Friday 20th September

Even worse start this morning...it was four a.m. and I was wide awake, tried to get to sleep and couldn't so ended up reading until six thirty and then my day really began.  I't left me feeling a little under par, and I don't know what this nonsense is all about but I'm hoping this phase doesn't last for too long.  I think the secret is a long hot soak tonight, bed about eleven, read for a while, lights out with my fingers crossed. I watched what there was of sun-rise, not very special since there was quite a thick cloud covering, no light-up of the clouds in a rosy glow and just the grey light of morning.

I too last night's bones out for the cat and she came when I made my clicking sound and didn't run away when I made a move towards her.  I put the cooking tray into the kitchen, collected the kitchen rubbish bag, carried to the conservatory, picked up the rest of the rubbish that needed to be burnt and headed to the bottom of the garden.  I checked over what was in the bin and removed the old cans ready for the container at village square and lit the bonfire.  I didn't have a lot today and it took about five minutes from start to finish.  I saw that mole had been busy again and it looks like it's going to be a hard task to remove them.  Last year one or two were dug up by the cats but the ground is still so dry that I think it's too much like hard going for them.  Monty Don has suggested that you use the mole hill to put into pots for planting up new cuttings, it's supposed to be pretty fertile but I've not got round to that.  I'm sure I'd just have more craters.

Not a lot of activity out of me today.  I did get dressed with the idea of going into Kardjali but the mood soon passed.  I would only fill up on goodies which I would then eat and have to fill up the box again.....the never ending circle of shopping and consuming.  I put Netflix on and was j ust about to catch up on my lost sleep from this morning when there was a knock on the conservatory door and Haciber was there with a plastic bag containing a packet of biscuits and a yogurt drink. It was a memory link from Zelinger in respect of the death of one of her family.  It a tradition and it's good to be included.  

I never did get that sleep in so should be alright tonight.  It's been another dull lifeless day, lots of clouds around this evening and not sure what the weather will bring tomorrow.  I've made plans to go to Zlatograd with a friend, there is a re-enactment of a hundred year old market, lots of dressing up and maybe dancing in the square and it's really weather dependent.  If it's raining it could be a washout, I'll check out what Accuweather is predicting.  Supper tonight was toasted cheese sandwiches, I ran out of inspiration to achieve anything more complicated but they were good and only one plate to wash-up. Time to check out the weather for tomorrow and if it's good, make plans.   LN.....Sorry no pickies....  this morning's ones really weren't worth publishing.....LN

Saturday 21st September

So much more reasonable time to wake up this morning, six forty five and the day was ahead of me.  I made coffee, had conversations last night on the timings for getting to Zlatograd and then received a message this morning saying that my compatriot in crime had eaten something that didn't agree and didn't think she was up to it.  I replied with a 'get well soon' and reorganised my day and didn't fancy going to Zlatograd on my own and it was rather a drive.  I didn't have to get up immediately, have a shower and wash my hair, the day was all mine and I really didn't make any plans at all.  Tomatoes on toast for breakfast and that took me to nine thirty, washed up, tidied around the house, walked the garden and watched as now it was time for the cows to head over the hillside following in the footsteps of the sheep from earlier.

The sun was out but there were clouds around making it a perfect day for gardening but my efforts in that direction didn't amount to much.  I tidied up the pot plants in the house and watered them and attacked the money tree in the bathroom that seems to have taken a turn for the worse so it's now cut back.  I've got three healthy looking shoots from it and they're now sitting in water hopefully going to send out roots. the original plant might do better now it's been cut back.  The honeysuckle flowering shoots that I brought into the house have all produced roots while in the water and I'll be potting them up tomorrow.  At one I changed tack completely.  I'd read about making a mixture of soap, toothpaste, fabric softener with baking soda all encased in kitchen foil, stabbed with a toothpick to provide a cheaper alternative to shop bought toilet blocks.  Firstly you had to grate the soap, put it all together and squidge it together well, a very messy process but I managed to make three aluminium balls and two are already placed in the cisterns and we'll see how they do.  The rest of the mixture is in an ice-cream container with the lid firmly in place, I'll make them up at the next burst of energy.

Netflix went on and I resumed the series that I've been watching, didn't go to sleep but only realised at nine that I hadn't done a posting so apologies for it being late.  Haven't had supper yet, I did manage to make some local corned beef and brown sauce sandwiches around four this afternoon so that should see me through until tomorrow.   The forecast for tomorrow is full sun so I might be heading for a final day at my favourite pool...let's see if the overnight forecast changes or not.  LN.....It might have to be moved to Monday.......LN

Sunday 22nd September

Seven on the dot this morning when my eyes opened.  I've got this little game that I play where I have to guess the time before I pay a visit to the bathroom and put the light on the landing on to confirm what time it really is.....and I was spot on.  Coffee made, and I sat out on the balcony with it listening to the birds and watching the morning come to life. Cat was sitting on the wall waiting for anything that might come its way but unfortunately I had nothing to give this morning....I really must buy some dried food to fill in the days when I manage to eat all that I prepare.

It looked like it was going to be a good day, the sun came up into a cloudless sky and I thought that my last swim of the season was on for later that day.  I made toast for breakfast and settled on the sofa to eat it while watching my Netflix series, only two episodes and then I was getting dressed, swimsuit instead of underwear and I was ready for lift off around eleven.  I toyed with the idea of phoning the pool first but the man had said that if the sun was out it would be open so I risked it but should really have listened to my internal guide.  As I  driving to the main road from my village there were lots of cars coming in as I was going out and then an ambulance came towards me again being followed by around ten cars.  I'm guessed that someone has gone over to the other side but I haven't found out any more about it yet.  I'll probably find out tomorrow.

Not much traffic going through Djebel to Kardjali and I carried on to the pool and this was when I had confirmation that there was to be no swimming today and I should have phoned first.  The gates to the complex were locked so I turned round and went back to Kardjali and to Kaufland carpark and today there were lots of spaces, I'd beaten the rush.  I meandered around the non-foods section, picked up a gardening trowel for around sixty pence and came across a pair of gardening gloves with plastic clawed fingertips that made me smile.  I guessed it was for raking out the weeds but thought that for the perverted it might do as a backscratch....so put them back and moved on.  I bought chicken legs for the freezer and some white board  magnetic holders with five different smiley faces on them....and they're now sitting on the whiteboard near my desk.  I didn't buy a lot racking up a bill of only sixty or so leva which for me is not usual but then I was back in the car and over to Lidl to see what offers then had but went into the electrical store next to Lidl and picked up speakers for my laptop in the stairwell so that I can listed to music instead of relying on the computer for sound/  Back to Lidl and again it was a fairly light shop for me, I bought pears that were on offer and potatoes since Kaufland didn't have any and finally drove home stopping off in Djebel for bread for the freezer, chicken wings, fish fingers, spicy sausage for breakfast and again my bill was only twenty eight leva.  It's not that I have to be careful, nut I do enjoy getting value for money...gone are the days where things get put in the trolley and then find their way to the trash.  

I was home for three thirty, everything packed away for four and put two large potatoes on a kitchen knife and into the oven with a chicken leg for supper and prepared one of the apples that I'd bought, cored it and filled it with brown sugar, honey and some mandarin oranges and that was ready for five thirty, washing up done for six and kitchen tidied for breakfast.  As they say, a full tummy requires rest and I did manage to go to sleep on the sofa for an hour or so but  It was one of those days where it wasn't as planned but turned out to be a very relaxing day.  I thought about my shopping and didn't just throw 'stuff' in a trolley.  It's supposed to be another sunny day tomorrow so might just phone and see if the pool is on and if so will head back into Kardjali tomorrow.  I would love just one more swim to say goodbye for outdoor pools for this year, I should have done more of it.  LN......I think I'll do about forty lengths of the bath and just pretend tonight.....LN

Monday 23rd September

Seven start this morning and I had trouble leaving the dream behind....I just didn't want to wake up, up I was solving a problem and working out how to do it.  As per normal, I can't remember what it was about, but I felt really energised as if ready for action.  Having spotted more mole hills at the bottom of the garden, that's where my attention lay.  I went out with a packet of washing powder that I'd had for ages given to me by one of my ladies, armed with a pencil and a very small funnel and went to work.  I poked the pencil between two of the mounds until I felt no resistance, put the funnel down the hole I'd just made, poured the powder into the hole and moved on to the next.  I carried on with this process until the packet was empty and we'll see how it or they like that.  The coffee doesn't seem to have deterred it or them so I might even have to resort to buying more mole smokes.  They just make it so untidy.

It was early and so I had my first cup of coffee for the day and took it upstairs and sat on the balcony drinking it.  It was a little nippy out there, beautiful sunrise and gentle sky but I came in and found a cotton sweater and sat in comfort until the sun got up and then it was soon off and back to the cotton Indian top.  I took the washing from the bathroom and got that underway and cooked breakfast while watching another job completed and without my intervention.  Washing machines are such a clever machine.  I hunted the fridge and realised that I'd bought spicy sausages so I peeled one, sliced and fried it and put an egg in the pan and that was my breakfast.  Some of it was a little crispy where I'd sliced it too thin so that went out for the cat, it wasn't a lot but better than nothing.  Next job was to think about supper so I put the chicken wings into the slow cooker, peeled some potatoes and chopped them into quarters, chopped an onion, opened a small packet of tomato paste and added those to the slow cooker.  I added a couple of chicken stock cubes with hot water and a lot of curry powder and that should be ready for serving when I've posted.

I spent some of the morning fiddling with a pair of specs that I'd bought from Kaufland.  They had a very thin frame and case to keep them in but when I opened them up the frame had cracked.  It somewhat annoyed me, I thought they'd be perfect for travelling being light and didn't take up much room and that took up an hour of my time and it didn't work.  They were only five leva but it was the principal...the label was still on them, next task was to set up the new speakers on the computer.  Not as powerful as I expected but adequate, my hearing is still very good.  I had a shower and washed my hair which was desperately in need of attention, I had to put lots of oil on it even thought I'd conditioned it, to get the brush through it.  The amount I lose it's a wonder I've got any left, it's very fine though but a lot of it and age has brought some very interesting colours into it.....I'm blessed.

Lazy afternoon, reading, Netflix, snoozing and stirring the slow cooker and now I've been round closing the doors and windows.  I open them all to get air through the place but it gets cold now and there was quite a breeze picked up late this afternoon.  Djebel tomorrow, I've got a few things I want from the hardware store and I need to see when I'm going to fit in English lessons round my student curriculum for school and his football commitments.  I haven't found out who died yesterday, I've not spoken to any of the villagers and must remember to ask tomorrow.  LN.....I can smell the curry....time I switched off the slow cooker and served up.......LN

Tuesday 24th September

Another early start, I was awake at five thirty and tried really hard to get off again but no joy.  I read for a while and ended up playing FreeCell for half an hour or so until I got bored with it.  When I play though I work on the puzzle until I get it out, I don't go on to the next until I've solved it.  They must be getting easier or I'm getting better, no real teasers for a while.  I put the washing away, opened the windows to let in the air but it hadn't really warmed up that much but it was still early.  I made a bowl of apples and pears with yogurt for breakfast, I've been lazy just lately and those few pounds that I'd taken off I'm slowly putting back on again.  I need a little more activity in my day, less chocolate and biscuits and more exercise but I did manage to have a bonfire to get rid of the rubbish.

I walked the garden and was really surprised to see the shrubs coming in to a second flowering.  The philadelphus and the japonica kerria at the bottom of the garden both have flowers on them and so does the rosemary.  The flowers on the yukka have grown considerably and should be out by the end of the week and that I've never known a second flowering and was very surprised when I got the first.  It's been a strange year though, wet spring, drought summer, a few days rain and now it was mid twenties again and reached twenty eight in the house so I've just been round closing the windows so that the heat is retained overnight.  Some years I've actually been lighting a fire in September for a comfortable evening's viewing.

I did write my shopping list intending to go out this afternoon but didn't manage it, there was nothing really crucial on it and so it can wait until tomorrow and I think I can wait for breakfast and do without food tonight.  LN......Those pounds that I've taken off and started to put back on again just have to go......LN

Wednesday 25th September

Another early morning start but at three thirty I wasn't ready to start my day so read for a while and then back into the nest and it was six thirty the next time which was OK.  I made coffee, not a cloud in the red sky and sat on the chair in my bedroom watching the sun come up behind the plum tree.  I must really think about taking some of the branches down or getting someone to do it, not sure my daughter would appreciate somebody phoning her telling her that I'd fallen off a ladder or out of a tree.  Made more coffee, washed and dressed and went down stairs, finished off my shopping list and was intending to go into Djebel today to organise the day to resume my student's English lesson.....I was missing my football workout.

I was ready to leave when one of the village ladies appeared at the door so I went out and conducted the conversation outside.  I wasn't sure what she wanted, she spoke in Bulgarian but with words that I didn't understand completely but she put her hand in her bag and brought out a chunk of half frozen meat which she took out of the wrapper and handed it to me.  She put her hand back inside the bag and came up with a packet of wafer biscuits which I held in my hand but then I wanted to close the flyscreen,, went to put the biscuits under my arm so that my hand was free but I noticed that the biscuit wrapper was dripping so I put them on the window sill.  Apparently they were from a 'mevlit' but to me both gift looked a little suspect.  I'll cook the meat for the cats and the biscuits can go over the wall.  Off she went on to the next house and then intended to sit near a bus shelter to see if she could get a lift into Kardjali complaining that taxis were too expensive.

I gathered my things together and set off for Djebel with my list, the lessons are set for Monday looking at the school timetable bearing in mind that he still has to do football practice in Kardjali and things might change depending on how much homework he has to do.  I bought machine oil that I was running short of and superglue to try to mend the glasses that I tried to repair yesterday...it's become a challenge.  I went to see my friend in the flower shop but she had college today and a friend was looking after the shop for her so back to the car, down to the supermarket at the end of the town and as I drove into my village I decided I was going to see if the dogs, wild boar and the beehives had all gone from the next village. My visitor this morning had advised me that a petition had  been made to the main guy in Djebel and that the animals had to be removed from the next village.  As it happened, eight of my ladies were sitting under the tree in the shade so I parked up opposite and went to have a chat with them.  I noticed that there were two bags of compost that sitting on the side of the road and I realised that the lady from the garden next to mine was with them and she was obviously going to carry the bags to the garden so I offered to take them up in the Nipper.  I also saw Haciber with them and asked if I could take the big stone that I'd seen on her land  opposite my house and she said that I was welcome to it.....but it's always better to ask...things come back to bite you in the bottom if you don't.

So my neighbour was delivered to the garden with the bags of compost and I helped carry them to the far side of the plot and then went about parking up and getting tooled up to attack the large stone that I wanted.  Firstly I wheeled over the wheelbarrow and a local garden hoe but I couldn't get the angles right to I went to the house and found a load carrier 'thingy', had visions of it dropping from the platform and landing in the middle of the road if the thing collapsed but I managed to get it to the gate and eventually through it and to the place where I wanted to put it without it dropping off the platform.  Success.  By now it was one o'clock so I put Netflix on, took a carton of cream cheese out of the fridge and some bread sticks and that was lunch.  I put the cheese back in the fridge, settled back on the sofa and it was half three when I woke up feeling much better.  Telephone catch-up with my daughter this evening which always lifts my spirits....we hate being apart but she understands what my life is over here and accepts it and when we meet up, everything is the same.  Half eight my time and must think about supper, it was going to be chicken in cornflakes but maybe a little late to start that off.  LN.......Probably get the cheese out again, that should keep me going until morning.......LN

Thursday 26th September

Five start and I thought it was dark for six.....the darkest hour is just before dawn...so they say.  So I read until six, took a few pictures until the battery ran out on the biggie and the little one was playing up so that's the next thing to be replaced at bestest guess, but at least I knew where the battery charger was so now it's all systems go.  I made breakfast that I shared with the cat, she got the overcooked bits but didn't mind.  I cleared the kitchen and finished off my shopping list for today and it was still only eight thirty.  I was in Djebel for nine and greeted at the shop by my now twenty five year old worker handing me back the books that I'd lent to his girlfriend months ago.  I'm pleased I've got them back though, I've had them years, they're probably out of print and never did made the Kindle shortlist.  I went in the shop leaving my phone in the car, stayed for a while, was given two special blue eggs which unfortunately are still yellow inside and refuse the others.  I've got eggs in and if I think they're old I used them for target practice to see if I can still focus on an object on the hillside and hit it....and I'm still doing OK.

I did the rest of my shopping and drove home and my friend from one of the other villages was waiting for me outside the house.  I'd missed her calls and message since my phone was in the car but was home by the time that the message said she would be here.  We sat on the terrace in the sun but with the umbrella up so in the shade but it was a beautiful day.  We had coffee and she was on her way for twelve thirty, by now the urge to take cuttings had vanished so I cored and peeled an apple and had it with natural yogurt, tried to watch the Blacklist but didn't feel committed so switched Netflix off.  Instead I ended up checking flights from Plovdiv to Stanstead with Ryanair and managed to book reasonable dates to coincide with half-term holidays in the UK where EasyJet had been really expensive.  No luggage just carry-ons but I did book a front seat both ways so that I could check-in and be ready for the off.  I did have an issue entering my date of birth as quoted the passport.  Instead of dropdown menus with day, month, year the requirement was that you scrolled back to the year and picked the date and month from that screen which is OK if you were born this side of the 2000.  When you have to go back to 1950 the screen threatens you with a time out and if you miss the cue, you have to start back at 2024.  I suppose some clever programmer thought it was a good idea....I hope her grandmother has to use it and let's her know what a stupid idea it was and still is.  I went on to 'chat' and complained, nothing will probably get done but at least I did something about it.

So I've printed my boarding cards, all set to go, not much packing to do and there to about seventeen days.  Never done Stanstead before so it's going to be exciting getting down to the South Coast but I'm sure I can manage it.  I'm coming back on a Sunday, will book an hotel for the night, it's an early morning flight.  Now time to think about supper, can't say I'm really hungry but need to have something so that I don't get the munchies later.  LN.....No sooner the thought than the blow....hooked and booked and only ninety days until Christmas....we're on a countdown.....LN

Friday 27th September[b][/b

This is going to be very quick tonight and brief.  I have my chicken in cornflakes in the air-fryer and I'm hungry...

I've had a brilliant day.  I woke up at six thirty, on the balcony waiting for the sun to come up and it was approximately seven ten when it arrived.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky, not so dramatic sunrise as yesterday but quietly beautiful.  It just turned up as it was supposed to.  I came in because I was cold, the sun was obviously saving its heat for later and it didn't disappoint. Sitting in the stairwell I spotted a woodpecker in the pear tree over the garage and managed to get a few shots of it without it realising that I was there.  They're such timid birds and it looked like we were playing hide and seek.

I went for a walk round the garden with my camera, cat was out there waiting for me, I'd got nothing this morning so off it trotted to other appointed benefactors of which I'm sure there are many.  I really went out to cheI really went out to check on the yucca spikes to see if they had started flowering and they have, let's hope that they manage it before the weather turns.  Apparently we're still in the mid-to upper twenties next week and it's downhill from there but we'll have to wait and see.  On my walk I also noticed that there are some large pears still hanging in there...they're too high to get them down and no way to get them down without I give it some thought...there's got to be a way.  

Blue boiled eggs for breakfast with toast and a slice of toast with local jam on it which was more like juice with sour cherries floating in it so not much body as it fell from the toast to the plate.  I'll know for next time to choose a different brand. I went into Djebel despite the fact that it was market day but the stall that I wanted to visit hadn't turned up so it's another visit on Monday.  I stopped off at the car shop and bought a car window sunscreen with the intention of putting it on my radiator for the winter and have ordered four more for the others since my radiators are all on outside walls.  Home for twelve thirty, Netflix with cream cheese and breadsticks and then off to sleep until four and felt much better for it.  The rest of the afternoon I was reading on the Kindle, The Selfish Gene and I've really gotten into it and am on chapter five already by Richard Dawkins.  I've also got three of his other books downloaded so lots to go at on booked flights.  Supper has pinged, so ready to be served up with mayo, eight my time so now time to relax before bedtime with a little more Netflix.  LN......A lovely gentle day with nothing to stress me out at all.....LN

Saturday 28th September

Five start this morning, the dogs in the next village were barking until midnight more or less and provided the dawn chorus.  Goodness knows how the immediate neighbours feel about it and I predict that another petition will be going around soon and this time I'll get to sign it.  I made coffee and carried on reading my current book on the Kindle and I'm finding it very interesting and you can put the thinking into things that happen and how you react to them...it's quite eye opening.  On to my second cup of coffee at at six thirty I was putting a load of washing in the machine, on to the clothes airer just after seven and looking for things to do.  It was going to be a beautiful day and by lunchtime it had reached twenty nine degrees and mid thirties in the house.  I collected the rubbish from the house and had a bonfire, washed, cut up and fried a couple of tomatoes and had them on toast for breakfast and it was still on eight thirty, the rest of the day was in front of me and what did I do with it.....not a lot.

The main activity this afternoon was to rescue a bird that had fallen down the chimney and was rattling around in the woodburner in the kitchen.  I'd put Netflix on and realised the noise wasn't coming from the TV so went to investigate and sure enough, it was trapped somewhere inside the metal workings.  The next step was to take the woodburner down to basic, clear the kitchen window sill off and open the window to the porch, remove the ornaments from the beam over the window and the plants from the outside of the window.  That done, the flyscreens have to be propped open and the door to the porch wedged open so that the bird has a clear flight path once it tries to make its escape.  When the men are up checking the chimney next time, I'm going to ask them to put chicken wire roune the capping to stop future invasions.  So having cleared the route I shut the kitchen door to it couldn't get through to the rest of the house, the main door to the porch was shut so I couldn't see it go but I heard a thump as it hit the window before turning right and out of the door.  My next job was to replace everything, putting the woodburner back to its normal state just incase another decides to take its life in its hands.  It's normally the baby birds that get caught out but I would have thought that that stage was over for most of them.

At about four this afternoon I put an apple in the microwave and cooked it, when it was soft inside I added honey, sour cream and yogurt and that was my afternoon snack and like normal, I shan't need to cook supper tonight.  I went back to my book this afternoon, a little more Netflix and that was my day over more or less.  I used to feel guilty about doing nothing and not achieving, now I don't worry so much about it, there's always tomorrow.  I missed the sunset and only caught the last of the pink clouds in the sky.  LN.....I noticed that there is a planet lying low in the sky to the south west.....must get my book out or check on the internet.....LN

Sunday 29th September

Well what started to be out a perfect late summer's day turned into the storm of all storms around four thirty this afternoon.  The wind got up, dark clouds gather, the thunder and lightning both sheet and fork followed on and it was very close to the house.  It didn't take long before a beep signified that the electricity had been interrupted so no need to go round and uncouple things and turn off the internet....the lightning had done it for me in a very controlled fashion, taking it out at its source.  

I'd planned to do lots of things today, up with the lark and made coffee taking it back to bed with me and reading for a while.  I made my bed and went down to make breakfast but instead just settled for toast and sour cherry jam and it was still only eight o'clock.....it was going to be a long day.  I sat at the table in the stairwell and was looking at an old notebook and came across a reference I'd written down about a book entitled 'The Proudler Family' and I remembered that George Sherwood son of Thomas Sherwood and Maria Pugh had married a Mary Proudler so set too to investigate if it might be worth tracking down the book but so far no real information.  I need to investigate the Proudler family to see where my Maria might lie.  By now it was twelve and too hot to go outside and start something so I put on Netflix and went back to the new series I'd been watching.  Time marched on, I managed to stay awake and it was a sudden onset of clouds, the threat of rain and thunder and lots of very close lightning that forced me to switch off the TV, start closing a few windows and move into the back bedroom taking my Kindle with me and a torch.

At five thirty the electricity was still off so I thought that I'd fry off some fish fingers and make sandwiches for supper using the gas burner not knowing if and when the electricity would come on this evening.  Four slices of bread, four fish fingers, slathered with mayo and I was eating my supper about six.  I moved on to the sofa where the light was better and we had a glimmer of sunlight but it didn't stay around for long.  The clouds are back, the thunder is back, so far no lightning but I don't think it's far behind.  Seven my time, I've remembered to change the clock on the timer for the hot water boiler and I've switched it on and think I might be lying soaking for an hour or so this evening.  I've got to go and revisit the old census records to get to the bottom of whether or not Maria Sherwood go married or not and how she became involved with the Teece family which her sister married in to.  Another mystery to solve.  LN.....The thunder and lightning have started up again and I want to post this before it get's zapped.  LN......Photos will follow later if the weather improves......LN