Sunday 21st November

Well today worked out as planned...a very lazy day. I had an early start but I didn't check the time and went straight back to sleep until seven and stuck to hot water avoiding coffee.  I washed and dressed and put the same things on as I'd taken off last night, it was a cold start to the day so wrapped up warm.  I found ham in the fridge that I'd forgotten about and it tasted OK so decided to make poached egg on ham for breakfast.  I'd found earlier some pouched egg pouches that I'd had for ages and thought I'd give them a try.  I cracked the egg, dropped it into the pouch, slipped it into the boiling water and watched it.  Meanwhile my bread was toasting, the toast got buttered, I turned out the egg and it had the pattern of the paper on it which really put me off so I did another on in the conventional which turned out to have a hard yolk.  The cat had a field day this morning, the rest of the ham that I thought would no probably last another day and a half poached egg with some cat dry food added. I think black cat did better than I did.

I went over to see Avatar and took over the gas canister that I had for refilling the fire lighters, she said that she had one but it had run out of gas but unfortunately after searching the garage she thought she'd probably thrown it away.  While I waited in the garage she said that she was plagued with 'big mice' which I took to be rats and she'd put some poison down but obviously not enough.  I went home to put the gas back in the porch, found my rat poison in the little house and took over my jar of the stuff and said I would get her some when I was in Djebel next and now that she's got my container I need some for myself.  Back home and I got on with the things I'd put on my list and the job in hand was to tidy up the underneath of the little house balcony and dump the old dry grass over the wall. Next job was to remove the old cherry tree wood that had sat on the balcony for a while, so into the wheelbarrow with it and it's now sitting in the garage next to the Beast and I'll use it up this winter.  I gave the yuccas, waiting to be planted out and awaiting collection, a good water and I've just put them back into the little house, it looks like it's going to be another cold night.

I've had a very lazy afternoon, television on on, eyelids closed, a little more Netflix and now waiting for Strictly to see who didn't make it though and I have an idea, based on last night's performance who I think it might be but I'll have to wait and see.  No supper, I have had another 'picky' afternoon and found a packet of roasted shell on peanuts so fiddled my way through a third of the packet.  Curtains drawn, hatches battened down and I'm in for the night.  Not sure if I'm going to go into Kardjali and the doctor's surgery tomorrow, the tablets have the same ingredients as the last lot so hence the swelling and hives and I think I'm going to change my doctor.  I have to wait for December but I might just check with the new doctor to see if he can take me on.  Alternatively I might just have a trip to Djebel and another lazy day.  LN.....Feeling very chilled and it's nothing to do with the outside temperature.......LN

Monday 22nd November

Early start and then back to sleep again and it was seven when I faced the world.  It was a cold start, the sun was up but the sky was cloudy so not sure how much I would see of the sun all day.  It did well until lunchtime and it reached twenty eight in the stairwell and thirteen outside but the wind was cold.  I made toast for myself, bread and cat food for Blackie but it was chased away by a grey and white one so I had to intervene and move the food to another place where I couldn't see it.  It ended up by the concrete area by the garage, Blackie started to eat it but I didn't see what happened next.  It might be the original 'scardy cat'.

I eventually got dressed at around ten thirty so had made the decision not to go in to see the doctor, I want to keep tabs on my blood pressure myself and see how I fare without any tablets.  I did take a couple of readings, it's a little higher than normal but still in the green zone and for my age I'm being told that that's OK...I forget that I'm clocking on a bit.  I filled up the log basket from the log carrier and then filled up the log carrier from the woodstore.  My wood is so dry this year that the fire always seems to start first time and keeps going which is so unusual.  The wind must always be in the right direction.  I settled on the computer and did 'stuff; and at around twelve thirty there was a knock on the door and I assumed that it was my Avatar.  Wrong...it was a young lady from the village clutching a 'mevlit' bag of goodies including meat and rice for lunch so by one I was having my lunch.  The meat was good in this one, sometimes it isn't and the meal was very tasty and set me up for the day.  I shan't need much for tonight.

Tomorrow paying a visit to deliver the yuccas, student tomorrow afternoon so I'll have to get thinking about another text that we can work our way through.  Monday night is my quiz night and last week was the first episode I've seen of University Challenge, I've normally nodded off by then so let's see if I can manage it again.   I suppose those sort of programs keep my brain active, it's really important and surprises me what I know and remember, age has its benefits.  LN....I'm on the hunt for a text.....LN

Tuesday 23rd November

Silly night last night.  My brain was in overdrive, I couldn't settle, lousy results timewise at Sudoku and eventually it must have been three when I got to sleep.  I woke up at the usual time of six and straight back to sleep and woke at seven thirty to a damp terrace, we had had rain overnight.  I think this giving up my tablets and leaving my body to heal myself has upset my brain a little but at least the hives have gone from my arms and from the back area of my knees and I've put up with them for around two years.  No one thought it could be the tablets, even the skin specialist thought that it was down to eczema and I'd gone seventy odd years without have any skin problems.  This is my fourth day without without my tablets and my blood pressure is around normal....I'm good to go.

For some reason I didn't make breakfast, I'd found an old text that would suit to use with my student and set my leaving time at just before tens so moved the Nipper out on to the grass, cleared with my Avatar that I would be busy for the day and we agreed to make the leek and cheese dish tomorrow and she needs money from the cash point so I'll take her tomorrow to Djebel.  It was a bit dicey down the back lane but the rest of the journey was uneventful and I arrived at around ten ten, clutching my box of yucca.  I'd remembered to take my Covid paper proofs and that was his first job to update my two phones with the Booster details.  He's my technical support. We chatted about their trip to England and the comments were that England was damp. grey and expensive and I also learnt that cars and driving them are not what they used to be.  They've added more buttons than were there when I passed my test.  I was invited to stay for lunch and she'd made delicious tomato soup from the summer crop and just before two I said farewell and set off for Djebel for my student's lesson at three.  I did stop off and collected an armful of teasels from the verge for decorating my lounge, I threw the old ones out last year and was surprised to see so many at the side of the road.

Brilliant lesson and he'd even gone on to the internet to answer part of the homework that I said he could leave since we hadn't covered it. He has more research to do to do this week's homework which is about the Channel Tunnel and it's history.  I popped into the hardware shop as I made my way to the car-park and bought the mice/rat poison for Avatar and it's sitting in the car and I'll take it over tomorrow.  Not sure what time I'd doing what with Avatar and I'll play it by ear.  Arrived home at six and lit the fire, the meat that I'd fetched out of the freezer wasn't what I thought it was so I browned it off in the frying pan, added leeks, carrots and onions and it's all sitting in the slow cooker.  Supper was a chicken fillet and it was made into a sandwich with mayo.  LN.....Nothing apart from Avatar and her wishes and wants tomorrow........LN

Wednesday 24th November

Better night's sleep and a seven start and felt good.  It was damp out but I started my chores. washing in the machine. fire cleaned out and laid for tonight, logs into the log basket and log carrier filled and sitting in the conservatory.  I had a bonfire and threw away the walnuts that had sat on the terrace for some time and despite their use as missiles for the roaming cats, they had to go otherwise the mice would have been at them leaving a mess everywhere.  Tea this morning and enjoyed it, the coffee jar has now been relegated to the back of the kitchen cupboard, I didn't bother with breakfast and was surprised to see Avatar at my door asking if I was going over to watch her make the leek pastry dish that she'd made the other day.  I asked her to give me ten minutes and I'd be over and it just gave me time to get the laundry on to the airer in the bathroom.  It had more chance of drying inside than out, I remembered that I needed to take my blood pressure now that I'd given up on the tablets and it was getting better all the time.

I found out the rat and mouse poison and took it over with me, I let myself in and she had everything prepared.  She had flour in a dish, I asked how many grams and she just looked at me and I realised that it would be a watch and learn session and the only thing that came as a 'must have' was two eggs.  A dash of oil, chopped leeks, crumbled cheese, water and some filo pasty and a dash of salt.  The frying pan was lined with filo, a little of a egg and flour mixture was dribbled over the pasty along with some oil, next came the leeks and cheese and more of the eggy mixture was put over the top and it was finalised with a layer of filo.  Frying pan on the woodburner and left alone for ten minutes, the contents were turned over and the other done for a further ten minutes and there we have it.  She turned it out onto another dish, it was mine to take home and half of it was breakfast with another cup of tea.  I went outside again and carried on with the clearing and turned the bench over that supports the outside sink to work out how I can repair it.  The legs have rotted and need replacing but it looks an easy job and I was about to tackle it when Avatar appeared again and the van that she was waiting for hadn't got what she wanted so we agreed to head into Djebel so that she could get her money from the machine, or rather I could get her money from the machine for her.  She also wanted to do a shop to prepare herself for winter so I parked up we called at the shop that she wanted.  I didn't realise that she was going to get twelve bottles of cooking oil otherwise I'd have parked nearer so I left her in the shop and went to retrieve the car.  Shopping complete, we headed home.

Shopping unloaded and I almost had to fight with her as she wanted to pay me for taking her.  I don't do it for money, I do it because she's my friend but I did go back to take the dish that I'd brought the leek thing back in and I told her that I would have the money for the mouse 'food' but that was it....and we ended up OK again.  By this time it was heading for five so I topped up the fire, turned on the slow cooker to get my meat and veg, supper ready for tonight, watched a little television while it was all happening, had supper and have now settled in for the evening, the boiler is on and I'm going to enjoy my bath tonight.  Nothing on for tomorrow except that I'm going to sort out the legs on the outside bench, and get that re-established even though I shall be soon turning off the outside water tap for the winter.  LN....Time to switch off....LN

Thursday 25th November

What a really stupid night.  I woke up at three, tried but didn't manage to get off to sleep again except for dog-dozing, up out of bed and dressed by seven and so my day began  early...very early.  I'd managed to keep the fire going, it was minus two outside and comfortable in and eventually that central heating came over the hill and it became very comfortable inside.  I settled for toast for breakfast and was ready to face the day, the hammers and the nails and I think it would have been easier if I had started from scratch and made a new bench not try and repair the other that had stood the test of time.

It was fairly easy to take apart, it was going that way without much help from me and then it was down to finding enough wood to make four new legs so that it would do another few years.  I dressed up warm, complete with hat that I'd had to remove the pom-pom from.  I bought it in a fit of peek last year but this year, not so much in fashion and the bobbing about bothered me.  I was amazed at the amount of birds out and about, the tits have taken to the feeder and the cats seem to be leaving it alone this year so far.  I fed the black cat and it was happily munching away and then the white and black one, the bully of the outfit chased it away and got it's head down over the container and so human intervention was necessary.  It hopped over the wall, I went to the wall and it was hiding underneath it and I chased it further away but it was soon back.  I appreciate that it was hungry too but please don't chase away the one that I try to feed.  

I found what I thought was good wood and top and bottom of it was that it looked good from the outside.  I cut the legs to side, worked out how I was going to do it using the same planks for the top but it really didn't go to plan.  I adjusted one of the legs and it virtually turned to dust in front of my eyes so two legs removed, I found more wood in the little house and made one more leg.  They're all attached but I'd painted the whole thing with old engine oil and so it's sitting in the yard currently, the second bench from the terrace is now in its place under the lounge window while the other dries off but I doubt the new one will go back in place.  I'll end up buying new wood and start again in the new year.  It filled the morning thought, I cleaned off the terrace and decided to have a bonfire to get rid of the old and what a good blaze it turned to be.

I came in at three more or less, settled for water again and still no coffee has passed my lips nor tablets and I'm pleased to say that I have no more red blotches on my arms.  I've obviously been dosing myself with prescribed tablets that had side effects that weren't attributed to them and this is my own little experiment and so far so good.  The blood pressure is a little higher but still within the range for my age....no longer a spring chicken.  I had a little nap in the lounge watching while watching Countdown, warmed up the rest of the efforts of Avatar and myself from yesterday and finished it off and by this time fatigue had set in and I woke up at nine, the television had switched itself off.  I'm now trying to stay awake so that I can go to bed at the usual time and hopefully have a decent night.  Shopping day tomorrow, I need to buy my bus ticket ready for the trip to Sofia and I suppose get the hotel booked for the night before departure.  I'm also finishing off my Christmas purchases for the ladies and getting those packed up before I leave.  I might not distribute until I come back but it will be done and dusted and less to think about.

So the kitchen preparation I'd done at four this afternoon namely a potato, carrots and an onion ready to peel and chop to go into the oven with the unfrozen chicken leg and the plans went out of the window.  The leg has gone into the fridge and the veg back in the rack and that will all go into the slow cooker for tomorrow instead.  It's now ten so time I posted this, same weather again tomorrow please.  LN.....Time to boil the kettle ....LN
  

Friday 26th November

So much better night last night and hopefully I'm back in sync.  Beautiful sky this morning, predawn reds and blues interspersed with the wispy clouds rising from the river and it got better as the sun started its climb.  Minus three this morning, I did make it out on to the balcony to take one of the photos but I was soon inside again and snuggled up under the duvet with my cup of tea.  Out again to take more of the morning when the sun was breaking through and it was downhill from then for the rest of the day.

The chicken went in the slow cooker with the veg and that was supper sorted, I had a shower and washed my hair so I was sorted, I phoned the UK to wish my SIL a happy birthday but he'd already left for work but the card has arrived and his present will be delivered courtesy of the bank of my daughter, I put the money in her account earlier this week.  I laid the fire ready for tonight and everything seems to work like clockwork when you have a routine established.   I was into the Nipper by ten, Avatar didn't want anything from Kardjali but I did stop to check and I decided to use the back lane, it saves going through Djebel on market day.  

First stop was the leva shop and I filled up two very large plastic bags with goodies so tomorrow I shall be parcelling up and filling bags for my ladies.  Next stop Kaufland and a quick whiz round and my best buy was a small white rose bush with lots of buds on it.  Someone had obviously picked it up from the plant section but it was with near the stand where you can check prices tin the toiletry section. I found out the price and suddenly remembered my student telling me that his mother buys flowers by they die so I've given her another one to kill off.  Next stop the three story dinky doo shop and I went in to buy a larger shower head and a pair of lower strength glasses for use on the computer.   I nipped into the bus station and bought my ticket for Sofia from a very rude lady but she sells the ticket that I want so you have to put up with it and finally Lidl.  Quite a few items reduced for quick sale which ended up in my basket on wheels but ran into a problem, you used to be able to wheel the basket to the car but now an alarm goes off, I asked the security guard to watch my shopping while I went back in the store and found an empty box in the veg department.

Back to Djebel, handed over the gift and my student's mum was very surprised and promised to look after it, shopping unloaded and put away, fire lit, supper demolished, washing up can wait.  The temperature is dropping and that lovely cold, clear morning has turned into a drab, cloud filled sky with rain lashing down.  We're back to rising clouds from the river but this time contrasting with the dark grey sky not the rising sun.  LN.....Lots to do tomorrow, need to fill Santa's sack.......LN

Saturday 27th November

Six thirty start, we'd obviously had rain in the night and the terraces were very wet,  It was an OK morning, quite a few clouds around, not too cold but there was a pretty stiff breeze.  Black cat got the rest of the chicken bones, skin and some of the flesh from last night's meal and this time I sprinkled dry cat food on it and it gobbled it up before it was taken away.  No other cats seemed to be around this morning, I suppose at seven thirty the others were holed up, we had some scraggy cats around later but it only gets fed once by me and then it can fend for itself.  I've notice another trail of mole hills in the top garden, if it really wanted to earn it's keep, it could have a go at that,

The fire was still going from last night so I revived it, put a load of washing in the machine and by seven thirty it was on the airer in the bathroom and is now ready to put away.  I made soup from the veg in the slow cooker, made bolognaise sauce for tonight, cleared everything up, beans on toast for breakfast, more washing up and then the rest of the day was mine.  I collected up the pressies that I was going to wrap, found some old wrapping paper in the back bedroom, made a ribbon dispenser having seen how to do it on FB and it's saved getting all tangled up and ribbon everywhere.  I found some table clips and attached fire plastic carrier bags to the table for the presents and one for the rubbish and as I wrapped five of the same items, one went in each bag so that it's all very organised this year.  I've wrapped about twenty five presents, ran out of steam so decided that I would fill up the log basket and keep the home fires burning and Avatar was at the gate with some home made yogurt, she stayed at the gate and when I invited her in, she said that she had lots of work to do so I smiled.  I asked if she had supper planned and she hadn't so I'm delivering spaghetti bolognaise around six tonight.

I've just brought the fire to life again and about to start the supper and what a lovely day it's been.  I had a brief interlude with Netflix and the 'Crown' and went back to the pressies and all I have to buy to add to them for delivery are chocolates and biscuits.  I managed to get most things that I wanted yesterday, the only thing missing is more gift bags which I can get locally.  In fact today has seemed like a Sunday and I've got the added bonus that tomorrow is Sunday.  Also forgot to mention, I'm watching snooker and Ronnie.   LN.....Kitchen calls, Avatar ordered a take-away......LN

Sunday 28th November

Well a late phone call from the UK kept me up and I found myself watching Queen and Freddie Mercury until very early in the morning. I'd not learnt much about him in the seventies and eighties but after watching the new film I became very curious about him and his music is very deep.  Eventually I went to bed at one thirty and had trouble getting off to sleep so it must have been around three when my head hit the pillow.  A short but deep sleep and I woke up at seven thirty and my day had begun.  I didn't leap out of bed, I settled down with my Kindle and a few games of Sudoku and I hit the bathroom at eight fifteen.  The washing was put away, I washed and dressed and settled for lighter clothing. I wasn't in for much outside activity today.

I messaged a friend to find out where to buy a substantial mask for my trip and was given the advice.  I also checked out the website of the company that I'd ordered my test from now that the rules have changed yet again and they seem to have their finger on the pulse and are taking active measures.  I'm assuming my test hasn't been dispatched yet so will be able to upgrade to the PCR and we've been advised to keep checking the website for updates.  Beans on toast for breakfast, I'd got a half can left from yesterday, Cat had to settle for dried food since last night's supper was mostly demolished and what was left I've just reheated and had it for tonight so supper time over.

I settled down and finished the pressie wrapping for my ladies and tomorrow I'm heading into Kardjali to do the rest of my shopping.  Some have become routine to buy but I'm beginning to have a rethink and some might even be struck off this year.....I'll see how I'm faring tomorrow.  I cleaned out the fire, decided to clean the inside pipes of my wood burner by bashing the up pipes and then removing the lid of the burner, cleaned the plate and got a brush up as far as I could manage and cleared out quite a lot.  The wood's so dry this year that most of the smoke turns into soot not clinker.

My 'flower scrounging' lady from the bottom of the village appeared and it's a bit of a joke when she sees something growing in a pot in the conservatory and she asks if it's for her.  I tell her it's not ready and she can have it when it is....she's not very green fingered.  She really wants some photographs printing off, they're on her phone so I suggested that she emails them to me so that I can see the quality and make a decision which ones get printed and framed.  She wants about four doing and I think that's excessive, she'll get what she's given.  Off she went but she did give me a helping hand to move the bench that I repaired back to it's resting place.  The second one was moved in front of the stairwell window but I'll put it where I want it tomorrow.  It was getting chill out there.  Next visitor was Avatar returning my dish from last night and she said that she realised that she would be able to make it using a local tomato and pepper paste of 'lutenitza', I might even try it myself.

Not much activity from me today but I've achieved what I set out to.  Lit the fire and it's going well, supper over, about to search the freezer for pudding and then the evening is all mine.  LN.....Strictly results...Who's going out tonight or went out last night?.......LN

Monday 29th November

Six thirty start and the wind was still blowing a holey out there and this morning I was wondering what damage I would find when I surveyed the estate.  Mot too much damage but I had a slight panic last night when the fire had just settled in for the night and the electricity went off. Now the UPS only does around two hours and so I made my way downstairs in the dark, found the candles. lit a couple so that I could see what I was doing.  I had the firelight of course which was the last thing I wanted just now and made my way into the kitchen and removed the items on top of the little wood burner just in case I had to do a quick move of the logs and embers to the new site.  The electricity came on again after five minutes but I still finished off clearing the burner, it could go off again as quickly as it had come on.  As it happened I went to bed and it could please itself, the fire had gone down a little by now.

So back to the damage, I'd lost the lid of the cushion storage box that sits on the terrace so I went out in my PJ's and move the box into the little house.  I emptied it out and hung the cushions at various points and watched the water draining out but in there it doesn't matter much.  I checked the box over, it appears that one of the eight lugs that connect the lid to the box has been damaged but out in the damp atmosphere in PJ's, it could wait for later.  I locked up the little house, cleared out the fire and reset it for tonight, put the little wood burner back to normal and went upstairs to get washed, dressed ready for the day.  Poached eggs and ham on toast for breakfast, washed up the debris from yesterday, old bread out for the birds and there was no sign of black cat today.  I'm thinking it's found a windproof, dry spot to hole up in and why wouldn't you.

The rest of my day has been very leisurely.  I didn't bother going in to Kardjali, there were intermittent showers and they included white coverings of hail which soon dissipated, the temperature has been almost up into double figures .As for the clouds I was amazed how many different hues of grey there were in the sky and the many types of clouds.  There were bright glimpses of sun that soon disappeared....it's been a funny old day.

Quiz night tonight if I can managed to stay awake for it although at the moment I'm watching Ronnie making his way through to the next round of the snooker competition....and he's made it, he's through to the next round.  Barbecued ribs tonight for supper and tomorrow I'm hoping for more clarification of the new restrictions that have come in.  I've got two weeks before I go so panic hasn't set in but it's like juggling knives and it's in the hands of the gods and Boris.  LN.....I'm moving on to kitchen duties......LN

Tuesday 30th November

So guess what.....I slept through all of my quiz programmes again and woke up to something I had no intention of watching...c'est la vie.  Downside is that I have no sleep in me around eleven so it was one before I got my head down and a six thirty start so a little jaded this morning.  It was another damp morning, there was a chill in the air but at least the wind had dropped.  I got the food ready for Black Cat and just as I was about to deliver it, the white and grey brute shot into the garden, chased Blackie away so the food stayed in the conservatory and never made it to the garden.  More for it tomorrow, there will be chicken bones to go with it.

I made a toasted cheese sandwich for breakfast, cleared the kitchen and went up to the landing to fire up the computer to see if there had been any changes to the travel arrangements that hopefully I'm about to make.  I emailed the testing company, they've refunded me the money for the LF test so I emailed asking when they would be taking bookings for the PCR.  The company responded very quickly, the website had changed and I booked the PCR, printed out boarding passes etc. for the flight and only two things yet to do, one urgent and the other can only be done two days before the trip...ducks are beginning to line up.

I decided to watch Netflix, I needed some light relief and by twelve I was having forty winks and woke up at one thirty which was OK.  It suddenly struck me that I hadn't printed off a text for my student so dug deep and found one suitable on, another article where you had twelve paragraphs that had to be organised into a story and that was fun to do but didn't take long at all...such a bright spark.  I had another text so filled in the time quite well, it's his birthday tomorrow so I shall be seeing him again with his pressie.  I did ask him to take more care with his writing and letter formation on the next homework, the thought of a drunken spider struck me but try explaining that to a twelve year old.

Home for six, fire lit for six and five, chicken wings in the oven for six fifteen, caught Tipping Point and now supper is ready so I'm on kitchen duties.  The temperature has really dropped tonight and there could be a hard frost.  I should have got the rest of the pots in but we'll see how they do overnight and in for tomorrow.  LN.....The aroma from downstairs is tantalising......LN