Friday 21st October

Seven thirty start and it was a morning of activity.  Two loads of washing the machine and out on the line for nine, the lamb was plucked from the bone and the fat removed and the rest put in the fridge for later.  The cat was to have the left over so I went out on the terrace and made my call to encourage her out but she wasn't obvious so I put it in the conservatory for later, it I'd have put it out one of the others would have scoffed the lot.  Eventually I saw her and took it outside, she hid under the Nipper and is very timid so I put it down near the steps to the little house, I went inside and she immediately attacked it leaving only the bones so I picked those up when she'd finished, no need to encourage others.  Back to the kitchen and I peeled potatoes, beetroot, onions and carrots, skinned leeks, cut them up and into the stock from the lamb and everything went back into the slow cooker.  I tidied the kitchen and felt I'd filled my morning well.

I stopped for a coffee break and made a couple of slices of toast and the mood got me to get the hoover out and run it round downstairs and then took it upstairs to finish off.  I've left it in the bedroom, I think it's going to be needed when Bekir comes to fix the roof.  The rest of the day has been fairly gentle.  I finished watching my Netflix, backtracking on the last couple of episodes, I'd sort of lost the plot and slept through some of it so needed to find out where I was with it.  It was worth the effort, good twist at the end.  Washing in by four and put away and I was surprised to see my neighbours daughter at the door and she had a couple of letters for me.  One electricity bill, which I've never had before and another from A1 my phone company and I'm not sure if the government are now insisting that all household receive invoices and I also noticed that there was a twenty percent tax on the electricity one.  I tried some of the stew for supper and it really needs blending so that's a job for tomorrow and I'll put the meat back in to add flavour.

Gardening day tomorrow, pots cleared and sorted for storage and we've had so little rain that they all need a good watering as well.  Gentle activity keeps the blood moving round the system.  LN.....Still lots of flowering plants in the garden.....LN

Saturday 22nd October

Very silly night.  I fell asleep watching the television around seven and sort of dog dozed for around two hours so obviously, when I took myself to bed, tried to go to sleep and eventually looked at the clock and it was one twenty...and I thought it was around six and time to get up and get going.  The Kindle came out and I played silly games until four, eventually went off again and woke up at seven so not too bad overall.  I thought it was about time I stripped the bed, it was a beautiful morning, sunshine and a breeze and it would be OK as long as I used lots of pegs in case the wind picked up which it did.  So washing in the machine and managed to get two loads including the under blanket/ quilt and I had thought of sewing round the outside of the quilt that was a little worse for wear.  The top coating had shredded in places so instead I put it inside one of the lighter quilt covers that I have, washed the quilt inside the cover so everything stayed intact so all was good.

Next job was to blend the vegetables from the slow cooker to make soup, I put the lamb from the fridge into it and added some peas for sweetness and returned everything to the slow cooker and that was lunch.  I had a bonfire and cleared up some of the old wood and got it going really well.  I don't have a problem here with a bonfire and washing out on the line at the same time.  The garden is just so big.  I took the statutory sleep this afternoon but woke up at three thirty so shouldn't impinge on my bed-time.  Washing in, bed made up for tonight. the rest of the chunks of meat have been taken out of the soup and put into a pie dish, I've sliced potatoes and put them over the top and it's in the oven and that will be supper.  There's still some soup left but that will go to the cat tomorrow and it can pick out of it anything that's left.

Strictly tonight, supper is ready and then I should be ready for bed and hopefully a good night.  I think the house was just too warm last night, I'd lit the fire at five so tonight I haven't bothered lighting it.  I'll put a blanket on if I get cold.  LN...I've got an open mind about what I'll do tomorrow...I'll see how I feel......LN

Sunday 23rd October

More of a gentle climb of the sun this morning.  Blue sky this side but very cloudy towards the west and as the sun came up so did the morning mist in the valley.  I didn't do much until ten, it was Sunday, my day of rest but there again, most days could be days of rest but I do push myself on occasions, when it's necessary.  Today it wasn't necessary.  I watch Monty Don this morning and he said that it was a good idea to cut back buddleia to protect the root stock explaining that with a heavy top on it the wind is likely to break the branches or disturb the roots.  He recommended that you took the existing branches down half way and then did the normal trim the following year...so I did.  The two at the bottom of the garden are now reduced in size and the some of the sheep had a field-day when I threw the branches over the wall until the rest of the flock took off to try and find fresh pastures and off the stragglers skipped to find them.  Those done I moved up and reduced another tall shrub under the lonesome pine, that flowers on new wood but the rest of the ones that flower on this year's growth I left alone.

I came in around twelve, thought about breakfast and then realised that it would be an early lunch....that sun was well over the yard-arm.  I found a chicken leg in the freezer, thawed it out and added curry powder and red pepper to the remains of the soup in the slow cooker and that was going to be supper.  I had every intention of cooking rice but never got round to it but the chicken was so tender after three hours cooking away gently.  I realised that there was very little that I could do in the garden except collect up leaves but they're still falling daily so I settled on the sofa and found another series on Netflix that kept me occupied for about four episodes.  So chicken down, cheese and biscuits to follow, I feel very rested and full and only the washing up to do before I settle in for the Strictly result.  I didn't venture out today realising that I need to go out tomorrow so why use twice the quantity of fuel.  LN.....A very restful day......LN

Monday 24th October

Another good day, seven degrees outside at eight this morning and twenty in the house...and it got better all day.  Top temperature was twenty seven in and at seven tonight it was still fourteen degrees outside.  Of course...that's assuming that the thermometer is working correctly.  I made an omelette for breakfast, I did take a look at the week old bread, it looked suspect so over the wall it went for the animals.  The cat had the chicken bones and the rest of the soup and cleaning out the slow cooker bowl was a job for the metal pot scourer, brute force and ignorance just wouldn't cut through it.  Kitchen tidied, everything put away and the rest of the day was mine.

I didn't jump into action straightaway, meandered through the morning but eventually got out there and cleaned up the pots, cut back the dead flower heads on the geraniums and next year I'm going to grow more of these so I shall be taking cuttings soon.  The are so undemanding, sag a little when they need watering but quickly come back and soon get back to normal.  I took the debris to the bottom of the garden along with the garden fork, dug over the bed with the buddleia, emptied the dried deadheads on the soil and covered them with the bark pieces that I'd put there after my wood had been delivered in June.  Energy tank empty I settled on the sofa in the lounge, watched a little tv and got my head down for an hour or so and then went out again and planted up little conifer that's been on the terrace for a couple of weeks.  It went in the wooden iron bound container, it had a conifer in it before but it went off to the plant heaven.

So it looks like we shall have a new prime minister and hopefully it might settle down again for a while.  I'm definitely not wanting an election.   I couldn't decide what to do for supper so I settled for tuna, potato salad with beetroot, onions and have stuffed myself to the gunnels.  Quiz night tonight, I love my University Challenge and Just Connect challenging my brain at my late stage of life...got to be done.  LN.....Student tomorrow and I'll shop in Djebel....LN

Tuesday 25th October

Six thirty start and it was as black as pitch outside and only one week to go before the clocks 'fall' backwards.  Great that it's lighter in the morning but those nights are going to seem awfully long.  Beautiful day today, it's ben up in the middle twenties. gone cooler tonight but a thicker t-shirt was just too much for today outside but when I was upstairs in the flat with my student and there's no sun in the apartment at all, so wasn't overdressed until we started the game of football.

Lots of birds out and about today including woodpeckers but the camera was always in the wrong place and they're so jittery.  Even though I'm inside and take the stairs, they still manage to spot the slightest movement and they're off.  The electricity went off for a couple of hours this morning, they're obviously doing work in one of the villages and it's been so good for the last few years that you just become so dependent on it and miss it when it's not there.  I've very cautious using the phone and have taken off the internet connection and only use it with the house internet, the bill came as a surprise last time, not hugely expensive but more than I usually pay so I'm cautious.  Had a shower and washed my hair around eleven anticipating the return of the connection so that I could dry it but no go so I wrapped it in a towel for a while, combed it through, plaited it and sat in the rocking chair in the upstairs bedroom in the sun.  Eventually it came back on so I dried it and got ready for the lesson with my student.

For most of the lessons I prepare homework but for a while it's diminished so I thought today was the day to re-instate it.  Last week we did two section out of seven episodes of the same story so today I recapped the first two but had prepared questions on the next two that we were going to tackle today.  As it happened, three and four were interesting and we carried on with the next section, we both wanted to know where the story was going.  There are only a couple of pages in each section so we did the next and the next until all seven sections were finished.  We both said how much we'd enjoyed it, we wanted to know how it ended and it ended well.  So lesson over we had our half an hour of indoor football, I was thrashed even though he's now giving me twenty goals to start the game.  

I went down to the shop and sat talking to his mother and at six her husband and son, my previous student arrived with the old radio that they've taken out of the Beast before it was sold.  No sooner the word than the blow, they'd installed it in the Nipper and this has the advantage of having a memory stick so that I can load my music on it.  Apparently I had the wrong sort of stick before, when I shut off the engine the music went back to the first track so after fitting it they tested it with their memory stick that they use in the car and it worked.  I invested in a new stick, my older student offered to load it for me but I said that I could managed with the music that I have from my old Apple and that's my job for tomorrow.  Home for seven after shopping in the local supermarket, jacket potato firstly in the microwave and finished it off in the air fryer.  I grated cheese, added it with butter and a little mayo and my supper was done.  LN.....Apparently I missed the partial eclipse today.....next time....LN

Wednesday 26th October

So another silly evening and night.  I was disappointed on Monday night that they'd put rugby on and cancelled my quizzes and was amazed when I saw on the sheds. that they'd been moved to Tuesday night so my evening was set in stone.  I watched those programs, started watching another, fell asleep on the sofa and was really surprised when I saw that it was three thirty and time for bed.  Unfortunately I wasn't sleepy when I got there so played sudoku for an hour or so and eventually settled down and it was eight when I woke up and this time in my bed.  First thing I filled my morning with was unpicking three curtain headers off old curtains.  They're not my taste but  can use the headers and attach different bottoms to them to made two short curtains for the old interior windows in the lounge.  I felt fine, the morning was going well, poached eggs on toast for breakfast, load of washing in, dressed for Kardjali, packed up what I had to return to the garage shop, pegged out washing and was ready to leave at twelve.  There wasn't a parking spot outside the shop so I parked up on the main carpark, walked to the shop and the parking spaces outside were all waiting for me....too late.  I didn't stay long and was on my way and parking up in the central carpark in Kardjali.

First stop was to pay my home phone and I asked the cashier if they'd just started sending out phone bills again...I hadn't had one for about two years. he said that they hadn't changed anything and his thoughts were that I'd got a new postman that was choosing to deliver letters not throw them away.  He might be right so I moved on to find the shop to buy the cream and obviously it had moved from where I thought it was.  Eventually I found it and made the purchase and back to the Nipper with ten minutes to spare before my parking ran out.  Over to Lidl, nothing that I really wanted from Kaufland, picked up potting compost, yogurts, fizzy water and a couple of bottles of squash for the fizzy water and was heading home with a very small bill which is unusual.   Parked up at the garage shop and handed over the cream, didn't stop because I'd bought frozen fish cakes, home just before four, washing in and put away and what a good day I've had.  Not thought about supper so far but I'm warming up to it...there's bound to be something easy to make for tonight.  LN.....Another day of pleasing myself tomorrow...nothing on the agenda......LN

Thursday 27th October

I did go to sleep last night watching television but I did wake up in time to watch Elon Musk and I'm really not sure that he's of this world.  Strange but very talented, a visionary and won't take no for an answer pulling people into his world using emotional means.  I shan't be signing up for the next flight.

Reasonable night's sleep, working on automatic pilot going through the motions and decided that the easiest option for breakfast was toast and jam.  I decided to walk the garden and when I got to the terrace there was lots  of caterwauling coming from half way down the low wall and as I approached the black cat shot out of the bushes and I spotted one of the little ginger and white ones hiding and then took off over the wall. Now I've never got close enough to the black cat to find out if it is male or female and have sometimes referred to it as 'Ms' cat but I think I'm going to have to review this or rather have a closer look.  I sat on the wall for a while at the bottom of the garden, quite a few clouds had appeared, dawn this morning was gentle with fluffy clouds but they'd thickened up but eventually they cleared.  Walking back I noticed that one of the pretty pink bobbing flowers was lookin as if it needed a drink so I grabbed the watering can, poured it in the container, filled up the watering can again and doused it again.  It did look much better this afternoon when I checked.  

After deciding that I had curtains to make I went up to the back bedroom, sorted out my boots since they were on the floor in front of the chest that I wanted to get in to and now they're sitting in the porch waiting to be cleaned.  I did find the material I wanted and that's now on the sewing table...things are moving on.  Another thing I went on the hunt for this morning was the garden spade and after much searching I found it in the little house and while I was in there I noticed that the jasmine cuttings that I'd taken were still green so I watered them, opened up the compost bin and shoveled some of the contents into the top of the container to nourish the soil.  The shovel was to remove the contents from the bottom of the composter and put it back in the top, I watered it well and hopefully it will break down.

This afternoon didn't see much activity, it was more of a day of 'cud'av' or 'shud-av' and didn't.  I watched Countdown, put supper in the oven and had an early supper, the washing up is waiting for me and will be tackled as soon as I've finished the update.  Again nothing much listed as being 'must-dos' so it will probably be very much like today, full of good intent so I'll write things down and see if I can tick anything off tomorrow evening.  LN.....And relax....LN

Friday 28th October

Seven thirty start and didn't really get bothered to get dressed but got on with the normal routines.  I settled for toast for breakfast, played around with the material and started to cut out the curtains and that was going to be my quest for the day.  I found more lining material since the main material was only printed not woven so I didn't want it to look unfinished from the other side since both sides would be visible.  One or two deviations to the day, I cleared out the rubbish bins and toilet bins and prepare for a bonfire, put the rubbish in the porch ready to take down to the bottom of the garden and then went back to my curtains.  At ten I was still in my PJ's, I was one of the great unwashed and needed a comb through my hair when my neighbour from the bottom of the village arrived.  This is the one that goes round my plants and wants everything or 'bits' to try to grown her own.  I invited her in and we sat in the lounge, she didn't want coffee and she mentioned water and I thought she wanted water to drink.  After she repeated it again I realised that she wanted me to take her down to the well so that we could fill up a few bottles from the spring.  We went outside, she remembered that I had medlar fruit still on the tree and I'd asked her if she wanted them the last time she was here.  She started to head down the garden, I went back and found a plastic bag and I joined her at the tree at the bottom of the garden and she started picking the fruit and there were loads.  I stopped her for a while and said that I wanted to give some to my friend in Djebel, my student's mum and told her to slow up a little and she did.  I carried the back back and she must have had around six kilograms of fruit in the bag, she had one money plant and had collected tobacco seeds and all this went in the Nipper so that the neighbours wouldn't see her booty.  I asked her if she needed bottles and she did so off she went, we arranged to meet at her mother's house at eleven thirty, I washed and dressed, climbed the ladder in the little house and found clean bottles upstairs and put the medlar fruit, plants and bottles in the car and set off at eleven twenty five.

She came out to meet me, took the loot into the house and off we set for the spring.  It's the usual one just beyond the next village and fortunately no-one else was there and it was also good because since we've had very little rain for the last eight weeks more or less, both water channels were flowing very slowly.  Eventually we managed to fill the four bottles, I put them in the Nipper and off she went collecting fir cones to start off her fire.  I offered her a bag which she refused and only wanted enough for the day.  Back to the house, I parked up in the square in the lower village and we carried the bottle to the house.  Her mother who is really sweet but doesn't speak Bulgarian which makes it a little difficult for me, was sitting in the sun only getting up occasionally to vent her anger on the cats and using a stick to make sure they understood.  My friend has given up her job in Kardjali, the house inside is in a pretty poor state, money is tight but they are having work done.  She invited me in and it was in a complete mess inside, the 'maestor' has done one room, two more to go and a small bathroom to be added so I offered my help should she need it with some of the larger pieces of furniture.  She declined saying that the workman was really good.  

There was lots of activity in the village so we went out to the square to have a look.  The other ladies from the village were sitting on the bench, the social food wagon was delivering and I was getting it offered left, right and centre.  I think you have to be very hungry, the soup and beans were very fluid based and the only decent thing was the bread.  My friend's mothers went to the cats and goodness only knows where Beyser's went.  There were lots of men I didn't recognise and was informed that there was tarmac going down on the road on the next lane over the field from the main road to connect it with the other little square further up the road.  I noticed that there was a lorry parked in the square and another appeared from the little lane and they were obviously the ones with the tarmac that had been dropped and then there was more crunching as another machine made it's way back to the square.  At this point I remembered that I had the camera in the Nipper so retrieved it, I took a photo of the lorries and as the tarmac machine emerged from the lane I took the first photo and the man in control took his good off, smoothed his hair so I took another for his benefit.  

I said farewells to my ladies, got back in the Nipper and set off for home, had to remove three cows from the outside of the property before I could open the gates to get the car back in the yard.  Eventually they left, I opened the gates and reversed in and was closing the gates when the tarmac machine came by the house and I got a wave from the driver.  I didn't go back to the sewing, settled on the sofa with cheese and biscuits and promptly fell asleep waking up just before four.  Coffee and a little tidying round, the curtains can wait, moved the secateurs that I'd used that morning back into the house, noticed that the temperature had dropped and the wind was cold so went in and lit the fire.  It took a while for the pump to kick in but eventually the hot water was purring round the system and giving a substantial back warmth to the house.

Gentle day today, it's Djebel fare over the next day or so so that should keep me out of it without I get a call from my student's family to see if I want to go.  They're very much of a muchness so most likely I'll stay here and get on with a few jobs.  LN.....Time to enjoy the warmth, cook a chicken breast for supper and relax....LN

Saturday 29th October

Another really silly night, I spent more time awake than asleep and felt pretty jaded all day.  I eventually washed and dressed, made mushrooms on toast for breakfast and started my chores for the day.  I filled up the log basket and the spare log container in the porch and set the fire for tonight.  The sun was out, the wind was cold and I kept moving so that the cold didn't dig deep into the bones.

First job outside was to clear the leaves or rather try to, as soon as I'd cleared the yard, the stiff breeze was dropping a load more but not to be downhearted, I did my best.  I used a scarifirer to collect the leaves into piles especially from underneath the Beast in the garage but it was mainly to no avail.  The log container's full of leaves went over the road for the cows and two over the wall and when I checked later in the day, they had all gone and it definitely wasn't the wind blowing them back....the new lot were from overhead.  I also had to water the pots again, everything is so dry and the wind is drying them even more.  I'd set myself a target with the Fitbit but unfortunately the battery showed that it needed putting on the docking station so that went completely out of the window and I only managed six thousand steps....better luck next time.

I came in around three, I'd had enough, the breeze was beating me and I settled down to watch England thrashing Greece at the rugby World championship but the Greeks never gave up until the final whistle. Let's see how England get on in the next round when they face some of the better teams.  Supper of chicken wings covered in barbecue sauce that was out of date but not out of flavour fortunately.  I did them in the oven and the chips in the air fryer, so simple and tasty.  The curtains are still waiting to be completed, maybe tomorrow.  LN.......Now...Strictly calls......LN

Sunday 30th October

Six start, I'd changed the clocks last night before I'd gone to bed but today has seemed incredibly long.  The eyes adjust to the change of the clocks but the body doesn't.  I've also had an issue that 'pain stopped play' and no, that's not a type, I woke up with a stiff shoulder and neck and despite slathering it with 'Deepheat' it's hardly moved it all day.  It may have been that I slept in the wrong position last night or picked up a chill in it from my time sweeping up the leaves, I'll never know but I did say that there was a chill in the wind yesterday.

Breakfast was a simple affair, I'd removed some ham from the freezer yesterday and a sandwich sufficed.  The chicken wing bones and bits went over the wall for anything that could manage it.  I've not seen sight or sound from the cat all day although I've not really been active outside.  I did transfer music onto the new memory stick that I bought the other day and gave it a whirl in the radio that was installed the other day in the Nipper.....and it worked.  The last time I used it I got really frustrated because the radio always returned it to the first track on the dongle so I only ever got to hear the same tunes.  I queried this with my garage shop and she told me that it was the fault of the memory stick not the radio and it seems to have worked.  I played a few tunes in the yard, removed the keys, started the car again and it continued where it had left off.  It will be good to have my own music and not have to search round music channels.  I came in, laid the fire for tonight, went on to my ancestry program and did a bit of a search on the internet as to how to find out who would have the records for the deaths of my two brothers.  I've managed to find another telephone number in the West Midlands in the UK and I'll give them a call tomorrow and hopefully I shall be able to pay for someone to do the research for me.  It's not that I want to find out where they're buried, just the cause of death which should be somewhere in the records.

The pain in the neck has made me lazy, it hurts me to move so why should I.  I've negotiate the stairs and lit the fire going and it seems to have taken first time.  I'm already thinking that it's going to be a long evening, the first of many......we are heading into winter.  LN.....Now to find something for supper......LN