Wednesday 1st October

Lovely start to the day but it was downhill after that.  After taking the photos this morning very early, I went back to bed and woke up at eight thirty and felt much better for it.  I had not plan for today, there were jobs to do but nothing specific but the first was to provide sustenance for cat so one sausage for the cat and the other went into an omelette with two slices of soft cheese for me.  I had two loads of washing done in quicksticks and onto the airer in the corridor and despite the sun didn't put in much of an appearance, it didn't take too long to dry.  The thick stone walls of the house absorb the heat and despite the fact that it was only nine degrees this morning outside, the house still maintained twenty two degrees and is still holding at twenty three at eight this evening.  

Today was all about putting things back in their places, moving furniture around and checking out still more places that has been hiding things for around ten years.  The upstairs computer and sewing desk in the third bedroom has a work surface that I haven't seen for a while.  The repaired printer is set up along with the shredder and I found curtain and upholstery material that I'll get some use out of this winter.  I want to make covers for the lounge sofas and recover the cushions with brighter colours....winter warmth.  Good news, my passport application has passed scrutiny and is now being printed.  I must complement the department, it has kept me informed throughout the process so hopefully it will be back soon.  I was checking out cruises from England today and found one that has an overnight stop in Gibraltar and it would give me time to catch up on friends, some of them going back fifty years when I was living there.  When I get the passport back, I'll give it serious thought.

Afternoon nap in front of the television again and didn't wake up until four and then it was back to it.  The downstairs bedroom is ready for the winter should I choose to move down.  I had no option last year after the fall but this year, it depends where I am and when.....Christmas in the UK is normal and then back the middle of January.  While I was asleep we had the pillow clouds back again but this time they were scudding over the sky.  I caught a glimpse of the moon, grabbed the camera and headed up to the balcony to take the shot and by the time I got there, the moon had gone and it hasn't been seen since.  There is supposed to be an exceptionally bright moon this month and the closest it's been to earth for a while so I better get the camera at the ready and take note of the specific dates.  A girl guide has to be prepared.  

Supper was beans on toast, quick to prepare and the washing up is already done and now it's almost time for bed, after a little Netflix that is.  Just hoping that I don't fall asleep while watching otherwise it could be another late night.  LN......Must plan that trip to Plovdiv, need to phone my linguistic support tomorrow to see if she is available.....LN

Thursday 2nd October

I woke up this morning at seven after a full night's sleep without any interruptions.  It was another dull lifeless morning, heavy clouds covered the sky but first thing there was not rain falling...that came later.  It arrived around nine, not really rain but 'moisture falling' which never really gained momentum until much later.  The wasn't any wind, it was around ten degrees, cat was sitting on the grass waiting for 'the one who provides' to provide but there was no left overs today.  I only had dried food so I put some into a bowl, added a stock cube to add more flavour, added a touch of hot water to soften them up a little and headed out to the terrace with dish in hand.  I put it down on the terrace and with a few clicks cat came up to investigate, sniffed it, tried a little of it and then with disdain went back to the grass and sat licking lips.  I came back inside, it was time that I had breakfast so I sliced up one of the larger tomatoes that I'd brought back from Greece,  fried it with lots of black pepper and salt and served it on toast.  I retrieved the cat's bowl from the terrace and threw it over the wall, I didn't want to encourage others to my territory....mine all mine. I washed up the breakfast things, put a load of washing into the machine, got washed and dressed with warm clothes, I had the feeling that there wouldn't be much sun about today and the temperature would remain low....and I was correct.  At eight o'clock my time it's already eleven degrees but the house is holding at twenty and although I was tempted to light a fire tonight, I've yet to organise a chimney sweep....i.e.  Bekir.....but just put another sweater on instead.

I had quite a productive morning.  I finished tidying the third bedroom, moved the old printer from the desk set-up at the top of the stairs into the third bedroom and connected it up to the old computer.  I installed the repaired new printer to replace the old printer and managed to get it going, tested it and the print cartridges seem to be still working so that's a bonus and went downstairs and tried a test print from an email from my daughter and the wifi connected and the Sudoku printed out.  The repair man had done his job successfully.....thirty lev well spent....and now back to normal with a wifi printer.  I carried on clearing out the third bedroom, the long table in the bedroom is now back to being an extra worktop space and the sewing machine can now be used.  

At three I made a sandwich and at six I was cooking fish and chips for an early supper followed my yogurt and jam.  I think the weather is such that it encourages hunger and I must admit that there hasn't been a lot of activity this afternoon.  I went back to watching the American version of Shameless on Netflix....I never watched it in England but I've become quite attached to this family and the antics that they get up to....very original scripts.  I went out to take a few photos this afternoon and was amazed...someone has stolen mountains from all round....hardly one to be seen.  Dull low cloud and such a change from last week when I was still having a final day at the pool....and now all that has gone....not a snowball's chance....but in a few weeks time....who knows.  Good news this morning....I received an email to let me know that my passport has been printed and will be despatched by 'ensured delivery' whatever that means.  The bad news is that it could take up to one month so not sure if it's a man on a bike with my solitary passport.  Anyway, it was good to let me know.  LN......Back to Shameless. another few episodes before I head off to bed and I think my winter pj's will be on tonight.....LN

Friday 3rd October

We had rain most of the night and I heard most of it.  There was a continuous drip and I remembered that I had that before, rain falling from the roof and landing on the metal railings round the balcony, it used to have a sock tied on to the railings, that came off for the summer.  It was put on the 'to-do' list for later in the day.  The rain was still coming down really hard and outside the door to the yard, under the concrete level fortunately, I had a pool of water which I meant to go outside and dig holes with the garden fork to clear it.  It was where the manure had been dropped earlier in the year and unfortunately I must have taken the top layer of soil and gravel and that was where the depression had formed.  It's gone now that the rain has subsided but I'll need to do something about it.  I've been holed up in the house all day, I really hate these damp, dark days and hopefully we won't have this until winter arrives.  It seems to have suddenly gone from autumn to early winter.  

I messaged my student to see if we could manage to phone Plovdiv to arrange an appointment with the specialist and she messaged me back this evening.  She has taken a job as an accountant, she's fully qualified but has had not real luck finding suitable positions but at last she has.  I don't know the company yet....I'm sure she'll fill me in later.  I think on Monday I'll try and make the appointment myself....I only hope she or her secretary speaks a little English.....my Bulgarian is OK on a conversational level but when the person speaking it is totally grammatically correct, I find it hard to understand but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I put supper in the slow cooker this morning, I'd taken chicken drumsticks from the freezer last night and didn't realised that there were eight of them in the packet.  Into the  slow cooker they went with curry powder and a tin of chopped tomatoes and a little ginger spice.  It was in by ten, cooked on high until twelve and then down to medium until five thirty this evening when the aroma was tempting and the hunger grubs were nibbling away.  I was too lazy to make pasta or rice to go with it so I took the end of the loaf and had bread with it dipping it into the sauce ....four more still in the cooker so cat will have the remains of my supper in the morning and I might even throw in another leg for it.....it didn't fare too well this morning.

Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow so far, I might head into Kardjali if the rain eventually stops for a mouch just to get out of the house....or if the rain stops, I'll be doing some tidying up putting the summer furniture away into the little house and changing things around in the little house to put the pots away.  Maybe a visit to the local spring to fill up large water bottles to water the plants in the winter.  

The water heater is on for a bath tonight, I'm feeling cold already, twenty degrees inside and down to ten outside, I've still not given in and lit a fire.   LN......Chimney first and I've remembered that Bekir has to do a little work on the top of the chimney so that he can take the capping off and put it back on easily.....LN

Saturday 4th October

Early four thirty wake up and I messed around on my phone for a while, did a Sudoku, realised that my phone would sent to the printer which makes it easier to print without striking up the computer.  You live and learn and this is the printer I had repaired the other day....and so pleased to have it back.  I didn't go back to sleep, made coffee and generally took the morning easy, the sun was up and about when I drew the curtains, I've taken to closing them to keep in some of the warmth that I generate overnight under the duvet.  I'd had my bath last night, put on a fleece coverall over my PJ's and didn't bother to take it off when I got into bed...I was toasty.

I got dressed upstairs, found a couple of pairs of tights that the elastic had 'softened' in so made a gash in the waistbands and tightened the elastic, knotted it and that was another job done without a lot of effort.  Took pity on the cat and added a chicken leg to the left overs, went out to put down the food and called but it never appeared.  I didn't hear a 'I divorce thee, thee times' so I put the food back in the porch and there it remains and still no sign of it at all.  Poached eggs on toast for me, washed up and decided to bring in the swinging bench and the sunbed since neither has had any use this summer at all so next year they'll probably stay in the little house.  That took much longer than I expected, I was about to tackle the large umbrella but my back had had enough, it would wait.  I stashed everything in the little house and did a general tidy up of the lawn mowers and put them into one of the other rooms leaving the large area for the benches and pot plants.  I also did a tidy-up of the little house porch so that the starter wood is easily available....I'm getting to that time of year.  I put the cushions in the bench but left the chest out and the wooden chest is still on the terrace and took the covers from the sofa cushion and put it in the machine so that I could put it away.  I was surprised how much it has faded in the sun.

I came in at one thirty more or less, settled on the sofa with Netflix, two fluffy pancakes delivered in memory of Remsie's passing and a cup of coffee and yes you've guessed it, I reckon I nodded off around two thirty or so.  I woke up and put the duvet cover from the outside sofa on to the airer and it should be dry by morning.  Cat has still not appeared for food, the remains of last night's supper is being reheated for me for tonight and everything is locked away for the night.  Tomorrow is Dushinkovo's 'fete worse than death' so if the weather is good I shall endeavour to walk to the village or go in the car and park up to make a quick get-away.  There's not much to see or do, not like it was a few years ago but I'll support it.  LN.....Time to wind up for tonight....I've had quite an active day and thqt feels good, moon's up, no rain and a calm night....LN

Sunday 5th October

Seven thirty start, there was a sun and blue sky through the morning mist.  It had gone down to four degrees overnight outside and fortunately was eighteen in so not so bad.    There was mist over the river in the valley between me and the mountains but it didn't take too long to burn off....that sun was a welcome visitor after the last few days of rain, cloud and high winds.  I made coffee, came downstairs to feed the cat, looked out at the bench and noticed that the cat food was already out there...well it was, but not any more.  I remembered taking it out there late yesterday afternoon since I hadn't seen cat all day and I realise now that I must have left it on the bench and not sure what time it was consumed and whether it was cat or another but cat was here now, begging for food.  Mother Hubbard's cupboard was bare.....there was hardly anything for myself.

I washed and dressed and at nine phoned a friend from the village to see if she was going to the village fête, she replied that she had visitors, would be going but not until lunchtime.  I didn't want to invite myself along so around ten fifteen I got in the Nipper and parked up this side of the village and walked the stalls.  There wasn't a lot to see, it took me around thirty minutes to check out the stalls, lots of chickens roasting on spits, a sheep further down on one of the side walks to the square, the ardent drinkers already sitting at tables and some with coffee.  A coach pulled up with the dancers who looked like they'd been plucked from their beds and still wish they were back where they came from, they got out and were escorted to a safe place until they were t perform.  The village square looked decidedly bare, the school has been demolished, the old shops are empty skeletons of what they used to be, the mosque was going at full volume and it was obvious that lots of people had returned with fond memories of what this village used to be.  Many of the families have moved to Europe for better futures, good jobs and salaries and only the old return after they've retired in Turkey, to renovate houses and live on two pensions or to visit elderly relatives.  I didn't stay long, I walked back to the Nipper and went home, cooked mushrooms on toast for breakfast, tidied round and settled on the sofa.  I'd put music on the computer and played Leonard Bernstein, rubbed out a few unfinished  and unsolved Sudoku and managed to complete another four 'tough' ones and then went back to sleep until one thirty on the sofa.

The weather stayed settled but the wind had picked up a little.  I toyed with the idea of going back to the fête but couldn't summon up enough energy to go there so did a few more puzzles and got in the Nipper and drove to Djebel.  I needed a few items like bread for the freezer, more yogurt, my large pot was empty and some chocolate bars for my goody box.  This was now decidedly empty and is now offering delights.  I did buy more yogurt and ice-cream and I realised that there were parking spaces outside the supermarket and the aisles were relatively empty and it suddenly struck me that they were probably in my village, eating and drinking.  I'd had to use the very bumpy back road to get out since there was no way to drive down the main street so retraced my tyre-prints on the way back just in case.  At least this year it didn't get rained off.

Supper is only going to be a chocolate bar, I had too much yogurt and honey this afternoon on top of too many mushrooms on toast for a late breakfast. I caught the sun going down and the moon coming up but it wasn't the promised harvest moon but a pale version of it.  It's very bright now and the clouds seem patchy, the temperature seems to be dropping, maybe this could be our first frost. Tomorrow I'm chasing up the location of my passport and documents with the courier company, there supposed to be coming back in different packages so no need for a courier to come out twice from Kardjali, I have to pick up my new driving licence this week so could pick up the passport and documents from the depot so could do both on the same day.  LN.....Photos of mainly sky, sun and moon and cloud formations except that I had to delete one photo, the cloud formation with the sun I had to delete.....its counterpart was perfect....skies are pretty magic out here....LN

Monday 6th October

From my bed this morning I caught a glimpse of the breaking dawn spreading across the mountains and I was forced out of bed to watch it unfold.  It was still quite early and on to the balcony, the sun wasn't up yet but the impact on the rest of the clouds all around made me keep the camera snapping.  Eventually the sun made it through but it didn't stop long, after that the clouds gained momentum, covered the sky and the rain started to fall around nine and it hasn't stopped since.  With the clouds and the rain, the overnight temperature stayed more or less the same all day and without the sun to warm things up, it's been a cold miserable day.  I went downstairs and made a health drink of honey, the juice of a lemon, some grated fresh ginger, a spoonful of turmeric and a pinch of pepper topped up with hot water.  I blitzed it in the liquidiser but I was still chewing fresh ginger at the end despite the fact that I'd grated it beforehand.  

I had mushrooms left so I made fried mushrooms on toast for breakfast and peeled the rest of them and put them in the slow cooker.  I wanted to have supper ready when I was ready and the slow cooker ensures that it is.  I'd bought chicken on skewers yesterday, popped them in the freezer but took them out again last night and put them in the fridge.  This morning they were just right for 'un-skewering' and dropping into the slow cooker minus the skewers, adding the mushrooms, a stock cube, a sliced onion and some water.  I turned it on to high and this formed the basis for a really good supper without lots of effort.  It was more or less ready by two this afternoon so I kept it simmering until five and added frozen peas and a packet of mushroom soup mix with more water, cooked multicoloured pasta in a pan, strained it and added it to the cooker.    Everything was ready around six, supper was served, I went back for seconds and finished off with yogurt, honey and a sprinkling of ginger spice.  I've come to the conclusion that I'm on a health kick and I blame it all on the 'reels' on FB.

The rest of the day has been very quiet, too much television, afternoon siesta and too wet to go outside.  I was tempted to light a fire this afternoon but I would really love to get the chimney swept before I do that more as a precaution than anything else.  I thought I would see Bekir at the fête yesterday but didn't and not sure what work he has on at the moment but I really need a dry day if he's to spend it on the roof and this week doesn't look too promising according to Accuweather.  It's gone down to ten degrees outside tonight and twenty in much it feels colder.  I'm in my PJ's already and picked out a particularly thick set, I haven't made up the bed with the zebra fleeces yet but the way it's going, it won't be too long.  LN....Still waiting for notification that the other passport documents have arrived along with the passport and then I'll be heading into Kardjali to collect along with my new driving licence.....LN

Tuesday 7th October

Silly night last night....I fell asleep around nine o'clock watching Netflix, woke up at one so decided to watch what I'd missed and went to bed at three. Don't ask why!! When you live alone you can do the oddest things and no one challenges you.....and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I woke up this morning at seven, checked my emails and there was one from the courier company handling the new passport and since I'd had two emails from them, I assumed that someone would connect the dots and they would hold on to both packages for collection.  I didn't have a phone number but was in the Nipper by ten thirty after a busy morning making more health drinks to keep me going, making toast for sustenance and strength to navigate my morning's programme.  I printed off both emails detailing the serial numbers that they would require to track the shipments and headed firstly to the office that had tried to rip me off with a sixty euro tariff to get my passport to the UK.  The one man recognised me but there was a new one that wasn't there before and he spoke English quite well and understood what I was wanting.  They searched the system and it transpired that they new nothing about the second parcel but the first one, my passport was out for delivery.  He asked me if there was anyone at home to accept it, I said that there wasn't, I lived alone and expected to find both packages waiting for me.  He checked with the courier, said that they would leave it at the Econt office in Djebel and I said that I wasn't too happy since it was a secure package and I didn't want it to get lost in anyone's system.  Eventually I suggested that if I gave him the phone number of my garage shop in Djebel to the courier, he could leave the package there and I knew it would be secure.  This was handled, I phoned the garage and asked her for the favour and it was granted.  I then asked about the second notice I'd received and the man said that he didn't have it, it hadn't yet arrived so I said that I would leave my phone number and they could phone me when they received it.  Problem solved and ....on to the next.

I drove to the police headquarters, parked up, had my slip of paper at the ready and went to where I thought I would be paying before I received my new driving licence.  The assistant was a delight to work with, we managed in Bulgarian, I handed over my slip of paper, she found the paperwork and the new licence, I handed over my old one, received the new and the best part was.....there was no charge because I was a pensioner.  I've been given ten years on the new licence and I'm hoping that I use up quite a few of them before the good Lord calls me into his service.  I went to the first desk where I'd been asked to fill in lots of forms and thanked the man sitting behind the counter for the help he'd given me when I made the application for the renewal.....he was surprised...he might be worth a box of chocolates when I'm passing that way again.

Next stop was the immigration office to renew my residency card.  There was no one waiting and again we managed the initial conversation in Bulgarian but she asked to see my English passport.  Now the passport was in Djebel and newly issued from the UK passport office, I said that I'd been resident for the last fifteen years but there was no moving the goalposts.  I established that I would be able to return at a later date, it's a month before it runs out and I suppose I should have asked if they required anything else like house documents.....I'll check it out on the internet later....I don't want a wasted journey.  Back in the Nipper with one hour wasted parking still on the phone so I called into Lidl, meandered around and managed to spend one hundred lev on things that I could have lived without but hey, it's only money.  Back to Djebel, picked up my package, drove down to the garage and offered her son money for his Netflix subscription since a warning message that it was about to run out but he refused it and said he would sort it at the weekend.  I drove home and immediately set about eating some of the things that I'd bought including some potato salad that they rarely stock, with some ham that was reduced.  Next job was to light the fire, there was starter wood in the fire basket so I added a fire lighter, a small log on top of it, it went straight away and I listened for the pump to start moving the water round the system.  Everything worked, the house feels much cosier and no need for a blanket while I'm watching TV tonight.

Not a bad day, passport done, driving licence done, residency card in progress and at least there weren't huge queues, most of the Turkish people had gone home.  LN.....I'll wait for the phone call to pick up the other parcel which contains my old passport and support documents and then move on to finalise my list......my outstanding residency card.....LN

Wednesday 8th October

Four thirty start this morning and felt wide awake so played a few games and was up and about by six thirty.  It was another cold drab morning with the mist shrouding the mountains and one in particular that I managed to capture.  I checked on the status of the support documents for my passport and they are still on hold in Sofia and are scheduled for delivery on Friday which upset my plans.  I'd intended picking up the documents, presenting myself at the immigration office with my passport to get the application underway but now that would mean two trips to Kardjali.  Everything can wait until Friday, I've still got a month before it runs out.

I made poached eggs and ham on toast for breakfast, topped up with coffee and I think it's the cold weather that's edging me towards food.  I didn't rescue the fire, the house wasn't cold and I opened up the curtains to let what warm air there was in the lounge circulate.  I pottered this morning, putting washing away, putting clothes away and generally not doing much.  I made up for it this afternoon though, I decided to cut back the grapevine on it's first every flowering since I've been here and thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew.  There were lots of lazy bees feeding that became a little frenzied as I attacked the vine but I kept at it, moving the branches to the other side of my gate and the cows would have them on their way home.  I moved to the woodstore and found the shears intending to remove some of the shrubs that had started to take over the grass but they weren't sharp enough so I ended up using my electric trimmer which worked if I held on to the branch and was determined.....after all, it is a hedge trimmer not and edge trimmer.  That debris went over the hedge for the cows that weren't taking the highway home and I carried on and found other jobs to do.  The oak tub with the metal bands is now put away for the winter, I tried to move the wooden box that sits on casters but the wood is wet and it's too heavy....don't want to do any damage to my back and will wait for another day.  Next job was to turn over a couple of the big containers that haven't got holes drilled in them to drain the water.  The looked like they were drowning and I should have finished off by moving them to the little house but it's still a little early but I did take the flower head from the sun-daisies in the same pot as the freesias...I'd forgotten that they were in the green pot that I'd used last year when I had them in the house.  I'll move them to the porch to dry out a little and then into the house when they're about to flower....bugs permitting.

I brought more starter wood into the porch and a log carrier full to keep me going for a while, heard some funny noises and guessed that my garden neighbour was working and it sounded like she was picking up something and putting it into a bucket and I guessed right, she was digging up her potatoes.  I asked her if she had lots to do and she said that she had to the bottom hedge and another patch by the other hedge.....she really is a solid worker, supporting her invalid husband and never seems to stop.  She said that she also feeds the potatoes to the cows in the winter, hay is so expensive and they just don't have the money for the amount of cows they have.  

Time to put another log on the fire, I lit it about half an hour ago and the pump has kicked in a few times and warmed up the radiators ready for tonight.  The rain has started to fall again, not heavily but enough to batten down the hatches, think about a hot supper and a hot bath tonight.  I made up the bed last night with the fleece duvet cover that I refer to as 'my nest' because the bed is warm to get into and I had a thought today that I might make some pillow cases for the large feather pillows that I have of the same material.  My journey to Kardjali has been postponed, that would be something to do that's creative and practical and will keep me from watching too much Netflix.  LN....Now to switch off for the night, my work for today is complete.....LN

Thursday 9th October

Cloudy start but it eventually picked up and the sun was out.....but briefly and then we went back to dark skies, amazing colours at sunset and most of the sky had a red tinge to it.....most unusual.

I had my late bath last night but had an email from the UK which was a little disturbing and ended up trying to go to sleep at one this morning but really couldn't settle and it must have been three by the time that I eventually went off to oblivion.  Unfortunately I was awake at seven, lingered upstairs on FB and reels, went out on to the balcony to put the green umbrella up to dry it out, I'd forgotten it but it's now dry, inside and destined for the little house tomorrow.  I hadn't got much to do today, there was no news from the courier company that my support documents for my passport had arrived and the notification communicated that it should be delivered to me by the end of play tomorrow but since they have my telephone number, I'm hoping that the company phones and I can collect and then carry on to sort out my residency application and get that put to bed.  It's the only outstanding item on my 'must do' list as it stands at the moment.

In fact it's been a lazy day.  I thawed out one of the sausages in the microwave and put it on a dish for the cat along with bread from the oil from the frying pan before I washed it out, put new oil in and fried off tomatoes for my breakfast.  Cat was sitting on the bench outside the stairwell, absent for a few days but the other charitable enterprise must have dried up so it's back to familiar territory.  The dish didn't remain full for long, the sausage went but the bread remained and it's now gone into the burnable rubbish....I have a very picky cat.  I had my tomatoes on toast with lots of black pepper and finished off my breakfast with yogurt and honey and felt stuffed to perfection...and haven't done a lot to work it off, the rain set in so outside was out of the question,  I set to in the third bedroom and tidied up the shelving stack at the side of the worktop, I've got old computers that I need to sort out, take off things that are useful and get rid of them.  I started looking through old photos and going down memory lane and found one of me and school friends taken probably around 1960....such a long time ago.  I finished upstairs around two thirty, came down and settled on the sofa, had a catch-up nap, phoned the UK to see if I could help with the problems at my old house and the neighbours and I think I'll let the dust settle and sort it out when I go to the UK.....they don't involve me but I'm the padding in the middle.

Ashes emptied, fire lit around six and it just takes the chill off the house in the evening.  It's twelve degrees out and twenty one in the stairwell, curtains in my bedroom are drawn, light on and everything looking cosy.  Settled for another bowl of yogurt, with honey and ginger for supper and that will see me through until morning.  I'm cutting out the fried stuff, have lost weight and feel much better, still not taking any blood pressure medication so that's good and maintaining good values in my monitoring record book.  LN....Time to switch off and relax, but having said that I don't seem to have much to wind down from today....it's been a gentle day.....LN

Friday 10th October

Another funny night, I woke up at four thirty, went back to sleep until eight so not so bad. I washed and dressed for town, today I was waiting for a phone call from the courier company which didn't come until later in the morning but I'd searched for the location of the package online but despite putting in various references could not find where it was in the system....the message was 'tracking numbers not found'.  Eventually the courier company phoned me, I said that I would collect from their depot and was in the Nipper just before ten and heading for Kardjali.  There wasn't much traffic on the road but there seemed a spate of police cars and when I to the Momchilgrad turn-off there were around six police cars all with lights flashing stopping all traffic in the opposite direction in which I was travelling so I could put my foot down, the emphasis was on the other carriage way.  I logged it just case it was still in progress on my return but as it turned out, all was quiet and I sailed through.

I parked up in the courier yard, was asked how my morning had been by the friendly guy in the office, in English may I add, told him it was fine so far and the second man produced my document and I signed the receipt.  As I was leaving I noticed that there was activity in the other part of the building and also that it was the new company that my Bulgarian friend had joined as an Accountant and asked one of the ladies outside if she was working there or in the centre office.  She didn't understand much English so went inside to find someone to translate and out came my friend and it's good to know that the English lessons that I'd given her were being put to good use.  We hugged, I explained that all I asked was if she was working down here or in the central office, she was obviously surprised to see me.  I asked her if she had time for lunch later but she replied that they ate in the office....what I call 'al desco' so said farewells and I continued to Kardjali centre and managed to find a parking spot without much effort.

I walked to immigration, there was no one waiting but the very pleasant young lady from the other day had been replaced by a frosty faced individual who took my documents, I explained that I had now received my passport and at this point the other lady appeared but sat in the background but at least 'we exchanged pleasantries'.  She found my details on the computer, filled in the application form online, handed me three sheets of paper and said to come back after one month to pick up the new card.  The pleasant lady addressed me and said that the fee would be forty lev and did I have a card for payment and I confirmed that I did so there was nothing more to be done.  I walked back to the Nipper, decided to find one of the other cheapy shops that I use to use but controlled myself and only bought a navy, green and white checked shirt but the prices have definitely gone up....that might be the last purchase I make....hopefully....I should be getting rid of not accumulating at my time of life.  I stopped off in Djebel and had lunch in my favourite local cafe, chicken and rice and at seven lev it's a steal and I shan't need anything until morning.

I slept most of the afternoon and woke up at four thirty, emptied the ash can, laid the fire but it was very reluctant to fire up and did so at the third attempt.  The pump has kicked in and the first of hopefully hot water has charged round the system.  I noticed that Djebel was packed and fairground rides had appeared in the square so I guessed that it was Djebel's 'fair day' tonight and tomorrow and I hope it stays fine for it but I shan't be going.  Now time to draw the curtains and block in the heat and block out the cold.  It looks like it could be another wet dreary day tomorrow....I hope I'm proved wrong and that all the visitors from Turkey have a good day.  LN.....On my tour of the garden I noticed that I haven't managed to cut back the lavender this year.....it's on the list for tomorrow but I shan't be stockpiling it this year......LN

Saturday 11th October

Spectacular sky this morning...I noticed the red tinge before the sun came up and I was out on the balcony with the camera.  It didn't stay around for long, the clouds took over, it cleared up this afternoon and I had a good day in the garden.  I seemed to be on the ball this morning....I was dressed and cooking tomatoes on toast at around eight thirty, washed up and a second load of washing in by nine and putting it out on the airer by nine thirty.  I did have a lazy session on the phone and catching up with messages and that took me until around ten thirty and was having a bonfire around eleven.  I cleared the container in the porch of around two weeks of rubbish, there were a few bits of paper that I didn't want to put in the skip in the village and now it's sent into the atmosphere....much safer.

The lavender is all cut back and stored in the little house....I need to suspend it to dry it out but I need to get rid of the last two years of it first.  I used to make lavender bags but never got round to it last year or the year before.....sometimes the will to do something is strong but the commitment to finish the job has decreased with the years.  I took the loppers down to the bottom of the garden and cut back the suckers from the wild plums and made them back into a hedge round the bottom garden.  I also dug up one of the shrubs at the bottom of the garden that suffered in the summer and I didn't think there was much coming back from it.  Instead I cleared out the cut out I'd made and planted a yucca that had been sitting in a bucket waiting for a home and now it's got one.  Another job that I did was to take down the terrace umbrella...I opened it up to make sure that it was dry and set about dismantling it taking care not to end up falling off the terrace.  It's a heavy old thing and firstly I had to remove the weighted concrete slabs that hold the base in place and once this was done, it sort of fell forward but I managed to control it, umbrella first into the little house and then the base along with the other one from the first one that I bought.  I seem to be accumulating mowers, strimmers and now umbrellas.
  
I was surprised that it was four thirty by the time I'd finished the jobs that I wanted to do and I also brought in one of the benches to protect it from the weather as we seemed to have bypassed autumn and in the first throws of winter.  I came in and settled on the sofa with sudoku and caught a glimpse of someone in the yard.  I went out and was surprised to see the local Mayor, he had a message for me from Immigration that I was to go in and see someone on Monday morning.  I think it might have something to do with health provisions so I'm taking one of my forms with me when I go to the office.  My health care is supported by the UK, I submit a form and the cost are sent on to the UK....that's all I can think it can be but it will be sorted on Monday.

Not much of a moon out tonight, the clouds have come over again, it's down to nine degrees already and I did light the fire early so it's twenty two degrees inside.  I've put the boiler on, after a day in the garden I fancy a bath to ease out the aches and pains that seem to develop after some tasks and I think the umbrella might have that effect.  LN.....I didn't realise how late it was.....soon be time for bed.......LN

Sunday 12th October

Well that request to go to the Immigration tomorrow morning gave me a disturbed night.  I had my bath, snuggled down into a warm bed, lay there for around twenty minutes with no sleep in me, switched the light on and played Sudoku until silly o'clock this morning.  I woke up at seven, went back off again and eventually got out of bed at nine and started my day.  I made my health drink putting a little too much shredded ginger in it but managed to get it down, not sure if it's doing any good but I'll keep at it for another week or so.  I washed and dressed by ten, intending to go out and have another day in the garden but the plans went haywire.  It was rather overcast outside, threatening rain which didn't materialise.

I found some pork chops in the freezer and unfortunately four had turned into one big one so I partially thawed them in the microwave enough to prise two of them away from the others and put them to thaw.  The other two went back into the freezer and will come out at a later date I'm sure.  I had a tidy round, I had a good day yesterday and remembered that it was Sunday after all, a day of rest but unfortunately I ended up watching Netflix for most of the afternoon.  It was a Turkish drama which was doing OK until the last episode which didn't end, in my book, as it should have done.  I started supper around five thirty, the chops had fully thawed out so I set about pan frying one of them, the second one is in the fridge for tomorrow, I made a sauce with tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, onions and a little vinegar and the chop is ready, the heat is turned off and it's waiting to be served with the sauce, potato wedges and a little potato salad, Lidl special.

Time to wind up, supper is in the dish, my hunger is rising to the surface and time to switch off although I really didn't get switched on for most of the day.  LN....No sign of Cat today, obviously trying out a different supplier......LN

Monday 13th October

Well it truly has been the 13th for me.  Normal routines, had a shower and washed my hair, I was off to see the head of residency to find out why he wanted to see me.  I drove into Kardjali, went to the large car-park and paid for my parking on my phone which saves a lot of time, walked to Immigration taking with me lots of documents just in case.  I was directed to the head of departments office and the reason for my being asked to return was given as, 'you didn't return on Friday with the form fully completed'.  No one had asked me to return or so I thought, the last thing I was told was that the new card would be processed and available after one month.  I took out my form and in Bulgarian it was explained that the form was automatically filled out from the computer but that I had to agree that the details were correct in some cases and make entries in other boxes.  I was told that it was to be completed in Bulgarian, I said that I would find this difficult and was advised to find someone and pay for it to be done.  This was the lady in the office, I sat down with my form, switched to Google translate, attempted it and then decided to knock on the door of the Head of department and tell him that it was impossible for me to complete it, he took pity on me, cleared a space on his desk and we did it together.  I also pointed out that there was a notice board with 'How to complete the documentation' which was aimed at European Citizens which was a complete joke....it was all printed in Bulgarian.  Now if the Roman alphabet were to be used, in any language, most europeans would be able to give it a go.  In Bulgarian, not a snowball in Hells chance.  Anyway, the head of department had the chance to use his English that he'd learnt at school, we had a good conversation, I handed over the form to the lady in the first office who somehow had changed her attitude and said that she knew my house in Dushinkovo and it was opposite to her 'one time' mother in law who happens to be my Avatar.  Small world.

Form submitted and the residency card will be available from the 13th November and I mentioned that my current one expires on the eighth and she said not to worry, there would be no repercussions.  I should have asked her to sign a declaration to that effect but now I'm not just an old lady who's bothering them....I 'know' the head of department.  

Next stop was my Monday cheapy shop ....and I managed to pick up a pair of brown leather and suede boots for nine lev which is cheap in any ones reckoning and they fit Cinderella.  I didn't bother to do any more shopping, I was in the Nipper and heading home, I'd found the morning stressful and wanted just to relax.  I was doing OK until I saw an offer on one of my friendly sites, had to order one but that came with complications.  It wasn't being sent to me, it was a gift so I double checked the address and postcode where it was being sent, I had to register a new card and I tried to process the payment, it was denied by the bank.  I ended up phoning the company, I'd bought things from them before, ordered it on the phone and the payment was taken but I was advised to contact my bank to ensure that the other payment hadn't gone through even though the system told me that it hadn't.  Technology egh!!  It's great when you're young but at knocking on for quite a few years....I'm finding things more confusing and sometimes the systems don't update quickly enough and then you get locked out and have to start the process all over again.

Eventually I put Netflix on and settled on a film with the Peaky Blinders star, Steve, and was sadly disappointed.  It might be acclaimed by some but it's looking at a society that I don't recognise anymore and really don't understand, so I switched it off, cooked the second pork chop in the air-fryer, had it with a slice of bread and supper was over, no fanfares just accomplished.  Quite late my time again, nothing to do tomorrow except my grass should I accept the challenge....it's more weeds that are pushing up very strong heads, the grass is only just coming through but I have a shade of green throughout.  LN....Fire going well, house toasty and I've got another container of logs in the porch....I might stay up all night just feeding the beast....LN

Tuesday 14th October

This morning it was an early start but somehow I fell asleep again and it was seven thirty when I started my day.  It was another dull old morning which sort of got better but nothing to write home about so I didn't.  I washed and dressed, made poached eggs of toast for breakfast, washed up, put a load of washing in the machine and got it out on the airer in the porch and now it's ready to be put away.  Everything was very leisurely this morning, no getting stressed out with bureaucracy and left over attitudes and thinking about how I could thank the ones that helped me out yesterday.  

I settled on the sofa with the last ipad I purchased and tried to get the hang of it to get things set up for ease of use and to help with day to day targets.  I didn't get very far, it wasn't intuitive so I abandoned that idea and went in search of the documents that I couldn't find the other day.  I sorted through suitcases and travel bags and eventually I realised that I'd put them so safe that the likelihood was that they would never see daylight again but luck was on my side....all located, all present and correct and the idea was that things like this would have a safe space where all precious or important things go.  That's going to work then, the idea is good but so much depends on the execution.  After sorting though the traveller's cheques that I still have and quite a lot of Swedish Kroners, I should really do something about them but it's that old round-to-it that a lot of use get cursed with especially with age.

By now the weather had picked up a little so I took the umbrella pole down from the balcony from my bedroom and stashed the pole and the umbrella in the little house.  While I was there I set about getting ready some more small starter wood and generally tidying up the area and checking how much I had left from last year.  I've not got enough and I'm tempted to ask one of the villagers to come round and help me cut some of the medium branches from the tall trees but having said that there's quite a lot in the little house, really old stuff that just needs sorting....there's always something to do, there's no one to delegate to.  I went back upstairs to the bedroom and sat in the rocking chair looking out on the garden and took a call from my daughter.  She'd mentioned in a message that she's developed Covid and would phone if here throat had eased off a little, she phoned so I presumed it had but she sounded croaky.  Apparently her and her husband had gone down with it last week, he's managed to work from home, she had to come home to protect the rest of the colleagues.  She said that this session was much worse than the last time round especially the throat and we reminisced about the Tyrozets tablets that we used to buy for all throat infections and now they are no longer available.  I'll take some of my Bulgarian ones over at Christmas as a stand-by for them...they are brilliant.  Her present should be delivered either tomorrow or the next day, I just wanted to surprise her and she really appreciated the thought....cheered her up no end.  There's no special date...only a special daughter.

I spent an hour or so messing around with logins and passwords and eventually sorted out the issues.  I didn't do what I was hoping to get round to but tomorrow is another day.  I did managed to speak to Bekir so see when he was able to come round to clean the chimney for me and do a new odd jobs like the underwork top strip light.  I played around with it this morning and managed to install it but I think it probably wasn't good when I bought it, I might very well go into Kardjali tomorrow and buy a new complete unit....and Bekir will spend less time messing around with it.  They seem very busy at the moment with work, him and his son, working on properties in their village, he's always in demand.  Supper was easy for me, beans on toast, ready in quicksticks, eaten without any fuss, washing up done and now I'm settled in for the night.  LN......Fire going well, water going round the radiators, time to get into PJ's and switch off with Netflix.....and sorry....no pickies...promise to do better tomorrow.....LN

Wednesday 15th October

Half past seven start, another dull old day but it improved as the day wore on.  I made a lemon, sugar and salt mixture before I set into the coffee routine and that seemed to have the desired effect, I washed and dressed and went downstairs and put the washing into the basket to get put away later.  I didn't bother with breakfast but as I took the washing upstairs I noticed cat on the terrace and felt guilty, I had nothing ready for it seeing at how it turns its nose up at dried food so I found a sausage in the freezer and thawed it out.  I took it out to the terrace, put the dish on the concrete and noticed that cat was looking a little fatter than normal.  Now it could have puffed out because it was cold or it might in fact be pregnant which would once and for all sort out the dilemma as to whether I need to be changing the pronoun.  

I sat in the stairwell at the table and was amazed to see lots of tits bobbing about and taking insects from the crevices on the little house.  They also went into the bird feed stand and it forced me to try to find something to put in that so that at least I could try to get some photos which I didn't managed to do.  It did occur to me that now cat had another food source, either the bird food in the feeder or the birds feeding on the food, I'd have to keep an eye out for it.  I got a little active with the hoover this morning and did downstairs and the porch, the rest can wait for another day....why cram all of the fun into one.  I even emptied the machine out onto the hillside so that it's ready for next time.

Totay became a mammoth task.  I'd mentioned that my desk has become a dumping ground and I set about sorting it and I should finish it tomorrow.  I just love books, and start a new one for different things but now I need to amalgamate everything that I need into one source so that I can find things more easily.  Things on bits of paper are OK until you forget what it relates to and bits of paper get lost so one book, each with its own section and one entry for each except for the odd cross references.  The sorting has been done, the rest of the books will go to good causes.  I had a notification from the Post Office that the parcel that I order is set to be delivered tomorrow and unfortunately my daughter will not be available so I had to make an amendment  to where it was being delivered.  This got a little confusing, my daughter firstly though it was being delivered today so said she would be eagerly waiting for it but then read the message again so I moved onto the second state and confirmation letters were received that the changes had been made.  No wonder they're behind with their deliveries.

I'd had enough so switched on Netflix and finished the film that I'd started last night, 'A Beautiful Mind' got quite sentimental towards the end of it.  I've seen it before but had forgotten the end and all was well and ended well when he received the Nobel Prize and thanked his wife.  Closely after that I phoned a friend, she'd just returned from shopping and had frozen chips not put away so I phoned her back and we had a good catch up.  After that I had a phone call from Avatar in Germany and despite the language barrier, we managed to speak for around ten minutes and I related the story of her daughter in law (ex) giving me a hard time at Immigration but after my conversation with the head of the unit, her attitude changed and we had a civilised conversation.  I've now sent Avatar a link to WhatsApp and I'll wait for her to respond.

I shan't need supper, I opened a tin of tuna and poured it into the remains of the potato salad from Lidl and that will see me through until morning.  Pork chops already thawed out for tomorrow and the slow cooker and that will probably involve Barbecue sauce and seasoning.  My neighbour is back from Turkey into the concrete roofed building that belonged to Stara Mush next door, I asked if it was damp inside and she said no so I went no further.  LN......At least I've made a start on the heap that I called a desk.....wish me luck for tomorrow's endeavours......LN

Thursday 16th October

Half past seven when I woke up this morning and I felt much better for having a good night's sleep.  I hardly seemed to have stopped today except for when I nodded off for 'forty minutes' while reading a very old magazine....well it was about relaxation techniques and this one seemed to work.  I had a very productive morning, I noticed cat on my way down the stairs, snuggled in next to the house between the bench and the flower barrel, so as I was getting my bacon from the freezer I found another sausage for her.  My daughter says that I spoil her, I say I don't, cat normally gets the scraps since a nose has been turned up every time I've put dried food out....but this was an exception.  Bacon and egg for me with fried bread and bread for the birds with a hairy growth on it.

This morning I'd decided to make up the downstairs bed with the winter bedding, zebra sheets and quilt cover and so they went in the washing machine to freshen them all up.  I stripped the bed completely, turned the mattress over and top to toe-ed it to even the load and had nothing to do until everything was dry and it will be tomorrow by the time it's aired.  I found the winter weight quilt in the guest room in the chest and that's fluffing up nicely and I realised what I was doing.  I was delaying getting to grips with the paperwork, books and things to be thrown but tomorrow is another day.  The pork chops that I'd taken out of the freezer yesterday went into the slow cooker with curry powder and ginger powder, a chopped onions and a tin of chopped tomatoes and a final splash of barbecue sauce.  I turned it to high and left it to its own devices and then to the desk....and work obviously interspersed with one load out and another into the machine.

The desk it sorted, new empty books have been removed under the coffee table near the sofa, the only job left to do is to sort out one address book from the old ones that I have, passwords scribbled in various places instead of just changed on the original and I realise I'm getting too old for some of the technology that's around.  I also cleaned out the woodburner properly and under the flue going up to the chimney pipes but the mood didn't take me to take all the pipes out and clean them.  I'll do that when Bekir arrives to clean the chimney and make a day of it.  I also filled up the log basket, brought more starter wood in and uncovered the logs that remained from last years cutting back of some of the big trees.  I should have enough in to last me until the weekend....as I said ...quite a productive day.

Emula arrive just before supper to let me know that there is a 'Mevlit' going to be said for Remsier, it's been a month since her passing.  She was one of the ones that welcomed me when I first came to the village and I remember her trying to get me to drink tea made from the linden tree in the garden which I never did get to like.  She with Haciber took over the kitchen ladled in the sugar until it was like syrup but that still didn't convince me.  So tomorrow I'll be at the house at nine thirty more or less and it will be a good opportunity to get back into the village and meet up.  Quite a pleasant sunset, the clouds were disappearing along with the light and it could be quite a cool night.  No frosts so far...could this be the night...time to throw another log on.  LN.....It was pleasant sitting out on the bench in the sun on my balcony mid-morning...that sun was quite hot.......LN

Friday 17th October

It was very dark this morning when I opened the curtains but I noticed that the moon was up and about so I went down for my camera to take a shot.  Sod's law...by the time that I'd got back upstairs, the clouds had set in, so it was a matter of standing there until it appeared again.  It eventually did, it took it's time and I was out on the balcony for what appeared ages until I managed to take the shot and then it was between the clouds.  What looked initially to be a cloudless sky just wasn't.

I snuggled back down into bed and tackled some sudoku that I printed off last night and after three attempts at different ones I marked them all as 'to be rubbed out' and restarted.  They are the killer ones from the Telegraph so I know what I'm letting myself in for and don't get too upset when I screw it all up.  At half eight I got washed, dressed and ready for the Mevlit or otherwise described as the prayers said after a month of passing to wish them well on their way.  I mentioned yesterday that I fond memories of this lady that went far too soon but in the latter years she hadn't been well.  I left the house at ten in the Nipper and parked up outside the house.  I could have walked but intended going into Djebel for a few things after the service.  The service was held at her house, I met up with the farmer's wives who were just setting off over the road and went inside the house with them.  We were the first to be ushered into the room set aside for the women, I sat on one of the beds, the farmer's wives ended up helping with the dishing out of juice, gifts and food during the service and slowly the room filled up with the older ladies of the village and some of them I haven't seen for years since they closed the little mosque down in the village square.  There must have been around eighteen of us in the little room, few sitting on seats and the rest on the floor and it amazes me how flexible some of the older ladies are.  I was looked at strangely as if 'what she doing here' by some but welcomed by others and I remembered some of the response chants to the service that was being conducted in the next room and loudspeakered into the next room and the outside of the house.  The final offering was a polystyrene tray of meat and rice and I put my shoes back on, put my goodies into the Nipper, exchanged a few words with the ladies and the men waiting outside and set off for Djebel.  

I parked up at the supermarket and bought lemons, tomatoes, carrots and was surprised how good their vegetables looked compared to Lidl, the last few times that I've been in.  I've worked out that they must have a fresh supply delivered on Friday when the market comes to town....worth remembering.  I also bought a few items for the goody box....I've been rather frugal and watching my diet but today wasn't the day for it.  I'd bought bread for my Turkish neighbour and took it round, I'd not been invited into the garden before and was amazed how big the plot was.  Unfortunately the house remains flat roofed without any woodwork or roof tiles and I was invited into the two rooms on the first floor and it's very basic....only two bedrooms either side of the door and a shower but no water inside only outside.  She has grand plans but I think when they come over from Turkey the husband thinks he's on holiday and not too interested in doing much to the property.

So this afternoon I lit the fire, it wasn't cold in the house but I rubbed out the sudoku and had another attempt at one of them and still not solved....annoying but not infuriating...it is what it is!!..I've made the downstairs bedroom up with the 'nest' blankets but it's not time to move down yet....I like my mornings upstairs.  LN....It's been a gentle day and they do see the departed off in fine style......LN

Saturday 18th October

Funny night last night...I went to bed at a fairly reasonable for me, went to sleep but then woke up two hours later and not much sleep in me.  Eventually I went to sleep again and woke up this morning refreshed....upwards and onwards into the day.  I eventually came down stairs around ten, cat was sitting waiting for me on the terrace and I realised that I didn't have much at all for it so attacked the freezer, frozen bacon for me and a sausage for cat and as per normal, cat got sorted first.  I added baked beans obviously warmed up, bread, dried cat food and what was left, dried cat food, bread and beans so that went over the wall for the 'not so picky'.  I sat down to bacon and egg, washed up, did a load of washing and as I was hanging out in the conservatory I realised I'd had visitors that had left a present not taken anything.  I'd not heard a thing, I must have been upstairs doing 'stuff' but I opened up the package and I have a new candle in a lovely container, chocolates and some hair shampoo.  I'd already messaged the provider before I'd found the pressie, it was from Guildjan, my friend from Germany who tried hard to teach me Bulgarian but I really wasn't good at homework.  I think she might have left Bulgaria in total despair and has now landed herself a really good job in Germany.  We exchanged a few messages, I've invited her and her husband out to supper at some point when they're over here but I know they have family to see so it's up to them.

Supper went into the slow cooker mid morning and it's ready now more or less.  Pork fillet with tomatoes, carrots, peas, potatoes, smoke barbecue sauce, tomato sauce and tinned chopped tomatoes.  I'm not sure cat will approve of the selection tomorrow morning but all will be revealed...fussy little thing.  The next thing I did was to delve into a storage box that sits in my bedroom and I really thought time it was sorted out.  It had lots of records that I'd printed off of the family history, I'd tried to type it up on the computer but it really needs a professional program to do it justice or lots of paper and patience.  Winter is coming though so now it's the time to hunker down and just get on with it and today was a start.  There are lots of old wills, birth and death records and some families that seem to stretch on for miles with lots of children.  It's knowing when to finish with one family record of a brother or sister and concentrate on my immediate predecessors.....and I've had a good first day.

I chopped all a few of the larger logs when I loaded up the log carrier for this evening.  It's not that I didn't have enough of the smaller stuff but I seem to have even more of the larger.  By doing them a little and often, I'm evening them out so I'm not landed with too many as the winter gets harder to get them into the house.  I'm settled in for the night, fire going well, but I've realised that it's time I brought a lamp down to sit on the desk in the stairwell, now the nights are drawing in, the upstairs stair light is not enough.  LN.....Time to serve up supper and then go on a hunt for the lamp.....LN

Sunday 19th October

Happy heavenly birthday to my dad.....and it wasn't until I started subtracting years that I realised how old he would have been.  He left us just before he would have been eighty years of age, I said that we would be arranging a birthday party for him and he said not to bother, he wouldn't be here and he was right.  I've considered this and so please don't anyone offer to arrange a party for me this close to my significant birthday....let's make it 'ad-hoc'.  Strange thing happened this morning, I was looking for a belt to wear with a pair of trousers that just need that extra to keep them up and I went to my 'belt' collection and chose a rather bright orange one and looked at the buckle and written on it is 'Harry's Horse'....so I wear it with pride today.  It was one from one of my cheapy shops, it's going to come out every year from now on.

It's been a cold miserable day apart from that.  Cat was sitting on the terrace waiting for the delivery to arrive and I delivered the rest of the food from the slow cooker which wasn't appreciated at all.  Cat moved away from the dish, sat down again obviously waiting for something else so I went out, picked up the dish, threw it over the wall and brought the dish back inside.  I haven't seen it since...it's obviously not hungry, if it was it would have scoffed the lot....I feel that is going to be a shortage of offerings, there are plenty of other places it can scavenge.  I only had toast for breakfast, I toyed with things to do, started sorting out the pile of papers but then realised that it would be easier if I checked what was stored within the ancestry programme before I stated throwing things away.  Joy oh joy...they've changed the look and feel of the programme, the country select drop down menu automatically defaults to USA which set my teeth right on the edge.  You have to select it each time you search so I started looking for a way to change the default settings but that wasn't one of them.  It's going to take me quite a while to get back into it by the looks of things, and printing out the parts of the screen to copy them over proved more difficult, I'd forgotten about how you can open up different family groupings from the little markings by the side of the 'grandfather' of the family but I'll just have to work on it.  

I decided to have a walk down the garden and spotted my neighbour cutting very spikey bushes to fill up the gaps in her hedge to stop the animals trespassing.  She was harvesting from the fields surrounding my garden and thank goodness that I've got walls.  I remember when I first came and no soon had I blocked the fence than a cow would pop it's head through further along the length of the hedge and one morning I woke up to find that one of the cows had got its head stuck through the fence and Bekir had to set it free.  Anther time there were around twelve cows asleep in the garden when I opened my curtains.  The wall was the best money that I spent on the property apart from the roof of course and all the other improvements.

I lit the fire around four thirty, there was no sun to heat the place up but it didn't take too long to get it going.  I was getting my internal heating with lots of coffee but at five I succumbed to putting two chicken cutlets into the air-fryer and six minutes later topping it off with some spicy potato wedges and within the space of about ten minutes tops, I was eating supper and felt much better for it.  The fire is going well, the water heater is on for what is going to be a long leisurely bath tonight and not too late to bed.  Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow so far, I'll see how I feel in the morning as to whether I go out or not, I need eggs but I might be required to help out a friend with a British passport for her son on Tuesday so the eggs can wait.  LN.....It's been a good day and the ancestry system can only get easier from now on.....hopefully....LN

Monday 20th October

Seven start, slow start, it was cold out and a dreary morning.  I played silly reels for about half an hour, made my way down to the kitchen and took my usual lemon water with salt and sugar which is supposed to have beneficial results for a lazy gut...and it seems to be working.  Cat was out and about sitting on the terrace looking at me but i had nothing for her, there was nothing left from last night, I'd had chicken fillets in cornflakes with spicy potato wedges with mayo and that was put away swiftly with no thought for cat.  I washed a tomato and fried it off in the bacon fat from yesterday and had it on toast but only one slice....apparently white bread causes 'spikes' ....I must stop watching this 'information' but the tomatoes are good for you.

I washed and dressed quickly, I didn't have the bath last night and for the most part lazed around in the lounge until the urge to walk the garden raised its ugly head.  I'd seen lots of 'white blobs' in the grass yesterday and on investigation they were mushrooms and talking to my neighbour yesterday she had collected some form the hillside and intended cooking them for supper last night. I gave mine the once over but I'm not really into collecting 'stuff' and am more likely to poison myself.  There were all sorts, some with brown dots on them, large pure white ones and I was going to ask my neighbour but she'd caught the bus into Djebel this morning...it was market day....to catch up on the gossip.

Around eleven I moved into the lounge with my printed off sudoku, rubbed out a few that I'd attempted and was determined to complete one this morning.  It becomes a bit of a challenge after three attempts and for some reason, I attempted it logically and must have just found the right path instinctively and I sailed through it....first time...well first time since I'd rubbed it out last time.  By now the weather had picked up so I fetched in some logs and set the fire for later when the air was beginning to chill.  I thought about carrying on with my ancestry stuff but really couldn't raise the effort.  Sometimes it just get confusing and I felt this was going to be the day that it was.  I haven't really done anything with it for about six months or so but I have sorted out most of the documents into piles to be sorted, the folder is ready to file them so there is some improvement....I can now see the wood for the trees or at least I believe so.  This afternoon I found myself looking at the hanging rail of clothes or rather coats that I've accumulated over the years from my cheapy shops and having lost weight can now fit perfectly into some of them.  No longer is the plan to make the leather ones into handbags, well not until I start putting on the weight over winter.  

Nothing springs to mind for supper but having said that I'm not that hungry at the moment and will probably made cheese on toast later or make up a packet of macaroni cheese that I've just remembered I slipped into the trolley on the last shopping trip.  If I don't like it I can always try it out on cat in the morning.  LN.....Djebel tomorrow to help out a friend with her son's passport and I might just carry on to Kardjali for a mooch and I might even take the Beast for a trip out......LN

Tuesday 21st October

It's just hit me....where is this month going?  It will soon be time to book my ticket to the UK and at least get a few things organised.  I really need to prepare a checklist for when I'm in the UK...there are a few things that I need to get sorted to make my time there easier to jump over several hurdles that I can see coming up round the track and better know the course than try to negotiate everything in the home straight.

As for today, there was a hint of morning in a red band of rising sun, the clouds were still in evidence but the day got better but not much warmer.  I fed cat the last sausage, fried tomatoes on toast for me since there were no eggs and those are top of my list next time I go into Djebel.  I hadn't made my mind up what I was going to do with the day, I'd walked the garden, heard my neighbour hanging around with the hammer and assumed that she was still repairing the fence to keep out the animals.  She's made a good job of clearing up the old footpath down to the next village, she'd cleared the bottom of their stone wall and put lots of branches above it and now it looks from my side  impenetrable.  I suppose we need to see what it fares like in the winter when the animals are foraging where they can.  On the drive back from Djebel I noticed that the hay that one of my sheep farmers had put ready to feed his sheep during the winter was already being attacked by cows....they go where they want and little stops them.

My day was directed by a message from my friend with the flower shop in Djebel.  She's asked for help with her son's passport and she'd already mentioned Tuesday and it was a two part message.  Firstly I'd asked her if she had a supplier for honey, you can buy it from the market but you don't know the providence and she said that she had a contact in her mother's village.  She'd gone ahead and ordered and brought me two jars at what I thought was a reasonable cost for home produced.  The second part of the text was that she intended getting the passport application off and was I available so I dressed for the weather and set off.  We were doing well until it came time for payment when firstly she tried her Bulgarian card and that didn't go through, she tried again and then decided to use her UK bank account and from that one the payment was gain rejected but I wondered if the system had timed out and it was necessary to start a new application.  She tried to telephone her Bulgarian bank and everything was automated, no 'person' on the end and there are times that the system just hadn't been programmed with a solution and nobody to swear at.  Eventually she gave up and said that she would do it tonight from home, I paid for the honey and set off for the car shop after leaving the honey in the Nipper on the carpark.

It was good to see my student's mum again, we chatted for a while and them my young student appeared, they'd been on a march in Kardjali since it was 'Kardjali Day' and I noticed that he was wearing a new jacket that wasn't like anything I would see him in normally.  Apparently uniforms have now been introduced, the company delivering the uniforms hadn't met the deadline so other jackets were substituted and these go back when the others arrive.  Unfortunately the prices appear to have rocketed , fifty lev for a t-shirt with a logo, and it appears to be a 'mix and match' the families buy what they think they will need and the one with the logo is worn on top of everything else.  Doesn't appear to be much joined up thinking.  I couldn't get over how tall he's grown though and told him he's to stop growing...and that was an order....he was making me feel quite insignificant....just a little old lady.

I bough firelighters, I was down to my last packet, walked to the Nipper and intended stopping at the supermarket at the bottom of the town but my plans changed.  I should have gone to the little girl's room before I left the car-shop but didn't and thought that walking round the supermarket was risking it a little so the eggs are still on the list for another day.  I was home by five, first job was to locate the green dish that used to sit under the green flowerpot that the freesias are in so I looked round the terrace.  I made the mistake of looking for a normal sized saucer but noticed that there was a smaller one that was the same colour and I remembered that it always was smaller.  I substituted the current one with the one from under the green pot, green pot and green base had now been reunited and bot are sitting in the porch on the window sill.  There are still lots of sun daisies to flower and to date no flower buds on the freesias but the sun and heat in the porch should trigger them.

By now I was beginning to feel hungry, it had been a long time since breakfast and I found a packet of macaroni cheese and all it needed was seven to nine minutes in five hundred milliliters of water, stir gently until the liquid had been absorbed and then enjoy.  Not bad but if I had had more cheese I'd have added it but since I'd put in nine minutes of effort into it....it went down OK.  The dishes can wait until tomorrow, the fire is going but the logs are too big so not doing a lot for the central heating but the house is warm enought at twenty three degrees.  LN.....it will soon be time for bed anyway, almost nine my time and then I'll curl up in my 'nest'.......LN

Wednesday 22nd October

Not a bad day today at all.  There was a hint of what was in store, it picked up mid-morning and we had a very good afternoon.  There was still a chill in the air but I didn't light the fire until six this evening.  Cat was around but obviously got hungry before I got my act together so ended up roaming the village and now seen her since.  I was cooking my tomatoes on toast at around nine thirty after supping my honey, salt and sugar mixture to set myself up for the day.  I've also put some cloves in to soak, the locals make this drink with some red fruit and clove water and I must really find the recipe.  We had it at the mevlit I went to at the weekend and it reminded me that I wanted to do it.  

I went out to take some photos and my neighbour was just coming back from foraging over the road for mushrooms.  I said that I thought there were some in my garden so I went down the garden to look and she joined me and we went on the hunt together and found some really big ones at the first pit-stop and then others and she had quite a haul.  We were half way down the garden and Haciber put in an appearance, never comes round except to find out what's going on.  I'd also pointed out some medlar fruits that I wasn't interested in, they seemed hard to me but the secret is to pick them and store them until they ripen off the bush so she'll be coming back for them.  I don't mind, I hate things going to waste.  

I went back to my chopping getting enough smaller wood so that there was some heat coming off the fire at night.  There's plenty already cut but I'd rather be chopping it before the snow arrives and storing it ready and I've developed the technique.  It's easy to spot the ones that the axe goes straight through but the ones with twisted grain take longer.... I'm refining that that technique using the axe as a wedge and hitting it with the lump hammer....seems to work OK.  I left ones that I'd chopped in the log carrier in the woodstore and wheeled in one container full of chopped wood and another of last years medium sized or starter wood.  The rest of the afternoon I lay on the sofa with a couple of really difficult sudoku, managed one and rubbed the other one out three times until I was nearly through the paper so I might need to print it off again.

I've just been out and checked the sky, there's supposed to be a 'happening, just after sunset but unfortunately we have a mottled sky so not managed to catch sight of anything.  I'll check it out on the internet later, someone is bound to have captured it.  LN.....Nothing planned for tomorrow, I'll see how the mood takes me.....LN

And the photos

I hit the wrong key and it posted before I'd added them and there's no way back without I delete it all and start again......bear with me...

Thursday 23rd October

My biological clock was or circadian rhythm was working true to form this morning...my internal alarm went off at five minutes to seven and I'd slept straight through again.  It must be something to do with autumn descending, me taking it easier or just the calm after having completed all the documentation and permits to do 'stuff'.  Only thing left to do is pick up my residencia and after my run-in with the office and authority, I should have no problems there....fingers crossed.

I made my usual starter drink, took it back up to the bedroom and sat in the rocking chair watching the morning come to life.  It looked like it was going to be a good day but I've been caught out before but in this case it delivered what it had promised.  I made my last tomato on toast for breakfast, no sign of the cat this morning but this afternoon as I was making my way from the little house to the terrace it slouched across the yard and later I spotted it against the inside front wall of of the house looking quite sad and forlorn.  It seemed to have come from the garage where there is a box in a sheltered position so perhaps I'd disturbed it rattling around in the woodstore.

Today I was going to make one of those air-rooting things out of a plastic water bottle.  I'd cut the bottle how I thought it needed to be done, then couldn't get my brain round it but persevered.  Unfortunately my neighbour from next door arrived and I thought she had come round for lavender for the seeds and to also hang in the house while she's not there to keep it smelling of something pleasant.  I filled a box with this years trimmings and she took a look round the little house, leaving the lavender on top of the compost bin.  I went towards the woodstore to get the loppers and she followed me and she proceeded to tell me the history of the barn and the old man that used to work there.  I suppose it would be good to sit down with her and get a potted history of the house before 'me' and write it down for posterity.  I'd forgotten but I think she really came round for the medlar fruits to store for the winter so I went back to my task and she went down to pick the fruit at the bottom of the garden.  When she'd finished she came to 'help' me with my project and most locals have a habit of taking over thinking that I'm from the 'city' and don't know how to do things.  I put up with a little intrusion but eventually took control and finished it my way.  Off she went back home with her fruit and lavender and I gave her some wire that she can secure it into bunches with  to hang up inside the house when she leaves.

I cleared away around five thirty, did a last walk of the garden with the camera and noticed that one of the yukka that's currently in flower has put up a new spike and was quite surprised that it had.  Photo shoot over, I locked up outside, locked myself in for the night and lit the fire which has sprung to life and crackling beautifully.  Pork chops to go into the air-fryer tonight with a few potato wedges....I'm not that hungry but if I don't eat I'll end up in the goody box later scouring it for something sweet.  The temperature had dropped to sixteen outside and twenty five in....the beauty of the house is that the windows harvest the heat from the sun and the insulation keeps it in....result.  LN.....Just put this morning's washing away. about to cook the pork and then into the evening.......LN

Friday 24th October

I woke up strangely at three thirty for not reason at all, read for a while, snuggled down again and it was the normal seven o'clock.  I opened the curtains, made my way on to the balcony with the camera, noticed a planet but not sure what it was but when I magnified it to take the photo I think I've ended up with a jelly bean....so you'll have to make  do with the unmagnified....that still looks like a jelly bean. I meant to check out which one it was but I've been so busy today that I'd forgotten about it until I came to update the blog.  

I had quite a laid back morning, it was around nine when I got dressed, I'd been downstairs and made my morning 'beverage' using soaked cloves as the basis for my honey, salt, tumeric and pepper starter to set myself up for the day.  It certainly gave me energy, for some reason I decided to empty the large chest in the downstairs bedroom, to put the bed linen upstairs so all in one place, sort out the gifts that I'd been presented with and box them up together and I was amazed what I came across.  I have a waterproof cover all that I must have bought from one of my cheapy shops fairly early on since that was at the bottom of the chest and long forgotten about.  I also came across a black quilted floor covering that just might cover my sofa in the winter lounge without many changes needing to be made.  So once I got down to the bottom, certain things went into the washing machine and still waiting to be put on the airer but I'll take the first load off and then make the substitute.    I've also taken a large container of what I thought were chicken legs but turned out to be chicken breasts from the freezer, they're thawed out, in the fridge and two will be put in the air-fryer when I've finished the update.  

Having run out of steam I decided to put Netflix on and started watching After Life but was disturbed around three this afternoon by my first student who was insistent on teaching me English while she practiced her English.  I'm not sure who won in the end but we're still friends now after getting on for sixteen years.  She's living in Germany with her husband and are visiting her parents in the next village and they were the ones that brought me chocolates that I left two in the box just incase they did visit.  As for the chocolates, I offered but they insisted that they were mine and they are no more.  I'd also invited them for a meal and we'll see if they can manage to fit it in before they go back to Germany.  They left about six, I lit the fire before the evening temperatures dropped and I shall be going back to After Life when I've cooked the chicken breasts.  LN.....What started out a good day, turned into rain around lunchtime then cheered up again this evening......late or early April showers.....LN

Saturday 25th October

Again a three thirty start but managed to get off quite quickly until six thirty and I appear to have been ahead of myself all day.  I stripped my bed and got the nest and the bottom fleece blanket into the washing machine and underway, made my drink of lemon juice, salt, ginger, honey and hot water and even prefer that to coffee to get me on way way for the day.  I've brought the little juicer into play but think I might have to set up and use the one I bought about seven years ago and it's still in the box.  I think it's fear factor, not sure I can reassemble it after I've taken it apart to clean it which I'll have to do if I use it.  I'm all for the simple life!!

So yesterday's washing away, new washing on the airer out in the conservatory.  I didn't bother with breakfast but I did move to the downstairs bedroom and finish tidying out the storage box that I'd emptied yesterday finding lots of goodies and now it just contains knitting wool and some of the pressies that I've had given to me over the years by the ladies of the village.  The summer bedding for the downstairs bedroom has all been moved upstairs to the guest room, that chest has been sorted into pillow cases, bottom and top sheets and quilt covers.  The heavier quilts have moved to the other wooden chest and I get the feeling that I'm either doing a late spring clean since I was off my feet earlier in the year of but I think I'll regard it as getting ahead of myself for next year...and why not.

The rest of the chicken breasts that I'd put overnight in the fridge went into the slow cooker with onions, carrots, stock cube, water and onto the high setting and bubbled away until two this afternoon when I added a packet of chicken soup to it and that eventually became a late brunch.  I filled my time with a bonfire a bonfire, I'd got lots of rubbish in the conservatory that had started to take on a life of it's own and now it's no more.  I did take a bunch of lavender from the little house and hang it up to clear the air, leaving the door open.  I checked out the contents of the bonfire container and there was no danger and fortunately the wind had dropped.

After the chicken casserole lunch I was searching around for more washing.  I 'd foolishly put on a pale grey polo neck, tried desperately to keep it clean but no way, I made up a light load, made up my bed for tonight and put the new washing in place of the old.  I did have trouble getting the kingsize duvet into the duvet cover and eventually it fit 'Cinderella', came down and set the fire for tonight after splitting a few logs and replenishing the stock in the conservatory.  

I settled on the sofa and watched the end of Ricky Gervais 'After Life' and now sure how he got three series out of it for Netflix, switched if off and promptly went to sleep, I'd had a long day.  I've switched the slow cooker off, the casserole will be portioned down and put into the freezer until I forget about it and feed it to cat and lit the fire and a gentle heat is providing me with twenty four degrees inside and it's down already to thirteen outside.    LN....Slow start but it turned into a beautiful day, I even managed to sit out on the bench and take in the rays....more of the same tomorrow please.....LN

Sunday 26th October

This morning was one of confusion.  For some reason I thought I'd woken up late, accepted it put put radio 2 on and they mentioned something about the clocks going back and then the penny dropped.  I adjusted the automatic clock/ weather station and that hadn't accepted the update so I manually readjusted it having checked my phone and computer and yes, I was working in old time.  Not that it meant much, time doesn't mean much out here...the day is mine all mine.  Before I came downstairs I turned my nest forty five degrees so that the feather channels were running the right way on the length of the bed.  I'd put it on the bed wrongly last night and my feet popped out of the end so note to self....correct in the morning and I'd remembered.  I washed dressed, but before I did I hopped on the scales and it's the numbers are going in the right direction but after what I've eaten today, I leave the next weigh in for a couple of days.

It's been a drab, miserable, cold day.  The sun did come out mid afternoon for a while but then the clouds came over and so I lit the fire and it's ticking along beautifully.  It doesn't have to be roaring up the chimney for the pump to kick in, that's the beauty of it and it just takes the chill off the air and it's pleasant to look at.  I've spent the afternoon with my sudoku, a soft pencil and a rubber and am tackling one of them for the fourth time and unfortunately you only notice the error in the last few entries.  It doesn't help that I'm popping up and doing things in between so sometimes lose the thread and end up with two of the same numbers in the column....so back to the drawing board Cecil.  I walked the garden to take the photos and I noticed that Mr/Mrs Mole have become very active now that the ground has softened up.  The old tunnels must have disintegrated so they have to renew.  Time to get the powder out that I bought in the summer and hopefully they will move bit I doubt it....live in hope and die in frustration.  I just have to make sure that I avoid the soft spots when walking down the garden.

It's six o'clock more of less here and it's pitch black outside and so much so that I've out the fairy lights on in the porch to brighten the place up a little.  I did fetch a table lamp from by the computer on the upstairs landing and plug it in down here....it means that I can see the difference between the 'Delete' key and the 'Backspace' without adjusting the angle of the screen.....doh....I should have done it sooner.

I had a message from my friend who was trying to renew her son's British passport to say that she had managed to get the application to complete.  We tried on Tuesday but the interruptions from customers in the shop made it very difficult so I suggested that she left it, she did and she succeeded.  The problem wasn't with the application but with the cards she was using and I think the system in the UK wasn't connecting properly with her bank here or the bank in UK.....any way...problem solved...she can post it tomorrow from the post office with 'signed for delivery' for thirteen lev not the one hundred and twenty that the local company wanted from me.  I think she was concerned whether it was safe or not but it only took six days for mine to arrive so just as quick as a courier service.

So the food that I cooked yesterday is in the freezer, I've got three meals waiting and one in the slow cooker for tonight.  Must admit though that the pancakes went down well, they were in memory of the death of her father and it was more pancakes with her mother's 'mevlit' only last week.  I think she enjoys cooking pancakes.  Time to shut up shop for the night, I suppose I'll be flying in old time for a few days until my body clock adjusts and now into the long winter nights.  LN.....Shopping tomorrow, Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard is looking bare!!....LN

Monday 27th October

Disturbed night again....I went to be at ten thirty (updated time) and woke up at one fifteen and all the sleep had gone from my body.  I'd settled down well, done my deep breathing exercises to help me get to sleep successfully and so picked up my phone.  Nothing for it, I went down to the kitchen and made a health drink, used up the last of the lemons and added cloves. sea salt, turmeric, ginger and black pepper, hot water and took it back upstairs with me.  At three I thought it was about time to try again and the next time that I woke up it was seven thirty so not bad.  

It wasn't too bad a morning, the clouds were dark but there was a blue band over the mountains and the sun was straddling the gap.  The birds were active, firstly there was one of the wire, then two and suddenly it was full of them but something startled them and we were back to one.  I'm surprised how many there are but the crows seem to prefer the industrial landing station, not so bouncy as the electricity cables.  The sheep came bounding down but after awhile there was a change of strategy and they all appeared to be going back to base but then they headed down towards the river between me and the mountains.  I didn't have breakfast, lit the fire since the house felt cold so got dressed and put an extra sweater on.  I had the intention of getting out to the shops early but the more I thought about it the less I wanted to do it so I settled down on the sofa and put Netflix on and fell upon a film about a baseball player who rose to the top despite a disability and still coaches now....quite touching in places.

At two I decided that I really needed to get to the shop for more lemons and vegetables for my superfoods, turned on the slow cooker so the chicken and vegetables would be ready for when I got back.  I remembered that I'd offered my HP printer to the garage shop, they only have a printer not a scanner printer in the shop and I don't make use of it now that I've got my Brother printer working again.  I searched for the installation booklets that came for it, a power cable, parcelled it up and loaded it in the Nipper.  I wrote my shopping list, stopped at the shop first and we chatted for a while, I turned the car round and headed back to the supermarket at the bottom of town, loaded up the trolley following the list, checked out to the tune of sixty leva which was very reasonable for what I had and drove home.  The fire was hanging in there, the rain had stopped but everywhere was damp so I quickly got the fire going again, a little chemical artificial resuscitation and everything is back to normal.  

What was a late lunch has now become supper and it's ready to serve.  Kitchen duties call and another free day tomorrow unless I managed to find something to do it the weather picks up...and it will have to.  LN.....I might have a day on documenting the family chart.....it's time that I did.....LN

Tuesday 28th October

Back to a seven start and very welcome it was too. It was a very leisurely start and the atmosphere has remained the same for all of the day.  I noticed cat out on the terrace very early on waiting for food so the chicken in sauce that I'd left last night was dished out.  Cat came immediately to the dish, picked the best bits, left the bread, a very fussy cat and obviously not ravenously hungry.  I suppose with so many feeding stations around the village it can afford to be.  I went back to bed taking my holistic mixture with me and settled down in the rocking chair just enjoying the morning.  Hunger kicked in and for this morning I settled for a fried tomato on toast and I checked the time, it was ten and I was still in PJ's and there really wasn't any rush about anything.  It was another damp morning, it had obviously rained overnight and it was cold.  My phone reported only four degrees, which went up to eight degrees and is still showing the same...it feels like there hasn't been any movement....just not much sun about.  One positive thing...the sun daisies have started to flower in the conservatory despite that there's been little sun today.  It might have something to do with me watering the pot with beer and water yesterday.  I did it mainly for the freesias that are growing in the same pot but if it helps the other...so be it.  I shall have to remember to collect the seeds, the flowers are beautiful.

I cleared the kitchen and had a general tidy round, lit the fire at eleven and thought it best that I had a shower and washed my hair and then I might think about driving into Djebel and visit the hardware shop for a few things including rodent poison to put down in the little house, more mole deterrent but I really couldn't raise the effort.  I set the fire but it wasn't long before I was lighting it, warming the house up before I spent the day on Sudoku, Free-Cell and other time wasters.  The mojo just wasn't kicking in this morning.  I had my shower eventually, realised that it was time that I thought about getting Bekir to install a grab rail in the bathroom as a safety measure....I really don't want any mishaps this side of Christmas or even afterwards.  I was lucky last time....nothing broken....it could have been different.  I did have a conversation with my flower lady going over the documents and the procedure for sending off her son's passport from the local post office.  All sorted now and I outlined what she can expect to happen, the emails that she'll receive at every step and what to expect from the courier and the return of the documents and the new passport.

I dried my hair in my bedroom, had dressed in a warm sweater and again sat on the rocker but this time I took my Kindle and I'd found a 'Kay Scarpetta' book that I don't think I've read or of I had it must have been a long time ago.  I'm on chapter five and I've had no flashbacks....so far, so good.  Cat returned around four, picked through the dish from breakfast but found nothing new then shot off somewhere.  I settled for a packet of nuts and raisins that I'd bought yesterday and don't thing I shall be needing anything later...it's almost six my time and this could be a twelve hour fast if I leave it until morning.  

We're now back to a cloudless sky and the crescent moon shining against a navy blue sky.  There was a hint of red in the sky but very little where the sun was setting.  Those mountains were still shrouded in cloud coming in from the west so all can change.  Looking at the sky now, I'm thinking it won't be long before we have our first frost, it feels as if winter is really on its way.  LN.....Time to find something to watch on Netflix....I tried to go back and watch Peaky Blinders but I think it's going to be Outlander.  LN.....Quick cup of coffee, the solar coloured lights really stand out now that it's black as pitch out there and I'm settled in for the night....LN

Wednesday 29th October

Another seven start and really cold this morning at minus one point five degrees in the next village according to the internet.  Because of where my weather station is positioned, I made it plus two degrees.  It was white over, there was frost on the grass and no sign of cat at all not even for a late feed.  I washed and dressed and had a late breakfast of yogurt and honey, made my bed and tidied round and then took up position on the rocking chair with the Kindle and settled in to my current book and now at chapter fifteen.  I had a WhatsApp interlude with my flower shop owner in the village and said that I'd be popping in to see her later in the day.  Reading took me up to twelve and along with it came hunger gripes, the early yogurt had done little so I headed back to the kitchen and baked a potato in the microwave, opened a tin of tuna and made a large bowl of tuna, potato salad positioning myself on the sofa and thinking about driving into Djebel to get the few things that I'd not got the other day.

I made my list and set off around two thirty, I parked up by the mosque and made my way to one of the larger 'dinky do' shops that sells everything.  I asked for what I wanted in Bulgarian, the shop is so large that you can spend a lot of time looking and still have to ask.  I was directed to the shelves just behind the cashier, I picked up three gas lighters and a canister of gas for when they run out and the cashier asked me 'why three'.  One for inside, one for outside and one as a standby when either of them break.  The cost for the three and the gas was still only eleven lev which in English works out about five pounds.  I just don't feel ripped off here and she asked me how I was and said that she hadn't seen me for a while.....you feel missed here.  Back in the car and parked up outside the garage shop, I popped in, realised she was busy putting an order away so I moved on to the hardware shop, I wanted heavy duty rat and mouse poison so bought two different sorts.  I don't have a problem it's really to avoid problems, it's for the little house and the woodstore and while I'm going to be away in the UK, I don't want the mice to play so to speak.  Next port of call was the chemist and I've bought throat tablets that I use ready to take to the UK and I'll leave some there for my daughter.  They were prescribed by the doctor for when I went down with Covid a couple of years ago but I always keep some by me....brilliant things.  I put all the goodies in the Nipper, left it where it was and walked over to see my flower shop lady to check that the passport documents had been sent and they had.  She said that she had been in the local supermarket to her and that there were English people in there and did I know any that were in the area.  I said I didn't and joked with her that they hadn't asked permission to visit the area and we laughed about it, mandatory passport control should be applied to protect the village... ;).  

Back to the Nipper and turned the car round making sure that I didn't cross the central white line by going round the car-park,  There were lots of police around from the time that I'd hit Djebel and I wasn't sure what checks they were carrying out.  They didn't stop me, probably recognised the car and I carried on to the supermarket at the bottom of the village and bought fruit that I'd forgotten yesterday, oranges, apples, bananas, two packet of prunes and  mushrooms and again, that lot only amounted to five pounds.  I set off for home and had a really pleasant drive through the lanes, the sun had set but the sky was blue and the moon was just showing up,  Shopping away, I made a coffee and settled down with series four of Peaky Blinders after I'd lit the fire.  LN.....A very relaxing day.....got everything from my list and served by really happy, pleased to see me, people.....LN

Thursday 30th October

Well those nuts I had the other day really did upset my system.  I had those big red splodges all up both arms, they stung and itched and I had to take one of my alergia tablets and it's taken until this evening for them to subside.  That's one more thing on the prohibited list but I think I compounded the problem by having a packed ot prunes last night,  I think it's back to water, lemon juice, sea salt and honey to get the toxins out.  The doctor just shakes her head, I've not managed to get into Plovdiv and to the specialist so that another item on the 'must get round to list'.....to join several more.

At seven thirty this morning I received a WhatsApp message inviting me out to supper tonight in Kardjali and naming the restaurant and for the life of me I couldn't remember where it was.  It must have been ten years since I've been there, I had a vague idea and could name the shops round it so Googled it and the rest of the area there wasn't really a landmark that I could get a positioning from but confirmed and said yes I would be there and I'd give myself plenty of time to get my bearings.  I was invited by Guildjan and her husband, a friendship going many years back and I think they wanted to shop me their apartment in Kardjali.  She was with me through my renovations, and was ready to ask for help and I wait to be asked just don't offer it.  The rest of my morning was very relaxed, and I didn't really get round to doing anything until three this afternoon.  The rash had left me a little nervy, I wasn't sure if something else was going on,  I took my blood-pressure and everything was fine.....I just felt 'off'.  So it was Kindle, breakfast of boiled eggs and toast, Peaky Blinders for an hour and more, back to the Kindle and then the day began.

I decided to empty the water butt, it was up to the top, when it flooded over or started to pour down off the roof, the yard became very damp.  I worked out how to do it, use a Jubilee clip to attach the hose pipe to the outlet tab on the water butt.  As long as I could keep the hose level or with a downward slope I could get the water to flow.  Success....it was very slow but I managed it, just need to wash it out with clean water and put it upside down to dry out.  The mouse bait poison is down in the little house and the woodstore, another job off the list, I brought in a log carrier of logs and filled it up with freshly chopped wood and it's ready for the next time.  I laid the fire thinking that it would be late when I arrived this evening but I've not lit it yet.....I shall be in bed with a book before the temperature drops that much.  I also tried to get the Beast to fire up but there was just a lot of clicking so the battery charger came out and I left it on the one battery for about an hour and it went on the second one for about the same time.  By now the day was ticking on so I cleared away the hose pipe into the little house and will finish cleaning the waterbutt tomorrow, disconnected the battery charger and put it away,  tools went back to where they lived and I was thinking about getting ready.  I thought I'd try to turn the Beast over and it started first time, I'll give it a run tomorrow to top it up properly,

I set off about five to give myself time to find the restaurant, got the general direction right but there are so many road-works, handmade signs that no one could understand  and no parking designated areas.  Three times round the block I found a street running parallel with the one I wanted so I pulled in on some rough land and that was me settled until the meal was over.  We ordered pizza from the menu, they arrived and were huge and I have the remains of mine to look forward for for breakfast.  We walked to the apartment and they showed me how they were living, they'd managed to put a new window in the storage room at roof level and Bekir had been doing work on the property.  I managed to find the car, found a quicker way out than into town and arrived home around nine , breakfast into the fridge, cup of coffee made and then I'm off to bed.  LN.....Good to catch up with friends but let's leave it until the roadworks are complete and a multi-storey carpark is raised from the ashes....LN

Friday 31st October

Five start this morning but I checked the weather of which there was very little to see, snuggled down and it was seven the next time I entered into the physical world as we know it.  Starry, starry night last night but obviously the clouds came over in the night and still hung around especially when the fog rose from the rivers.  Lemon juice, ginger  and honey hot drink for breakfast, I've been giving the coffee a swerve first off and saving it for later in the day.  I had my morning tick list ready, washing in the machine, Kindle recharged for the rest of the day, garden water barrel was to be fully emptied, washed out and put in the little house for winter, bonfire and last night's pizza into the microwave for breakfast and the last one was the best.

It was a Milano with lots of ham topping and a cheese that melted into the base.  Unfortunately the crust didn't take too well to the microwave but you can't have everything.  I put it in for six minutes, I was warming up cooked meat so wanted to make sure that everything stayed down, I was still in my pj's, served into a dish and was attempting to attack it with a knife and fork but this became difficult as I was watching an episode of Peaky Blinders and balancing said dish on my knee so fingers came into play.  Fortunately I'd left enough last night to make a really good quantity for breakfast and it lasted me until I settled for a bowl of natural yogurt with a honey topping.  Everything has settled now so I shall be hunting for food when I've posted this update.

Bonfire was the first thing to get going, the rubbish I'd burnt earlier in the week had more or less all burnt away so I didn't have to empty the container before this one was underway.  It lit first time, the clouds had cleared, sky was blue, the sun was up....a perfect morning to send smoke signals to Indians and there was another bonfire in the next village when this mad thought struck me....I do have a weird sense fun and strange ideas but I can't see much change happening at my time of life.  I'd climbed up onto the wall at the bottom of the garden and sat watching the world and thinking what a beautiful place I'd settled in....no one to bother me, walled garden to keep the livestock out and peace and quiet apart from the dogs in the next village.  They really do require a legally applied solution...but it's fighting the odds.

Breakfast over it was a call to action, the water barrel was tackled first.  I removed the Jubilee clip from the hose pipe, reattached the usual connector to the outside tap, I would need it later when it came to washing it out.  I drained the rest of the water out by toppling it from its stand and letting the water flow into the yard, connected the hose and washed the grime from the roof out of it, swished it round again and dragged it into the little house.  While I was there I checked the rodent deterrent that I'd put down yesterday and I'd had visitors to two of the dishes which proves my point that they are setting up residence for the winter.  This task didn't take too long to complete, I came in and picked up the Kindle, went to sit on the bench in the sun but this weather brings out the flies so I moved inside and on to the sofa, still in the sun put protected and read a few chapters, I'm up to eighty percent complete, should finish it tonight and it might even compete with Peaky Blinders.  The boiler is on for a bath, it's down to twelve degrees outside, the sky is clear so we might be in for another cold night but not me 'said the little red hen'.  LN...Good news my winter tyres are all good so will be changed probably tomorrow and  I'll get the winter checks done at the same time...another thing done and dusted......LN