Sunday 11th September

I was late to bed again and not sure how it happened.  I found myself looking at my my family chart and noticed that one of the entries had double up and can only assume that I've followed a 'hint', updated the details and instead of over-riding the original entry it's added another.  I ended up deleting the entry and having to make sure that it had only deleted the one link and hadn't affected the other.  I suddenly looked at the clock and it was one thirty, well passed my bedtime so I put the computer to bed and headed down the stairs to find mine.  I woke at seven, it was a cloudy start to the day and wasn't able to work out if it was going to clear up and as the day wore on it was obvious, it wasn't.

I made coffee and went out to the terrace and sat watching the morning when suddenly my voice was being called from the gate to the road.  I acknowledged that I'd heard and went to see who it was and it was Gulcan's father.  I was surprised to see him there and he asked if I had any empty water bottles and I replied that I had.  Unfortunately they were on the upper storey of the little house so I got the key, climbed the ladder, he stopped downstairs and I threw five down to him.  We had a conversation about his daughter, my friend from Germany and he said that I knew more about her coming to visit than he did.  She'd phoned me and told me what her movements would be.  Off he went with his bottles and I went back to the terrace, mended the connector to the long garden hose that had sprung a leak, looked at the sky and decided that the cushions from the outside furniture would be better inside the storage box that risking the drenching they would probably get later...and I was right.

I made scrambled eggs for breakfast, washed up and cleared the kitchen and was amazed at my laziness for the rest of the morning.  I toyed with the idea of starting to cut up the starter wood and getting it ready for the winter and instead did nothing.  I did managed to catch up on lost sleep from last night, settled into reading a gardening book and then ended up flicking channels , watching part of the journey of the Queen to Edinburgh and generally shouting at the television by the comments passed by one of the guests following the screening.  If it hadn't been for the solemnity of the occasion, it's a wonder she wasn't told to take her opinions somewhere else!!

The thunder clouds starting building coming over from Greece and bringing rumblings with it but only the odd flash of lightning.  At around five it started to rain, it went really dark and a funny light came with it.  I watched the cows trudging home over the field, went back to my television and watched how croissants are made and I found it very interesting....the things that you don't know and only find out later in life!!  I cooked a pork steak for supper and had it with chippies from my air fryer and potato salad from Lidl.....a double helping of potatoes but it went down well.

Just after nine my time and not much on the agenda, if anything, for tomorrow.  I have to take the Nipper into the garage to get the gas injectors checked over.  The gas indicator light is flashing and usually only lights up showing that the gas in being fed in and how much is left in the tank.  I'm not sure if the garage owner will be back from his short break with the family, I might leave it until Tuesday.  LN.....It's going to be an early night for me....LN

Monday 12th September

So last night I tried hard to watch David Attenborough and his new series but stretched out on the sofa was just too comfortable for me and I was asleep and missed most of it.  It was another hour before I came too, switched off the TV, straight to be and slept though until seven thirty this morning so really must have needed sleep.  I think it's been so busy over the last month and it's taken me quite a while to get back to normal.  There's not so much to do, everything seems to be done but things will change.  I might be going on holiday, my guests hadn't supplied me with dates and when I asked them if they could avoid early October, it didn't fit in so they've cancelled.  So my next decision is 'do I really want to go on the sort of holiday I'm looking' at and I shall make my mind up tomorrow after I've slept on it.  

Toast for breakfast with jam, bed stripped and everything washed and it suddenly occurred to me as I was making it up that the quilt cover belonged to my son when he was at university so I'm going to ask if he wants it back for old time sake.  He did see it when he was over here and I never followed the thought process through that he might want it and so the offer will go out.  A funny old day weatherwise, we had the rumble of thunder this afternoon, it clouded over but blew over just as quickly.  I got the washing in at four thirty, made the bed up and tonight I shall make sure that that's my first port of call and not have a staging post in the lounge.

Not a clue as to what's on the menu for supper tonight.  As for the agenda from yesterday, I made the decision that there's more chance of getting the Nipper sorted tomorrow and market day wasn't very appealing to me and I've just remembered that my Internet is coming up for renewal so that will get paid tomorrow...that's if the cash machine has any money in it, when I went on Saturday it was as empty as Mother Hubbard's cupboard.  Student tomorrow afternoon.....I'll have to get my timings right.  LN....A very relaxing day.....LN

Tuesday 13th September

Another disturbed night. I was awake at three and playing silly games until five and eventually back to sleep until seven.  Another funny incident last night, Transponder TV was off air until nine this morning stating that it had to undertake maintenance and server upgrade to be able to continue providing service.  Apologies were offered and I ended up watching a Netflix short series that I finished off this morning and wondered why I'd bothered.

I was really slow off the mark, I hardboiled some eggs and had two of them chopped up in potato salad for a late brunch, four are waiting in the fridge for the next hunger pains.  I eventually had a shower, dressed and got ready to head into Djebel for my student's lesson should he want one.   I made my way to the cashpoint, took out money and checked my balance and carried on to the Internet shop to pay my yearly fee even though it wasn't due until next month.  I only have to give my name and village, the fee has remained the same for the last three years which in this day and age is the only remaining constant, I paid up and said that I'll see her in a years time.  I carried on down to the garage and had the workings of the gas fuel gauge explained to me.  I understood that it lit up when gas was being supplied to the engine and the number of lights lit indicated the amount of gas in the tank.  I didn't realise that it shows red when petrol is being used and my student's father explained it to me in really simple terms....I smiled sweetly and carried on to the shop to find out if the son wanted a lesson or not.  Decision made, I stayed in the shop and we had a lesson in conversational English and for a twelve year old he's doing really well and we filled in the gaps with Google translate if either of us was unsure of the word that we wanted to use.

I left the shop at five under protest that it was too early for me to leave, I clutched at ten eggs that I'd been given, stopped off at the shop and bought bread and apples and was home for five thirty.  Supper was a portion of frozen chips cooked in my air fryer, I made chip butties and ate them watching progress of the coffin to Edinburgh airport and the take off of the flight bringing the body back to Northolt.  It was at this point that I missed out on the arrival having failed to stay awake, I again was catching up on the lack of sleep last night.  Washing up is done and kitchen tidy for tomorrow morning, tomorrow I'm putting clothes back where they should be to tidy the place up again and the winter starter wood will be underway if I manage to work up to the task.  It's all go here so I've got my fingers crossed for a good night's sleep.  LN....Lessons will begin again when he goes back to school......LN

Wednesday 14th September

Seven thirty start and it's been a busy day.  Breakfast of hardboiled eggs, mayo and toast and that's been it for the day.  I decided to book the holiday, the documents went off, I had to supply other details since I'm using my GB passport and they sat on the enquiry for a few hours.  I filled my day with moving my clothes that I'd moved downstairs when I had guests and now they're all being moved back upstairs and I'm trying to sort out clothes that I'd like to take on my trip.

This afternoon I got sucked in to the moving of the coffin to its resting place and was surprised when I received an email from the travel company containing six PDF's, all in Bulgarian and one of them twelve pages long.  I scanned the first pages and noticed that my GB Passport expiry date had been entered incorrectly on two of the documents and despite using the camera on my phone to translate them I got really frustrated.  I messaged the company and realised that it was now almost six thirty so nothing doing tonight and hopefully they will contact me early tomorrow and supply new documents before I sign anything.  I have an email to confirm that I supplied the correct information so I hope they don't try that old chestnut and thank goodness I noticed.

I'm now feeling flat as a pancake, they aren't able to take the payment over the phone and want a bank transfer so that means a trip to Kardjali.  Not feeling very hungry so I'll diet until morning.  LN....It seemed like a good idea at the time....LN

Thursday 15th September

So the stress of last evening and the thought of getting the documents translated stayed with me but I was out of bed at seven thirty and planning my day.  I phoned the garage shop at eight thirty and asked my student's mum if she could spare me half an hour in between customers to look over the documents with me which she did and at least I got the gist of most of them.  We worked out the ones that had to be signed and sent back or scanned and emailed over to them, I decided that I would make the payment for the holiday by driving to Momchilgrad, they had more time to work it out than Kardjali which is normally quite busy.  I managed to park up easily near to the Bank and I was correct, there was no one in the bank and three people working there.  I explained what I wanted and since she didn't know me she was very cautious about doing such a transaction which is in fact a bank transfer, so much easier in the UK to pay for holidays than it is here.  I had to go back to the Nipper for one more piece of information, after that she plodded her way through it and eventually I had my receipt and the transaction was complete.  

I drove back to Djebel, went to my favourite rice and chicken restaurant but there was a big sign up indicating that it wasn't working.  Undeterred I headed for the Banitsa shop and bought a cheap pizza, went round to the garage shop and asked if she wanted to share it and she declined....all the more for me.  This afternoon I settled down, scanned the documents in and attached them to an e-mail so all done and dusted.  I've probably signed my life away but I did get a phone call from the tour company so I was able to ask a few questions about the procedure at the airport and the approximate time of departure.  It's only so that I can plan whether I drive up and park in Sofia or take the bus....I think that driving is more likely.  

I phoned Princess and like me she's been a little down and I reckon it's got something to do with the coverage of the Queen's funeral on the television and quite a few have been affected.  It's a somber mood that hits you when you're least expecting it.  That pizza is sitting heavy so it will be no supper for me for a while yet.....I might even go through until morning.  Easy day tomorrow, I didn't do the starter wood today, I just had too much on so maybe I can make a start tomorrow.  It's probably called starter wood because you never know when you're going to get round to doing it.  Another gentle evening, still a few roses out, the Jerusalem Artichokes are in full bloom and the brown patches in the lawn are turning to green.  LN.....And now slowly into Autumn......LN

Friday 16th September

Five thirty start again and I made coffee, played sudoku for about an hour then burst into action.  I started going through the remaining clothes left from the migration from down to upstairs and putting clothes that I wanted washing into the wash basket and the first load went in.  It was a beautiful morning, sunny with a breeze so out went the first load to be followed by another two leaving me with about an hour and a half of ironing, my least favourite task.  I had eggs mayo for breakfast to use up the hard boiled eggs while watching morning television and after that I also started looking though handbags.  Delving deep I and found a small tan leather one, some of the stitching had come undone so I settled down in the sun, watching the wishing blowing in the wind, and re-stitched it using some heavy duty cotton and what a good job I've made of it, even if I say so myself.  It's on the list to go on holiday with me.

By the time I'd finished that job it was one thirty so I went back to the sofa, settled down and promptly fell asleep for an hour or so.  The washing came in, it's sorted and anything that might be going on holiday is on the rail in my downstairs bedroom, the ironing is in a pile and not required is folded and put away.  I looked at the handbag again and applied some leather polish, left it in the conservatory with an egg box stuffed inside so that it fills out after being squashed down.  Next job was a bonfire to get rid of the rubbish, I put the hose on and attached it to the hose supplying water to the shrubs at the bottom of the garden.  It's handy if there are any problems with the fire and the shrubs really does need water.  I thought most of the sun had finished but I was wrong and tonight I had to water the pots that were looking really sorry for themselves.  Not bothered about supper again, I did attack the cream cheese with digestive biscuits while on the sofa this afternoon and that again should see me through until morning.  

Earlier in the day I came across a small white bottle that I knew wasn't mine, opened it, poured a little into the washbasin and it appeared to be lightweight oil.  I reckoned it was left behind with my daughter, put some from the washbasin onto my arm, it seemed soapy but then sank was my skin but I did notice that the hairs stood up.  Later in conversation with my daughter, it's baby hair shampoo so I should have a glossy coat and I might even develop a runny nose.  LN......Let's hope I don't start demanding Boneo biscuits......LN

Saturday 17th September

Another early start and I've done nothing really with my day.  I settled for toast for breakfast and ended up sorting out jewellery and likely things that I might like to take with me but sometimes it's good to look at old pieces and remember how and when you got them.  I came across a hand made pottery love heart probably made by one of the children but I can't remember which one and probably neither can they.  It seems such a long time ago but since I never seem to throw anything like that away somebody will find it one day and they will have their own memories.  It all started because I couldn't and still can't find my sunglasses.  I went through the rigmarole of searching handbags, old glass cases and both cars but I still can't lay my hands on them.  I seem to recall using them either when I was going to visit my student and was at that time wearing two pairs, one for driving and one for keeping the sun out so that's one avenue I haven't checked.  While I was on the internet I also checked out the currency conversion for Moroccan Dinars so that I don't get ripped off if and when I buy anything on my trip.  It's good to have some idea to work from.

I was also moving the final boxes upstairs as part of the migration and found a swim wrap that I bought ages ago and it's a black wrap with Union flags on it and I decided to attach it to the main gate to the road.  It's not too obvious but it's my mark of respect for the passing of the Queen.  I know the television is full of it, the coverage of the lying in state has been magnificent and don't we do Pomp and Ceremony well!!  I managed a nap this afternoon and have done very little else.  I did start watching Series three of the Crown but only managed a couple of episodes...it was covering Aberfan and that wasn't a happy time for the Queen.

Too late to water the pots but looking at the clouds I might be letting nature do it for me.   I think a lot of people are feeling 'down' since the Queen's death.  I would say hats off to David Beckham for doing a twelve hour stand in line and not take the easy approach like some of those linked to television.  LN.....Perhaps I might find some enthusiasm tomorrow for getting on with 'stuff'.......LN

Sunday 18th September

So the rain that I predicted last night came down in buckets along with a tremendous thunder and lightning storm that cut the power to the house.  First thought was to bring in the solar lights from the porch which gave the house a splendid glow.  At first there were lots of bangs and then it get quite eyrie,......there was sheet lighting over Kardjali lighting up the sky and the odd fork lightning but no sound.  The rain had stopped and the stars were out...very strange, the electricity was restored for five minutes and then it went off again so at this point, the solar lights went back into the porch and I went to bed and left the weather to it.

Strange sky before sun-up, I decided that I needed bacon and eggs for breakfast to get me going for the day and then I worked through until around twelve.  The umbrellas were opened up to dry off and then the new one I moved into the little house where it would spend the winter.  I sluiced the water from the cover of the swinging bench, washed it off and left it to dry off and that was also put in the little house and next job was to make handles for the wooden box on casters that I would be filling with winter starter wood.  The intention was good, I was going to get the chop saw going and reduce the planks to reasonable lengths to chop but a guest arrived so the work was put on hold.  We put the world to rights again, sank a couple of cups of coffee and off he went.  He also pointed out that I'd missed a major factor in the last episode of Marchella season three so the first thing I did after he left was to rewatch it and sure enough, I'd missed the final thread that's gong to carry the series into a fourth set.

The afternoon has been sorting out keys to padlocks, watching TV and doing very little else.  Supper is in the air fryer and I have chips and chicken filet....all cooked in the one pot and it should be ready any time now, I've just been down to give it its final shake and now ready to serve.  Nothing on the agenda so far for tomorrow, it's market day and I might just make the effort to go since there a few things that I want for my holiday.  LN.....Supper and relax.....LN

Monday 19th September

Chilly start to the morning at five when I woke up and I suddenly remembered that I'd opened the window last night so it was time to shut it again....and it's remained that way all day.  I did managed to snuggle down again though and it was seven thirty the next time that I opened my eyes. I used up the rest of the bacon for breakfast and fried a couple of eggs to go with it.....the eggs are free-range from my student's fathers garage,,,,very yellow yolks and tasty.  Washing up done, kitchen tidied, I had a funeral to watch today so nothing else on the agenda.  

And that's been the sum-total of my day.  I settled down on the sofa and found myself glued to the who pomp and ceremony interspersing it with trips to the kitchen to find something to nibble on.  One box of Turkish Delight demolished and several mini-chocolate peanut bars from the goody box.  My sympathies went out to the eight that were having to carry the coffin and no pun intended, but what a weight on their shoulders.  It seemed to get more intense when they were going up the steps into St George's Chapel in Windsor but thankfully they managed it with the help of the ninth man who knew when to add a little weight behind to level the load.  I think I'd have been tempted to superglue the items on the top down.  As for the crown, I didn't realise that removing the crown, orb and scepter from the coffin was to signify that the earthly body was now free of the responsibility she'd carried from the time of accession.  It was being handed on to Charles despite the fact that his coronation won't take place for a while. The rod was then broken and the colours of the regiment that had looked after her was put on the coffin and then it descended into the ground.  You learn something new every day.

No supper for me, I think I had a few more chocolate bars than I care to think about.  Back to normal now and time to get on with life.  My token has been removed from the gate and is now folded up in the porch...ready for the next or maybe I'll bury it in the garden in a box and find a few more things to go in it.  LN.....Shopping tomorrow and maybe get my eyes tested and new glasses...since I've spent part of the day searching for a pair that I put somewhere safe........LN

Tuesday 20th September

So not sure why last night but I was still on the computer at one thirty this morning and still wide awake...not asleep watching the screen through closed eyelids.  I made my way to the bedroom. snuggled down and woke up at eight and felt fine.  Washing went in the machine, I checked out the fridge and grated up the remains of a block of Cheddar, whisked up three eggs and made an omelette for breakfast and sat in the stairwell at my newly re-instated table in the sun.  Washing up done, washing pegged out, washed and dressed for the garden knowing that I would be getting ready later for my student.

My driving glasses appeared as if by magic, I'd searched for them yesterday even going down to the bottom of the garden to make sure that they hadn't dropped off my head, visited all the places they should have been and hey-ho...in a class case on the table in the stairwell.  I can only imagine that they had been behind the little computer on the table and goodness only knows how I missed them.  Having found the sun=glasses yesterday, I've put them in a storage box with the items that are going with me on my trip.  I sorted out the zinnia seeds stripping them off the stalks and labelling up the pot and shook the tobacco seed pots over a bowl and transferred them to another pot,  I looked at the other sunbed on the workshop terrace and dragged it round to the front of the little house and attempted to put it in the little house but no way was it going through the door and needed more of a swing to get it in.  Got it outside again and on to the little house terrace and easily got it in for the winter.  I'm early this year with my winter preparations maybe due to a lack of a September guest. Next job was to tackle the ironing from the other day.  It's not one of my favourite pastimes but I persevered and some of it is hung up and the rest is over the back of my computer chair and all I need now is a medium size suitcase to put it in to.  I might very well head into Kardjali tomorrow to get this item off the shopping list, maybe a new swimsuit so a trip to the new shopping centre may be the order of the day.  

Got changed at two to head off to Djebel for the student's lesson.  I had a lesson plan ready but when I arrived at the shop he was looking very serious with his mother and they were doing his school homework from that morning.  They were both looking very serious so i suggested to his mother that I leave it for another day but she said no so I went off down the road to make an appointment to have my hair cut.  I know the young lady well so she suggested that I went back in fifteen minutes and what a good job she's made of it....I might have more taken off later...it will have to be done in stages.  I've also made an appointment to have my nails done before I go away so preparations are going well.

A little bit of shopping before I came home. not ready for supper yet, maybe later.  LN....Getting back to normal, the endless television has affected quite a few people.....LN