Week 16

I cannot believe it is blog day again already, the weeks are flying by..... and we were worried winter was going to drag on and we would be housebound and bored. No chance.

It has been a strange week. It started off really well. Monday saw the sink finally finished. We are really pleased as it was done using a box of floor tiles we found in a barn and wood left over from another job. It cost next to nothing to do so is not as frivolous a thing to have done as you might think, anyway it looks great and will be less of an eyesore when guests dine in the courtyard. We may even enter it in 'pimp my sink 2016'  :)

before

work in progress - note super sunny weather. Suntan in progress too

after and even Buddha is set up in the herb garden now

Pamela gives the walls in the let a coat of paint and then spends some time in the potting shed sorting out the seed trays. Her days are non stop. By the time the dogs have had their walk, breakfast made and eaten, cleaning done, woodburner emptied of ash and prepared for relighting and she has had a meditation, the morning has gone. She says every morning is like groundhog day. Usually we share household tasks but I have so many jobs on outside that is it not possible right now. I do feel guilty about it but this may reverse come the spring / summer as she is definitely the gardener of the two of us.

Tuesday and I make a start on the stone path that will connect the house to the holistic barn. It will run across the piece of land that we hope to use as a sun deck for our guests. It is 130 square metres, so a big area. I would like part of it to be an exotic fruit garden, figs, avocado, limes, lemons etc. I have found a company in Plovdiv who supply hardy olives, figs trees etc so it may happen. They even sell palm trees. I have started to plan the decking area but the area slopes downhill and sideways and we need to do it as cheaply as possible so hours are being spent on youtube researching how to set up the base which will be 66 square metres. Also so far I have not found any pressure treated wood out here so it may mean treating every single bit of wood before construction. Every bit of this job spiders web off into another job.

This is going to be a huge project

Out in the potting shed we have seedlings sprouting up, rocket and lettuces mainly but as they were sown in just soil from the garden this is really encouraging.

Seeds sown in garden soil, potted in cut off toilet rolls under old window panes and they have started to grow!!

Hopefully this lot will keep us fed in the coming year

but there is still ice on the inside wall from weeks ago

Wednesday Pamela attempts to give the doors in the let a coat of gloss paint but for some reason paint is really inconsistent here. We bought 2 tins of gloss white, exactly the same make and batch number, one was so ridiculously runny it was impossible to paint with and one so gloopy it left lumps everywhere. That job has been abandoned for now until we get some decent paint. Instead she turns her hand to renovating some old chairs found in one of the barns by stripping them down, repainting them in exterior paint (one that actually works!!) and making cushions from an old throw and some leftover fabric.

I spend the day constructing the path from the sandstone that the builders took up from the floor of the holistic barn. Some of the stones are huge and find that the only way I can move them is by using an old metal sledge. It is hard work. The ground slopes downhill and twists and of course the path has to run against the twist. It is a pig of a job but we decide to just let the stones pick their own path. It is not straight or perfectly even but we like to think of it as rustic and authentic!

Pammie makes a start renovating the chairs

Moving rocks with the use of a metal sledge escorted by Maizi and overseen by Marple

Maizi and Marple 'helping' cement the stones. I used 200kg of cement. It should be still standing long after the Great Wall of China

Finished at last

Maizi's tail has now healed following our bandaging but we have discovered that both dogs have a real talent for attracting ticks from the woodland walks. It is now an unpleasant but daily chore to check them and de-tick them every morning. Apple Cider Vinegar is supposed to be a natural defence against ticks and fleas so I have a recipe from the internet for a solution that has to be applied to their coats weekly that should deter the ticks. Next time we go shopping we will pick up a few gallons!

Friday and I wake up with very severe man flu (a cold). For some reason it has knocked me off my feet and really has turned into flu now. I spend the next few days sleeping and trying to shake it off. I have had a couple of bouts of pneumonia in the past so any colds tend to go straight to my chest and really affect me badly. But I have been taking Monica's Grandmothers herbal tea every day with a glass of brandy (for it's medicinal properties only!!) and it seems to be working. It is so frustrating being ill. The weather has been changeable with the odd shower but mainly sunny days. I could be getting on with the central garden as there is so much to do. Guaranteed when I am back on my feet we will have days of nonstop rain!!

Sunny Sunday morning spent sewing in the courtyard. Maizie as always amuses herself with a tennis ball and a step to make it fall so she can chase it.

Pamela continues to run the house, sort the let out and make the soft furnishings for the courtyard and the benches in the herb garden. The chairs look great - only another half dozen to do.

Good job Pammie

Cushions for Pammies seat in the herb garden.

Maizi plays 24/7

Sunday and the weather is stunning. Almost an English summers day. For the first time in 2 days I feel like getting out but I still don't feel good. That said we cook and eat our lunch out in the courtyard and even take a stroll up to the village shop. Hopefully tomorrow I will be back to work!

Sunday lunch Gorsko style