Tuesday 12th November

Another disturbed night, I woke up at four, read for an hour or so and then switched off the light and went back to sleep having a very pleasant dream waking up at seven thirty.  I had nothing to do today but still found plenty to do round the house. It was damp, not a glimmer of light and has stayed that way all day and eventually it started to rain around five this evening.  The clouds are low and hanging over the mountains, the temperature is around five degrees outside and fortunately around twenty four inside.  I lit the fire around ten this morning and it's been going ever since, I'm burning the old wood from two seasons ago that I dug out of the woodstore before the new wood came.  It's well season, completely dry and should be used up first.  I had a bit of a sort out in the conservatory and the little house bringing in wood that had collected in there but had no real value, that's going to be the first to go and now I have two log carriers full of old wood ready to burn, one plastic container of 'it should have gone sooner' and a collapsible garden tidy with pollarded wood which will bring anything to life if it needs a boost.  

I was late feeding the cat and noticed it sitting on the grass in front of the terrace so I picked up the food container. she followed me to the tree and watched me fill her container and almost approached it with me very near.  Eventually, courage ran out and she waited for me to leave before she set to devouring all of it very quickly.  I washed and dressed, put tights on underneath my jeans to stop the damp getting through to me in my diminished state.  I brought the washing downstairs and got that under way and settled for two poached eggs on toast to set me up for the day.  I cleared the kitchen, made more coffee, watched some Netflix, set the washing to dry in the guest room on the clothes airer next to the radiator and it's now ready to put away.  I sat for an hour to so replacing the elastic in two pairs of pyjama bottoms and that item is now on the list of things to buy....more elastic....collected the rubbish that needed to be burnt and that was the next job.  I went down to the bottom of the garden, there was quite a lot of rubbish that hadn't burnt properly from before I went to the UK so I got that going first and then added to it, watched it for a while and then left it to its own devices.  It's all dark down there at the moment so I'm assuming that it's burnt itself out.

I almost went to sleep this afternoon as I wended my way through Richard Dawkins book on the Kindle, managed to stay awake and roused myself to put two chicken legs in the oven with a chopped up onion which should be ready any time soon.  I'm still aching in places but decided not to go to my doctor in Kardjali, as long as I keep moving I'm OK except for a niggling point around the ribs on my left side which I can pinpoint with accuracy and if I sniff, which I know I shouldn't, it hurts.  So now my evening begins, it's almost six, time to get into PJ's and settle in for the evening, supper is calling me from the kitchen and I've got another series I'm interested in following.  LN.....I need potatoes and some breadsticks, I made the mistake of picking up three packets flavoured with olives last time and they have gone to the birds.....LN

Wednesday 13th November

Another painful sleepless night....I just couldn't get comfortable but the weather being what it is, dull, damp, miserable didn't make the day any better.  I fed the cat, chicken bones and dried food and I've just logged where her sleeping place is, under the large bush near the wall behind the choisya.  For the winter I'd like to encourage it to sleep in the garage and plan to made the box for it cosy and waterproof.  It won't be this week thought...not up to doing it.

It's been a day of food and Netflix, Sudoku and Richard Dawkins, there was nothing to go out for.   I was out of bed by seven thirty, it hurt me to lie there and I'm not completely sure that nothing is broken but not too eager to get another x-ray so soon after the first.  I made boiled eggs for breakfast at nine and lit the fire around ten and snuggled up on the sofa watching the flames work their way through and the yellow flame turn to red.  There were a few half burnt small logs in the wood burner so it didn't take long at all and there was enough wood it so that I didn't have to go out and fill up the containers.

I didn't bother with lunch but was making supper around five.  I found a small tin of small meatballs, Bulgarian make and I shan't be buying them again.  They were in a gravy so I used a half packet of 'Smash' to pad them out and twenty minutes later, my supper was ready.  There was lots of gravy left so that will go on the cat's dried food tomorrow morning and hopefully she will like it more than I did.  I did think about going shopping tomorrow but if the weather's like today, I shan't be moving far from home.  What's the point of getting cold and damp and don't really want any of that seeping into my bones...they ache enough.  There was nothing worth photographing outside today, no sunrise, sunset and not much in between except light rain so I decided to take one of the homestead...at least it's been cheerful inside.  LN.....I think it's a day for Ancestry, sewing or knitting tomorrow, I'm tired of Netflix and reading......LN

Thursday 14th November

I woke at five this morning, way too early, dark outside, raining and realised nothing was worth getting up for so I didn't....and lethargy has been the name of the game all day.  I did make beans on toast around eight using only half the can of beans so after washing up the breakfast things I created a new pile of washing up.  I found a can of local corned beef in the container underneath the island unit. chopped up a small onion, added the contains of the container to the onions and the half can of beans, used a packet of the equivalent of 'Smash' and half of it cover the dish and that will be supper.  I only need to put it in the oven for forty minutes or so and it will go in when I've posted.  I mixed the rest of the potato with a can of tuna made cakes frying them for lunch....and that's probably the reason that supper isn't in the oven already.  As usual I made too much , the rest of the tuna mixture is in the fridge for tomorrow.  The domestic goddess went wild, have done more washing up today that I have for a while but I think I've skimped on food since I've been back and this weather doesn't really help.  Cat had food with the remains of last night's gravy on it and ate it up quickly, even the cat seems to be despairing at the weather.

I lit the fire at ten thirty, it was down to twenty and with the fire going it went up to twenty two...not much of a difference but it's the look and feel of a fire that make a place like home.  Today has been a day for Sudoku and I realise that I've been out of practice over the summer and since I've nearly finished the book that I had a few Christmases ago, I need to find some more if I go into Kardjali tomorrow.  The fridge is looking a little bare, I need potatoes and other fresh vegetables, butter I'm down to my last one, dried potatoes as a standby, more baked beans and pork to make a curry...I have a hankering for curry.  

I'm feeling better in myself but wish the pain would go away and  at least theses tablets have not had the same effect as the ones that the doctor issued.  I'm still unsure about having a bath, might try a shower, washing my hair is going to be the problem.  I can't get both of my arms up so will probably rub shampoo into the bits that I can reach and trust to the gods and the water pressure to remove the shampoo and conditioner.  I did manage to get logs in a couple of log carriers into the conservatory.  I'm still using up the old ones, they're stacked lower than the new ones and easier to load.  Curtains closed, black as Black jacks outside except for my solar strands.  LN.....They do cheer me and the garden up......LN  

Friday 15th November

Again we've had a miserable day weather-wise.  I was awake at five, read until six, went back to sleep until seven, washing in the machine and on the airer by eight.  Cat was sitting by the Frog garden waiting for food so I didn't disappoint; it had the remains of my last night's supper and dried food and as it made its way to the tree and I followed on.
I'm going to try to get her to follow me to the garage tomorrow, I'm going to make a bed-box and hopefully it will sleep there over the winter out of the rain, cold and  and potential snow.  I know it's street cat, very wary of humans but on some level we appear to have bonded.

I lit the fire early, had toast for breakfast with the last of the apricot jam.  It had lots of sugar and very little fruit, was expensive by local standards and I shan't be buying it again.  I'm down to about a quarter pack of butter and had good intentions of going into Kardjali but the weather deteriorated and no way did I want to get soaked.  I'd got enough wood in the porch so didn't have to go for top-ups and for some reason I started to play around with the lamp that I'd bought and never put to use.  The intention was to put it on a timer for when I went out using a timing device, I have three in the porch that had been replaced and I wasn't really sure what was wrong with them but it was the clock on one, the second one it appears that the over-ride function didn't work and as for the third, I didn't bother to find out.  I was a little thin on patience this morning, still hurting  and what I was doing wasn't really helping so abandoned the efforts.

The next episode started with a packet of Bisto that had stuck onto the top shelf of the kitchen cupboard.  I'd tried to remove it but it was stuck fast so out came the step ladder with a hand hold and up I went taking the dishwasher sponge with me soaked in hot water.  I started removing other bottles and jars from the top shelf checking the sell by dates on them and it really has thinned them out with the shelf now being half empty meaning I can move stuff from other places.  I tidied away and heard a knock on the door and my name being called and Haciber was standing outside and as I opened the door she handed me a package with the words 'Mevlit'.  It was a packet of biscuits and a drink either someone had died or it was handed as a memory link of someone's death and it was from someone who lived in one of the houses in the field opposite.  I probably don't know them but everyone in the village gets the same.  I invited her in and she went immediately to the wood-burner and commented on how warm the house was and I showed her the radiator on the ground floor bedroom.  I suggested that she sat down on the sofa, she didn't want anything to drink but I did force  a couple of ginger biscuits on her reminding her that her son had sent some from Sweden for me since they are a delicacy there at this time of year.  These I brought back from England from an upmarket garden centre.  Off she went, I settled on the sofa and the biscuits are no more....I finished them this afternoon when I woke up.

Just before four I got out the Beast and drove into Djebel, I'd finished the tablets, needed potatoes and wanted a trip out.  I wouldn't get everything I wanted but managed the basics.  I called into the shop for a chat, Friday is imminently better than market day and I came away with a very large box for my cat's winter shelter.  I managed to get potatoes, carrots and leeks, more bread for the freezer and the bill was ten leva....try that in the UK.  It was dark when I set off for home and very difficult to get the Beast back in the garage but I eventually managed it.  I did have a yard light but the support bracket isn't strong enough and the wind keeps switching the light on which is a nuisance or it needs adjusting and I'm not in a fit state to be up a ladder.....maybe have to call in my support staff...I need my chimney sweeping anyway before winter really sets in.  No pickies...again not worth it.  LN.... The bathroom water heater is on......I'm going to wallow in the tub.....LN

Saturday 16th November

Well there was an element of brightness about the morning, most of the damp patches on the terrace had dried up, I did put my nose out, the day was cold but at least we had a hint of red and yellow over the mountains with galloping clouds that my father would call 'white horses'.  There wasn't to be much heat in the sun during the day, I forget, it's the middle of November and this month is racing towards Christmas.  I should really start getting the gift for the ladies ready, Monday looks like being the day to make a start.  I gave cat the remains of last night's supper with some dried food and I don't think it will ever be brave, she like the relationship as it is.

I had my bath last night but my hair is still needing attention but it can wait.  As for the rest of the day, the fire still hd embers so I got it going again quite quickly, there wa enough wood in to keep it going but I did go out there and bring in another log carrier fairly full lte afternoon.  I didn't bother with breakfast until mid morning but I did peel potatoes, leeks, onions and carrots and they went into the slow cooker with a chicken leg hiding in the middle of the veg and topped it up with half milk and water with a stock cube.  I left it to its own devices and it was ready by five thirty this afternoon and it does save lingering over a hot stove.  

This afternoon I've had music playing most of the day and settled down on the sofa with my Sudoku book and managed to stay awake until around two thirty and must have slept for a couple of hours.....and chicken and vet were calling me from the kitchen with a very wholesome aroma....supper was served.  Another restful day is planned for tomorrow.....I think this is going to take longer to heal than I anticipated.  I am gong to see the doctor on Monday morning, I have general pain but one real hot spot towards the middle of my chest and sniffing is manageable, coughing is painful but sneezing is excruciating.  LN....I'm off downstairs, the comfort of the sofa and the heat of the fire......LN

Sunday 17th November

This morning I say a heavenly birthday to my sister, we were never really close either in age or outlook but we survived...I grew up in different times.

Another sleepless night, I went to bed at midnight, woke up at four thirty and instead of reading went back to sleep and eventually surfaced at seven thirty.  I think I mentioned that they gave me the wrong tablets at the chemist on Friday, I asked for Nurofen and ended up with a look-alike and after reading the leaflet it had the potential to affect me in the same way. 'Swollen face and rash so stop taking immediately' so I didn't even bother to start taking them.  Nurofen didn't do that so tomorrow I'm going to see the doctor, I'm not happy with the healing process and think that the doctors at the hospital missed something on the x-ray.  I think if I slept standing up I should be OK...it's the fact that I put the weight of my body and the duvet on the upper thorax and that's when things start aching.

I didn't do much this morning, sun was out and a joy to wake up to but it was minus three outside and white over...so I stayed in.  It was eighteen degrees in, the fire was just going when I got up at just before eight but no need to give it the kiss of life, blue sky and sunshine.  I made beans on toast for breakfast, cleared the kitchen, fed the cat and had a bonfire taking my secateurs with me to cut back the brambles and stop to take the rosebuds from the roses that grow against the little house.  I was firstly drawn to the red one then noticed that the yellow had far more buds on it so now they've been cut, de-thorned and are in the house.  This also sent me on the trail of the others and I have white and yellow on the outside streetside of the garage and white between the house and the front wall.  I've never really noticed them before  but this year they've been spectacular and still are.  I came in and liquidised the rest of the vegetables from the slow cooker and made it into soup and that was lunch with buttered toast....and cleaned the kitchen again.

I settled on the sofa around four this afternoon and watched a couple of episodes of Sherlock Holmes and still not sure if I'm enjoying it or not...second lot coming up...I'll let you know.  Brilliant moon tonight and unfortunately the camera on the normal setting just showed red circles round it with no detail but I tried the manual settings on magnification and I think it's the first time that I've got the colour correct.  I'm using the big Sony and have just reset it back to factory settings and need to play with it more.  LN......Good to feel the sunshine on my face once again....pretty nippy but beautiful.......LN

Monday 18th November

Well the best laid plans....nothing went quite like it was supposed to.  I woke at five thirty, read for an hour with my coffee to hand, sorted the fire out ready for tonight, poached egg on toast for breakfast, fed the cat and then dressed for the doctors and town.  I was taking the Beast, started it up OK and moved it into the yard, back to the house and sorted my handbag and found a body warmer, it was probably around minus three outside and by now it was around eight thirty....I was doing OK.  I tried to get the heater to work, pressed everything in sight but still nothing blowing out of it but moved the Beast onto the road, shut the gate and set off for Djebel and this is where the fun started.  

It was a very cold morning and lots of condensation around and with the heater not working I noticed as I drove past the parts shop that the owner was about to leave and so I drove to the garage.  I was anticipating that a fuse had gone and it would be a quick fix but I parked up outside the gate and waited, and waited.  A car pulled up behind me so I decided to phone the garage, tell them that I was waiting and so was another car and was told that they would be down soon.  My ex-student appeared with the keys and opened the gate, I drove in and parked up and decided to let the other man goi before me not realising that he wanted winter tyres on but they had to be put onto his alloys.  His father arrived and they finished the job together, my student came over, I explained the problem and he set about checking the fuses which were all OK.  He then explained that it was probably the Air Blower and resistor that was behind the glove box and at this point I'd decided that by the time they'd taken it out to see the serial number and the order placed, it wasn't going to be fixed today. He suggested that I went to the shop and tried to find the part number with his mother but her attention was elsewhere.  She'd just received a new phone and was setting it up so we interacted to check what was working and what wasn't.  Now there was a definite change of plan, without screen demisters the car was fogging up and I didn't feel safe driving into Kardjali so I went to the chemist, bought more Nurofen and set off for home,,,everything could wait until tomorrow, it was a cold day and I would soon have my fire going and have another day of rest....which is exactly what I did.

When I drove the Beast into the yard and towards the garage, I tried to open the driver's window to check the positioning for the garage and it wouldn't open.  It worked the last time I was in the car, it's all power assisted so I wondered it the fuse had become dislodged when the others were being checked at the garage.  Nothing to be done about it now except to check the internet for hints and tips so that I can tell the garage next time I take it down there.  I'll be using the Nipper tomorrow.

I had my afternoon siesta, did some reading and still making my was through The Greatest show on Earth by Richard Dawkins and have eventually reached sixty five percent read.  It's a fascinating book but reading it on the Kindle you don't get the full essence of it.  The book has coloured plated and lots of diagrams,I'm probably going to look out for it at some point.  I also managed a couple of episodes of Sherlock Holmes on Netflix, cooked chicken in cornflakes in the air-fryer and had them in a sandwich, washing up done, wood in for tonight and now relax.  I've just taken another Nurofen so should have a better night tonight, almost nine my time so it won't belong before I snuggle down.  LN.....That beautiful pinkish red rose that I cut yesterday and brought into the house, does have a beautiful perfume.....LN

Tuesday 19th November

So a much better night last night....I took a painkiller before going to bed and it worked.  I woke at six, the sky was tinged the pink of morning and I watched the world come to life sipping gently at my coffee.  There was lots of mist around the mountains, that got thicker as the sun came up, another fristy frosty morning and I would have work to do before I could get the Nipper out on to the highway.  Before I made the bed I changed the bottom sheet and firstly had to find one that was large enough for my mattress. I've been using summer ones but now it was time for the winter wight to go on so that it's warm to the touch.  It was easier downstairs, I just used to put tp and bottom 'nest' on but I'm still upstairs and likely to stay that way for this year and possibly next, the house seems to hold the temperature better or maybe the wood is better this year.

I didn't bother with breakfast, washed and dressed and was ready for my visit to the doctor to see if another consultation was necessary with the hospital.  I de-iced the Nipper, it was thick over, remembered to feed the cat and headed to the garage, today it was open but the owner was hiding away and getting the inside of his garage warmed up.  On the way in I'd had some knocking going on from the exhaust, I mentioned it to him, he put it over the pit and secured the aforementioned with two lengths of wire to the underside and I was good to go.  It's gone onto the tab, he had no change and I mentioned that despite his son's efforts at diagnostics yesterday on the Beast, that another problem with the power windows had occurred so it would need further looking into.  I also  asked him to not order the new part for the first problem until he'd given it a complete going over, we might be going up an expensive route without the need to.  I'll drive it in on Market day and come back on the bus.

So a quieter drive in to Kardjali, I parked up behind the polyclinic and had trouble doing phone up parking payment.  Two text messages went off, no response from the parking company so I'll speak to them tomorrow.    My doctor was in fine form, she said that if the hospital hadn't found any broken bones after the x-ray then she had to follow the lead.  She prescribed a homeopathic remedy saying that my body had undergone trauma and that it would not heal in five minutes, probably I would have pain for around another month or so and to leave off the Nurofen if I could.  I did shopping in Kaufland, bought a hotdog and chippies and had brunch on the run and then onto Lidl.
I was  back home by four, absolutely knacked after putting the shopping away, lit the fire again and promptly went to sleep watching Sherlock Holmes, woke up and had a late lunch of cream cheese and breadsticks and shan't be wanting anything else until morning.  I took a tablet, my chest was really hurting after driving, took a few photos of the sunset and promptly went back to sleep again.  

The rest of this update is going to be short and hopefully sweet.  I'm doing nothing tomorrow except keeping warm, getting in enough logs for a couple of days and resting.  I might tackle some crochet or knitting, but nothng more adventurouns.  LN......Another lovely sunset and soon be time for bed and hopefully another good night....LN

Wednesday 20th November

So the hillside was it's normal brown this morning, clouds on the horizon, cold but not white over.  I was slow getting off the mark, I'd fallen asleep on the sofa last night, woke up at two, went to bed but not sleepy so read for an hour or so until the sleepy dust settled in my eyes and I could read for no longer.  I'd drawn all the curtains in the bedroom so hadn't a clue what time it was when I woke up but was making coffee at seven thirty, washing load in soon afterwards and then back to bed until the streets were aired.  Washing on the airer, cat fed, bacon and egg sandwich underway with more coffee and it was now heading for half nine.  The fire was ticking over so I put a few of the smaller logs on it to put some life into it, one decent log on and then I let it burn out.  The sun didn't stay around for long and the clouds rolled over with the wind coming from the west.  

I took my book downstairs and was suddenly aware of a chain saw quite close by so went out to have a look.  My lady from the next door garden was heading home, there was a car parked outside my wall and a man was cutting back the brambles, I spoke to him and he'd been asked to cut  down a few trees and generally tidy the place up.  The lady's husband is not in the best of health and this could have been family doing the work, I left him to it, I think she was trying to get a few more logs together for winter.  The cost of wood has risen and I know they only have a pension to live on...economy being everything here for the older neighbours.

I played around on my computer on the stairwell table and the tablet mainly sorting them out  since I don't use them very often.  I also fell upon an interview of Richard Dawkins by a very self opinionated interviewer and Dawkins stood up to him very well and wouldn't be drawn into some topics which I admired. It seemed he didn't have to justified what he believed in unlike some others.  I managed to stay without painkillers until three this afternoon when I felt like there was a weight on my chest so had to give in.  No afternoon nap, I went in search of wool that I'd bought ages ago and stored in the big chest in the downstairs bedroom, found brown wool still in skeins so I managed to roll it into balls and there is probably about a kilogram that I'll probably turn into something when the winter really sets in.  Hamburgers for supper tonight which I'll cook in the air-fryer with maybe  a few chippies.  LN,,,,Another day of rest tomorrow.....it's not going to heal unless I do according to the doctor.....LN

Thursday 21st November

Eight o'clock start for me but I didn't get to bed until one.  I went through the usual routines, fed the cat, bacon and egg sandwich for me, prepared the fire for tonight but left getting the wood in until I was better dressed.  It was cold, the wind was coming again from the west and we'd had a lot of rain over night but at least it was clearing up.  I eventually got dressed at half eleven and found myself in the spare bedroom sorting out shoes and clothes that were still lying on the bed before my trip to the UK.  My summer shoes are all away, my winter boots are all neatly lined up, the Christmas decorations and wrapping paper are ready to be brought downstairs, I've only just realised how far we are into November already.  I made the cat box but haven't fitted it out yet with a blanket but it's been hanging around this afternoon so I threw more bread out.  It had had the hamburgers that I didn't cook last night, first thing with dried food and now back for seconds and did eat some bread.

I finished up when I felt my wounded torso start to ache so took to the sofa with cream cheese and breadsticks and Netflix playing in the background.  I saw that The Blacklist had new episodes added so I watched until I noticed that sunset was imminent, lit the fire, took my pickies and filled up the log carriers and have enough for the next couple of days.  I took a tablet, they seem to work well taking them well before bedtime and carry me through until morning.  I shan't want any supper tonight so shan't be leaving anything for the cat or maybe a sandwich later if the hunger bugs start nibbling away.  LN.....I've nothing planned for tomorrow but I might take the Beast into the garage so that they can investigate the issues with the heater and the windows.....and now back to the fire.....LN