given the anaesthetic capsule to hold and warm up before the event, we discussed that my father-in-law was a dentist with a brilliant bedside manner and I think she must have shared this information with my dentist when he arrived.  She put his manner down to energy, I put it down to impatience but he uses the proper materials and does a very good job.

At five past twelve the two injections went in, by twelve ten the tooth was out and I had stitches and it felt like there was a war going in inside my mouth.  By twelve fifteen I was given my instructions that I was to have no hot or cold drinks. no aspirin and only a pain killer suggested by him and I'm to go back next Thursday at eleven to have my stitches out.  I didn't feel particularly 'frozen' this time, there was a gauze plug in place and fortunately the face mask covered some of the swelling but so far so good, no pain and no need to take anything.  I stopped off at the car shop, I was supposed to be going to get my winter tyres on as per the legal requirement but since her husband was working on his own and had two cars in before, I decided not to wait....it could have been a long one and I wanted to get home and get my head down.

I arrived home, parked outside and remembered that my Avatar want a container for her home made breakfast stuff and I had one in the little house that would be suitable.  I found it out, it needed cleaning but as I went to take it over to her house because I'd seen her working by the gate.  At that moment the sheep came down the road, the dogs came with them, she went inside the gate, I waited for the dogs and sheep to go and the streets were empty apart from sheep and dogs.  They really are dangerous beast.  I took it over when they'd gone and she said it would be perfect so I sent home, grabbed a bottle of water and downed it to take away the taste of the anaesthetic, put the  television and and got my head down to sleep it off.  I woke up hungry so had some of the chicken that I'd cooked last night eating on the good side but it's amazing how many times the tongue goes to investigate the gap that's left after an extraction.

More chicken for supper and I'm still amazed that I feel no pain and fingers crossed that it stays that way overnight.  I lit the fire, it's been cold today and a very low cloud base although it threatened rain. it never came. I made a chicken sandwich tonight and tomorrow there's enough left to do something with it, maybe a chicken pie with a potato topping with cheese grated and baked apples for pudding.  So tomorrow Avatar and myself will eat like queens.  LN.....Not so painful as I thought.......LN

Friday 8th October

Another silly start to the day....three a.m and just couldn't get off again.  I was out of bed by six, coffee which I really appreciated after yesterday. put a load of washing in and lit the fire.  There was no way it was going to dry outside, it was raining which has got to be good for the grass and the plant pots even if it's not good for me.  I was having breakfast of ham and poached eggs on toast by eight and the cat's breakfast was served up by eight fifteen and consisted of the remains of last night's supper and chicken skin which was gobbled up in a flash.  At least there wasn't any competition around to take the breakfast from the black cat even though I've been plagued the rest of the day by a ginger and white one who thought my bench under the balcony was fair game.  I put the washing on the clothes airer in the bathroom as soon as the machine had finished and it's almost ready to get put away but I'll leave it over night to make sure.

I played around with ancestry since there was nothing I could do outside.  I'm still stuck on my Canadian escapees despite trying all of the brothers and sisters in my grandfather's family.  I'm beginning to think that I've got to go back another generation and start exploring the possibilities and with twelve entries on that line, it could be anybody.  Unfortunately the leads that I've been given are only half remembered and I can't find any paper evidence to support the information given.  I heard a knock on the outside door at around one and Avatar was there with a couple of plastic bags.  Apparently there's been a Mevlit, prayers for the dead. by one of our neighbours so I had hot meat and rice, a pair of socks. a chocolate cake thingy, a carton of juice and more sweets that are sitting on the desk....the rest has gone.  I must admit I picked the meat out of the rice, had some of the rice and the rest went out on the hillside.  In the second bag were tins of foodstuff from the EU and I managed to identify the contents from the labels and I shared this information with my Avatar...she hadn't managed to work it out.

The TV went on this afternoon and I started on a new series on Netflix and I'm not sure yet if I'm enjoying it.  It's filmed in grey scale which I find annoying because if they go into a dark place you want to turn up the brightness but it doesn't work like that.  Eventually I nodded off for an hour or so catching up on some sleep and at four threw another log on and headed for the kitchen to think about supper.  I'd promised Avatar that I would bake some of her apples with currents, sultanas, brown sugar and honey and with the chicken that was left, I stripped the carcass and put it into two dishes, made a béchamel sauce from scratch and poured it over the chicken and topped it off with mashed potatoes.  Everything went into the oven, I cleared the kitchen and at six thirty I was walking over the road in the rain with my offerings, came back and had mine watching The Chase.  The fire is topped up for the evening, it's not cold but I hate the drab rain after we've had so much sun and it makes the house cosy.  I shan't be late tonight and I feel remarkably energetic, maybe the tooth was dragging me down more than I thought.  LN....Saturday and another day of rest for me.......LN

Saturday 9th October

Bit of a panic on this morning.  I was checking my emails and there was one for the company that host my website informing me that they couldn't take a payment so I checked the account and saw that there seemed nothing wrong with the expiry dates so I phone the company for assistance.  After waiting for about five minutes for someone at the other end to respond I was told that they could not help me with a Billing enquiry so my response was to ask why they couldn't put this on the help screen.  So my next method of attack was to process a payment automatically and this payment was refused so now I'm really wondering what the heck has gone wrong so my next call was to the bank who advised me that after a certain amount of time, automatic payments can be refused as a security measure and will be reinstated once another payment has been made with a different card.  Rules is rules...I suppose so I set about processing the payment again using the other card and low and behold, it was authorised.  Unfortunately I hit the wrong buttons on the phone and got one call to a friend in Germany, another to my daughter who phoned me back when I was on a call to England.  I agree it was early, I was wearing the wrong glasses and it's convinced me that the trip to the opticians on Monday will be worthwhile and varifocals are on the cards, I'm tired of being in the right place with the wrong glasses and vice-versa......aaarrrhhh

It was raining this morning and is  still raining, eight degrees outside and the fire has been going all day again.  I put the food out for the black cat and two others came around so I'm pleased that they only chased the black one away from one lot of food.  I'd put the rest of it in the conservatory and I've been plagued with cats all day and a couple of them look pregnant and about to drop.  Why don't people take responsibility for their animals?  The rest f my day has been taken up with ancestry, the rest of my Netflix series that I was watching and now it's time to find another series to watch.  Food has been a little on the sparse side today, toast for breakfast, nothing for lunch and cheese and breadsticks when I eventually settle down to watch TV at four this afternoon.  Avatar popped round to bring back the dishes that I took the food over in last night, ready washed for the next time.  She said that she'd finished the chicken one off for breakfast since there was so much chicken in it and I joked that there wasn't much in mine so I obviously gave her the wrong one....and we had a giggle about it.  

Strictly tonight and at last I'm beginning to warm to some of the characters but I still haven't found a favourite.  OK rain, you've done your stuff and at last the grass is showing green instead of brown and baked but, enough is enough.  LN.....Time to throw a log on......LN