Week 43

After I wrote last weeks blog we went for a stroll around the village. Baba B called us into her garden to show us a lamb she had had delivered that day, it was so cute and was happily munching on grass. We all cooed over it for a while then Pammi and I went on with our walk. Little did the lamb or I know what was to come..............

Monday morning after the usual chores Pammi went to prepare the let for our guests arrival this week whilst I started to strim the garden. It was another scorcher of a day so I decided to strim the lane where at least there was some shade. With only about twenty metres or so left to do the blade cover of the strimmer was ripped apart by a rock, exactly what happened earlier in the year. So a quick trip to Popovo to get a new one and also a spare for when it happens again. By the time I get back the sun has moved round and it is blisteringly hot but I want to get the last stretch finished. Just as I start Efan comes out of Baba B's garden and calls me over. He is about to slaughter the lamb and needs my help. Gulp. We are vegetarians, I have never slaughtered a lamb and we try to live by Buddhist principles. Everything about this situation is against my beliefs but a) I do not want to offend our neighbours and b) by being part of the process and caring about the lamb, perhaps it will suffer less. Well, I caught the lamb as quickly and as stress free as I could and whilst I held it Efan slaughtered it. It was over in seconds and the lamb appeared not to suffer. Baba B stood and said a prayer whilst the process took place then Efan expertly butchered it. Afterwards we all went and had a beer in the garden before I went and finished the strimming. Baba B's family are coming from Canada, England and Bulgaria this week, the first time they have all been together with the new grandchild, so the lamb meal was going to be very special. Later that evening we had to have our meal under the cover of the kitchen as a huge storm started. The rain was really heavy and lasted for hours, there was definitely going to be some damage to our crops in the morning. Oh and today it is exactly a year since we were in paid employment!!

Do you remember the Good Life episode where they had the great storm and awoke to a mud bath? Our garden reminded us of that this morning. We had so much rain during the night that everything is sat in puddles and a number of plants have fallen over due to the weight of the tomatoes and the sodden ground. Pammi spends the next few hours tidying the garden and repairing what she can. Luckily we only lost a couple of plants and most of the damage was superficial, broken stakes etc. The cover came off the pool and it is full of debris. Great. Our guests arrive tomorrow and the pool is unusable. The only option is to empty it and clean it out. It takes hours but eventually it is done and is all nice and clean again. Pammi has picked lots of tomatoes so in the afternoon she makes more sauces. To preserve all the chillies and peppers we have I make some ristas which not only look really cool but are a great way to keep them, they will even carry on ripening whilst hung. By the afternoon the sun is breaking out again and the good weather looks like it will return.

First couple of ristas

Yesterday this ground was baked solid by the sun

The tidy up begins

Today our guests are arriving so a last minute check to make sure everything is right, clean all the outside spaces and we are ready. Even the sun has returned today although the earth is still sodden and will take days to dry out even in this heat. We do not want to start any jobs as we are not sure what time our guests are arriving so we just chill out and read. By six o'clock we think maybe they will not arrive today so we have our evening meal. But they do arrive later about nine thirty so we put their bags in the rooms then all go next door to Baba B's for another meal. Our guests are family of Baba B and will be staying with us for a few days. The great thing about Bulgarian family meals is that although there is loads of food, only a small amount is put on your plate and a mouthful is taken every now and then between lots of drinking. As we had already eaten nobody notices that you eat hardly anything, although the food was delicious. Sensibly I only had one Rakia and Pammi stayed off it totally. We have a great evening but it is three thirty in the morning before we crawl to bed.

The first of many toasts

Thursday we are up at 0600 as usual but on less than three hours sleep are exhausted. We tidy up the courtyard as we all sat around drinking when we came back from Baba B's this morning. That done we have breakfast then spend the day chilling out. The rest of Baba B's family arrive, so now we have a full house here too, but they all go next door to have the lamb feast. In the afternoon we go for a walk and end up meeting Baba B's family who had the same idea. One of Baba B's daughters had gone to meet her old school teacher and friend, it turns out we already knew them. We finish our walk together then all back to Baba B's. That evening we are invited around for drinks and yet more food. The grandparents sit around shelling walnuts whilst everyone else chats. The weather is getting a bit chilly at night, high twenty degrees but it does feel cold as it drops at least ten degrees of an evening. All the Bulgarians are in coats and jumpers and we even grab our fleeces. Autumn is coming. By midnight Pammi and I call it a night and head for bed.

Cracking walnuts

Whilst the Babas de-shell the nuts

Another great night

Teaching little Danni how to pick tomatoes

Friday morning and all the guests leave today. It has been great but exhausting, we are not used to all this socialising. Pammi needs to get on with preserving more produce but we have run out of jars again. Some of the family are going to the Black Sea for a few days and as I am heading to Popovo for the jars, and where the main Varna road runs through, I lead them through the maze of villages to get them on the right road. Back home Pammi and I spend the rest of the day weeding, it is amazing how the weeds have sprung up since all that rain. 

Saturday is cleaning day so I am banished from the house as usual. It is Pammis birthday tomorrow so I go off to Ruse to buy some fish as that is what she wants for her birthday meal. I get some lovely sea bass and king prawns, a real treat as they are so expensive out here. When I get back I carry on weeding whilst Pammi preserves yet more produce. We now have about fifty jars of sauces, relishes and chutneys and yet more is ready for preserving. Pammi is getting fed up with the preserving so I am having a go next week.

Sunday is Pammi's birthday so a day off today. I nip out to Opaka early morning to catch the fresh bread delivery and get there just in time to get hot bread and french sticks. Back home we have scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and bucks fizz, all her favourites. Afterwards whilst I clear up she answers all her birthday messages and speaks to her sister Angela on the phone. The rest of the morning is spent reading, her on the phone, or messaging friends and family. Samantha skypes and  we have a nice long chat with her. Technology is amazing and makes the distance between family seem insignificant. It is a beautifully hot day and we even get to spend some time on the sunloungers for a quick nap. Late afternoon we shower, get changed and start her birthday meal. I pan fry the prawns in garlic and chilli, sprinkled with herbs, all from the garden and they are absolutely gorgeous. Next up is sea bass cooked in the clay oven, salad and steamed potatoes, again all from the garden. It is a lovely evening but just as we are finishing, from nowhere the rain starts. A quick dash to clear everything under cover before we have a quick cloudburst. It does not last long but there was a lot of rain again. But it was a lovely day and Pammi enjoyed it which is what matters.

Birthday girl opening her cards

Much of the day was spent on the phone

The coming week we may have some guests coming back for a few days and there is lots of work weeding to be done as well as the usual preserving. And a test ride of a motorbike.........