Friday 11th August

It's been a full on day.  I was out of bed at seven, washing in the machine by seven o'five  and kitchen cleaning after that until the machine had finished.  It wasn't a bad morning so I pegged the washing on the line hoping that the rain would stay away.  I made coffee and more coffee, checked emails and did 'stuff', toast and marmalade for breakfast and I was looking around for things to do.  I'd bemoaned the state of the conservatory ever since I got here.  It was unloved, the geraniums had been neglected, outside had come inside and it was going to be a gig job...and it was.  It was a place I used to sit when and read when it was raining outside but that was when I lived here, the sound of the rain on the glass made it feel like a protected area.  I'd made sky light curtains that kept out the glare but those too had seen better days and I don't think I shall have time to replace them on this visit....I' might get round to it.

The outside drive cleaning hoover came into its own and did the majority of the work, clearing up dead leaves and general dust and dirt. I had to clear one space to move things around and move on to the next until most of the floor was cleared and cleaned.  The machine is good but it did spit out the odd nail and clothes peg and didn't like the filler from under the door jam to the lounge so a black bag became the dumping ground.  Most of the old plastic containers had perished in the heat and crumbled when picked up but eventually I'd got it more or less sorted so set to and the geraniums in the wooden trug sitting on a table.  I firstly cut them all back and have now around fifteen cuttings that I'll pot up tomorrow.  They're sitting in a pot on the bench outside in water so I'm sure will appreciate a good drink before I sink them into individual pots.  I'm probably going to take some over for my daughter for her decking, they should just about be established by the middle of October and back to square one for them.  I worked through until four this afternoon giving the floor a final once over, stuck the cleaning cloths int he washing machine and then it was down tools.....spaghetti bolognaise had been made for me and it was unusual because my host had put chilli beans in it but without the chili powder and my brain was adapting well to it....I was expecting one thing and got another that was familiar but not quite.  Strange creatures aren't we.  I followed it with yogurt and that sorted me out and back to normal.

Saturday tomorrow, not sure what I'm going to be getting up to.  I decided not to head up to London to see my son and his family, they were busy socialising on Saturday leaving the grandchildren to 'granny' sit so I saved them the trauma.  They were also planning a holiday and my DIL injured her knee badly in a ski-ing accident and is not long off crutches, I didn't want to put too much pressure on her.  I did have a lovely long conversation with my son last night on the phone and later in the year or early next I'll come over again but land in Stanstead specifically to stay with them.  LN...I always seem to find 'work' to do here....but at least the car has got through the MOT and we have it back....Lidl here we come........LN

Saturday 12th August

Another early start and at six this morning I was making coffee, admiring my work that I'd done in the conservatory and pegging out washing to catch the morning breeze.  There was no movement from the rest of the house and somehow I managed to fill in my time until there was activity on the computer upstairs.  I made more coffee, cleared off the old potting bench and emptied the old pots into a bucket and that joined the rest of the pots from yesterday that I'd turfed out of the conservatory.  The sun was out but not very strong so I made toast, found the last few days local newspapers for searched for sudoku, crosswords and the likes and sat at the cleared off table completing the competitions.  It was about nine when I went upstairs to get out of my pyjamas and into day clothes, I didn't have much to think about so I checked emails and searched for one or two things on the internet and at ten thirty decided to go for a walk over the Downs to the sea front.  It had clouded over. I brought in the sweater that I'd put out earlier and put it on the line in the conservatory to finish drying.

I set off for the sea front around twelve thirty and the climb to the top of the Downs had me huffing and puffing.  It's quite a steep climb but once up there you get magnificent views of the sea, Brighton and beyond.  I went past the windmill, over the Coast Road and down to the Undercliff walk only this time I was walking on to Saltdean not heading back to the Marina and Brighton.   I found a bench looking out to sea and watched the waves crashing on to the pebbles and took a few shots with the phone, I'd forgotten to take the camera with me.  I carried on walking for about a quarter of a mile, turned round and started my return journey.  We had a few spots of rain but I could see that Brighton was having a deluge so stepped up the pace and managed to get home and it had finished without having really started....lucky old me.  I suggested to my host that we should go to see a friend in a near by town, she has to use a walker now to get anywhere so we phoned, we made arrangements to be there around six.  We managed to get a trip into Lidl between bookings to fill up on the things that you really can't live without, or think you can't.

Change of clothes and we were ready to leave around six, drove over Ditchling Beacon and decided to use a different fish and chip shop that the one we usually call at.  Arrived at our friend's house with supper at seven, I served it up, and we had a very pleasant evening in our first catch-up since Christmas.  I cleared away and washed up and put the kitchen back to its usual sparkly self and we set off for home around nine.  Lunch out tomorrow at my daughter's house, she messaged me to let me know that the garden shredder has arrived already and I reminded her that she wasn't to use it unsupervised.  It's in the shed and will come into use when I go round on Wednesday for a day of gardening.  LN.....Another good day and good to catch up with old friends......still working out how to get photos from my phone to the blog.....doh.....LN

Sunday 13th August

Early morning start at six, bathroom visit and then I went back to sleep until nine.....result, I felt so much better for doing it.  I headed for the bathroom and ran a bath and washed my hair, as I said we were out for lunch and I was filling in time until we were due to leave.  I have a very large corner bath at this home and enjoy wallowing, take in my sudoku book and my tablet, soak for an hour or so and that again is very relaxing but I had a shock when I rinsed the tub round. The shower head needs investigating, lots of black stuff came out of it so it may need a new hose, it only gets used when I'm in England.  Dressed ready for the day, I made toast with apricot jam and sat in the conservatory with an old copy of the local rag and made a complete pig's ear of both Sudokus that they print.  Fortunately it was time to leave so I didn't have to try to correct them...that for another day.

Lunch was more or less ready and we sat out in the garden while it was finishing off, the sun was out but the wind was chill, and I was pleased when we were ordered indoors.  Pork chops in sauce, roasted baby potatoes, salad and real mayo for me that I allowed others to share being the kind person that I am.  Everyone else has a points system for food intake and I have just an indicator that I finish when I've had enough.  We finished off with strawberries with meringue and cream followed by coffee and sat round the table for the next couple of hours or so chewing the fat so to speak.  My grandson's exploits the previous night in Brighton and we had a fashion show of the new motor bike gear that my daughter has for a forthcoming journey to a holiday in France on the newly acquired bike.  It took me back to when I was her age and my host and I went touring around Europe and my daughter used me as an example...well mum did it so I can!!

We came home around nine and what a lovely day it's been.  I'm back there on Wednesday, staying for a few days and we have gardening days planned so fingers crossed for good weather.  LN.......I'm going to miss them when I go home......LN    

Monday 14th August

Funny old day weatherwise, sun, showers, rain set in and stopped play.  My daughter was out on the motorbike as pillion passenger for the first time, coffee in Beachy Head and they were home before it started chucking it down fortunately.
She's new to it so hope she didn't get buffeted too much.  I managed to peg the washing out for a quick blow but now most of it is sitting in the conservatory.  As for the rest of the day, breakfast of melon followed by toast and jam, then out to the garage, power tools at the ready and I did the hedge between us and the neighbours.  The upside is the hedge looks superb, but the downside was tidying up the cuttings, it seemed to take for ages, rain for a couple of minutes and then it would clear up buy eventually it was finished, all bagged up and last step is to take it to the tip tomorrow.  I chatted to the next-door neighbour for around half an hour or so and he was filling me in on the gossip of the village...interesting.

I came in for a late lunch and then promptly fell asleep on the sofa for an hour or so.  I didn't sleep too well last night and suppose I was catching up and filling up the energy tanks after this morning's effort.  Supper was prepared by my host and Now he's gone to sleep in the lounge.  Lovely surprise tonight, one of my delights was to catch Monday night's TV when I was in Bulgaria, it was my quiz night, Only Connect and University Challenge.  Only Connect was the same, the questions are still obscure and I'm surprised when I get any of the answers and University Challenge has a new presenter, Jeremy Paxman has retired and now we have a new one whose name I've not managed to put into my brain as yet and by the time that I do I shall be back in BG and not watching it any more.  It reminds me that I must find a new way of receiving British television when I'm over there.

No pickies tonight, the weather just hasn't been worth getting the camera out for.....I'll take some of me at the tip tomorrow before and after I've climber up steps to the height of the skip to empty out the bags...LN......I'll be going home for a rest.....if I last that long..... ......LN

Tuesday 15th August

Seven start and I sat out in the conservatory with my coffee and had another attempt at the local rag sudoku and eventually managed to do the hard one, the medium one I made a pig's ear of. As for checking yesterday's, I was completely off the mark.  I had yogurt and toast with marmalade for breakfast, it was pleasant in the sun and I'm so pleased that I cleaned it out thoroughly...it made it all worthwhile.  

I washed and put my scruffy jeans on, today was all about getting rid of the grass and hedge cuttings from yesterday that were bagged up and waiting for attention.  We loaded them into the back of the car, the tip is around four miles away and fortunately it wasn't busy.  My host unloaded the car and left the bags at the bottom of the steps, again I had the grand climb and emptied them into the skip.  I was amazed, there must have been about twelve of them.  Lidl was suggested but there's so much food in the fridge that nothing else would have fitted, we stopped at the chemist in the village to try to amend a prescription, but the pharmacist couldn't help, 'you'll have to phone the surgery'. which a joke in itself.  The system for ordering repeat prescriptions is so difficult to manage, I prefer the system in Bulgaria, everything in the UK is system driven..... not so good for the elderly to manage.

Home and the next job on the list was about to be tackled.  The motion detector that lights up the porch had failed, a new one was ready to be fitted but unfortunately it wasn't the same size as the original.  I again was on a ladder offering the new one to a pair of hands in the gap between the tiles and the porch floor/ceiling and it got more difficult as the time went on.  The fitting that was supposed to go through the hole was smaller but not so long as the original so it was a scratching of heads to make it work, For two people with fixed ideas....I retired to the lounge and caught up with 'This Farming Life'.  I did go some admin for myself, my Boarding Pass had got very wet on the way over when I was driving to Sofia so I've printed a new one, I shall be needing it in a week's time.  Off for two days with my daughter and SIL tomorrow.  We've got shopping and gardening to do and the new shredder/ chipper to take for a test run.  We probably need supervising, but we'll give it our best shot.  LN......Back to it.....I'm off up a ladder......LN

Wednesday 16th August

Slow morning start, nothing to rush for I wasn't out until approximately eleven.  The plan was to go to stay with my daughter and SIL, help out with the garden and a 'shop until we drop' in Lewes tomorrow.  I did a little preparation before she arrived, I dug up an Escalonia that had managed to grow roots into a bucket and took around seven geraniums that I taken from the original ones that were growing in a trug in the conservatory.  I'd got it wrong, she had a dental appointment tomorrow, I thought it was today so first thing I did was to change when we arrived at the house, I'd dressed for shopping not for digging.

First off we planted the shrub in the side garden but we had to remove the existing plant and make the hole bigger.  I watered it in well and it looks very happy there. Geraniums were next to go into a pot, they've not got roots on and fingers crossed they will soon grow some. Next job was to set about planting up several plants that she'd bought with her husband at the garden centre yesterday, they're all now looking very settled in very shiny new pots on the terrace.  The rest of the afternoon was spent sitting in the sun topping up sun tans and enjoying pleasant conversation with my grandson and daughter.  

The camera came but the photos are still in the camera.....I fell asleep on the sofa after lasagne and chippies, have only just woken up and am still half asleep.  I shall be taking myself up the wooden hills and to bed, we do have lots to do tomorrow.  LN....I'm just about to write my list, I have space in the suitcase that needs filling.....LN

Thursday 17th August

SIL off to work really early on his motorbike, grandson's alarm went off at seven and my daughter was waking him up at ten after seven to make sure he was leaving in time to pick up his mate and then the house was ours.  I washed and dressed and was ready for eight, my daughter had a dentist's appointment and an optician later in the day so we were forced to check out the charity shops in Lewes.  My daughter made a couple of purchases, I found a few children's books to take back with me, Superdrug had a few good offers on and then it was back to Tesco's carpark, I noticed a nail in the rear tyre so we knew that we had to find someone to fix it on the way home.  We carried on to Tesco and bought supper, at the checkout we mentioned to the operator that we'd found a nail in the tyre of the car and he recommended that we try Just Tyres not far from where we were parked, my daughter googled it, put the directions to the SatNav and we were there in quick sticks.  There was no one waiting so it was fixed straightaway, and we were soon mobile again.  

We were home for two more or less, unpacked the shopping, the new purchases were put in the washing machine then since it was a lovely day we sat in the sun until the boys got home.  We had jacket potatoes for supper each choosing our own fillings and I settled for cheese, coleslaw, beetroot and red onion followed by chocolate pudding.  Full to the gills.

Tomorrow we're off to Eastbourne, my daughter has a hospital appointment so she's getting her MOT's sorted out in the school holidays.  I'm just tagging along for support, it's really appreciated and it's good to be doing something good for her.  LN.......The days have started to move on quickly.....too  quickly......LN

Friday 18th August

Not a very good sleep last night.  We went to bed around nine thirty, I must have fallen asleep quite early and was awoken by my grandson coming home at silly o'clock.  From four onwards I was awake, managed to get off again, watched my SIL heading out for work, met my grandson coming out of the shower, he went off to work and then it was my daughter and myself with the run of the place.  I got dressed and had toast for breakfast and made coffee, she doesn't do breakfast so we sat down with the Daily Telegraph crossword and the sudoku until we were leaving at nine for Eastbourne.  It was a grim old day, rain, sea mist along the coast road, the SatNav took us straight to the hospital, we parked up on the street and were early for the appointment so sat in the car and made a dash through the rain at around ten fifteen.

My daughter was called through to a training room, there were two other people there and the lady running the session was quite happy for me to join the group and it was very informative.  The notes that we were handed out were very good and my daughter took a photo of the training material that was used and will print it out for me tomorrow.  Session over we drove back to Newhaven, went to Lidl and I was amazed how busy it was.  Unfortunately, that didn't have enough checkouts open and the delay could have been avoided with more staff.  Lots of grumbling customers but eventually we reached the checkout where the operator whizzed us through.  We drove home and had lunch, went back to crosswords and sudoku and spent the afternoon eating chocolates and rubbing out the answer and starting again.   My daughter drove me home around four, I ended up helping to fix the outside lights that required a new sensor which involved climbing ladders and holding things so that they could be screwed home.   I didn't manage to solve the sudoku and brought it home with me and now it's on the bed so I might try it again.

Nothing planned for tomorrow, I need another good walk so that could be on the agenda.  I must admit I've started putting things in my suitcase already, and just have a few things to buy to take back.  LN....Sorry, photos are very thin on the ground....need to buy a new camera to take back with me........LN

Saturday 19th August

Six start this morning and I set about collecting my things together.  They'd scattered round the house, it may seem early to be doing it since I don't leave until the crack of dawn on Wednesday but I like to get things organised.  I collected the washing and that went in the machine, I picked up things like a croaking toy from that I wanted to take back with me and then I went down to the kitchen, grabbed a coffee and old newspapers and opened up the conservatory.  It's a very good spot to sit, the morning sun had warmed it already and two coffees later, I'd done a sudoku and three quarters of the cryptic crossword that I was very pleased about.  Normally I go for the easy ones but this morning I was up for the challenge.  Breakfast was next on the agenda and I opened a can of beans and had them on toast, there was very little movement from mine host but situation normal.  The washing went into the machine, unfortunately it's a slow old machine so it wasn't on the line until around noon.  

My daughter phoned and suggested tea tomorrow afternoon and offered me to sleep over but I think I'll come back. I want to go to church tomorrow morning, I checked the schedule and who was leading the service and think it might be interesting.  The lady has a website and has a base in Seaford along the coast, the cost of a private reading is more than I would like to pay so I'll leave that for another day or year.  Never know, I might even get a message from the medium tomorrow if something needs to be said.  I went back to my room and was looking through old family photos, I find them fascinating, a lot I remembered but some it was good to bring them to the forefront of the brain again.  Then back to it...sorting for packing.

Washing in, onto coat hangers and on to the curtain rain to air before being either worn or put in the suitcase.  I've just watched a programme about Cappadocia, a settlement that I visited in Turkey around five years ago and it showed so many other Turkish ancient sites that I'd be keen to visit.  I think the way to do it is to book a tour starting in Istanbul or flying down to Cappadocia to start the rest of the tour.  Turkey is such a big country, empty excellent roads between the cities and perfect for coach travel.  This requires investigation.  Not sure, I haven't heard from my Bulgarian lady, I might even be going down to Bodrum if she can get enough people to go on the tour and hopefully it will go ahead on the 31st August.  Time to look for food, we were having fish and chips but the wine bottle came out, not for me might I add, so that's been shelved.  LN.....Sorry.....again no pickies, I didn't go for a walk...much too busy doing nothing important.....LN