Friday 21st April

Well the weather promised so much this morning and delivered so little. The sun was coming up, the terraces were damp but not wet and very few clouds in the sky.  It was also eight o'clock, late off the mark but I felt OK. still coughing well but the head felt less fuzzy.  I cleared the kitchen, decided that coffee wasn't on the menu for the next few days, my blood pressure was a little high and something needed to be done and coffee was the first thing to go.  I also settled for one slice of barely buttered toast, without jam and worked my way through the usual chores.  

I settled myself on the sofa and started to plan my day, if the weather held there was a strong possibility of sorting out the electric strimmer and putting it to good use down the bottom of the garden.  The weeds are really taking a hold down there,  At around ten thirty I decided it was time to get dressed, I'd moved into my bedroom to carry on with the thought. had just sorted the top and bottom half out minus the jeans when there was a knocking on the window near the stairs,  I stuck my head out of the bedroom door and it was my young neighbour, I was still minus jeans but I went out anyway and let her in and she was asking what had happened to my phone.  I asked her to wait, went back to the bedroom and found jeans. put them on and they we were seeing what the problem was with the phone.  She told me that she'd phoned me and sure enough the call was registered and she said that she'd tried to phone me because the post office had letters for me......and now I was interested.  I got my English phone and called my Bulgarian phone, no ringing from my Bulgarian phone but call received so I fiddled with the volume and this required that I went into settings.  She's very helpful and kept telling me that her son was good with phones and I said that if she would just keep quiet I could sort it.  I said that I wasn't feeling well so hence the late start, she noticed the rash on my arm and said that I should go to see the doctor or at least the pharmacist in Djebel.  I promised her that I would go collect the mail, sort my phone out which I was very capable of doing and take a rain check on the visit to both the doctor and the pharmacist......I had tablets already.....just needed to start to take them.

I drove to the post office, the postmaster was speaking on the phone to my student's father so I shouted hello to him.  He works at the post office in Djebel.  He handed me the letter, informative junk mail from Pensions UK with goodwill tidings of joy announcing a raise in pension payments.  On my way back home I saw a lady with what could have been a long walk ahead of her so I stopped and asked her if she wanted a lift, she got in and we set off towards my village.  She was quite willing to get out at my stop point but I carried on to her end point in the next village, out she got and I doubled back to my friendly neighbour's house, told her that my phone was OK, that it was the 'Do not disturb' setting, all sorted and she could phone me at any time which she insisted doing straightaway......almost as if she didn't believe me.....and it rang. I was exonerated.  By now the clouds had rolled over. there was thunder yet again and heavy rain so I thought food was on the cards and so chunked up two large potatoes, put them in the microwave with a little salt, transferred them to the air-fryer and had them with Bulgarian white cheese and a little mayo.  A full tummy requires rest so they say so I lit the fire, got my head down on the sofa and slept until six tonight.  Still avoiding coffee, loaded the fire up with logs and it's dark, wet and miserable outside and warm and cosy in.  Not much to report today, it's been a day of rest for me and hopefully, the tablets that I've self-prescribed will do the trick and the rash will disappear.  I'm obviously allergic to something and really not sure what it is.  I have changed the strap on my Fitbit to a leather one from a silicon one....that seemed to be causing problems in the wrist area and I'll await the outcome.  Just found the 'Good Doctor' on Netflix to pass rainy days.  LN......And dark evenings without my access to British television.......LN

Saturday 22nd April

Silly four in the morning start, not an ounce of sleep in me and lots of time before the sun came up.  I made some hot lemon and took it back to bed, I was playing Sudoku but my heart wasn't in it.  This raised blood pressure has left me a little fuzzy and the cough has been intermittent and to be honest, not sure how I'm feeling and I know that torturing myself with Sudoku wasn't the answer.  I noticed that the sky was pinking up a little so I took the camera and got a few shots of morning and then transferred myself to the sofa.  I switched on to my current placebo, settled down and promptly went to sleep for a couple of hours and I'm wondering why I couldn't do that in the bedroom.

Eight o'clock and I had a burst of activity.  The washing up got done, curtain and windows opened, the sun had made more of an appearance enough for me to take the rubbish down to the bottom of the garden and have a bonfire.  I walked the garden, I noticed from the balcony that Green God had moved from by the wall and was drying off in the sun.  His shell was exceptionally dusty with only a feint green mark on there but it wasn't the day to get the nail varnish out.  At this point I was thinking that I could be working outside but it didn't take long for the clouds to roll over from the west, then continued to build so I got logs in before the inevitable happened.  The thunder and lightning started, so much so that I unplugged the internet, and with it came the hail stones and they were quite sizeable.....not car damaging but enough to stay inside given the choice.  I decided that I needed to eat so made tuna and potato salad and that should see me through until morning.  It's still raining, the clouds are still very low and lots of mist between the mountains.  I had another sleep this afternoon and am hoping that it's not going to interfere with my night-time slumbers, the fire is going well, the house warm and comfortable, no hunger grubs nibbling and all's well with my world.  LN......Fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow.......LN

Sunday 23rd April

So no rain so far today.  We've had the dark clouds roll in and roll out again and at seven my time....so far so good.  This morning I knew I was out of bread but the mobile shop doesn't appear on a Sunday...I thought I had enough to manage but the last few slices developed that green tinge that I hate so went out for the birds.  They're snot so fussy as I am.  I did manage to clear out some of the 'end of' jars, you know the ones that you can't find so open another and forget about the first and one or two out of date ones.  I should throw them into the container at the bottom of the road but my neighbours collect them for their next years preserves so I wash them and hand them over when requested.  Other than that I've not had a very productive day...again I've not been feeling too well so I lingered in front of Netflix absorbing nothing interesting, I should probably be watching lonely planet or something like that.  I've started to watch 'Good Doctor' and it reminds me of the other doctor series where you imagine that you've got a disease that you've never heard of.....thank goodness I slept through a lot of it.

At six I checked my heart rate and inadvertently fell on the number of steps I'd done and had a pang or two of guilt.  I got up from the sofa, sank a litre of water and headed for the little house remembering to pick up the battery for the strimmer that's on charge in the porch.  Unfortunately it doesn't last that long and is not meant for gardens like mine but I managed to do the drive and the grass between the house and the wall before it ran out.  Back on charge it went, I collected the sweeping brush and cleared the trimmings and remembered that I'd bought a new electric mower when it was on offer at Lidl and it was still in the box.  I dragged it onto the workshop terrace, opened the box, found the instructions that are in every language on the planet except English.....thank you Brexit.  It did have pictures and was fairly self explanatory, I tried for twenty minutes to connect both halves of the grass box, I think it had gone out of shape sitting in the box for over year so I put it to one side and concentrated on the machine itself.  That was done and dusted in minutes, only the handle to install and sections to be clamped together and one part that I need to take it all apart to put on but  it's only to keep the cable out of the way.  So machine done I went back to the grass catcher and with brute force and ignorance it was assembled, I found the extension lead. connected everything up and it works.  I tried it with the grass box on and it soon filled up, I emptied it and managed to keep the flap from the grass to box exit point and did the top half of the little house grass.  It was difficult, everything is so damp so everything packed away and tomorrow is another day.  At least I know it works, it's more like a strimmer with wheels and should do the job that I want it to do.  

Now to think about supper, I'm not really that hungry but know that if I don't have anything I shall be snooping around later and graze on rubbish.  At least the biscuits and chocolates have all gone...still some crisps though.  LN......Might do Kardjali tomorrow...I have a phone bill to pay and the yearly rates for the Beast......LN

Monday 24th April

Seven start and within quicksticks I got the washing into the machine and was pegging it out just after seven thirty.  The sky looked good, I felt that we could e in for a good day and that the washing wouldn't take long to dry.  Three chicken legs went into the slow cooker, I'd removed them from the freezer and they'd thawed overnight. I made a curry sauce with tomatoes and onions and it would have the day to cook.  I walked the garden and found Green God sunning himself at the base of the low wall in the grave garden, I checked for the others and no sign at all in the bonfire garden near the high wall.  Checked the weeds out down there though and they are getting high, I was tempted with getting the little mower out but the grass was still wet from the overnight dew so decided to leave to dry off.  I did find that my white lilac bush had three flowers on it, it's the first time it's flowered so I took one off the bush and it's sitting in the lounge in a bottle.

I went in the house and found cereals for breakfast and a fresh box of milk and decided to switch the Tv on which was a bad move.  I'd had my breakfast when my neighbour from down the way asked me if I was going to Djebel, I'd changed my mind about Kardjali and it was market day and too many people around.  She wanted to take a carpet to the man that cleans them so I said that I can take her in tomorrow if she wants.....just not today.  I showed her my white lilac and of course she had to find the bush to see if there were any 'babies' growing next to it and there were.  I told her it was too early to dig anything up but she earmarked a few that she needs cuttings from or tulips that she needs digging up and since I was in my jamas, it was too early for me too.  I did send her off with a honeysuckle and a piece that she'd pinched off the geranium in the porch....that woman has no shame when it comes to plants.  Joy of joy, Rosy, my first tortoise has come out of hibernation and was sunning herself half way down the garden near the low wall.  Again she had a very sandy shell but the nail varnish was confirmed that it was definitely her.  Off she went, I got dressed and then a burst of activity set in, out came the petrol mower, a carried on where I'd left off last night with the electric mower and managed to do the top half of the main house grass and the other garden is down just beyond the lonesome pine.  It was hard going, the grass was still very wet underneath but I managed it but by now it was getting on for four in the afternoon, there was thunder rumbling and the clouds were gathering so I put tools away, locked up and went to check on supper.  I suddenly remembered that I had washing out, quickly got it in and then the rain came down...timed it perfectly.

I lit the fire and it went first time even though the logs were pretty big that I'd used, the rice went on and I finished it off on the woodburner leaving it to absorb the rest of the water.  I served it with apricot jam in the absence of lime pickle and I should really get down to making a few jars since I do love it.  The terraces have dried up but not sure what the weather will do tomorrow.  It seems to have formed a pattern, fine in the mornings and lousy in the afternoons.  Student tomorrow and I have my text ready for this week since I arrived at the lesson without one last week...doh.  LN......Now it's bath and then bedtime, grass cutting knacks me.....LN

Tuesday 25th April

Early to bed and early to rise...much too early for me even though it was six thirty.  I did my chores, had a shower and washed my hair and at eight phoned my neighbour to find out if she still wanted to go into Kardjali this morning, she decided that she didn't so since I was dressed for town I had to replan my day.  I'd not got a lot that I was going in for, I heard the bread van and couldn't get my backside into gear to go down to the square to buy bread so made an omelette for breakfast and ate it watching the television.  I picked up a message from Princess, sent one off to my grandson who'd managed to finish the London Marathon on Sunday and had a replay.  I was in a dilemma....the sun was shining, blue sky and bright but the grass was too wet to get started on.  I thought about a late start on the grass but the clouds were rolling in again, storm clouds were gathering so I took a few photographs of the garden, located Rosy and came back into the house.  I settled down in front of the tv and caught up on sleep that I hadn't had for a few days and I must have needed it.  As for following the programme I think I shall have to replay the last four episodes...another day another time.

At two I shook my feathers, took the text that I'd prepared for last week and headed into Djebel but remembering to fill up the log basket before I left so that I could effect a quick pyrotechnic  miracle when I arrived home....and I did.  By now the clouds had really gathered, I went up to the apartment at three thirty and at four the rain started along with the thunder and lightning.  Suddenly there was hail, torrential rain, the main street was awash, the hail was fairly big chips and now there was a river running down main street.  The Nipper was parked outside the shop and my student's mother had put cardboard on my windscreen to protect it from the hail while I watched from the apartment window with my student.  It subsided around five, I returned to the shop with my student and we decided that we would go for a pizza after work, his father had already closed the garage, no one was around wanting cars servicing,  As we were leaving the shop around one of the neighbours from the garage approached and said that one of the perimeter walls to the garage had come down.  We carried on to the restaurant and the father upped and left, he wanted to see what had happened so we ordered our meals.  Father arrived, we made an order for another pizza and he said that the wall was about one hundred meters in length and toppled over into the property opposite.  The meal was rather subdued after that so just before seven we paid up and went back to the shop, the temperature was dropping so i wanted to get home and light a fire, which I did and checked out the property, all walls intact.  There's lots of water outside the porch door though...must sort the gutters out...but not tonight.

So I'll make a decision whether to go to Kardjali or not tomorrow...there'll definitely be no gardening here and the petrol that I invested in today for the lawnmower will last a little longer.  Hot chocolate for supper and now to attempt to get the photos from my phone to my computer....need to find another cable for it.  LN.....What an exciting day, white over with hailstones.......LN

Late Pickie of the storm today

The white streaks are the hailstones on the road.....

Wednesday 26th April

Very cloudy start, mist covering everything and it took for ages to burn off.  I'd made the call just before eight that I wouldn't be going into Kardjali so telephoned my neighbour and let her know and she agreed that the weather just wasn't good enough for a browse round the shops.  My day was now mine, I'd had a disturbed night taking allergy tablets at four this morning when I noticed that my lip was swelling up again.....I'd only had pizza and a drink of cherry juice when I got back so I've put it down to the juice.  I'd had pizza last week and no strange effects.

I made toast for breakfast after buying fresh bread yesterday and thought about supper early digging a pork spare rib chop from the freezer to allow it to thaw.  The fire was still going from last night so I forced it into submission and got it burning brightly with a couple of starter woods, it was so miserable outside that I was planning a day doing nothing and wanted to do it in the warm......and I did just that, television, Netflix, a film this afternoon, a load of washing to break up the mix and that's now dry and ready to put away.  The sun did come out briefly and then the thunder set in again early afternoon and lightning but fortunately no hail, the rain was much gentler.  The chop went into the oven at four, I made from scratch a barbecue sauce, turned the chop over and then slathered it with the sauce and back into the oven with it.  I put chips into the air fryer, buttered two slices of bread, added one to the dish, served up the chop and tipped the chips on top of the sliced bread and put the other one on top of them.  Feast of feasts.....and I probably shan't move until morning.

Todays work has been taking photos of the starlings going into and out of the tree trunk on the wall.  Babies have obviously hatched and both parents have been very busy going backwards and forwards...food in and poop out.  I also noticed my very bedraggled cuckoo on the walnut at the bottom of the garden, they're much larger birds than you imagine.  Looks like a Lidl trip tomorrow, I'm out of eleven litre bottles of water, butter, mayo and cream cheese, most of the things that are bad for me.  LN    Now where did that diet sheet go?.......LN

Thursday 27th April

So last night I was tired at nine thirty so I was nestled down by ten and decided to go with it.  Lights off and slept very soundly until two this morning and not another ounce of sleep left in me.  Kindle out, Sudoku and I played that for a couple of hours, posted a video of Tuesday's storm in Djebel and got lots of hits from friends that I'd thought had forgotten all about me.  The video was pretty dramatic with a screech of 'that's my car' so I turned the sound off, they didn't all need to hear it.  I also found a message on messenger about arrangements for today, my friend from Fotinovo wanted to take a trip to Kardjali so I suggested an early start for this morning, not too early though and she arrived around nine thirty, a quick coffee and we were off in the Nipper.  I managed toast before she arrived so was set up for the day...no point in going food shopping when you're hungry.

I'd written my list but mine was a day of admin.  First stop was the cash point to take out money for the annual road tax for the Beast and it came in at not too bad a figure.  There's normally a long queue and today was no different except that they had three pay points open and a single queue formed and people peeled off as required.  Normally there's on and it's a fight to the finishing post and despite the queue I was in and out in ten minutes.  My friend had to go to pick up a card and she was greeted at the door, the man went inside and found her card within a couple of minutes and handed it to her so she was waiting in the café when I got there.  Two Cappuccinos later, we were back at the Nipper and on our way to Lidl.  I bought lots of goodies that I felt I needed, I stopped for gas on the way home and she was on her way home by twelve fifteen.  I invited her in but she'd bought meat and wanted to get it home and the fridge.  I unpacked my shopping except for the three eleven litre bottles of water which I'd bring in later when I parked in the drive and then I doubled back to Djebel to pay the tax on the Nipper and also my house tax for the last two years.  If it was desperate they knew where I  lived....and no one came after me.  That done I went to the café and had chicken soup for lunch at the grand cost of four BGN which amounts to just under two pounds...the last of the big spenders me.  I sat with my student's mum in the car shop for an hour or so chewing over the fat, joked with my student who was trying to get me to take him to Greece on Sunday but I had the perfect excuse.  I can't take him out of the country without a declaration for the notary giving me permission from his parents so he got a little grumpy but eventually accepted it.

Home for five, chicken wings and a jacket potato in the oven and I was having supper at six with a chocolate and cream pudding to follow.  Stuffed to the gills I carried on watching my latest Netflix and that's why I'm late doing the update.  The weather was a little better today, only twelve degrees out, coldish wind but no thunder, lightning or hail.  Tomorrow if it's still dry, the mower will come out and first job is to try and get Avatar's grass down around the house.  She's not come back from Germany yet and is due next week, I'd have done it before but have struggled to keep my grass down due to the rain every afternoon.  No pickies today...been far too busy 'doing'...will do better tomorrow.  LN.....I'm in for a busy few days with sleep-overs to be in the right place at the right time.....takes me back to my youth......LN

Friday 28th April

Six start and I seemed to be up and at it from the off.  I collected up the household waste ready for a bonfire, made toast for breakfast and abstained from putting Netflix on.  Instead I played Sudoku until I'd had enough of that and began to get ahead of my day.  As the sun came up it burnt off the mist and it looked like it could be good weatherwise.  After the rubbish we've been having it was a welcome change.  I'd made the decision that I would try to find someone to clear Avatar's garden, was out in the yard opening up the little house and noticed a car pulling up on the road opposite.  I don't get many visitors and he got out and approached the gate so I went to speak with him and he was inviting me to a baby party in Kardjali tomorrow and he was letting me know that there would be a coach to take us to the event at eleven at the bottom square in the village.  I thanked him and asked him if he knew anyone who would be able to cut Avatar's grass, he suggested Emula one of the younger ones so I said goodbye to him and went down to see my young neighbour to see if she had a phone number for him.  Yes she had but unfortunately he was working ten days in Sofia so no go there then.  I phoned my painter to see if he was able to do it and there was no reply, he phoned me later and said that he would call on his way back from Djebel which he did but his machine is being repaired apparently so he's going to phone me over the weekend.

My young neighbour came back with me, she was on the hunt for mushrooms and I said that I had lots in my garden.  I'm always very suspicious if they don't come in a pack from Lidl but she seemed to know what she was doing and collect a medium sized bag from the grass.  She'll manage to made some delicacy from them and she said that she wasn't going to tell the other ladies where she'd got them from, it was going to be our secret.  I don't think she wants to share the treasure trove.  She was still collecting so I got out the new little electric mower and fixed the cable so that it reached the bottom of the garden and set about the first cut of the grass down there.  She was amazed by the machine and in true Bulgarian fashion asked me how much I'd paid for it.  I'd cleared half of the ground by the wall, off she went and looks like we're both off to the baby party in the morning.  I found two more tortoise, Blue is out and one more that I think is Little Purple but no nail varnish on its back.  The only one missing now is Cracked Shell, no varnish but easy to recognise.

The grass is now complete, only strimming and beds to be weeded and it was a hard slog towards the end.  I put the machines away at four, felt absolutely knacked, found a small bird on the little house terrace and that's now waiting for the next burnup.  Not sure what it is but probably a victim of sun on glass window. The log carrier was filled up and I put it in the porch,  I took my boots off outside and there was lots of grass in them, socks came off as well, I didn't want that in the house or the porch.  Fire lit, I made a drink and sat on the sofa, intending to get straight in the bath but fell asleep for an hour and a half.  I remembered that I'd bought steak yesterday from Lidl so fried off some onions, cremated the steak and had it in a sandwich watching my Netflix series cleared the kitchen and did the washing up, hot water boiler on, TV off and I'm about to have that bath to ease the aches and pains.  So tomorrow baby party if I choose to go, staying in Fotinovo tomorrow night and Greece if the weather is good on Sunday.  LN......I've achieved a lot to day and for the next few days I'll watch the grass grow ready for the next onslaught......LN  

Saturday 29th April

This is going to be a very short update.  Had a mare of a day trying to set up my new laptop to take with me for my night away and I've just managed to get into it.  Password changes from one computer to the next, forgotten passwords, making scribbled notes and forgetting which one belongs to which....don't you hate it.  I understand the rules and regulations and that it's for my own safety but when you're tired the rules don't seem to matter much.  

I decided not to go to the baby party....I did too much yesterday in the garden, slept too well and so I lazed the morning away, did my packing after I'd finished with the laptop and was in the Nipper and arrived on time at the venue.  She had cooked a very good beef slow cooker dish and a French plum pudding with cream.....stuffed to the gills and it will soon be time for bed for a fairly early start tomorrow.....Greece and the local market to see what goodies we can come up with.  LN......New laptops...who'd have 'em.....LN