Monday 11th March

As promised to myself, I actually had my long bath last night and lingered over a very difficult Freecell made more difficult since I was half asleep.  Eventually I dried off, went to bed since it was now getting on for eleven thirty, finished the game and off to dreamland I went.  I slept through until seven thirty, not a bad morning weather-wise and I'd made my mind up to have a very lazy day and I did.  I had a few interactions with my daughter on WhatsApp, had an email in response to ordering the correct blade for my lawnmower and that is now ordered and paid for and hopefully will arrive from Germany by the weekend.  I'll feel much happier with a new blade, didn't think I could hobble around on one leg if the other one had taken my foot off at the ankle.  That might sound quite an exaggerated statement but accidents happen and I really didn't one to become one.

Normal morning for me, fire cleaned out and reset for later, enough wood in so didn't venture out, that wind was really cruel and the two little fir trees were caught up in the flow of it.  I should really be planting them out but that means digging holes down the bottom of the garden but where I was thinking of putting one of them is potentially where the tortoise may have settled for the winter, that didn't really happen. I want to put the skinny bottom right corner looking down the garden from the house and I trimmed back the rose bush yesterday to clear the planting area.  Just need to do the deed.  

The email regarding the mower blade arrived mid morning so I replied sending all the information that was available to me from the original manuals all stored in away in a file folder.  I also sent photographs of the old one and I received a response advising me which one to order and a link to the item.  This worked well but for some reason it wouldn't let me sign in to order the item from the link that they'd sent and then I had to go through the process of getting new passwords, two of them and it must have taken about fifteen minutes to get back to the ordering screen and process the payment but all finished now.  All I want now is how the part is going to be sent from Germany to Bulgaria and by which courier.  I really hope that it's coming by courier, the postal service needs much work on it to be successful, I'm still waiting for my birthday card.  In fact I've suggested to my daughter that she isn't specific as to why she's sending a card and it will do for whichever date it's nearest to....result.

Student's lesson tomorrow and I must remember to take the new book with me.  We're still on Roald Dahl and Charlie is now on a new adventure with all his grandparents going too.  I haven't read the book and I mentioned it to my daughter this morning and she hasn't either.  Eight o'clock my time, not really hungry so nothing gastronomic underway this evening.  LN.....Fire, Blacklist, Freecell and bed.......LN

Tuesday 12th March

Seven thirty start, usual morning routines and I checked me emails for the mower blade and the firm confirmed that they were going to send it out today.  I emailed back and suggested that they didn't send it by post but by courier mentioning that the postal service in Bulgaria is not so good adding that I wanted to mow my grass this year not next.  At half nine I received another email advising me that it would be sent by DHL courier service that links up with a local company, Speedy, who do deliver to the villages.  I have had excellent service from the supplier and will use them if I need anything else.

Toast for breakfast, the thunder rolled away and just left lots of rain that's played havoc in some of the local villages.  Kirkovo had been greatly hit with bridges swept away and damage to roads reported.  I suppose we're lucky here, the water drains down the hills to the main rivers that take it l away but at least I have a half filled water container in the yard.  I didn't bother lighting the fire but I did put an extra sweater on while I was sitting about.  I didn't have anything really pressing until two thirty this afternoon when I was due to go to Djebel for my student so I settled on the sofa and went to sleep for an hour or so and felt much better for it.

Into the Nipper by two thirty remembering to take the new book and one of the stems from my freesias to add to the flowers that I took her last week from my garden.  Even now they still have lots of perfume lingering about them.  I put water soaked tissue paper over the bottom of stem to keep it moist until I got there, sat with her for ten minutes or so and them went up to the apartment. We had ten minutes of indoor football and then we settled in to Charlie and the glass elevator and the book is really successful.  There were one or two jokes on character names that I immediately spotted but my student didn't so I had to explain them and eventually it got through.  We managed thirty plus pages so not so bad and we settled into the book very quickly since it was charting Charlie's next adventures with Willy Wonka.

Home for six, fire lit, radiators soon warmed through, chicken coated with cornflakes and potatoes for supper and another log on the fire to keep the home fires burning.  Ten my time, somehow the evening has slipped away from me and soon it will be time to rest my weary head.  LN.....Hoping for better weather tomorrow and to start charting my mower blade from the tracking number.....LN

Wednesday 13th March

So yesterday's photos of the rain could be posted today, it seemed to start well but then it deteriorated and we had rain, rain and yet more rain until my water barrel was overflowing.  Looks like I was a little early putting it to use, nature is doing the watering for me.  The temperature had dropped already to five degrees and I'm hoping that we don't get a frost, I've got too many daffodils out and new buds forming on the shrubs.

My day has been more about keeping the home fires burning,  I managed to get dressed around ten, played around on the computers with the various games, got a few logs in topping up the fire when necessary.  I seemed to be overcome with inertia.....I thought about going shopping working on the principle that because of the rain most other people would be staying indoors but I really couldn't raise the energy.  I want to get going but there's not a lot I can do, it's too wet to work outside, there's strimming and weeding to do but one thing I did last year has proved very beneficial.  When I shredded the smaller branches after the men had pollarded the trees, I put lots on the surface of the long bed by the high wall and it really has suppressed the weeds.  Next year I shall be doing the same thing to all the beds, the other flower beds only got a top dressing not a thick layer so now I know the benefits of doing it properly.  

Netflix for most of the afternoon.....the Blacklist is reaching its conclusion and now I want to get to the end of it.  I haven't yet managed to work out who's working for or against who, so many twists and turns and I need to start something else.  I also fell into a deep sleep this afternoon and it took me a while to come round.  Bring on the sun, bring on the jobs that need doing and let me get on with them.  There's been too little snow shifting this year, I've put weight on and I need to be taking it off with exercise. Toast and cheese sandwiches have taken the place of meals today and at nine thirty I shan't be heading to the kitchen and preparing anything else.  LN.....Let's hope I feel more energetic tomorrow.....LN

Thursday 14th March

Well it looked like a very promising morning.  I skipped through my normal chores, did a load of washing last night and put it away, toast for breakfast and had a plan for today.  I was going to empty the petrol from the mower, turn it upside down and remove the blade and give it a good clean ready for the new one to take its place but unfortunately that promising morning turned into a dull dismal day.  I did manage to get out and take a few photos mainly due to spotting the wild plum tree that's in full bloom and hopefully we shan't experience the winds we had last year that removed all the blossom before the fruit had set.  Fingers crossed we shall succeed this year.

As the weather deteriorated my urge to get out and get active became less enthusiastic so I settled on the sofa determined to find out the real villain of the Blacklist but I'm still none the wiser.  The next in line was shot leaving several questions unanswered and a letter that was supposed to be delivered on the main characters death but on the demise of his daughter, or supposedly daughter, the letter was never opened so now we're into the next series where I thought it was due to end.

At one I ventured out to fill up the log basket and get some more starter wood in but instead I ended up clearing the old wood from the corner of the wood store and putting it with the newer stuff leaving the corner empty to take the shredder, concertina ladders and fifty meter cable.  At least I can now see what wood I have left and mingle the new with the old so that this autumn I shall be buying and using the good stuff.  I even swept the floor and got rid of the rubbish and worked my way through an old bag of small stuff, filled up one of my large plastic containers and got rid of one of the old bags.  I was quite pleased with myself.

I came in and lit the fire and now it's toasty and warm inside and dull and miserable out.  It's eight degrees at the moment which is a little different from the nineteen we had last week.  Supper is made and ready for serving up.  I took a tin of local corned beef and a can of baked beans and heated them together in the saucepan, made reconstituted potato, put that on top of the mixture in a dish, covered the contents with cheese and popped it in the oven to brown off.  The proof of the pudding....I'll soon see.  Not sure about tomorrow whether I shall head into Kardjali or not, I really do need to shop.  LN.......I'll see what the weather is like and make my decision then.....they're all mine to make......LN

Friday 15th March

So at three this morning I was wide awake and not a clue as to why.  A few games of Freecell and tried again and eventually managed to get to sleep, woke up at six, too early so back to bed and slept through until seven thirty.  I've not suffered the after effects, I woke up with a spring in my step, the weather was good and I planned for a day outside and set to around eleven.  I did have beans on toast for breakfast, squeezed in an episode of Blacklist, set the fire for tonight and then to horse.

The bed that I attacked started life as a little garden, surrounded by stone. It had plants in there and a bed of iris but unfortunately one of the ground cover got out of control and it became neglected, unloved, the iris got swarmed, the stones are hidden but the task is underway.  Before that though I decided to strim round the little house terrace beds and tried out the battery strimmer when the battery looked fully charged.  Wrong....it appears to need a new battery and gave up after around five minutes.  I've put it back on charge again just to check but I think its knacked.  Next ammunition to bring into play was the electric cabled strimmer.  I checked the line buy removing the reel, I had tow pieces of line in view so I replaced the said housing, connected the strimmer and two minutes later, it coughed and the line snapped and I really wasn't in the mood to dance with that for an hour or so so I gave up on it.  It's for another day.  Hence the hedge trimmer, I managed to find the border of stone, hacked it about and uncovered the iris bed that I'd lost, there's much more to do but rain stopped play.  Unfortunately it wasn't a shower so tools away, the debris is still to be removed and lobbed over the wall and I came in around three this afternoon to find something else to do.  

Supper is going to be turkey burgers and spicy wedges and I'm heading for the kitchen when the blog is posted.  There's no sign of the mower blade, I've tried to track it on the website but no further news since when it was leaving the despatch warehouse.  I suppose I could have moved into the little house and prepared the mower for it's grand arrival but the temperature had dropped so I lit the fire and warmed the house up for the evening.  LN....Kitchen duties call, I've got work to do if I intend eating tonight...LN

Saturday 16th March

So last night's supper was big three slices of bread, mayo and what I found out were chicken burgers not turkey.  I anticipated indigestion but it never appeared.  Yes, I felt full as a little tick as my mother would say but headed for bed around eleven thirty and slept peacefully until just before seven this morning.  I should do that for supper more often.  Usual routines settling for toast for breakfast, watched an episode of my favourite because it was too early to outside, the streets weren't aired.  I don't know why but the hoover came out today.  First job was to clean it and empty the container and to remove the long hairs that get trapped round the roller.  On that note I phoned my daughter to see if she could remember the name of the machine that was supposed to chop up the hairs so that they didn't take root on the roller and she remembered it was called a shark.  The usual jokes came out, I was to remember to keep it in the bath, feed it regularly and that conversation went downhill rapidly so I closed the call.  

I was out by twelve and first job was to remove a primrose that had seeded itself between the concrete steps going up the little house and now it's re-sited in the blue bucket in the tyres near the winter flowering jasmine.  I've also taken some new babies from the metal and wood container and put some of those into the blue bucket as well.  The bougainvillea is outside and repotted and fingers crossed it will do OK.  I found some new sundaisies in the same pot and they also have found their way to the blue bucket.  I'm not sure what the new babies are, I threw some seeds into the metal and wood container, they've germinated and I've lot loads of the things but not sure what they are.  The proof of the pudding and all that....they're obviously winter hardy.  I gave the strimmer a run with the what was supposed to be a fully charged battery and it must have lasted about two minutes so I spent the next twenty trying to find a new battery for it which turned out to be a hopeless task.  So back out again and I took the bench that needs repainting out to the little house terrace and parked it near to the bed that I'm sorting out.....I knew that I should be needing it later....this job will take some time.  Hacked it hard and uncovered more iris and four blue hyacinths that probably haven't see the light of day for years.

The weather changed somewhat and threatened rain around five so I started to pack up, moved some of the green rubbish over the wall but just couldn't find the enthusiasm to complete the job, my back is aching, the boiler is on and I shall be soaking the aches away hopefully any time soon.  I was invited out for a walk tomorrow with a man who's over from Turkey and staying with his relative.  He speaks some English, no Bulgarian, he tried to explain to me that Dusinkove is separated into nine zones, told me the names and I suggested he wrote it down for posterity.  He left for Turkey fifty years ago, hence no Bulgarian, lived in Ankara before he moved to Bursa and is currently working in Momchilgrad on various things.  I declined his offer, I think he meant 'route march' not amble so I said that I will do it but that tomorrow wasn't a good day, I had too much work to get the garden sorted.  I invited them into the garden and he loved the big windows and the views, the house is just like any other from the road but impressive from the garden.  Off they went, I went back to the uncovering of the bed, eventually coming in at six thirty, the rain just didn't happen.

Not sure about supper, not really hungry tonight so a bath first and then raid the kitchen.  More of the same tomorrow if the weather is good, I want to finish the bed to see four edges of stone and not just the three that I've uncovered.  LN......Back to resourcing a new battery for the strimmer.....or sorting out the electric one with the dodgy reel....LN

Sunday 17th March

Seven start despite my late bath, falling asleep, pj's, Blacklist on Netflix and one o'clock to bed.  I meandered through until nine thirty, settled on toast for breakfast, got washed and dressed, made coffee and decided not to go to Kardjali but instead to drive the Beast into Djebel and see if I could find a wheelbarrow.  The ones that I have were used by the builders years ago, layered with concrete, have wonky wheels and should have been discarded years ago hence the search for something lightweight.  I moved the Beast into the yard, it started first time, I checked the washers and cleared the dust from the windscreen.  It's the first time it's been out since it's winter service and oil change and everything felt and sounded pretty good.  I do love driving it, it's just a pity that diesel is so expensive or I would use it all the time.....it's strictly for highdays and holidays.  I also remembered to pick up one of the shrubs that I've grown for my student's mum and as I pulled up outside the shop, they were just getting into the car so I handed the pot over, they went down to the garage and I went to the hardware shop two doors along.  The lady from the hardware shop watched me pull up, I went into the shop and asked if she had any wheelbarrows, there weren't any outside on the pavement.  We went into the store room next to the shop, they had expensive ones that were like my old ones but without the concrete coating and a smaller one, very lightweight and cheaper so I settled for that one.  It's got green handles and looks pretty cool and it's not going to be put to much use, trying to drag the rubbish from the old/new garden was really hard work yesterday and I wanted to make my life easier.
I said that I would take it, wheeled it to the Beast and put it in the back and went back to the shop to pay her.

Next stop was the cash machine but everyone had beaten me to it so moved on to the next one and it was the same story.  I thought about driving into Kardjali since I was down to my last thirty leva but instead drove home, I had plenty to keep me occupied like putting my wheelbarrow to good use.   The bed is more or less cleared and ready for digging over to get rid of some of the underground roots and runners, the debris is over the wall and I found a patch of daffs that obviously hadn't see the light of day for years but were still trying to get noticed.  I came in mid afternoon and made cheese and onion sandwiches as a 'snack', put the television on and promptly nodded off so I'll have to run the last episode again.  I went back out there and managed to fill the wheelbarrow a couple more times, raked over the ground outside the stone edging and am toying with the ides of sticking to wood and making a new surround, it's much easier for the lawnmower and strimmer to negotiate.

I came in just before seven, didn't bother lighting the fire but I'm regretting it now the temperature is dropping so I've put the boiler on and will have a bath instead.  I fried off a couple of hamburger with sliced onions and that was supper over and done with.  Latest news on the lawnmower blade is that it's been handed over to Speedy, one of BG's courier companies and it should be either here or in Djebel on Tuesday so not bad service from the German company.  LN.....The boiler is up to temperature, I'm going to luxuriate.....LN

Monday 18th March

Awake very early this morning and spent and hour playing games...it was too early to do much else.  The thought suddenly struck me that I couldn't find my driving glasses, I'd looked for them last evening and thought they'd be in the house somewhere and that lead me into a detailed search room by room and still no joy. The porch was the next area, then out to the little house, into the wood store, both cars and still not located,  I went out to the bed underneath the wall to the road thinking that they might have come off my  head when I was tying the yellow jasmine and the roses to the metal railing, I searched in the honeysuckle and lavender and not I was running out of places to look.  Next step was to walk the garden and I had this awful feeling that I might have lost them when I was lobbing the debris that I took from the garden I was sorting out and had in my brain that I might have lost them forever but no.....just beyond the bonfire against the wall, they were on top of the grass.  I'm nothing if not persistent, patient and thorough and that usually provides results.  So now I shall be able to see when I drive the Nipper later today.  

I was really unsure how to play today.  I needed money from the cash point, hadn't done any food shopping for a week or so, so the garden went on hold.  I also remembered that I needed to put security software onto my laptop and that turned out to be a job and a half but I eventually managed it, and was in the Nipper and heading into Djebel and then Kardjali.  I popped in to see my student's mum in the shop and asked if she wanted anything from Kardjali so we looked through the catalogues for Lidl and Kaufland and she settled for Smetana which is a sort of local cream and carrots since they were on offer.  I carried on to Kaufland car-park, got the carrots and noticed that they had metal electric kettles on offer for fifteen leva.  I'd tried to talk my student's mum into buying one earlier in the year but she still hadn't, she still boils water in a saucepan on the hob so I bought two....one as a spare for me and I had another spare if she didn't want it.  I also bought chicken legs that were on offer, chocolate biscuits and a huge chocolate bar....and when you're on your own it's easy, you can leave it around and no one else sneaks it away.  Over to Lidl and did a proper food shop, then back to the cash-point in Djebel and this time it had money in it.  I carried on to the shop to had over the cream, carrots and the kettle and I said that it was a gift, that there would be no Easter eggs this year...she had a kettle instead. She then asked me if she could make tea in it and I then suggested that she used it for cooking rice or pasta, why just boil water and we ended up with tears in our eyes.

I sat with her for a while in the shop then remembered that I'd got frozen food so made font farewells, local supermarket for bread and then home, unpacked the shopping and everything was away by six thirty. I'm not in the mood for cooking so will probably settle for something light and easy later, mower blade gets delivered tomorrow and then work on the garden can begin in earnest.  I still have to sort out a strimmer but I've cancelled my lesson tomorrow since I don't know what time the delivery will arrive and moved it to Wednesday.  Just after eight my time, no time for photos today but it has been wall to wall sunshine and hot.  LN.....Gardening tomorrow and promise to take pickies and just hoping that the weather is as good as it was today......LN

Tuesday 19th March

It was a silly night last night, I woke up on the sofa expecting it to be two in the morning and it was only eleven so went to bed and woke up at six so out and about quite early.  I checked emails and caught up on a few things, I had nothing to do except gardening but first things first.  I emailed the courier company, it occurred to me that they didn't have my phone number and if they had problems locating the house, I might not even get the delivery.  I had a response back from them confirming that the packet would be delivered today so everything was on target.  I got on with my breakfast and tried out the new orange and marmalade jam with ginger that I bought yesterday from Lidl and I'm so pleased that I bought two and I'll savour the second one, the first one might go very quickly.  

It was a beautiful morning and went out to take the first one of the day.  I took more of the garden, I planted up the little container that I'd moved outside yesterday with the seeds that had germinated in the metal and wood trug.  I checked up on the sweet peas that I've moved on to the wood store terrace and they seem to be doing OK and starting to climb up the winter flowering jasmine...one dies and another thrives.  I fetched the wheel barrow round and put it by the little bed between the two sets of steps and cleared the weeds from the corner of the middle bed.  This too was filled with the 'no name to date' germinated seeks, I think they are a type of dianthus but really not sure at this point....I'm guessing sweet william which should be pretty and flower for quite some time.  I went back in the house and moved more music files from 'My Book' drive on to the computer and all I was doing was putting off going out and starting work on the neglected bed.  The phone rang and it was the courier tying to find direction and between his broken English and my Bulgarian, we worked out directions and he said five minutes, would I stand by the side of the road.  He was a little longer than that but he arrived, he handed over the box, he told me that he'd worked in Cardiff for six years, that he understood English but needed more practice to speak it, and off he went.

I opened the box, the blade looked the same as the old one so that's a job for tomorrow.  I was most surprised when included in the box was a small bag of sweets....what a nice company and I'll definitely be leaving a note on its guest book.  The weather had changed from this morning, we'd had light rain but now it had stopped so I moved the wheel barrow round to the neglected garden, found the heavy duty spade and set about the job in hand and filled up the barrow with debris but unfortunately, it started raining real rain and so it was tools away and back in door.  The sofa looked like the best resting spot, the fire was already set to go and at three thirty, I lit it and it's been a cosy place to be.  Netflix went on, Raymond Reddington and the Blacklist is no more, he got hunted to the end and was.....don't want to spoil it for you....just in case you get to watch it.  Seven thirty my time, I've had a good day and should finish the neglected bed soon enough and then to remove the runners that made their way outside the bed.  I shan't be having supper, I've snacked through the afternoon so should manage until morning.  LN......Bath and hairwash in the morning, I moved the lesson with my student to tomorrow, he had the physio and I had my delivery, so we both had other fish to fry so to speak......LN

Wednesday 20th March

Another early start but I got really confused as to what time it was.  The computer had picked up its time for some reason from the VPN and the overnight time check with the weather station had put it one hour forward.  I have two mechanical clocks, the both said the same time so I took them as being gospel and adjusted the others but still checking on the internet, what time it was in BG and resetting to the Athens time zone.  Technology egh.....More of the new marmalade for breakfast, the sun was up and I hear from my friend on the internet that we've now moved into 'first day of astronomical spring'. This marks the instant when the sun crosses the celestial equator — an imaginary line in the sky.  Every day is a school day, we all should live and learn something new every day.....now whether we remember it, totally different matter.  Yet more coffee and conversation on FB as to why we were all up early. I blame my time zone others an inability to sleep.

My day was planned out for me, gardening this morning until early afternoon and then my student's lesson moved from yesterday.  As with all the best laid plans of mice and humans, it didn't work out that way.  The sun was up but that howling wind forced me to wear a hat outside.  I finished clearing the roots from the neglected bed and now it's looking better than the other beds that need weeding, the difference is though, other beds have flowers where this one had only iris uncovered by the removal of several years of rampant  cotoneaster and straying outside the bed and into the grass.  I moved all the removed roots to the bonfire, tried to get it to fire up but the overnight downpour had made this an impossible task so most of it is sitting by the burning bucket until we have some sun to dry it off.  Having cleared the area I poached day lilies from one of the beds at the bottom of the garden, a sprouting gaia from the old bonfire pit and a yucca from one of the other beds.  I left the big root in place just in case it decides to sprout, I'll give it a year to get its act together but nothing happens, it's out.

I came in at one thirty, I had to be out by two thirty so straight into the shower, washed my hair that desperately needed it, dried it and was in the Nipper and heading for Djebel arriving a little early and parking outside the shop.  The boy wasn't there, they'd had a late lesson, was unable to catch the three o'clock bus so caught one at four  arriving at the shop around four forty five,  He has a long day, he has to catch the morning bus at six thirty.  I'd made the decision that there was no lesson today, I'd got really cold in the shop, I hadn't managed to get wood in for this evening so at five I said farewells and headed home.

Fire going and wood in, supper sitting on the work surface and waiting for me to put it in the air-fryer, chicken in cornflakes and potato wedges.  I'm down to my PJ's early, about to post and then it's goodnight to me....tele time and looking on Netflix for something to watch.  Kardjali or rest day tomorrow, I haven't decided yet, I'll see how I feel.  LN.....Kitchen calls or I'll be having it for breakfast.....LN