Week 3

As England shuts down because of wintry conditions we continue to have great weather, I am sat on the patio writing this but everyone we talk to tells us to make sure we prepare ourselves for the oncoming winter. We have now got a storecupboard with plenty of pulses, pasta, rice, dog food (we are sure the lady on the checkout at Lidl thinks we have 10 dogs as we currently have 60kg of dog food stored in our house!!) and of course a good supply of wine. We are cutting wood every day to ensure our woodstore is full, but as yet we have only had the woodburner on a handful of times.

All the Bulgarians are dressed as if it is really cold (then again they are used to 40 degree summers) and we are walking around in summer clothes (it is mid 20's so a good English summer temperature). They look at us as if we are mad.

This week has seen lots of progress on the house. The insulation is now on and all the outside walls of the house have been rendered. The woodwork for the facia boards is completed with just a coat of paint to finish them off needed. Rain is forecast for next week so the painting of the exterior of the house may have to wait.

The new windows will go in next week which sadly means the current windows, which have lots of character, have to go. It will change the whole feeling of the house but it is what it is. However with the new external doors going in we should then be well insulated for the winter.

All the plasterboards and internal insulation have been delivered as work starts tomorrow on transforming the top floor of the house into a holiday let.

The first vegetable plot has now been cleared and the soil all dug over by hand. So glad that job is finished!!

From this..................

 

To this, four hard days of labour later

 

 

We have now started to make the potting shed out of a disused outbuilding. The roof is off and the Perspex has been ordered for the windows and roof. None of the builders could understand what we were doing but a few pictures and charade games later and they think it's a great idea.

 

I start to remove the roof tiles

 

Roof tiles all off of the new potting shed. Note top of the range Bulgarian ladder.

 

 



We have started to clear another vegetable plot but it is sloping land and is hard work. The top of this plot will have grapes and fruit trees which we will get from the market next week.

Pam collecting walnuts before we start clearing the land

 

The clearing begins and yet another bonfire

 

 

Saturday we take a day off and go into Ruse to get the light fixtures ready for the holiday lets and a few bits from the market. There are lots of roadworks in Ruse and sat nav has lots of fun trying to get us where we want to be. Finally we get out of Ruse and are so glad to be home. As much as we love Ruse, we are beginning to love the peace and simplicity of our village life even more.

Sunday is another day off. Monica, her husband Vlady and Alisha come over. Vlady works in IT and has soon improved our internet connection. We are so fortunate to know these people and really do think of them as special friends.

Monica and Alisha

So no dramas for once. Lets hope that trend continues.............................