Tuesday 10th September

Such a charming start to the day.....I woke up and notice a stunning sunrise so just had to go out on to the balcony and take photos.  Phoebe didn't show her face for very long though, she hid behind the clouds dashing my plans to go to the pool today so I had to find something else to occupy me and I did.

Breakfast was the first calling and I made poached eggs on toast and it set me up for the day.  I put some meatballs in the slow cooker with beans and tomato paste for supper and that's ready for when I am.  It should be with spaghetti but I'm thinking mashed potato for a change to sop up the juices.  It threatened rain for most of the day.  I managed to dig over the big bed in the grave garden and dig up lots of bulbs at the same time but they looked very dry.  I'll put them in again but leave them out in the rain to see if there is any movement around the root base.  I had a bonfire which was very slow to start but after I'd dug over the patch between the wall and the garage and removed lots of old wood that had been thrown there I had a pretty good burn-up eventually.  I cut back the three roses that are growing there and the honeysuckle that was destroying the roses and dragging them to the ground and now they're standing up for themselves.  I also found a choisya that had self rooted and that's now planted up in the dug over garden along with one of the pretty pink bobbing flowers that I've rescued from a dry flower pot on the terrace and it's looking better already and with the rain that's coming down at the moment, they should both be soon established.  In fact everything should look better tomorrow.

In the absence of a visit to the pool I thought about cutting the 'grass and weeds' but at the first sign of rain I was able to put that on the back burner fortunately....and instead I just pottered and feel I've achieved something.  The thunder is rocketing around so I shan't be lingering long on the computer.  I've got supper to finish preparing and eat, a book that I'm really enjoying and interspersing the written word with the Netflix for Outlander.  Reading it and watching it you notice the difference in the story-lines and where it's had to be adapted.  Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow...let's see what the weather does first.  LN....It might be a day of chasing down a few more relatives from the sixteen hundreds.....LN

Wednesday 11th September

I woke to a dull drab day, it had rained overnight but despite a dark sky, it wasn't falling at the moment.....it save the deluge for later in the day.  I put the remains of the meatballs cooked last night out for the cat and the apple peelings out for the tortoise.  The cat approached very warily as it always does, took one meatball and marched towards the wall carrying in its mouth and then came back for a second one and carried out the same procedure.  I washed up from last night and made toast for breakfast that I covered thinly with Marmite, the half tin of baked beans will wait until tomorrow.  As for the rest of the beans that went out for the cat with the meatballs, there was lots of squawking and three magpies were devouring them and they nervously flew away when they saw me.

I washed and dressed try to decide what to do with the rest of my day.  I had it in my mind to go into Kardjali to top up on foodstuffs but then the heavens opened and down came the rain and a few claps of thunder followed it.  The decision was made, I was going nowhere, there was food in the house and I certainly wouldn't starve.  I played around with ancestry for a while on the computer trying to track down really ancient family but some of the Parish records were difficult to read and there were no transcripts.  Eventually I gave up, switched on Netflix and Outlander and that has kept me occupied for most of the day.  I did manage to check up on the newly dug over and planted little bed between the garage and the wall and the small pink dancing flowers are out already.  I thought the plant was on its way out so what re-sited to recover, no flowers yesterday and today, loads of them.  In fact the whole garden looks much greener, everything has been parched for almost three months apart from the odd shower and it's marvelous how quickly things recover.  I managed to get my head down for a couple of hours this afternoon, felt hungry, it had been a long time since breakfast so I made toast and opened a tin of tuna, mixed it with mayo and had it with the toast....and that will probably do as supper.

We still have clouds around and the moon is up with one or two stars on view.  I've taken photos but the shots of the moon weren't as clear as the last ones that I took, maybe the air is denser.  LN......Nine thirty my time. a very restful day and soon time for bed and let's hope for better weather tomorrow......LN

Thursday 12th September

So I stayed up last night watching Netflix until one and so I didn't wake up this morning until six thirty and it was seven when I was making my coffee.  Everything on the terrace was still wet so didn't bother going out there to check, my eyes are still good.  I'd washed the cushion from the wooden bench on the terrace, when I'd lifted it off yesterday some of the wood stain had got on to it, I'd scrubbed it, rinsed it off well and hung it on the line in the garden and despite the wind, it was still there.  I meant to go out and check it out but that will wait have to until later.  I made toast for breakfast and realised that I was on the last pack of the Lidl butter so at some point I was having to go into Kardjali.  The sky was clear of clouds and as the day moved on, the sun came out and suddenly it was a toss up between gardening which I immediately forgot about because it was still wet under foot or swimming or shopping so I settled for shopping.

Netflix went on as a delay mechanism but only for two episodes and at twelve I was eventually dressed for town and was really pleased with myself.  I knew that I'd lost weight but it was proven when I can now get comfortably into four pairs of trousers that I'd put to one side last winter and now they're on the top of the pile.  Some of my old jeans have been in use for about twelve years now and it's good to have more of a choice.  So on with a pair of tan colored with a brown silk knit lightweight jumper and I even found some jewellery out to wear which I haven't done for a while.  I made a shopping list, purse, phone and bag and into the Nipper just after twelve and parked up outside the car shop to see if my student's mum wanted anything from Kardjali...which she never does and I always ask.  The traffic was light going into Kardjali but lots of cars heading south on the Makaza road.  It's the last weekend before school begins again and families were taking advantage of it.  I headed for Kaufland car park and it took me ages to find a space.  It's good to see that they are extending the parking on to the waste land further out but the problem is lots of people working in Kardjali used this park to save paying parking fees.  Eventually I managed to park up and I did what others do. I wanted to go to the leva shop that sells everything, I'd not been there for a while.  On the way there I found a leva clothes shop, not bargain day which is on Saturday where the price really comes down but I thought it worth a look and found a rather nice blue cotton collarless shirt with white aeroplanes and other things printed on it.  She weighted it and it was three leva and who would argue at that.  I carried on to the cheapy shop, put my shirt bag in the shelving unit specially for that purpose so that you don't take your own bags in, bought my gas fire lighters that I use around the house, in the kitchen, lounge for the wood burner and bonfire, I was now down to two so bought three new ones,  a can of gas and some picture frames.  Walking back to the Nipper I realised that I'd forgotten my shirt so back to the shop and eventually, back to the car.

Kaufland was heaving so I didn't stay long but bought a new electric lawn edger for seventeen leva which was a bargain, some cheap notebooks, barbecued pork for the freezer and two pairs of bright red reading glasses that I thought I might find easily if I lost them in the garden.  I also bought a collapsible garden container that i thought would make a suitable checkout container which in fact made the trolley to car much easier...and it did.  By now the toast had found its way through so I bought a hot dog and chops from the little Kaufland outdoor eatery and sat in the car managing to find an old bottle of water to help it down.  Off to Lidl which I hate now that they've revamped the shop, can't find a thing and gave up on trying to find the one item I'd gone in for, paid, left, drove to Djebel, used the toilet at the car shop, down to my little shop in Djebel for bread and ice-cream and Coke and home for six thirty.  

No supper for me, full as a little tick, shopping all away, shirt is in the washing machine a few photos taken and tomorrow is Friday.  LN.....I reckon it could be a pool day if the  weather is good.....might be the last one of the season.....LN

Friday 13th September

Only just noticed that it's Friday the 13th, it's nearly the end of the day and nothing untowards has happened to all's good in my neck of the woods.  The day started off well, it was dry, mist hanging over the valleys and seemed to be burning off successfully until we reached eleven or so and then everything changed putting paid to my pool day.  I did the shopping yesterday so plenty of food to hand so made a bacon sandwich for breakfast with HP sauce, a touch of nostalgia from the past, two cups of coffee and then I was looking round for something to do.

I seem to recall mentioning that I'd bought a grass hedge trimmer at a bargain price yesterday and now I know why it was such a bargain.  Two parts were missing.....but I've looked at an old machine from Parkside and I think I can adapt one of the parts, the handle and I think I can find a chord guard from another.  Unfortunately it meant a trip into Djebel to get some bolts which I didn't want to do so that's now on the back burner, the grass is too wet to cut back at the moment.  Instead I found a box of twenty four permanent markers and set to to go over the faded colours on a wall hanging that I bought ages ago.  I've recoloured it before but the sun has faded it yet again and now it's restored to its former glory and I had a pleasant couple of hours doing it.  By now the heavens had opened up again, everywhere was very wet and it was throwing t down with the thunder resounding off the hillsides.  Having finished the big one I started on a smaller one that only needed one yellow marker to finish it and both are back in their former places.

Netflix and Outlander went on this afternoon, supper went in the oven at four, was finished by six and eaten by six thirty.  I'd bought seasoned belly pork strips and had them with roasted vegetables, nice and easy to do and very tasty....just the washing up to finish.  LN.....Very relaxing day and I've managed to get done something that I kept looking at on the wall .....it's back to it's former glory.....LN

Saturday 14th September

Just before seven when I awoke this morning, we'd had rain overnight which had now dried up leaving only a thin layer on the outside plastic table.  I went out to the balcony, tipped the table and propped it up against the railings to dry it off.  I didn't stay out there, the temperature was down so no chance of sitting out there and taking the Kindle with me so I made my bed, moved down with my phone and Kindle and my day was underway.  I checked the weather forecast for Kardjali and it gave it as being clear all day but thee were a few clouds around so in my book, swimming was out of the question, the last thing I wanted to end up with was a late summer cold.

Tomatoes on toast for breakfast and that wasn't ready until nine, washed up from last night and I was slowly drifting through this morning.  I'd got no plans to go anywhere to do anything specific but I hate not having a target of sorts so until one identified itself to me I put on Netflix and finished watching the series until the final one is released in October or November which covers the rest of the published books and one more to be released.  It finishes where the daughter and husband have returned to Scotland but their child has been abducted and time travelled to seventeen seventy seven and father has just gone back through the stones to try and find him.  I've now got to locate this in the last book published and follow the story-line.  

Around twelve I made a food additive for growing plants from water, sugar, white vinegar and baking soda and that's got to stand for a couple of days before I can take some cuttings and see how they do.  It's supposed to encourage rooting and worth a try since I had all the ingredients.  I took the new edge trimmer outside, connected it to the long cable to see whether it worked or not and it did, but I have to get a guard fitted for safety since it was throwing up debris and aiming it at my feet.  I put this to oneside and got the real old strimmer out, tidied up some of the weeds and stray flowers growing round the beds and some of the bigger weeds from the grass, I'd worked out it was too wet to get the mower out so this would do as a temporary measure....and it didn't stop there.  I've weeded the bonfire pit bed and the old vegetable beds mainly removing the grass that sends down runners that are difficult to pull up and remove....and now that's done.  The weeds are over the wall, no signs of tortoise this afternoon but I did spot Rosy under the long wall on the other side of the garden from where I was working.  

I'd had enough by six, tools away, little house and wood-store locked up, sat on the sofa and promptly went to sleep for an hour and it took me ages to come round.  Lovely sky tonight, the moon's up and a few clouds in the sky and to the west the sun is setting behind quite dark clouds. Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow so far, it's supposed to be a reasonable day but maybe more of the same tomorrow in the garden.  I'm getting it ready to get a winter topping delivered and spread, the garden needs more nourishment for next year.  LN.....Need to contact one of the farmers for a delivery if they're not too busy.......LN

Sunday 15th September

Out of bed by seven this morning, two cups of coffee down and fully charged I stripped the bed and the first load of washing was underway.  Second load was ready by the machine and it was still only eight.  I made toast for breakfast, it was quick and easy and then put some pork chops that I'd taken from the freezer last night into the slow cooker with chopped onion, potatoes and carrots and that is ready now so I shan't be long completing this...I'm hungry.  It was still early and wasn't sure what the weather was going to do so I watched a film on Netflix while it was warming up outside and it was still only ten when I went out to accept the challenge to remove the couch grass that has infested the iris bed.  I worked on it until two more or less, came in for water, the weather had warmed up considerably and I did resort to Netflix again and watch 'The English Patient', a film that I'd seen ages ago but I'd forgotten most of it.

And so back to it with renewed vigour.  It was becoming a lengthy process but eventually I finished it around six, had a bonfire to get rid of it but it's still in the burning bin, I didn't have enough paper stuff from the house to get it going properly so it will be there for tomorrow when I'll have another go.  Tools away by six and everything locked away, I made up the bed for tonight and the rest of the washing can stay on the airer until tomorrow, I've got nothing planned for the 'crack of' unless that sun decides to shine all day and then I'm pool bound but I'm not banking on it.  I was doing really well with the photos today but then the battery ran out and it's charging as I'm writing so that I can get the photos from the camera and post them.  LN.....Supper time for me, then a bath and a clean bed to get in to.......LN

Monday 16th September

Silly five thirty start and I've been ahead of myself all day, looking at the clock and thinking 'is that all'.  I breakfasted on a bacon sandwich at seven, had supper in the slow cooker before eight, had another go at starting the bonfire just after eight.  Lots of clouds around all day, really dark ones threatening rain and nothing appearing and pretty blue interspersed by sunshine and warmth.

I've felt twitchy all day today as if I should be doing something and not quite sure what do be getting on with, it's mid season, not good enough to go to the pool yet too warm to be mowing the grass.  I didn't feel at my best so I took my blood pressure and that was absolutely perfect so I didn't have to worry on that score, so picked up my Kindle and read for a while and then to Youtube.  I firstly started to search for the Swimmers' Cave that was mentioned in the 'English Patient ' the other day and read up on the history of it.  Apparently it's in the desert in Libya and the cave art is reckoned to be about five thousand years old and there are archaeologists still exploring it.  It's thought that it was once verdant and with a pool hence 'the swimmers' depicted.  From that I went on to search for a pattern for the knitted jacket that Claire of Outlander fame wears and found patterns and lots of tutorials.  I copied down the base stitches, have enough wool of the right denier so that's my project for when the winter is here and I've cleared the snow and looking for something to do.  Girl guide...be prepared.

I was now into the afternoon and sat out on the balcony with the Kindle for an hour or so, moved inside on to the chair by the window because it was warm outside and fell asleep in a very uncomfortable position,  Moved on to the bed, couldn't get back to sleep so went down to the sofa in the lounge and started to look at the tall books that don't fit in the normal bookcase.  One book that I did settle to was Food from your garden and covered all the ways of preserving from freezing to bottling, making wine and keeping chickens and bees, none of which I'll be doing but interesting all the same.

I served supper at four thirty since it was ready and I was hungry, started to watch the latest series of Bridgerton and am finding it very funny.  I didn't enjoy the second one, the first one was so good and the third seems to have redeemed itself.  Main photos today have been about the skies and the beauty of where I live.  Being surrounded by mountains I appear to live in a bowl and I get it from all angles.  LN.....Long may it continue.......LN

Tuesday 17th September

Seven start, for some reason didn't really settle to the jobs in hand.  Put a couple of hamburgers out for the cat, made bacon sandwiches for myself, washed up and cleaned the slow cooker, washed myself and got dressed in work clothes.  Not sure what work I was going to do so played with the phone for a while, put on Netflix and fell upon Queen Charlotte which is a spin off from Bridgerton and wasted time.  I was stretched out on the sofa looking out of the door to the yard and I noticed how many flowering weeds were taking up space and providing seeds for next year so I switch off the TV, headed for the woodstore, brought out the cable reel, found the electric lawn mower and had found my job for this morning.  There really wasn't a lot of grass but what was there was very prolific but not for long and finished it off with the strimmer.  Having made a start, I moved everything down to the terrace grass and set about that and the grave garden and it looks so much better.  I looked at the ancient sun lounger that I bought from the UK fifteen years ago, I'd made a new cover for the top of it but leaving it out under the trees meant that I needed to apply liquid soap, give it a good scrub, up end it like a sail and sluice it off and leave it to dry. The fun came when I tried to get it into the little house.  I usually take it in through the door from the little house terrace but instead thought I'd try the main door. I got it half way, got it stuck, back to the drawing board Cecil and the yard, managed to get it over the wall on to the little terrace and in first time.  Brute force and ignorance but my shoulders are aching a little bit more than normal tonight but another job off the list.

I came in for water, back out and attacked the lily of the valley bed, another one overrun with couch grass, blackberry shoots, rose, japonica and rose of sharon suckers. The rubbish has been removed and just needs a final dig over.  I finished mowing the grass and strimming round the beds, had a bonfire, had enough by five thirty so tools away and everything locked up.  I'd noticed that the yuccas had come into a second flowering, three blooms on one and one on the smaller one and so I went indoors, got the camera and did a sweep of the garden.  The medlars have filled out considerably with the rain, walnuts have started to fall so need collecting, more flowers on the Jerusalem artichokes, one of the tortoise is making a start on a nest in the row of scalped wild plums and I have one apricot.  I also noticed that one of the walnuts has been halved and munched, I better look out for Squirrel Nutkin.

I'm surprised how much I've achieved today saying that I wasn't really in the mood for gardening but since the yard only took me half an hour it seemed such a waste of time getting all the kit out if I wasn't going to make more use of it.  Not a clue what to do for supper tonight, I wasn't very pro-active in the kitchen this morning.  LN...the hunt is on for tuna and probably make sandwiches unless inspiration strikes between now and eight my time......LN

Wednesday [b]18th September

Why is it that something as silly as a computer mouse playing up can take so long to do simple jobs like making a heading bold.  Let's hope this works so now onwards and upwards.

Five start but since I went to bed at eleven last night it was to be expected.  I tried to go back to sleep but nothing doing so made coffee and began my day by making my bed and just lying on it.  I was surprised when I went down and looked at the thermometer on the table in the lounge, it was twenty four degrees in the house and only twelve outside.  This house certainly holds the temperature well with about twenty centimeters of Rockwool in the loft.  I made buttered toast for breakfast which was enough to see me through until four this afternoon.  I mooned around for the first hour or so after that, couldn't decide what to do with my day, looked at the grass and the decision was made for me.  There were lots of flowering weeds and the last thing I want is more seedlings in the empty space where the grass used to be before three months of drought.

Out came my trusty and very dusty old petrol mower.  I emptied the dregs of petrol from it, turned it upside down and checked that the blade wasn't clogged underneath, put some grease on the spindle to the blade but probably should have removed it, cleaned the air filter and brushed the dust and debris from the mower.  I filled it up with fresh petrol and after the third attempt I had lift off and that kept me occupied for the next two hours or so.  The sun had come out, it was pretty warm out there but I kept going until it was finished, I'd picked up lost of dust, seedheads, some grass and dried leaves and lots of plum stones and they all went over the wall.  I came in and put a load of washing in, followed by a second one, opened a pack of Philadelphia cheese and had it with breadsticks followed by ice-cream just to build up reserves until supper but goodness knows what that will be when I get round to it.  

The clouds came over late this afternoon and after a prolonged spell of Netflix I went out to check on the plants in pots and make sure everything was locked up and realised that the bougainvillea had dried out since it was under the balcony so gave it a good soak from the water collected in the barrel from the guttering.  I'd rescued it once from a recipe which included beer from a reels on FB and it's never flowered so well before.  Apparently tap water isn't good for flowering shrubs so looks like I need to get another bottle of beer.....but only for the plants.  LN....It's eight my time and now on the hunt for food.....this may take some time Oates, wish me luck......LN

Thursday 19th September

So at two this morning I woke up on the sofa having not seen much of the last series I'd started watching and definitely not for the last hour or so.  I was pretty tired from mowing all of the grass and should have been sensible and gone to bed early but the small sofa is so comfortable and off I went.  I switched the TV off, went upstairs, settled into bed and off more or less straight away until seven this morning.  I just caught the sunrise, the camera was upstairs already and managed to get the first shots of it, and after that there wasn't a lot of it to see until two this afternoon.  It's been a warm day and pleasant but dull for most of it.  Beans on toast for breakfast, last night I'd found a tin of 'processed' hamburgers that I'd served up with half the can of baked beans and 'mash means smash' since I hadn't the energy to provide better for myself.  I used up the half can so that they wouldn't go to waste.

I meandered through the rest of the morning going down the garden and stamping on the mole hills that I'd stamped on yesterday while I was doing the grass.  I remembered that  I'd got a couple of mole smokes left so went back down the garden and set them off amongst the newly hatched heaps.  At this point I came in and read up on what Monty Don had to say about them in his books but he only said what a nuisance they were and that we should learn to live with them.  It was now time to Google it and not having to hand Mole spikes for the garden to catch them I did read one recommendation that they really didn't like things that were 'smelly' and suggested dog poo in the tunnels or caster oil.  Not having a willing dog to perform the action while holding its bottom in the correct position I went for the third option which was coffee grounds and I've got loads of packets of Turkish coffee sitting in the cupboard that my neighbours have given me.  Armed with a couple of packets and a small potting spade, I went down and opened up a few of the runs and sprinkled coffee into them.....and let's see what happens.  From Google I now know how to identify and tunnel that is still in use as opposed to an abandoned one so tomorrow I'd down to see if the experiment has worked or not.  Just looked down the garden while at my desk and have just noticed that it (if there is only one) or they have struck again or maybe just making coffee.  

Supper is in already, tonight I've got a rack of barbecued ribs and Hasselback potatoes to be served with mayo.  Not bad, only seven my time and then a nice long bath, plot the mole's downfall and steps I have to take and then I might go for a saunter around Kardjali, the goody box is empty and the fridge needs topping up.  LN.......I might even take the Beast out for a spin...blow the expense.....LN