Week 13

Sorry for the late posting but temperatures here have risen an incredible 35 degrees in 7 days!!!! (so we have made the most of the early spring and cracked on with a few jobs in the garden and had an opportunity for an early evening tipple in the garden, in February, in Bulgaria, really??!!

So back to last Monday when it is incredible to think that I spent two hours clearing snow from the front of the garage so we could get the car out. We have to go and get our residency cards this week, we have our Bulstat cards which show that we own property here but our residency cards will mean that we are officially registered in the country. We are told that it can be quite a long and frustrating process so we will see.

As forecast the temperature started to rise and the snow began to melt later in the day. Borko and the guys continue to make an amazing transformation of the holistic barn.

Icicles on our neighbours gate

Starting to break up the ice on the paths

Does not matter what the weather these incredible guys just keep working

We met Monica in the major town where we had to go to the Police station to start the process of getting our residency cards. Part of the process is that your bank has to provide written confirmation that you are solvent. This takes longer than expected so we arrive at the registration desk of the Immigration officer just as she goes for lunch. No drama though at least we are first in the queue when she returns from lunch and it's good spending time with Monica just catching up. A couple of forms later, show our passports, a trip across the hall to pay the fees, show our passports again, then back to the officer, show our passports again, then off to get photocopies of all our documents, back to the Police station, hand over the documents and part one is done. So far so good and stress free. But you definitely need a Bulgarian with you as the forms have to be completed in Bulgarian. Monica to the rescue as usual!! We must return to the station on Monday so that they can issue us with our temporary cards and take our photos for the new cards.

The rest of the week is spent putting together furniture. Borko has collected the remainder of our furniture from the store so this week the downstairs kitchen can go in.

Pamela has finished the curtains now and is just making the cushions and throws for all the beds.

Once the furniture is all erected we will dress the rooms and in a separate blog will show the incredible before and after photos of the transformation of our home.

This week Pamela has also been experimenting with trying to make bean burgers and veggie sausages. They were so successful too so we even had a full cooked breakfast one morning with veggie sausages. Happy days.

Veggie breakfast with homemade sausages

One of the things that Pamela really misses, and we have searched high and low for, is brown sauce. There is an amazing array of tomato based sauces but never a brown sauce. There is every concoction of tomato sauce with everything from herbs to any level of chilli spice in them. However, this week we managed to find a store that sold HP sauce so Pamela is one very happy lady.

The weather has continued to get warmer all week but consequently the snow is melting at an incredible rate. Everything is covered in mud. Where the sun does not reach the ice is still thick so driving can be fun and you have to keep your wits about you. For the first time in weeks the washing machine has defrosted so we can wash our clothes again. They can even be pegged out to dry it is that sunny!

Saturday and the kitchen downstairs is fitted. There is a bit of a mix up with our order and it is not exactly what we ordered but we are happy anyway. It is going to be so nice when we move downstairs and have a home. We even have a bed now. It is our first sleep in a proper bed for over six months. Luxury. We are even unpacking boxes and putting stuff away. We have lived out of boxes for so long now going to a wardrobe or drawer for something seems strange. It is amazing how you adapt though and accept things as normal.

The guys all take a very well earned day off today. They have completed a new wooden floor on the upper part of the barn, all the old floor has been taken up (a huge task as it was all concrete over sandstone), the walls have been insulated and plaster boarded over the old mud bricks and the ceiling has been plaster boarded. Amazing work. The barn is an incredible space now and we can just feel how spiritual and relaxing it will be. To see your dream come true before your eyes is a strange feeling and we still cannot believe how incredibly lucky we are, not just to be here but to have found such wonderful people to make our dream a reality.

Monday we had to return to the Police station to get our temporary residency cards. Another form, show passports, pay tax, take photos and job done. Come back in a month and collect the cards. It really was quite a straight forward process (only so because we had Monica with us) but it could have been so much worse.

We had asked Monica a while back to make some enquiries for us regarding a piece of land that one day we would consider buying as it is adjacent to our vineyard and orchard. We had both forgotten about it as money is tight and it was just a pipedream for now anyway. Whilst chatting to Monica at the Police station this week she just happened to have the deeds and plans for our plot of land with her so I mentioned it again in passing. It turns out we already own it, all 2 acres!!! This changes our game plan somewhat. It is a large plot of land so we will now consider using it for the dogs to play in, which frees up another piece of land that would make an ideal camping site. More planning and research needed I think but this is amazing news.

Sunday and the weather is lovely so we use the sandstone taken up from the floor of the barn to make a path in the herb garden. Despite days of sunshine, just under the surface of the soil is thick ice (it was minus 15-20 for a couple of weeks) so it is hard, muddy work.

First of the sandstones go down

Marple trying out the new path

Pamela and Maizie staying out of the mud bath

According to the meteorology department February is going to be unseasonably warm with Spring like temperatures. Our week has certainly started that way and we are gardening in t-shirts and sipping drinks in the courtyard late afternoon. The evenings are chilly but what do you expect?? We certainly never expected a winter like this.........