Tuesday 1st July  

So now we're into the second half of the year heading towards Christmas!!.  I always think of July as the turning point, the end of the school summer term, long holidays for children, time for families to be together and difficult times for some famililes when children have to be looked after in school holidays.  It takes me back to having my two and having to arrange for grandparents, with both of us working, to take up child care roles for us.

It was late when I woke up this morning.  I've had this awful itching skin and having done very little yesterday due to not feeling well, I went to bed at twelve and at one I was out of bed and running a cool bath, adding Badedas to the water, lightly scrubbing my skin with a special sponge and then rubbing in well an Arnica salve that quietened everything doown and hence my eight start to the day.  I've found out my allergic reaction tablets, took one mid-morning, took my blood pressure and it was low so had Marmite on toast for breakfast and  spent a couple of hours on the sofa with my feet raised, bringing everything back into range.  I really should start recornding everything I eat but it seems to be the most inoxuous items that seem to bring out the rash and violent itching.

So on to the rest of my day.  I slept through a couple of episodes of my new time-waster and had to backtrack.  It was another hot day so no gardening again and I had to scratch it off the agenda.  It's time that I did something though, I noticed that the weeds were not flowering not just threatening it so they have to be removed over the next couple of days.  It's clouded over now but supper is now ready, I did chicken drumsticks with onions and potatoes in the oven and they're ready and keeping warm with the oven turned off.  Gone are the days when I would run over the road with a plate for Avatar, her daughter has been here all summer and it's not been the same and I think we both miss it.  

I did manage to water the garden this morning and change the tortoise water and put out some apple for them.  The wild plum has managed to produce some fruit but not a lot this year thanks to very high winds when it was in blossom.  In fact the cherry produced no fruit at all where normally it's loaded and there's nothing on the apricot tree down by the walnut.  I really should check out the walnut tree and the only one that seems to have produced lots of fruit is the medlar tree but that really needs lot of water and the grapes really need fattening up.

So tonight I'm going to have a shower before I go to bed, not go to bed, get up and then get to bed again!!  LN......No mayo with tonight's supper, that appears to be another trigger for the rash and heat bumps.....LN

Wednesday 2nd July

Better night's sleep last night and woke feeling much better, blood pressure reasonable. made beans on toast for breakfast, tuned into BBC Radio 2 and shared my morning with them.  First job was to fee the remains of my last night's supper to the cat.  I went into the garden and made my usual call to the cat at around eight thirty and it appeared, very bleary eyed, I put the food down and when I checked around thirty minutes later, there were just a few bones left in the dish....it had had a good meal that would last for most of the day.  I watered the pots with water from the water butt that I'd rigged up from the roof guttering downpipes and managed to clear the blockage.  I removed the filter system from the entrance, cleared it out and swished the water around, the blockage was obviously in the tap so I applied the hose pipe to it, turned on the mains water to the terrace and it immediately removed the blockage and it was all systems go.  It took a while but I was back in business so I filled up an old washing liquid bottle and I'm sure the pots appreciate natural water not chemical laden that the rest of us have to put up with.

I checked out the garden, saw Cracked Shell nibbling on the droppings from the wild plum tree and filled up the water supply for the rest of the group.  I found Rosy near the high wall on the other side of the garden, I found a few dandelion leaves and tried to hand feed it but it was having none of it, probably had its breakfast already so I found another large container lid and set up another water supply near the big tree half way down the long wall.  I aslo fetched a handful of wild plums and put them by the side of the lid, somebody might find it.  The sun was getting higher in the sky and so I moved the bench from the little house terrace into the shade and was surprised to see Avatar heading towards me, she'd missed me for the last three days and had come to check on me.  I really appreciate that, she joined me on the bench, I explained that my blood pressure had been playing up and she said that hers had as well.  She suggested iran with salt added to raise it up, I said I didn't have yogurt to make iran so she suggested that I went home with her, she would make me some.  Before we left, I found the activator for the door bell chime and gave it to her, at least if she came over with the clicker, I would hear and not rely on me hearing her knocking on the window of the door.  When we arrived, I was given the choice of iran or coffee so I chose iran and her daughter came out with the blood pressure monitor and hers seems to register lower values than mine and when I checked it on my monitor when I got home, it was more or less normal.

I slept for a while, the garden could wait for another day and when I woke up I moved to my bedroom balcony bench, put up the umbrella to keep out of the sun and at four decided to go into Djebel, I was running short of bread and a few vegetables, needed ice-cream and I had a couple of reminders from the car insurers that it was time to renew so I popped in to the garage shop and asked her to put the wheels in motion.  I'd also recieved a message from my bank and wasn't able to run 'translate' on it but it was just advertising junk so no action needed except 'delete'.  I stopped off at the supermarket on the way home and did my shopping including some chicken wings tops for myself and some for Avatar and when I got home I took them over to her.  One kilo of top wings without the last joint for five leva is well worth having and mine are in the freezer already.  I told her it was a gift, and we had a fight about the money and it was also a thank you for coming looking for me.  

I ate an ice-cream that I'd bought back with me, shopping was away and after a good breakfast I haven't fell hungry all day so should go through until the morning.  It's been too hot to do anything and I think tomorrow , and the next few days will be the same.  Just watched a four part English murder hut on Netflix and we really do them well and that's the reason I'm late with the update.  LN.....Now to see if the photos that I took were any good......I'd tried to focus on a stork circling gain height on the air current but had no joy....so must try harder......LN

Thursday 3rd July

Six start but not much action until around seven.  I collected the washing from the bathroom and got that underway, washed up from last night, made toast and Marmite for breakfast, washing on to the airer and then I ran out of steam.  I took my blood pressure and it was OK but I did remember to take some iran with salt to make sure that it stayed up.  It was going to be another hot one and I wasn't sure what I was going to get up to.....the garden is always calling me but the number of flowering weeds in the grass was putting me off starting anything so I just went out and looked at them.  I watered the pots found some new solar coloured lights and replaced some that had gone to the solar dump but there was one slight problem, there wasn't a holder for the battery in the box and most of the metal supports that I had weren't big enough so I was into replacement mode and seemed to spend ages without a result.  In the end I just placed it in a flower pot and hoped that it would get enough sun.

I went back to my perch on the little house terrace and decided that the old cornflowers had had their day and it was time that they became cow fodder.  I was surprised to see one of my lovely pink plants and tried to be careful so that I didn't remove it with the rubbish but I'm not sure I managed it....I'll check tomorrow.  I then went through the process of finding a strimmer that worked, reloaded two with cord, set about the flowering weeds knowing that the mower wouldn't do the job properly and discovered that the latest strimmer that's supposed to deliver the cord automatically doesn't see to want to do it so I reverted to my little old one and that managed fine.  It was now time to try the mowers.  The last one that I'd bought seemed to be running out of steam on the first try with it, it had worked the whole day but I gave it a try.  I started, wasn't running smoothy at all, smelled very hot and electrical so that went back and is going back even further to the shop when I get round to it.  The Parkside one is out of warranty and keeps cutting out, I think there's a temperature cut off if it thinks the machine is running hot and as for baby mower, the old one that I dug out of the graveyard, kept going all day and did a fine job.    How did I do...not too bad but at six I was wilting and my back was hurting, I'd done more or less half of the grass but thought I'd continue, it was still light and the temperature was better than it had been all day.  I struggled on, didn't resort to the cutters for the flowering weeds and finished the little house grass.  I've only got one thought in my brain at the moment, to run a bath and chill out to ease out the aches and pains, rub some cream into it and hopefully I shall be able to do the rest of the grass tomorrow....if not....the next day.  I'm my only task master!!.

Not too bothered about food, I think it's likely to be a cheese and onion sandwich taken up to the bath with me.  LN....Nine o'clock when I came in....a long and productive day.....and the lights look good.....LN

Friday 4th July

So last night I had a surprise, visitors at half ten, pitch black outside, fairy lights twinkling but giving no light which was useful.  I'd heard a car horn sound outside and didn't realise that they were trying to gain my attention, I forgot that that's the way that locals make contact and it wasn't until I heard a lady's voice outside that I went to investigate.  Eventually I managed to put the conservatory light on and realised that it was my first Guiljan's mother from the next village who's daughter now lives in Germany.  I was surprised, by this time her husband had appeared so I invited them in but they said that they wouldn't because it was late, she handed me a frozen lump of meat, said that they were on their way from Djebel and thought they'd deliver my late Byram gift.  Father asked if I had any large water bottles that they could have, I said I did but it was too late for me to try and find them in the upstairs of the little house which he understood and I'll find some out and deliver them over the weekend and off they went.

It was now close to eleven o'clock so despite the time I carried on with what I was going to do, I ran a bath, made my cheese sandwiches and took them upstairs with me.  I needed to soak in the bath, my back was really aching and it would warm it up and soothe it before I settled down for the night.  I was in there for about an hour, dried off and rubbed in pain relief cream, it was half one when I snuggled down and slept like a top until seven thirty this morning, woke up refreshed with visions of completing the grass today but put it on the back burner when the temperature reached thirty four degrees.

This morning was all about tortoises.  I filled up the watering holes for them and I'd bought a gala melon but once I opened it yesterday I'd taken one mouthful and realised that it didn't taste good.  I'd not had it from my usual shop so no point in returning it, just means I won't go back there again.  I took it outside and picked up a knife from the outside sink area and left slices in various parts of the garden and listening for signs that they were out there doing what tortoises do.  On the first walk down the low wall side of the garden I heard nothing but on the upswing along the high wall I saw CS so put some melon down for it but one of the water containers and left it merrily to munch.  I doubled back, started another sweep and this time I saw Green by the other watering hole and heard a heck of a racket coming from behind a thick shrub close to the wall.  This was nothing to do with the melon but rather three tortoise in combat, I'm not sure who was attacking who or in amorous pursuit, at one point one was on its back but righted itself and I left them to it.  Coming up the other side I spotted Rosy enjoying her slice of the booty and it was all due to the fact that it didn't suit my palette but obviously the tortoise didn't notice anything wrong.

I left them to it and unlocked the woodstore and the little house with the intention of making a start on something and I'm about to put everything away having started nothing.  I was still suffering an ache in my back and didn't want to do any more damage to it....it's not as if the grass is going to grow anymore until it rains again.  As for the weeds....I can learn to live with them until next week which gives me the weekend to recuperate.  The joint of meat was going into the slow cooker but is currently still sitting in the fridge....it will be cooked tomorrow.  Too late to start anything now.

I've just hear some gunshots from the next village and hopefully the man with the dogs has got tired of the noise that they create and has done us all a favour....though I doubt it.  LN.....Time to post and lock up shop after setting the automatic outside intruder light.....the wind sets it off so I'd switched it off, but maybe it would make it easier for late night callers.....LN

Saturday 5th July

Slept well and woke up at six thirty this morning.  Lots of the garden was in shade so I decided to make an early start, two cups of coffee, nothing to eat and I was out there at seven thirty unreeling the electrical cable and taking out the little trusty mower and the strimmer.  The strimmer was the first into play to try to remove the thick stems of the blue flowering weeds but it was slow process so I went back to the trusty mower and it worked but I had to go over the same ground a couple of times to trim them right down to the ground.  There are still a few standing and I shall have to get out the loppers but for the time being they are passable and by nine thirty I was able to work in the shade of the mulberry tree.  I've just got the small patch of grass in front of the main house terrace and was going great guns until my attention was diverted and I suddenly moved to the grass between the house and the front wall.  It was at this point that I decided to remove the honeysuckle and the spent roses from by the front gate, worked myself along to the well area, cleared a lot of the honeysuckle covering the old well to make a way through to the side garden.  The path needed approaching from the other side so instead I cut down the roses and removed some of the honeysuckle smothering some of the other wall shrubs and this is when it came to an end pretty quickly.  I obviously got too close to a wasp nest, got stung on the hand and then on the forehead so went into the house pretty sharpish, found the vinegar and dabbed it on both of the stings.  That done I found the 'Allergia' tablets and took one and found the cream to ensure that I didn't get an allergic reaction to the stings, sat down and waited to see what my body would do about it.....and nothing.  They both subsided, the vinegar did what it should do and neutralised the effect of the poison.

Now it suddenly occurred to me that I wasn't sure if the tablet I'd taken was an antihistamine so changed the top half and put on a decent blouse, locked up the house and headed into Djebel to check with my student's mum at the garage who used to be a nurse.  She confirmed that if I was allergic to the sting, the swelling would have been instant and I had only a slight bump under the skin on the forehead.  She put my mind at rest, I carried on to Kardjali and did my Lidl shop, I was almost out of butter and needed a few things for the freezer and stopped at the garage to fill up with gas.  Back to Djebel and to my little shop and bought another melon and hopefully I'll not be sharing this with the tortoise.  

The joint of meat is in the slow cooker and should be ready for supper with potatoes and veg,  I settled on the sofa and promptly went to sleep for a couple of hours and it took me ages to come round and back to normal.  I now have to make a decision, do I go out and finish the grass now the sun has gone down or tidy up and leave it for another day.  I must say the early start is good but the secret is to avoid wasp nests at all costs.  LN.....I shall be exceptionally careful when I tidy up the debris from the front wall area.....LN

Sunday 6th July

Another early start and I intended going out and finishing off the grass but instead I stripped down the bed, washed the sheets, pillow cases and top cover that I've been using to freshen them up for another week or so.  We've had a hot few nights and days come to think of it.  The grass can wait, I've done most of it, I've still got to tidy up the path between the house and front wall, the wasp stings put paid to that and I've settle up in a' limbotic' state.  This word came to me, spell check came to mind and Google's response was that this wasn't a word but it ought to be. I've got all the time to set my own agenda and should always remember this, I'm my own task master.  So in the end, the debris between the house and the wall is still waiting to be removed and the grass is still waiting to be cut...but the washing is done, dried and ready to put away.  It's not been an entirely wasted day.  I'd cooked the meat that I'd received from my ex-student's family yesterday, removed it from the slow cooker, removed the fat and bones and what's left will make a good Shepherd's Pie that I can put in the freezer.  The rest of the fat I inter rib stuff I put ready for cat but cat didn't wake up until much later so I brought the dish back into the house and delivered it later.  It was only about seven.

A surprise this morning, the lady that was a great help to me after I'd had my accident came round to see me.  I was just finishing poached eggs on toast and so I asked if she wanted coffee but she settled for apple juice and we sat in the lounge and had a catch up.  She'd crashed into a nail with her arm, it hadn't damaged the skin there was no infection but she was looking for cream to bring out the bruise and reduce the swelling.  I said that I thought I'd given her a tube of my usual cream but she said that hers was finished but she knew I'd have more so I found it out and applied it to the wounded area.  We sat and chatted for a while and then went out to the garden and she's the one that wants 'bits' of everything.  She was digging around in the little house terrace garden taking seeds from the Sweet William when suddenly she started cavorting and slapping herself, I couldn't understand what was going on but there on the grass was one of the biggest caterpillars that I'd seen for a while and I don't know how she had got it on her.  My thought was immediately to get the camera and take a picture, hers was to still tremble and shudder.  Eventually she calmed down and I think we might be going to Greece next Sunday to the market and then to Fanari for the day as a consolation prize.  Off she went and I said I would phone if the trip was on and confirm.

I washed up the breakfast things and tidied up the cushions and by now the heat had hit us thick and fast so my agenda was going to change.  I thought about sun bathing on the balcony to get more colour into my legs but even that was a silly thought, it was very hot.  I picked up my book and couldn't settle, I knew it was going to be one of those days so I put Netflix on, searched for a while and came up with nothing that I wanted to see so that went off.  I did manage to water most of the pot plants and am amazed at how many Aloe Vera plants are emerging from the solitary one that I repotted last week.  They were obviously trying to make their way to the surface but couldn't manage to get through but now they had the space to emerge in the big container and were doing so.  I also  took half of the melon that I'd bought over to Avatar and had a catch-up, her daughter had gone back to Turkey and I thought that her family were coming over from Turkey to sort out passports but it's all change.  I'm not sure if she left on good terms, I didn't ask but Avatar is expecting her granddaughter to arrive soon along with great grandchildren so she'll be pushing swings and filling up paddling pools soon.

I came home and got my head down for an hour or so and felt better for it.  I cooked chicken wings that I'd bought yesterday and since there wasn't any space in the freezer, they can go into the fridge and I can pick as and when I want.  It's almost eight my time, I'm not hungry so shall settle for keeping my fluid levels up, I've already made my bed up so might even just have a long bath in cool water and enjoy the rest of my evening.  I shan't be doing Djebel tomorrow, it's market day and I have a list of things that I want to do there but Tuesday will be a better day for it.  LN......Now to find out the name of the caterpillar that I photographed...and from one of the children's books that I used to read to mine....'you wouldn't want that nesting in your knickers'.....LN

Just done a search....Based on its appearance, this caterpillar likely belongs to the Sphingidae family—commonly known as hawk moths. Their lifecycle is a beautiful journey of transformation:  I shan't be around to see it.....

Monday 7th July

Woke up really early this morning, it was a very hot night again but it had cooled down to nineteen degrees at six.  I realised that I had to have a march on the garden and get out early, that red hot ball was breaking on the horizon and I knew that it would be heating up despite weather forecasters saying that we were in for a cool spell.  I was out of bed, making coffee, dressing and unlocking the woodstore at six thirty and unreeling the electricity cable.  I fetched out the little old faithful mower, started on the yard, moved to the gap between the house and the front wall, moved the debris and lobbed it over the wall.  I decided that to break through to the side garden I would be better doing it from there, trimming back the honeysuckle on the other side of the well and tie back the juniper to the fence so that I didn't prickled to death.  I also noticed that Avatar was cutting her grass...two of the oldest in the village and the most active and probably the only oldies up and about.

I moved the mower and the cable to the big house terrace and continued where I'd left off yesterday, moved on to the side garden where I met up with three of the tortoise who were slowly waking up and Blue who was trying to wake up Red with amorous intentions so I chopped the honeysuckle from round them, this woke her up and off they trundled, he trying to keep up with her and into the shade of the other shrubs and the wall.  Cat was asleep so I found out the chicken bones that I'd left last night, I went back to attend to the cable and when I came back noticed another cat breakfasting with Cat so I chased it off or rather it shot off when it saw me.  I finished the grass, broke through to the path between the house and the wall, tied back the juniper with an elastic bungy, more debris over the wall and tools away, cable rewound and back into the workshop.  It was eleven thirty and I'd had enough.  I did move on to trim back the roses on the little house terrace, got stung by another angry wasp so definitely finished for today, another 'alergia' tablet, vinegar on the sting and lots of spring water for me to rehydrate myself.  

I made ham sandwiches for late breakfast, early lunch, had a shower and washed my hair, loaded the washing machine with the towels and the clothes from this morning.  I added it to the rest of the laundry on the dryer in the conservatory, came inside, lay on the sofa and promptly went to sleep for a couple of hours without Netflix playing in the background.  Not sure if I'm wanting supper tonight, it's just too hot to eat and there are chicken wings already cooked so it's either me finishing them tonight or Cat tomorrow.....I'll see how it goes.  LN.....Admin day tomorrow, transferring money between accounts, car insurance to sort for Nipper and the Beast and then it might be a swim day......LN

Tuesday 8th July

So last night was a funny one for me.  I'd finished the garden in good time and didn't go out much into the sun after mid-day, I'd slept some of the afternoon, settled down for Netflix, finished off the chicken wings and around half an hour after I had the most awful indigestion, couldn't burp at all, it was almost as if the supper just wouldn't go down.  I sat up on the sofa, thought I was going to be sick but it just wouldn't happen and I broke out into a really hot sweat with leaky skin so thought the best place for me was in bed so I grabbed the washing up bowl, just in case but this morning I was fine with no after effects.  Today I've been fine.

I woke up at six thirty, it was going to be another hot day and it's still thirty three degrees, inside and out so it really doesn't matter where I settle.  I fed the rest of the bones and those wings I didn't eat to the cat who didn't seem to have a problem with them.  Even CS, my tortoise had a nibble at the bits that had fallen from the dish.  I filled up the water containers at three points in the garden, I chopped up an apple and left that by the water and there are lots of red wild plums around for them to search out.  I finished off two of the marmalade buns and I've just had two after my supper with ice-cream....I know how to live.

I sat out under the umbrella around one, there was one heck of a breeze coming off the hillside and so much so that I took the umbrella down before that ended up over the hillside as well.  By now the terrace was under the shade of my upstairs bedroom balcony so I lit the mosquito repellent coil, put my feet on the table and had the smoking coil wafting so that if the pesky beasties decided to attack at least my ankles and feet were protected.  I've had a very quiet afternoon, I caught up on two of the series that I was watching that I slept through last night and am now on to the second series although I only set it for tonight. I switched it off, set my robot hoover on, ran the duster round and settled down in the lounge with some old 'extra hard' rubbed out Sudoku, managed one of them and need a new rubber so it's on the list.

Felt creative this afternoon so opened a tin of local corned beef, put it in a oven dish, added a tin of baked beans, sliced up a couple of large potatoes and that was going to be supper for myself and Avatar.  With her family being around we didn't really establish the usual routine of previous years so I thought it would be nice now that everyone has gone.  It was ready by six so I took half over to her, she is really appreciative and wanted to give me water melon and fish from the freezer which I refused.  Haciber appeared just as I was unloading the food and trying to fight off the fish so I didn't really understand but around seven Avatar appeared with fish and buns and watermelon so I gave in but what she really wanted was for me to take her blood pressure.  She said that she'd been feeling light headed but I said that there was nothing wrong with the readings, I'd used both machines and they were only one degree different so I said she should put it down to the really hot weather and to make sure that she drinks lots of water during the day.

I've just watered some of the plants on the terrace, decided that Avatar might as well have the small machine over at her house and she can either take it herself of ask me to do it whenever she wants.  She's a little uptight, she's got her grand-daughter with the great-grandchildren and they are around for a month...happy times but when you're nearly eighty...not so easy.  Kitchen finished, radio two is blasting away, the wind has changed directions but it's not cooling anything down.  I'm going up for a cool bath and then Netflix will call me to settle down and watch the start of series that I set ready for tonight.  Bonfire first thing in the morning if the wind calms down or it can all go into the container in the village.  Yesterday's agenda for today went by the way so might come back into play today...I'll see how I feel.  LN.....Time to run that bath.....LN

Wednesday 9th July

Well I didn't run that bath last night, fell asleep on the sofa and woke up and went to bed.  I think it's the intense heat, again today it's thirty three degrees at six.  The wind has ranged all day banging doors and moving the stones that I usually keep doors open with and poor old Al the Alpaca doorstop has had one or two clouts....my own fault, sorry Al.  It's because I placed him between the door frame and the door jamb.  I didn't put the umbrellas up this morning they would have definitely been over the hillside.

I made a very good breakfast, I found a pack of mushrooms hiding in the fridge, took a large pack of bacon from the freezer and broke some off.  I peeled the mushrooms and put them in the little saucepan with butter and a little oil and the bacon went into the frying pan, both merged on toast and it went down very well.  I did use up the whole punnet of mushrooms so breakfast was probably enough for two but since I'm a solitary dweller, who's to see my moments of gluttony.  I filled up the water containers for the tortoise, gave the last slice of ham to Cat, it looked longingly for more but that was all there was.  I'd put bread out for the birds so it could top up on that if push came to shove.  I popped over to see Avatar to take her the blood pressure monitor but she refused it, said she didn't know how to operate it and would come over if she had a problem....I didn't push it and came home again.  Haciber was policing and asked why I'd gone to see Avatar so I told her and satisfied she went back in the house.

I settled on the sofa when I came home and finished watching my latest series, it's gone into a third series so it's set up for later.  I did go to sleep for a couple of hours, woke up stiff since I was on the little sofa and by now you'd think that having the equivalent of two sofa beds in the lounge I'd take up position there but to do that sleep would have to be intentional and it normally isn't...more heat exhaustion at the moment.  The electricity went off this afternoon for about two hours and for some reason I was checking the doors in the guest bedroom and I noticed that over the back hillside there was lots of rising smoke, the wind was blowing it and it was covering quite and area.  I immediately thought of a hill fire, everything is so dry and reckoned it was near the road to Djebel so my plans to get my insurance done today was shelved.  I checked a while back and it seems to have cleared so if it was it's now under control....I'll ask around tomorrow when I'm in Djebel.

Nothing in progress for supper so far, I've just come out of the shower, the electricity is back on and I must remember to change the timer device on the hot water boiler.  Time to go out watering the pots, I managed to find my original copies of three CD's of Michael Jackson so now they're on a playlist and available for when I want them.  I thought I'd lost them on the change over to the new computer but now they're on the laptop that sits on the table in the stairwell.  It normally goes out for the summer but this year it's stayed in situ and does for breakfast, laptop and everything else.  More use inside than out.  LN......Time to search the fridge or freezer for something to cook, heat so that I can eat......LN

Thursday 10th July

I was up relatively early, made my coffee and sat out on the balcony enjoying the morning, there were fluffy white clouds in the sky and the temperature hadn't got anywhere near the last few days.  It was pleasant.    I dressed for town, I needed to get money transferred to my cash card so I was heading for Momchilgrad where there is another off shoot from my usual bank in Kardjali.  Kardjali is busy, I left home at nine and was at the bank for nine thirty, the manager was busy with clients, one bank clerk was sorting out paperwork behind the desk and asked me to wait.  The clients left the manager's office, she asked me what I was there for, I explained what I wanted and she invited me in and she completed the transfer for me.  Only one problem, I hadn't taken my English passport but we got round it.  Her English got better, she warmed to me as I responded in Bulgarian and a pleasant experience for both.  I mentioned that I was surprised that there were only two of them working and she said that others had holidays and they were 'coping'.  

I drove back to Djebel and have paid for insurance for both cars even though the other one doesn't start until August.  I'd had a mare of a morning before I left home trying to sort out what I really needed to do first with two MOT due as well but now I'll be transferring to my Djebel garage and not getting them done in Kardjali.  Since my students' father owns the garage, it makes sense to support your local community.  In my conversation over insurance and MOTs with my student's mum she casually asked me if my car tax with the local municipality was up to date and I admitted that they weren't.  She said that the government has changed the system and now it shows up that the tax hasn't been paid where before  it had no bearing on the MOT.  So that was my next task....to become fully legal before the MOTs but before that I was feeling hungry since I'd had no breakfast and went to the local cantina and had chicken leg with salad and when the bill came, seven leva it would be cheaper to eat there everyday....it is a workers restaurant but the food is good.  My little car is registered in Djebel but the Beast is in Kardjali and I thought that I would have to make a visit to make the payment but I was advised by the municipality that I could pay the other with e-Pay so I went to the office around half one, it was closed until two so I sat on a bench in the shade and was the first customer after her lunch.  Another job out of the way.

I went back to the shop to thank her for her advice and told her I was fully paid up for the MOT's, next on the agenda is my driving licence that needs renewing, my residency card and my English passport....it never rains but it pours so I'm going to have to work out a schedule.  I want to book a holiday so will get it underway soon.  Dropped in at the local supermarket on my way home, it was now getting on for four o'clock but a day well spent.  I came home and settled on the sofa for a while, woke up at six, switched on Netflix and it will soon be time for bed.

The sky has really clouded over and hopefully we'll have rain, the garden is really in need.  The washing is done and drying in the porch, if the weather is dull tomorrow I'll have an early morning bonfire but otherwise I'll be visiting the container at the bottom of the village.  Just noticed that the moon has come up.....had to go upstairs on to the balcony and take a photo.  LN.....This morning's panic has subsided and it's been plain sailing all the way. age challenges you sometimes and you doubt yourself....and we really shouldn't......LN