Wednesday 1st November

Another early start, probably because I slept through two episodes of my new Netflix, woke up at twelve and popped myself into bed.  Quick calculation and I had seven hours sleep so really not so bad.  Tonight's task is to stay awake until I'm in bed and not lounging on the sofa.....let's see.  So I made use of my early start, obviously coffee and games until six thirty, washed, dressed, tidied from last night, fluffed up the cushions etc, more coffee and toast with strawberry jam and everything finished by eight thirty.....so what to do with the rest of the day?

I did a walk of the garden and not much was going on, lots of sheep and cows still trying to find enough food to survive, we've only had a couple of days of rain over the last six weeks and that was really nothing to write home about.  I'd put four cuttings from one of my house plants in water and noticed that three of them had already started to grow roots and also two honeysuckle in a different jar have started as well.  I picked them up and took them with me to the little house, potted them up and put them with the others in my 'nursery'.  I carried on with the cleaning and organising and was picking things up and putting things down without much organisation.  I was trying to make a table from a large pallet stretched over two foldable workbenches but as it stood, I didn't have the room.  It reminded me of having to break eggs to make an omelette so.....

I cleared the old winter wood from the room that used to be a bathroom and moved it to the woodstore.  Five large logs had not been split so with my super sized axe and my lump hammer, they are now woodburner size and stacked with the others.  I swept it and dust clouds lingered and then transferred the new wood that's been stored in the what is to be the lounge into the bathroom and now you can see what's available...organised.  Some of the wood was stored in old Beast tyres and now they house a big blue bowl to take potting compost.  Now the space was clear I opened up the workbenches, lifted the palette onto them and jobs a guddun so they say.  I need to do minor adjustments tomorrow but it's looking good in there.  I would have taken photos but it was dark when I came in so tomorrow you'll see the finished article.  I also made it up to second level. opened the balcony door to let the flies out, adjusted one or two of the roof tiles and I have work to do on the timber fascia where the sun has scorched the existing...I'll have to get some wood preservative over the weekend.

I've had a really good day and came in just before six, was expecting a call from Avast to see if we could at last get a payment through to combine all my individual subscriptions and me not having to pay anything until 2026 which seems like a plan.  I checked my phone and I had received a call at five forty five and in my book, six is six and I was waiting and I'm still waiting.  I'll give them until half seven and then I'm going to linger in the depths of my bath for a couple of hours to make sure that I have no aches and pains tomorrow.  I've managed almost seven thousand steps today usually on the wrong end of a broom.  LN......Need to clean up before I get into bed....LN

Thursday 2nd November

So my late bath worked, bed for midnight and went through until six thirty this morning.  I ran the normal routine, coffee, washed dress, washing into the machine and hung in the guest room to dry.  Again I settled for toast and the remains of the strawberry jam while watching my latest Netflix.  There was a covering of light rain on the windows upstairs and the terrace had damp patches and it didn't really get going until just before ten and again, the heavens never really opened.  It was just a damp, dull old day.

The one programme turned into two but eventually I went out to carry on where I'd left off yesterday on tidying the little house workshop.  I took the entire shelving unit apart, found equipment that I never knew that I had so now at least I've been through it.  When the men were here they asked if I had a soldering iron, I said no but it appears I have.  Too late for them but it where I know I can find it next time.  I probably bought it when my guest was over a couple of years ago. It looks like it's never been used and I also found a set of new drill bits in the lid of the box that the machine came in and chisels that were put away so the men didn't get their hands on them...and not by me.  Tomorrow I'm going to give the pallet a light sanding and see if I can find some wood preservative and in the loft there are some huge chunks of wood left over from the beams that could make four legs...it could become a feature piece.  I had a bonfire around four and by accident I dropped an empty can of spray pain in there and around five minutes later there was a very loud bang, bits flew out of the burning bin and dogs started barking in the next village.  I'll take more care next time.  Everything locked away by five, came in and lit the fire and had a call from England which took me up until six.  I noticed that the temperature outside has dropped to fourteen, not low but if feels cold when it was twenty four earlier in the week.  

Supper was two large microwaved potatoes finished off with butter and grated cheese and nice and easy to do.  The house has warmed up quickly thanks to the radiators and it's time I checked to see if it needs another log on.  Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow except more of the same for me...I still have corners that I haven't delved into yet. LN.....Never know what I might find.......hidden in the depths.....LN

Friday 3rd November

Five thirty start and black as you like out there.  I meandered through the morning waiting for the dawn and when it came it was pretty slow to get going. There was some red in the sky but the main feature was the way that the mist was gathering over the streams and rivers.  Eventually the sun broke through and then the wind got up and the clouds soon came over and swallowed it up but eventually it cleared and it's been a reasonable day but not so warm as it has been.  

I made beans on toast for breakfast, tidied the kitchen and washed up, settled down to watch Netflix and disciplined myself to switch it off after watching one episode of my series.  I'm on to series three and I've just found out that there is series four to follow...so where is it taking me next?.  At ten I took the rubbish down to the container and used the car to get there.  I'd arranged to visit my friend who lives in Kardjali but has been looking after her mother after she had a fall and ended up in plaster for two weeks.  It was only the thumb joint so I'm not sure how much plaster they used but she's quite an age and obviously needed the support of her daughter.  As I approached the house, Zelinger and Haciber were just leaving and Zelinger commented that her back is so much better after applying the cream that I bought for her, they'd also had coffee but were on there way out.  We sat outside but it was not very warm.  She brought out the chocolates, coffee and a sponge cake and then we were visited by another old lady who is sadly nearly bent double but manages to get around somehow...and you have to admire how they take it all in their stride.  They've had years of growing tobacco to earn a living and there are so many people like these that live in the villages.  I left around eleven and drove home and the arrangement is that the daughter is coming to me tomorrow and I'm driving her into Kardjali.  She's going home and has to work tomorrow at one in the afternoon.  We'll go for coffee and maybe something for breakfast, either a cheesy bread or a banitsa or maybe even cake,  She lives very near to the Turkish cake and coffee shop that I visited with my student's family one evening after we'd picked my student up from football.  I'll see what she wants to do.  

I went into the workshop to continue with the good work, found out that my industrial hoover still works so emptied it out part filled it up again.  I'd removed the lid and one of the brackets had come loose and I couldn't remember how to put it back together again....it's been around five years since I've touched the thing.  The two honeysuckle that I potted up have started to put new leaves on already.  The root system had calloused up and was just waiting for compost to get going.  Four of the rosemary are looking chirpy and the four cuttings from what I call my bathroom plant since that is where it used to live, are looking really good.  I've yet to find out what it's called, it has about five bright orange tubular flowers in a cluster at the end of a shoot and the leaves are almost vine like.  I'll have to look for an old photo and tempt Google to see if it's able to recognise it.    

I came in at six and lit the fire....it's not really necessary but comforting.  Not sure what to do for supper, better get down to the kitchen and see what I fancy.  LN......Kardjali tomorrow so time to fill up the fridge and the goody box.......LN

Saturday 4th Novembers

Late start for me this morning, I woke and seven and remembered that I was taking my youngish friend who's mother lives in the village back to Kardjali so that she could to to work at eleven.  She arrived at the house at nine, we were having breakfast out so it was just a matter of getting ready and waiting and suddenly I noticed that the wind was pretty blustery so when she arrived I was moving the sunbed from under the wild plum tree and getting it into the little house.  I didn't want to find it on the hillside.  She helped carry it to the yard. we tried to get it through the door but there wasn't room to navigate it through the porch so I opened the door from the little house terrace, we carried it round and managed to get it through and into shelter....and in retrospect, it must have been someone giving me a hint of what was to come.

We drove to her apartment in Kardjali and she offloaded her luggage and then headed for the Turkish restaurant.  The food there is delicious but quite expensive so I said that I would pay, she got quite indignant so I said the the lady serving that she was not to accept my friend's money and the deed was done.  I had filo pastry with salami and cheese, she had a sesame bun thingy that I find dry and we both had black tea.  It wasn't so expensive but she has to work, is not married and lives in an apartment in Kardjali and there's not a lot to spare.  We walked the shops local to her and she took me to the department store that she works in, over the way from her apartment and it's the sister shop top the one that I usually go to in Kardjali centre.  I bought a new ironing board cover, not that I like to do it but the other one has holes in it where I've scorched it...probably because I don't practice very often.  I really should get a new iron...I remember Mikey B buying this one for me about thirteen years ago...he had a shirt to iron and was amazed when I didn't have one.  While we were shopping I had a text on my phone to warn me that there would be rain in Momchilgrad at eleven.....I left her in the shop to start work, made my way back to the car and tried to park up on Kaufland car-park but there were no spaces so I changed my plan and went to Lidl instead.  I didn't buy much, the store was heaving and I just wanted to get out, pay, pack my shopping away and head for home.

As I was pushing the trolley back to the trolley park, a few big spots of rain started to fall.  I headed towards Djebel and home and that's when the cloudburst, and I can only describe it as that happened, driving was really difficult, lots of cars pulled over, it was torrential and with thunder and lightning.  I had headlights on full, windscreen washers going at full speed and the blower on the windows to clear the moisture from inside.  It was so bad that I almost missed the turning to Djebel and driving back there were trees down, lots of dead branches and leaves on the road so I took it really carefully.  Fortunately there wasn't a lot of traffic on the road, just a couple of idiots dicing with death so to speak.  I didn't stop at the car shop to see my student's mum, I just wanted to get home.

I did stop at my local supermarket, I needed a few things that I would have bought in Kaufland and by now, the rain had stopped, the road was like a river and there was sheet and fork lightning all around.  I made my purchases and drove home through the forest in trepidation...I was pleased when I arrived, parked up in the drive, unpacked the car and put the shopping away and it was then that I noticed the damage.  We had no electricity and that didn't come on until five thirty this evening, lots of pots from the terraces had been blown on to the garden, the bird table was down, the plastic tube smashed and my rubbish bin was no more.  I shall have to go shopping for more large pots, some of the bigger shrub plastic pots have been damaged.  I think it had stored up all our rain for the summer and deposited it in one downpour.  The temperature has dropped and I'm not lighting the fire just in case the electricity goes off again, the central heating needs electricity to run the pump.  I've also remembered to change the time on the boiler clock so that it kicks in at the right time and I have hot water tomorrow.

What a day.....I didn't have my camera with me in Kardjali so not a lot of photographic evidence except for when I got home.  We've got stars out so maybe it was short lived and hopefully things will dry out tomorrow.  Lots of damage has been reported in the villages with trees down and roof tiles flying...some of the houses are old and not up to it.  LN......Thankfully I came away unscathed.....I'll ask around tomorrow......and I've got solar light lit.......LN

Sunday 5th November

Woke up at five thirty but it was a very leisurely morning...I played games, drank coffee, spilt said coffee on duvet, thought to ignore it but decided to strip the bed and the sheet, cover and pillow went into the machine.  The sun was out but I've taken to drying clothes inside, pesky midges get everywhere so why bring them inside on the washing.  I was making poached eggs on toast at eight, washing up and everything done by nine and now the day was mine.  I watched two episodes of my series, slept for an hour or so on the sofa, not quite sure what I filled my morning with but at one decided to walk the garden, get some wood in just in case the sun didn't stay around for long and it was then that I noticed that the storm had done more damage that I'd realised yesterday.  It had brought down the tops of some of the trees in the top garden by the workshop terrace, one had come down from the other side and was resting on the wall and the to of one of the others from the otherside was resting precariously in the tree on my side.  

The reciprocating saw came out along with the loppers and the branch cutter and I set to work.  Nearest to the terrace was the easy part, I could get at the branches with the saw but where the trees from the other side had fallen onto my trees it became more difficult.  I was more worried that it might come down on top of me so I really took care and thought about what I was doing since there was nobody else about to pick up the pieces.  Anyway...all's well that ends well, I've tidied up the area, separated out the stuff that can go over the wall and started to saw up the larger branches for the fire.  Unfortunately I've still got some to do, the light was failing and I'd run out of steam and tomorrow is really another day.  Tools away, I had other work to do.

I made the bed up for tonight, got more logs in just in case but it's twenty five degrees in the house so probably not going to light a fire.  I've got a rack of barbecue ribs in the oven and the aroma is drifting around the house and they should be ready by more or less seven.  I might made a few croquette potatoes tonight to go with them or just with bread...it's quite a large rack.  Probably got a lesson with my student tomorrow, I'll check with his mother to see if he has football or lots of homework.  Boiler is on for a bath tonight...I did quite a few stretches pulling those branches down.  Forgot to mention that the storm reached Greece and a tornado overturned cars.  LN......Mabe I got the start of it through my garden.....LN

Monday 6th November

I woke up at five and then managed to get back off again until six and coffee at seven.  I'd heard animal bells ringing and I thought it was a little early so went out to check and there was a small flock of sheep cowering in the corner of the field and obviously where they shouldn't be.  I watched them for a while and noticed that there was a man heading over the hillside for the next village heading in this direction so I stayed on the balcony to see the outcome.  He shouted a good morning to me, he rambled on about why they were here and I didn't get all of it as some of it was in Turkish so I waved and went inside and left him to it.  I didn't recognise the man, he could have been anybody but not my sheep to worry about.  

I got dressed and did the usual things like getting the washing machine going, making coffee and carried on by making fried egg and spicy sausage for breakfast and while I was at it I sliced up the rest of the sausage, sliced and onion and cubed a potato and that all went in the slow cooker with some chilli flakes.  I cooked it on high until I went to see my student and switched it off while I was out. The rest of the morning was filled with watching my series, clearing the branches from yesterday and putting them over the wall for the animals since they had lots of leaves on them.  I also had a bonfire and suddenly noticed that CS was out and about which I thought was unusual since I thought they'd all gone to bed for the winter so I managed to find some dandelion leaves and he scoffed them down.  I think that I must have disturbed him when I took my bonfire stick out of the bush where I keep it and proved it when I watched him make his way back there and become completely hidden under the bushes.

Quick wash and change and I drove in for the lesson with my student and his mother told me that he's not playing football at the moment, his back leg muscle is giving him pain and I suggested that he bones and growing faster than his muscles and it's what we used to call growing pains.  She mentioned that for his birthday in December they'd bought him a massage gun that was handed over early to alleviate the pain and he was so pleased to demonstrate it to me when I went up to the apartment for the lesson.  What a good piece of kit it is.  We had a good lesson, we're reading another Roald Dahl book and both finding it interesting and funny and he managed thirty pages and related the story to his mother when we went back to the shop.  I'm using this approach to help his understanding ...he's started to learn German at school so don't want to confuse by throwing Grammar into the mix.  I stopped off at the hardware shop and bought plastic filler to replace the foam that I removed when I was trying to get access to the room under the little house....and that will be another job done.  Slow cooker back on and that will soon be supper.....nothing on the agenda except a few jobs round the garden.  LN....Thirty one degrees inside the house today and twenty five out....summer is back......LN

Tuesday 7th November

Seven start and the morning just chugged along nicely.  The usual tasks were completed, games, coffee, washing put away, breakfast of toast and apricot jam and kitchen put back to normal.  I put the remains of last night's supper with more spicy sausage into the other slow cooker and that should be ready now.  It was a beautiful morning, more mist than hillside and the moon was lying lazily on it's side and appeared very jagged around the edges on full magnification.

I've had a good day outside, the rest of the greenery from the trees has gone over the wall for the animals and the solid stuff has all been cut with the reciprocating say and is ready to be stacked. I toyed with the idea of cutting down the tops of the trees still standing in the workshop garden but really need somebody else with me before I get up on a ladder.  My young neighbour that I take into Kardjali when the buses aren't running will be here on Friday so she will be here, not exactly holding the ladder but knows the numbers of the emergency services...   I watered the pots in the little house and it looks like I've got several weigelas looking lively and the two honeysuckles have put on new leaves already.  I chopped some starter wood and began cleaning out the porch to the little house.  It's been a dumping ground but now the wood is well stacked, the saw will come into play tomorrow to get the wood not suitable for re-using cut into starter wood.

I came in at five after putting the tools away and locking up the estate, some of the logs came inside but the rest of it is still on the terrace, I'm giving the bugglies time to vacate the premises...don't want those coming inside.  It's now time to serve up supper before it spoils, nothing so far for tomorrow, probably more of the same.  The weather is just too good to be inside.  LN......The weather is still maintaining the quiet after the storm.....LN

Wednesday 8th November

Five thirty start and pitch black outside.  I didn't feel that I could settle off again so out with the Kindle, played sudoku and got some really good times under my belt, got bored so took a few photos of the morning and read my new Phillipa Gregory's  'The Red Queen'.  When the sun came up I moved to the rocking chair and carried on reading, more coffee and decided to reply to a couple of emails that I'd been meaning to do for a while.  One is to a friend that I worked with when I was seventeen and we've sort of charted each others movements through another friend that I used to work with when I was sixteen.  I'm lucky, not many friendships last that long.  I went downstairs and checked emails on my BG phone, it's easier on that to report junk and 'block' than using either the PC or the Kindle.  Horses for courses so they say.

Breakfast was two boiled eggs with toast and mayo, yet more coffee and then I set about putting out the remains of last night's supper for the cat, half a loaf of bread with 'green' bits starting and fortunately I had a new loaf for my toast.  I'd had such an early morning that the energy levels had dropped so I took to the sofa and put Netflix on and watched a film sleeping through some of it and waking up at twelve.  I went back to where I'd fallen asleep and followed the plot and at the end realised that I was a lazy pumpkin, so went into the workshop and carried on clearing out the porch, putting wood preservative on an old lintel that I use as door stop to protect the plastic door frame and shook the rugs.  The wood is tidied away, I've moved the tools and the barrel they sit in from the door entrance to the old little washroom.  Everything is still handy but the entrance look so much tidier.  I chopped more starter wood, cleared up the logs that I'd cut yesterday and they're now in my wood carriers, swept the leaves and sawdust from the little house terrace and the leaves under the Beast in the garage.  Eventually I'd had enough, was about to take photo but the light beat me, I'll have to do that tomorrow.

Supper is now calling me and I haven't a clue what to cook so I better go on the hunt.  Just after six my time, I could put something in the oven and go for a shower and wash my hair.....it's full of old concrete dust where I've been sweeping......the plan is made...not set in concrete and I just hope I'm not.  LN.....Another good day......LN

Thursday 9th November

A really unsettled night, awake most of it and eventually went off again around five and woke up at seven thirty.  It was a slow morning after that, I had no bread so went without breakfast, read my Kindle, another beautiful morning with the sun, mist and mountains and eventually I went out to feed the cat on the remains of last night's hamburger.  

I had a bonfire, had lots of rubbish to get rid of, sat on the wall at the bottom of the garden in the sunshine and heard the turkeys having their morning exercise.  The Kmet's brother takes them for a walk most days and I suppose he's looking after future income...they'll obviously fetch a good price in the New Year.  I made my way to the little house, move the table into the centre of the room and decided to tidy up a mixed jar of screws, bolts and flat headed tacks and now they each have their own jars.  I tipped the contents into an old frying pan that I have and sifted through and it was quite therapeutic.  It does make it so much easier when things are easy to find.  Next job is to sort through the seeds that I have, throw out the old ones and get some of the new ones started.  My young friend arrives tomorrow and I think we have a day of putting to oneside the bottles and jars that she wants and I'll probably end up washing them for her.  She also wants 'bits' from the garden so we'll be doing some potting and I've already suggested that she leaves them in the little house for the winter and takes them when they're ready to plant out.  She doesn't really have the room at her mother's house.  I came into the main house around three, searched for something to 'pick' at and found a half packet of crisps and a chocolate bar so that was breakfast and lunch combined.  I went back to my book, back to the little house and at five I was locking it up, the outside temperature had dropped and there was a nip in the wind.

I came in and lit the fire and it was soon blazing away.  The wood is from three or four years ago so is really dry and the radiators kick in almost immediately.  I decided that pizza was on the menu for supper, set the oven and brought it up to temperature and in it went for ten minutes from frozen.  The crust was a little hard and that's probably the difference between ten and twelve minutes, I shall know for next time. I've finished my book...it's almost as if it should read 'to be continued'.  We've got rid of Richard of York and put Henry Tudor on the thrown and it makes me realise that I know so little about this period of history.  We never studied it as school, it was the French Revolution and ancient civilisations, Ur of the Chaldees I still remember to this day....thank you Miss Knight.  I really should start reading up about the bits in between.

Not sure about tomorrow..... I'll see how what my young friend needs and then possibly go shopping for a few basics.  LN...Here's hoping for a better night's sleep.....LN

Friday 10th November

Well another early start, five thirty, the moon was so bright that I went out to take some pickies and there was a real nip in the air.  The mist hadn't started to form but there appeared to be a halo around the moon but around it all not just the bit that was illuminated by the sun...quite magical....I soon came in though, closed the door and got back into bed. I filled in the time until dawn broke playing Sudoku and sourcing another book to read, I was dressed and only noticed how cold it really was when I noticed that there was a ground frost, it was white over and it reminded me that I should get the winter checks done on both vehicles and today looked like as good a day as any.

I put the bread out for the animals, those little green specks had turned into something more gross so I peeled a potato, sliced it finely and chopped it, put it into the frying pan with some oil, browned it and added two beaten up eggs for an omelette.  When it had set I sprinkled grated Cheddar onto it and served it up.....it was delicious and really filled the gap.  I cleared the kitchen, got dressed, I'd made my decision that I was going into the garage so I put warm clothes on but first of all I headed down to my friend's mother's house to let her know that I wouldn't be home for a while.  She spotted the car and met up with me, she'd had a big acacia come down in the storm and wanted to show it to me so we walked about four hundred yards down one of the offshoot lanes.  She was carrying an axe and started to take some of the side branches off it but no way was it effective on the tree...one of the local lads is going round with the chain saw.  It should see them through for quite a few nights.

I drove to the garage, explained that I wanted winter checks doing and the engine was a little too warm to just fill it with antifreeze so I let the man who'd arrived after me have his car washed.  His son, my ex-student is in Sofia on a training course so he's a bit of a one man band at the moment.  He was sorting out the antifreeze when it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't had an oil change for quite some time so I found where it had been written in the book and sure enough, it was well over so it went in for a complete overhaul.  Oil change, oil filter, plugs, air filter check which was OK, antifreeze and checks on fan and now my purse is lighter but the Nipper is all set for the winter.  I'm taking the Beast in probably on Monday...in for a penny, in for lots of stotinki.  I drove to the shop and spent time with his wife, we do giggle quite a lot between customers.  I went into the hardware shop and bought brown coloured silicon to make a few changes to the porch on the little house, bread from the supermarket and then down to the other supermarket for coffee, mayo, biscuits and an éclair to have with my coffee when I got home.  I lit the fire and it was really quite reluctant to get going, I guess the chimney is cold or the wind is in the wrong direction or the wood is so old that it just takes a long time to burn.  It's going well now though and the two logs that I put on are really slow not like the logs from last night.

I'm not bothering about supper again....I settled on sof and have started to watch 'Six Feet Under' on Netflix and I'm finding it interesting, funny in places and sad in others.  I've switched it off now, just checked the temperature, outside is ten degrees and inside twenty three so not bad....love my woodburner.  Again I'm taking my young friend to Kardjali since there is no bus on a Saturday and I'll top up on some bits that I can't get locally.  LN.....Two winter jobs still on the list......Beast and gas bottle....and then...bring it on.....LN