Monday 11th September

Silly night last night.  I had too much supper and woke up at two thirty this morning, just couldn't sleep.  I played silly games for a while, didn't solve any of the three outstanding Angry Birds or achieve really good times on the Sudoku so at four I decided to have another run at bedtime...and it worked until six thirty....and it's been full on all day.  I made fried tomatoes on toast for breakfast but that was much later, I had a bonfire, watered the pots and came in and finished watching Orange is the New Black....and I'm pleased I've come to the end of it.  It was almost obsessional but went on too long.  The last episode was good and brought it all together.

Out to the workshop and found the paint brush and the old engine oil and I'd decided to cover the wood 'sculptures' scattered around the garden and somehow have lasted several years.  Also there are three or four tree trunks that serve as perching stools that also needed a coat.  I did intent taking photos but by the time that I'd finished the rest of the day's work, it was just too late.  There's a donkey down the bottom by the burning area, a reclining 'something' at the bottom near the medlar fruit tree and my infamous reclining 'frog' with the hat,  There are two perching logs at the bottom of the garden and one under the old fruit tree in the grave garden.  They've all been 'done', the frog needs a new hat but that's a job for another day.  

I came in for a drink and ended up opening a can of pineapple chunks reserving the juice for tonight's supper of pork skewers in sweet and sour sauce.  Fortified I concentrated on the wall with railings in the grave garden.  It had all become overgrown, the shrubs had been pulled forward when the railings were painted and had been left to their own devices.  The quince had mingled with the rose and Spirea and instead of it being standalone was now just a jungle.  Unfortunately when I started to uncover  the trunk nearest the ground, a lot of it had rotted and I was able to heave out chunks of the root ball.  What's left is still pretty green and should do better now that I've attacked it.  The rose is now back on the railings on top of the wall, the honeysuckle is back where it should be and the other trees have been thinned out.  It's just a shame that there isn't any grass left but now that it's opened up again, it should bring it back to life.  The cows have had some good pickings, the rotten wood was heaved over the wall and I swept up the dead leaves intending to rekindle the bonfire but instead emptied my log carrier over the wall and the sheep soon found it.

I came in at six, cooked supper and it looked and tasted superb.  Three skewers and spicy potato wedges and that should do me through until breakfast.  Half nine my time, I've gone back to watching 'The Last Kingdom'....which I really enjoy and wondering when the last episode is being released that covers from book eight onwards.  Opticians tomorrow but not until four thirty so might have a leisurely day, potter in the garden but nothing dramatic, a little gentle strimming to take me through until two.  Shower, head to Kardjali and have my eyes tested and it will be new lenses in the old frames...I like the last ones that I bought when my old ones couldn't be repaired.  LN....Another good gardening day...feeling pleased with myself.......photos to follow.....much too busy to stop for a photoshoot......LN

Tuesday 12th September

Well that I could forget my optician's appointment, I'd got reminders going off left, right and centre.  I was awake at five thirty this morning, watched the morning come awake from my bed and the reflection of the sunrise from the table in the stairwell.  It's been an odd day, my morning was paved with good intention but not a lot of it got done.  I meandered through the morning, made a superb cheese omelette for breakfast to use up the last of the eggs which would get replaced later after my visit to the optician, cleared the kitchen, cleaned the worktops and the top of the cooker and walked the garden, finding Rosy where I didn't expect to find her.  She was up in the grave garden, shell to the sun warming up.  It obviously deserved a photoshoot and then I went to review my work from yesterday and I'm pretty pleased.  I just need to tie a few more of the new shoots to the railings and thin out the honeysuckle...rampant stuff that it is.  The same can be said of the terrace, but today wasn't the day for it.  Watering the little yellow flowered jasmine yesterday resulted in some of the flowers coming out and it looks much healthier.  Same goes for the other shrubs, they're having such a hard time of it.....we need rain.

I felt a little jaded after my exploits yesterday so settled on the sofa and got my head down for an hour or so.  Time for a shower and washed my hair, dressed for Kardjali and set off after three. I managed to park up using the app for the payment, the last time I'd tried this I couldn't get my phone to work but this time it went through OK.  The nice thing about this is that if you change your car-park, the app follows you and it is concurrent....so no more money is taken.  I was early for my optician appointment and was shown to the waiting room and at four twenty I was in and at four forty five I was out.  My eyes are the same, no deterioration so no new glasses, a little deterioration of the retina but to be expected at my age but he complemented.  I tried to explain that it was genetic and that I had very little to do with it but no drinking and no smoking must help.

On to Kaufland for a few items, over to Lidl and was surprised to see my garage family and my student doing their shopping.  We arrived at the checkout at approximately the same time and my student's mum suggested that we stopped at the next garage on the way home for a coffee which we did.  I carried on to Djebel for one final stop for bread and juice, they didn't have the pork skewers that I'd stopped off for.  Shopping away, don't feel in the mood for food so settled for a chocolate mousse, quick update and then bed.  LN.....Those promised photos will materialise tomorrow.....too late now...sorry.....LN

Wednesday 13th September

So another sleepless night, I woke up at two thirty, played silly games and eventually got off around six and was awake fully at seven ready to face the day.  It was another beautiful morning with not a cloud in the sky and so it was definitely going to be a pool day and probably the last one of the year.  I made the arrangements, settled for boiled eggs for breakfast and was in the Nipper at ten thirty and heading for my friend's house.  We sat drinking coffee, settled for a restaurant with pool that we both knew and made out way towards Zlatograd.  Unfortunately the pool was closed for the season, holidays are over, school starts soon so no customers.  We back tracked to the motel that we had just passed and again we were given the same response so headed to another small town around eight kilometres away.

This time we struck lucky, it was a hotel that my friend knew well so we were welcomed in, we ordered lunch straightaway, and headed for the pool area.  The pump wasn't going and I was given the instruction by my friend not to drink the water so I ordered coke instead.  We settled down in an area in the shade, stripped off to swimsuits and started to descend the steps and boy was it cold.  I suppose we've had some coldish nights lately and we are heading for autumn and it took me to quite a while to get in the water.  Once in I swam for quite a while, my body adjusted quickly to the pool temperature and in the end it was quite enjoyable and worked out that swimming on the surface wasn't so bad.  The session was interrupted by the delivery of food so back to the easy chairs. cheesy chips, shopska salad and kufte.....more coke....and there was nothing left for the cats.  We ate all of it.

I tried more swimming but by now it was getting late after we'd put the world to rights and I didn't want to drive home in a wet swimsuit.  At four thirty we made out way back to the Nipper and drove back to my friend's house and again more coffee.  I shall be bouncing off the walls tonight.  This could possibly be the last swim session, I was surprised that this one was still open but it's too far for me to drive to on the off chance that it's open.  Home by eight thirty and I sent photos over to her, for some reason her phone wouldn't take them and I've had that problem before.  Fortunately I'd taken my Sony big one.  LN.....I should hopefully sleep well tonight......fingers crossed......LN

Thursday 14th September

I decided late last night at around ten that I'd have a bath just in case there was anything lingering from the swim water.  I started off running the hot tap, needed to add some cold and added too much, I'd switched the boiler on for top ups and I emerged from the bath around midnight after having about twenty minutes in the land of nod while I was in there.  I've always done it, suppose I always will, everyone tells me it's 'dangerous' but with no alcohol running through my system I think I'd recognise the danger points.  I dried off and went to bed, a few games of sudoku to relax me completely and away I went.

It was six when I woke, I felt really refreshed, made my coffee and headed for the balcony and despite it was fresh out there, it was still very pleasant.  There were quite a few bee-eaters sitting on the electric wires near the bottom of the garden, they were waiting for the insects to arrive and not much was happening around six thirty when it warmed up a little.  I made more coffee, collected the washing to get it in the machine and remembered that I had bacon so made a bacon and egg sandwich around eight.  Cleared away but didn't wash up and it's still waiting now but since there's only me to complain, I'll do it when I'm ready.  Emptied the machine and put the clothes on the airer in the guest room....it's become a habit, saves little flies getting in the washing when it's hung outside to dry.  I went out to water the cuttings that are waiting in water and noticed that the water exit pipe from the outside sink had broken up in the heat and needed replacing.  They only cost about two leva fifty so don't break the bank and since I needed more potting compost for the new cuttings I cleaned myself up and drove into Djebel.  Approaching the town there were three police cars parked up and they were stopping everyone.  I was third in the line about ten meters from the one in front and was approached by a young policeman who addressed me in English so I answered in Bulgaria, so he asked me for my driving licence.  He checked the insurance sticker on the windscreen and the MOT certificate and that was it....I was away before the ones before me and told to have a good day in English so I thanked them, gave them a big smile and off I went.  I managed to park up near the car shop, she was very busy so I had a few minutes with her, went to the hardware and bought the water outlet that I wanted and some small nails, I noticed I'd only got big ones left.  Next stop the flower shop and Dari was really busy, some special day tomorrow and everyone want's flowers so I picked up my potting compost, paid her and left.....no time for chats.

By now the police had gone and moved off to pastures new, it was now lunchtime so I had tuna mayo sandwiches, followed by a chocolate mousse and some biscuits in front of the TV, settled down and promptly nodded off for an hour or so and there's nothing wrong with that.  Went out and replaced the drain pipe to the outside sink, removed the lower leaves from the eight rosemary cuttings intending to plant them later and prepared the skimmia cuttings but instead went into the little house, put the nails away and and tidied the workbench.  Final action was to water the pots, it's been another hot day and a few of the shrubs and the red hot pokers and yucca that I split up earlier in the week.

Everything away and locked up, nothing pressing for tomorrow so I'll probably meander through another day.  I suppose I could get the reciprocating saw into action and get my starter wood sorted.  LN......I'll sleep on the suggestion and see how I feel in the morning.......LN    

Friday 15th September

Seven start and we had a particularly warm night after the cooler ones that we've been getting.  I was almost down to the sheet instead of the quilt and I realised that I'd closed the window instead of leaving it on tilt and turn.  So open up the door and the window to get some air through and then take my coffee on to the balcony.  There were a few cloud in the sky, promised to be a reasonable day so had a bonfire and grabbed the tools, I'd got my sights set on the bonfire garden, it needed new surrounds, grass removing and the trees at the back thinning out.  As I worked outside it became very muggy, it was thirty degrees according to my house and outside thermometer.  It had clouded over and at three I checked Accuweather and it forecast rain at around four.  

I finished repairing the garden edging, painted it with old engine oil, and used the lawn rake to clear most of the rake and the fork to remove some of the roots.  I tried to dig it over but it's all so dry that I wasn't really getting down into the soil and will probably have more success now that it's rained.  It came on suddenly even though I was expecting it....I'd put most of the tools on the seat under the wild cherry and only needed to lift them into the log carrier to bring them back up to the little house.  As I put them in and tried to wheel it up the garden it was twisting from side to side, totally unbalanced and I was clutching the garden spade under my other arm.  Eventually I found the balance point and all was safely gathered in hence this late summer storm began.  I didn't find a place to plant the wisteria that I grew from seed last year, it's spent the summer in a pot but really needs to find it's place to be settled.  We didn't have too much rain, we could have done with much more but I think it's just started again and we've just had a flash of lightning.  Not too happy being on the computer when there are storms about so I'm, going to put the pickies on and put the computer to bed.  A long bath for me scheduled for tonight....and why not....no food required I've just finished off the cream cheese with bread sticks and that should see me through until morning.  LN......Better put the boiler on for top-ups.......LN

Saturday 16th September

Lovely late bath last night and in bed by eleven and slept through until six thirty this morning...result.  It was a very damp start, yesterday's rain had brought about thick fog and I couldn't see anything of the view but it didn't take long to lift.  There wasn't much sun about and at one point I thought we were in for more rain but the clouds were blown away but now it's clouded over again.

Bacon, egg and fried bread for breakfast but that didn't happen until around ten this morning.  I'm not sure where the morning went but I know where the breakfast went and very quickly at that.  The intention was good this morning, I did chop enough sticks to last for about a month, not enough to see me through winter but that would have taken too much effort but at least I made a start.  I also managed to plant the wisteria in the fire pit garden, I'd brought it back up when the storm started yesterday so today I took the bottom from the pot that it's been growning in, dug a big hole for it and made sure that the soil was soft for it to root into and surrounded it with decent soil.  It#s going to have more chance of succeeding down there than anywhere.  The leaves are still waiting to be thrown over the wall for the animals so I packed up axes and spades and locked everything away.  By two I'd had enough of the outside life.

I spend the rest of the afternoon watching the last episodes of 'The Last Kingdom', I'm sure there could be another series but I understand there's not one on the way.  I'd just settled down with the little computer on the table in the stairwell and the phone rang.  It was the lady from the flower shop in Djebel, she was just approaching my house and asked if she could call.  She's not been here before, was on her way to see if she could find some elderberries to make into a syrup but by the time that they got to where they were going, it would probably be too late to find them.

Almost eight my time and really must think about something for supper.....it will probably somethng quick and easy.....my creative juices aren't flowing tonight.  LN......I'll let you know tomorrow what I came up with.......LN

Sunday 17th September

Another five thirty start and it was pitch black outside.  I made coffee and played games and eventually the morning came to life and so did I.  I had good plans but hadn't committed them to paper, the day was going to evolve.  I somehow found myself opening up the white magnetic board that I'd bought from Lidl on my last visit. I took it out of its box and thought that the extras had somehow got mislaid and weren't included.  I pushed my hand down inside the box  and it had been secured to the inside of the packaging and I was now in possession of screws for fixing it to the wall, magnets, a dry marker pen and a rubber,,,the complete set.  I've managed to prop it up at the side of my desk behind the printers for the time being,I want to use it for my ancestry chart to see how to space it out before I start entering it into a computer package.  It's just not possible to print it from FMP and after going through the screen, I'm not liking the changes the company has made.  It might even make me cancel my subscription.

Breakfast called around ten so I fried bacon and an egg and that kept me going until this evening.  I went out to the garden around twelve, gathered my gardening stuff and headed down to the bottom of the garden to clear the leaves that I'd collected up the other day before the wind and rain came.  I found Blue, CS and Green God taking the sun and spotted Little Purple by the water dish.  I went in to find the camera and more nail varnish since most of it had rubbed off but by the time I got back to the water dish, Little Purple had legged it.  I went back to my leaf collecting using the garden rake and made modifications to the scarifier with a screwdriver and nut holder.  As I raked the prongs expanded to the full width so I had to tighten the lever so that they would hold their position....success and much less frustrating.  Leaves all over the wall for the cows, the rusty old fire bin is now reformatted as a lid for the new bin and the old rusty stuff is awaiting delivery to the container when I get round to it.  I came inside and nodded off for an hour or so while I was watching Netflix and then back out to it.  I removed some suckers from the lilac bush on against the low wall and part of a wild damson to expose the yucca that was growing behind them and it looks so much more open.I've got one more to go but that's behind a wild rose and I wasn't in the mood to fight nature so I've left it for another day.  I moved over to the high wall and cleared the bed by the old toilet block and this is now looking OK.  It was very dry so I water the spirea and the rest of the shrubs and tomorrow I'm out with the old engine oil again, the surround wants painting.

I came in at eight, I'd got just over nine thousand steps on the Fitbit and was determined to get up to ten thousand and I've achieved it.....marvellous what you knock up when you stop counting.  Tuna mayo sandwiches for supper, not got anything planned for tomorrow except more of the same and maybe some more seed collecting.  LN.....Time I put the computer to bed and relaxed.......soon be time for bed......LN

Monday 18th September

Slept all the way through Brigette Jones Diary....saw the first ten minutes and the last five...I must watch it again sometime.  Went to bed, straight to sleep until five thirty, turned over and woke at seven and I've been catching up ever since. I missed the sun coming up, too busy with Sudoku but managed to do one of the difficult ones beating my original record, so felt quite proud of myself.  At nine I thought it was about time that I went downstairs to make my second cup of coffee and at ten I was finishing off the rest of the bacon with an egg in a sandwich.  I did get in a bit of a mess, the yolk was cooked but runny and in a sandwich not easy to control.

I somehow found myself on the main computer and started looking at ancestry again.  I'm determined to get one written out for the family so that they can trace the 'Thomas' line all the way through and understand why my father was so disappointed that he produced two girls thus finishing out line.  I don't think I've been such a failure and if he had only said, I know my two would have had 'Thomas' as a second name for their boys.  Water under the bridge so they say.  I was playing around with the chart until twelve, revved myself up for going outside but the sun was out, the wind was howling so instead I settled in to Netflix, still in my pj's and watch 'Dear Child'.  I thought that I would stop at three episodes but no way, it was so good that I watched it until the end, went out at four and cut back the wild rose covering the second yucca by the low wall, cleared the suckers from round the base of a couple of trees, collected seeds for next year, raked over the garden under the wall and threw them to the waiting cows and packed up at six.  I was drawn back my family chart and think I might have found the Canadian link but coming from my grandmother's family not my grandfather's side.  I need to investigate it further and I even have an address in Vancouver....the property still exists.  

Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow so far, I might take myself into Momchilgrad and try out the market, not been there for some time.  There is a shop there for reupholstering furniture and I might very well take the dimension and have the little sofa recovered for the winter.  I've got lots of fabric, I did it the last time but they're more professional that I am....it's worth a quote.  LN.....Time to see if there is anything I fancy for supper......LN

Tuesday 19th September

Good night's sleep, a very lazy morning and I sat out on the balcony for about an hour counting the sparrows and the fly catchers and did little else.  There were a few clouds that took the heat out of the sun but nothing that drove me indoor again.  I made my second cup of coffee, took it outside and walked the garden but unfortunately didn't take my camera with me.  There was an eagle trying to gain height rapidly with a clock of birds challenging its every move and mobbing it.  It tried to change direction but they were in hot pursuit and I probably wouldn't have caught the moment even with a video....it was over in quicksticks and by the time I'd appeared with the camera, nothing was to be seen of the event.  There must have been about forty of the other birds, not sure if they were starlings working together or bee-eaters but they certainly put the wind beneath its wings....and it was off.

I found a huge dandelion in the under big house terrace so I dug it up and went round the garden looking for a  tortoise and only came up with Blue sleeping in the fire-pit bed.  I place it in front of him, he stuck his head out, opened one eye and promptly went off again.  I checked later and it had gone, and so had he.  I connected the long hose and watered one of the late flowering shrubs in the grave garden.  It has red buds ready to spring forth so gave it a good twenty minutes to make sure that it got down to the roots.  The red hot pokers look like they've taken and there's another clump of them that need splitting up but today wasn't the day.  I came in and made toasted cheese sandwiches for breakfast and then set about investigating an SSL certificate for this site, I was aware that it came up as unsecure and now you will see that it's got a padlock attached.  It took ages to do it.  Apparently the bank didn't receive the request for payment with the right protocols so my bank refused.  I contacted them and they told me the problem so back to the company and the poor girl didn't know what to do so I was on hold for quite some time and eventually we figured it out.  It was now heading for three thirty, three hours to sort it but at least I've managed it.  Five my time so thought I would do an early update.....it's a beautiful evening, light cloud, very little wind and the grand plans of going into Momchilgrad didn't materialise but there again....I've got time,  The furniture shop is open most days not just market day.

I've sent our a request for Bekir to see if he is available for a couple of days work.  Mid way through September and before the leaves start falling from the trees, best the branches are removed and the trees pollarded, the branches can go over the wall for the cows instead of me having to collect leaves and then toss them over the wall. The chimney also needs cleaning and a new 'lid' adding, the last one that he made has seen better days.  Let's see if he responds to the request....otherwise I need another helper from the village.  Supper time....I came up with hamburgers and potato wedges with mayo last night but today I have the red blotches back.....it could be the mayo or the coating on the wedges...who's to say.  LN.....Grass tomorrow...those weeds are getting vicious......LN

Wednesday 20th September

Seven start, slept well and woke to a beautiful sunrise....everything is so quiet, I get different birds scavenging the garden and was fortunate enough to capture some of them.  I've not done an awful lot today, the road to hell is paved with good intention but I got a little more than the basics done.  The grass, what there is of it remains unmowed, bulbs still need to be planted and cuttings put into compost but I've checked the cuttings and they are establishing roots already, nature is doing it on its own.

Lots of coffee and only toast and jam for breakfast,I did manage to phone Bekir to see when he's available for my myriad of little and not so little jobs and he's supposed to be phoning me back tomorrow with dates....and fingers crossed he will.  I spent some of the morning putting up a shelf in the bathroom using the existing shelf side supports with plastic clips to support the shelf itself.  The cistern was never flush with the tiled wall because of the connecting hoses and I've been meaning to do this for ten years and eventually I got round to it.  I measured the length of the wood that I needed, went up into the second story of the little house and low and behold, a piece the right length, the right depth, found the support brackets and screws straight off and job done and dusted in half an hour.  If only everything was that simple but of course, it took me ten years to get round to it.

I played around with ancestry this afternoon, it was too hot to be out there, checked on the tortoises to get my step count up and found one of them half buried in the fire pit garden and probably preparing for winter by digging its hole in the ground.  I came in for my statutory afternoon nap, woke up at five, watered the garden shrubs and pots and now thinking about supper.  I did managed to catch the sun going down tonight and noticed that there was a rainbow only covering the cloud, no rain in sight and nothing either side of the cloud,,,most strange.  Again, nothing on the agenda for tomorrow although the goodie box is virtually empty so I might just have to pay a visit to Djebel for top-ups.  LN......I've had a good day......LN