Week 47

Hi all, we left you last Sunday afternoon just before a massive storm hit us which lasted for most of the night. Thankfully no lasting damage but a few people lost their internet for the next couple of days, although not us.

Rain covered tomatoes. A theme over the next few days

Monday was 15 degrees yet yesterday it was 35 degrees so seems really cold. Autumn really has arrived. In the morning I took the car off to get its oil and filter change and since then the car has been playing up, yet again if it ain't broke, don't try and fix it. Could just be a coincidence of course. Whilst I was out Borko came round to look at the cess pit and it turns out we need a new one, not a cheap job but a necessary one. This is turning into a great day. Not. Everything is sodden from last nights deluge so we cannot do the gardening we had planned on doing today so we take K & C to Ruse so that they can see where the shops are. We visit all the main stores they are likely to use then head home as it has been a long day. We have our evening meal outside but soon have to go in as the evenings are getting too chilly to be out for long. That night we have more heavy rain.

Trying to find the problem with our cess pit

Tuesday we are off to see the Mayor as we have to get his permission to put our cess pit outside the boundary of our house. He turns out to be a really nice guy and even agrees to us putting some advertising boards for our business up in the village, we only wanted one but he said we could have three. That all sorted we nip off to Popovo to get the money to pay for the new pit. Back home everything is still too wet to work on so I spend the rest of the day on the internet, joining new forums and groups trying to promote the business in any way I can ready for next year. We join about 20 groups and the response so far has been amazing, lets hope it all translates into bookings. Emma and Anthony (Pammi's eldest daughter and her boyfriend) set off from England today hitchhiking their way across Europe to come and stay with us for a while. Day one and they have made it to Dover from London. They are seasoned hitchhikers and have traveled a lot in Europe but never to Bulgaria and with no set route as they will never know where the next lift will take them. Lets hope they have better weather than us as there is yet more rain again tonight. For the first time in months we have to eat a meal indoors and it almost feels claustrophobic!

Don't care how cold it is, in England this temperature would be a good summers day.

We will make summer last as long as possible!!

Wednesday morning Borko and the guys are here early to start digging the new cess pit. After a few hours of digging down they come across a water pipe so have to abandon that hole and start another. About three metres down the next hole they come across a telephone wire pipe but are able to circumvent that. Unfortunately a little deeper they come across another waterpipe that they cannot avoid. After a bit of discussion the best way forward is to now have two pits. We feel so sorry for the guys, it is pouring of rain and they now have to dig a third pit. Whilst digging they came across a penknife whose shaft was made from the shell casing of a Kalashnikov rifle. Meanwhile Pammi is indoors sorting out a huge bundle of wool ready to start knitting some gloves for the winter. I spend the day again on the internet advertising and researching more avenues of getting us 'out there'. After our evening meal we take a stroll around the village but less and less people are sitting outside their homes now as the temperatures drop.

Pit number 1 has a water pipe and has to be refilled and another pit started 

Pit 2 has a telephone wire pipe and then another water pipe

Work starts on pit number 3

Thursday is a mixed bag of rain / sun / rain. We are still having breakfast outside but are needing long sleeved tops as it is definitely getting cooler now, but we want to drag summer out as long as possible. Borko and the guys finish digging the pits and as it is a national holiday here to celebrate Independence day, they take the afternoon off. Their village is having a football match and everyone seems to be playing. Our day is filled with Pammi cleaning the meditation barn whilst I spend yet more time on the internet. E & A have now reached Austria.

New dran pipes going in

The guys found these a few metres down

Friday the sun returns at last and is quite warm which makes such a difference. Borko and the guys finish cementing the pits and also, whilst they have all the kit here, put us in a driveway at the front of the house. It was a job we were going to do next year but having seen how long it took to do using a cement mixer, it is obvious I could never have done it myself by hand. So I try to make myself useful and help the guys move the mixed cement which felt good to do something so productive again. It is another national holiday today so as soon as they have finished they are off for the day. Yesterdays football match was a 2-2 draw by the way. Pammi has spent the day cleaning and meditating. The good weather continues into the evening and Baba B, Dora and Danni pop round for a while. Although it soon becomes too cold for Baba B and they have to go home, we are able to sit outside till quite late. E & A have hitched as far as Slovenia and love it so much they are going to stay there on the way back.

New driveway going down

Nearly finished

Saturday the sun is beaming and is really quite warm so I strim the lawn (read weed bed) at the front of the house and rake level the land that they have been working on the last few days. It is starting to look quite tidy at last. Pammi meanwhile has been harvesting tomatoes and peppers which just never seem to stop coming. We also collected our first walnuts today as they are falling from the trees now. We have three large walnut trees in the top land which will hopefully provide enough walnuts for us to eat and some to sell. After strimming and whilst Pammi gets all the kit ready for more preserving, I take the car down to the spring and give it a good wash. We then both spend the rest of the day, and well into the evening, preserving today's harvest. We usually like to have a nice meal and a 'special' night on a Saturday but it is so late by the time we finish that we have veggie sausage sandwiches in the courtyard before it really does become too chilly and we retire inside to watch a DVD. E & A hoped to leave Slovenia today and hitchhike to Serbia next.

More peppers, chillies and tomatoes

Walnuts drying in the sun

Just the odd jar of sauce, relish and chutney ready for the winter

Sunday is a pleasant day, warm but with clouds threatening showers. Today K & C have been married 45 years so we take them out for the day, first to the medieval village at Chevren then for a meal. They are having their house renovated so must get home, Pammi wants to meditate and I have the blog to write but it was a lovely few hours.

Looking out over the ruins at Chevren to the valley

Sun trying to peep through the clouds

Hopefully Emma & Anthony should arrive with us next week so should be a good week. Take care all and have a good one.

   

Week 45 (part 2) & 46

Back to the last few days of week 45.

Another gorgeous sunrise

Thursday was spent writing the blog in the morning whilst Pammi prepared the let. Then it was off to Opaka for a spot of food shopping. It is so hot today and we are both exhausted so for the rest of the day we just chill out.

Up early Friday morning to tidy the outdoor areas and water the garden. It is forecast to be a scorcher again today and of course Samantha arrives for a few days stay. We head off to Ruse late morning and on the way stopped off at the bakery in Basarbovo where Vesco works to get some traditional breads. Baba B loves this bread so we got her a loaf too. We collect Samantha as arranged but there is a big rock concert in Ruse today so we do not hang around and head out of town as soon as we can. It is still so hot when we get back so we head straight for the restaurant at Opaka for a few cold drinks and a lovely meal. Back home, Pammi and Sam deliver the bread to Baba B and then it is straight into the pool which is where we all spend the rest of the day chillin (read frying) in the sun. We spend the evening chatting, eating and drinking.

Sun, pool and vino

Saturday we decide to just rest and let Sam enjoy the sun. Early evening we go for a walk around the village and stop for a beer in the bar. When we get home we make pizza before I bring the TV out into the courtyard and we have a film night under the stars. It was a really different night for us and we all had a great time.

Beer time at the local bar

Pizza making

Sunday we head out to Etara, about ninety minutes drive from here. It is a village with lots of traditional crafts and some of the very old houses were moved and reconstructed there. It is the only water powered craft centre in Bulgaria. It was really interesting, so well presented and great value for money. On the way back we stopped in VT for an ice cream and walk through the town. That evening we ate Moroccan lentil wraps and just enjoyed watching the stars and chatting.

Inside one of the craft houses where the crafts that are being made are for sale

Traditional craft demonstration, just before her smartphone rang and spoilt the illusion of us being transported back in time :) 

There are about 50 exhibitions and old houses on display

Everything in the village is water driven

Beer time in VT on the way home

Monday is lovely and hot so the girls are going to enjoy a day in the pool again. Last night when we got back the car doors would not lock for some reason so I head off to the local garage to see if I can book it in to get it fixed. As usual, no problem, they will do it whilst I wait. No computers or gizmo's but he locates the problem and a couple of hours later the central locking has been rewired and is working perfectly. The rest of the day is spent reading and chatting in the sun before we have another movie night under the stars.

Today Sam goes home but has a late flight so we spend the whole day in Ruse. We walk along the Danube, show her the sand sculptures, walk through the parks, take her to meet Moni and Zo before we go for lunch. It is peak lunchtime and there is a powercut in the city centre so some restaurants are closed whilst others offer a limited menu. Thankfully for the restaurant owners half way through our meal the power is restored. Too soon it is time for Sam to get her flight, as usual time just goes so fast but we all had a great time.

We stop off at the rock monastery in Basarbovo on the way to Ruse

Wednesday we are back into work mode. The garden needs watering and weeding. The let will need cleaning and then there is all the washing to be done. Whilst I am watering TH arrives at our gate and tells us there is an English van in the village square and they need help as they have been there all night. So I get in the car and off I go, picking Baba B up on the way as she is going to the shops. It turns out the van belongs to a couple who have just bought a house in the village but there is building work being done and the house is not ready for them to move into. We have a good long chat, make sure they are OK and off I go. After we have finished our chores Pammi and I head off to the new arrivals house to see if we can help in any way. K&C are a lovely couple and we help them clean up a bit and construct some furniture so at least one room is habitable. We invite them over to ours for a meal and shower if they want to as they have no electricity or running water. That evening we cook them pasta so at least they have had a hot meal and we had a great time getting to know them.

Thursday Pammi gets back to work on the garden, the weeds are getting out of control again. At least we are not watering every day now but we still have tomatoes, lettuce, leeks, corn, peppers, chillies, beetroot and squashes growing. I have agreed to take K&C on a tour of the local area, showing them all the things we wish we had known and has taken the best part of a year for us to learn: where the shops are, banks, tax office, post office etc etc. Meanwhile Pammi has done all the gardening and deep clean of the house. I get back early afternoon so lunch is followed by meditation and reading in the garden. We take an early evening stroll around the village and the moon tonight is awesome. It should be a full moon tomorrow.

Huge moon rises over the village

Amazing old Russian bike towing a trailer. 

The toolbox is a fixed feature, so I suspect a less than reliable bike

Friday I get on with clearing some old trees and the overgrown areas of the vegetable garden. Whilst doing that I come across a row of potatoes that we missed when digging the rest up. There are some really good sized ones in the crop totalling about 10kg in all. Pammi meanwhile is doing a deep clean of our home. Then I get a call from K&C to say their neighbour has a problem with his car and can I help. As I have mentioned before I am no mechanic to put it mildly, but take the jump leads as they think the car has a flat battery. They live on a steep hill and we try to bump start it with no success but eventually get it started with the jump leads. K&C are earning brownie points with the neighbours already! When Sam came over she brought us some Quorn products which so far we have not been able to get over here, not that we have looked that hard. We are trying to get away from anything processed but the Quorn is a real treat and we have fillets, chips and salad for our evening meal. Delicious. We then spend the evening playing with the dogs and watching the incredible full moon as it rises over the village.

Amazing full moon tonight starts out orange

A couple of hours later it looks like this

Saturday is another beautiful day. Borko pops in as he will be doing all the building work at K&C's house, we also have a water leak / cess pit problem outside the house that needs attention. Then we all go off to K&C's house to see all the builders who worked on our house. It was great to see them all again. But back to work. We have lots of tomatoes to pick and preserve today so we both get started on chopping veg for the relishes and sauces that Pammi is going to make. It takes nearly all day to do this. Tonight we have more Quorn that Sam brought over. This time we have hotdogs before another film night under the stars, this is becoming a regular event but we gotta make the most of the lovely evenings.

Sunday we both wake with stinking colds. Pammi has had hers rumbling for a few days now but mine has just manifested as a chesty cough. Pammi is going to have a well earned rest today, although it never works out like that and by the time she has done her 'pottering about' jobs it is lunchtime before she stops for the day. Meanwhile I have taken the car off for an oil service. As arranged I am at the garage for 0900. The garage finally opens an hour later and when the parts for the car arrive they are the wrong ones. Three hours of my life wasted but we arrange to do it tomorrow morning instead. We'll see. Back home, early afternoon Borko and the guys arrive to look at the leaking / full cess pit, we are not sure which. An hour of digging and investigation later our cess pit is indeed full. Borko arranges for it to be emptied tomorrow and for his guys to create a proper access point for the emptying equipment. A complete star as always. That sorted, Pammi goes to sunbathe whilst I write the blog.

This looks like a problem

Borko and the guys to the rescue again

If the forecasts are right, autumn will hit us next week. It has been mid 30 degrees every day this week, next week it plummets to 14 degrees. Now where did we put those thermals.........

Have a great week all. Take care. 

  

Week 44 & a bit of 45

Hi all, sorry for the late post but a virus knocked me out of action for a few days but more of that later.......

Seems forever ago now but Monday 29th was all hands on deck to get the place back to being 'guest ready'. For a change I cleaned the let whilst Pammi got on with harvesting and preserving which took up the whole day, even with me helping to prep the veg. We even made some more ristas which are ripening really well now. Whilst we had the BBQ lit to sterilize the jars we cooked our evening meal of jacket potatoes in the ashes. Weather has been a mixed bag today, a stunning sunrise, then rain then scorching hot again.

We are overwhelmed with tomatoes

more preserving, try to smile Pammi, you love tomatoes really

Even I am trusted to help

Tuesday 30th the temperatures top 36 again today and Pammi is back to the daily preserving duty whilst I strim the lawns. After strimming I sort out all my motorbike kit and give it a good clean ready for tomorrow, considering it has been in storage for a year it is in great condition. It is too hot to be doing these jobs, especially Pammi standing over boiling pots, but Autumn is fast approaching. Of an evening now it is getting dark about eight thirty and the leaves of the trees are starting to turn golden. That said this evening is like a summers day and is lovely and warm. We eat pasta with a chilli and blue cheese sauce (tomato free meal. YAY) in the courtyard whilst the dogs wait patiently to play ball with us. Dinner finished we go into the garden with a glass of wine to watch the stars and play with the dogs before an early night.

Corn should be ready to pick soon

Leeks getting bigger now

We have so many squashes 

Today should have been amazing, I was so looking forward to it. But sometimes Karma has a different plan to yours. Up early, kit in car and I am so excited. Pammi is baffled by my excitement but hates bikes anyway, despite that she is happy for me. So whilst I trundle off Pammi does the ironing and for a change, more preserving. I get to just outside Ruse when I cannot select gear on the car. I pull over so that I don't do any more damage and say a few 'oh dear how unfortunate' type phrases. Anyway, as I am looking under the car, goodness knows what for, I haven't a clue about cars, a car draws up as always seems to happen. He wiggles the gearstick a bit and says 'nay problema', the standard Bulgarian saying, and pulls a tow rope from his boot. He tows me a couple of kilometres to a garage, makes sure the garage can deal with it and off he goes again without accepting any money for his help. Incredible. Long story, short, it was something to do with the gear selector and a few hours later I was back up and running. Unfortunately too late for the bike test so totally depressed back home I head. The rest of the day I help Pammi preserving, not as exciting but probably what I should have been doing all day in the first place. That's Karma for you.

Thursday 1st. The garden needs a good watering today so whilst I do that Pammi tidies up the tomato plants. Before it gets too hot I rub down the stair banisters and get another coat of paint and knot sealant on them, they are starting to get really smooth at last, it has taken about five coats so far, another few and it should be how I want it. TH pops in for the first time in ages to look around the garden then I have to go with him to pick plums from his orchard. He gives us a huge carrier bag full and they are delicious, although I suspect he thinks we should make rakia, not eat them. Later that day Georgio comes by to drop off some post. How come official letters from the UK take four days to arrive yet other post takes weeks or does not arrive at all? He surveys the garden, shows us that we should trim our leeks to make them fatter and off he goes. It is another gorgeous day so we spend the rest of it in the pool relaxing. Late afternoon the valley starts to fill with smoke. Far more than a village bonfire, so I grab my camera and off we go to investigate. It is the first good sized wild fire we have had and the banks of the river are ablaze but we are the only ones who seem to have noticed!! They have all probably seen this a million times so we carry on with our walk, thankfully it soon burns itself out. That evening whilst we are playing with the dogs Marple decides to try to catch a toad in her mouth. Bad idea. Toads give out a poison from glands behind their eyes which can be fatal. She soon lets it go but is frothing from the mouth, a lot. Whilst Pammi washes out her mouth I get ice cubes and make her, Marple not Pammi, chew them which helps clear out the poison. Thankfully she was fine with no ill effects. Hopefully she has learnt her lesson.

Pammi with her first butternut squash, we pick four more today

Wild cat trying to catch frogs in the pond

Riverbank ablaze

Fire. 'Do i look bovvered??'

Friday is market day and we need yet more jars, we now have about eighty jars of chutneys, sauces and relishes. We were up and out early so we have a banista breakfast in the market. How Bulgarian of us! But we cannot hang about as we have our guests who stayed last week coming back to stay for a few more days. When they arrive we are all invited to Baba B's. We did not know but it is the six month anniversary since an uncles death, we were invited to the last commemorative meal which they have at one, six and twelve months. The first drink of the meal is always rakia and is drank in memory of the deceased with no toast and a drop spilled to the ground. The next drink is the usual 'nastrave' toast and normal service is resumed. All the family was there and we had a great time as always. Bulgarians are so welcoming and generous and we are truly blessed to have been accepted into their village and especially into Baba B's family.

All smiles as usual

Saturday we spend nearly the entire day with Baba B and her family as another friend has come to visit them today. There is copious amounts of delicious fresh food and have a great time. After our meal we all take a walk into the village to get a cup of coffee. Totally out of the blue there is a bit of a downpour before the sun blazes away again. Back to Baba B's for more food and drink before Pammi and I call it a night and leave them all to it, we are way too old for all this frivolity.

Coffee at one of the village bars

Sunday we have invited everyone to ours. We spend the morning preparing bulgar wheat salad, shopska, mini roasted potatoes from the clay oven and a couple of roasted butternut squash dishes. All went well till the meal was finished when I came over so tired. To cut out the gory details I had a caught a virus which has been going about the village. It completely wiped me out for the next sixty hours. Baba B provided some herbs to help stop some of the virus which worked almost instantly but it had already knocked me for six. So whilst Pammi entertained everyone I slept. That evening Moni and Vlady popped in as we had promised them some tomatoes. They had been to the sea for the weekend and brought us a fish caught fresh that day. They are so so kind.

It was a great start to the day

By Monday everyone to one degree or another had the virus. Poor Pammi was up early as usual and woke to the pool having collapsed and nothing she could do about it, always when I am not around there is something. It's that Karma thing again. Anyway everybody spent the day resting and I was dead to the world. 

Tuesday Pammi spent preserving as the tomatoes were getting out of hand again. By the afternoon I was awake and got out of bed for a while to build myself up, there is always so much to do we cannot operate with a man down. I am exhausted but have not eaten for days so try some dry toast which thankfully stays down. Tomorrow our guests leave and I want to be strong enough to drive them back to Ruse.

Wednesday already and I feel a lot better. More dry toast stays down. Good news but I am still exhausted. Our guests are staying in Ruse for a few days before heading back to the UK so I take them to their hotel. We are going to miss them so much, it has been like having family to stay, they are so lovely. After dropping them off I purchase some patches to repair the pool before heading out of Ruse to fill up with diesel at our 'trusted' garage. The word is that some garages water down their fuel but the one we use is deemed to sell good fuel. It is a bit out of my way and when I get there it is closed. There are no more stations on that road home so I have to turn back and go out the otherside of Ruse to another 'good' garage. All fuelled and the car is running fine, even the gearbox feels so much better now. Back home Pammi is preserving and with some leftover sauce we make brushetta for our evening meal. Toast with a twist!! But at least it is staying down. Pammi is doing so much and working so hard she is exhausted.

These machines harvest the corn and are immense. This is a two lane road and they filled it. There were fourteen vehicles of this size in the convoy

Maizi giving us a choice of balls to throw

The rest of the week I will tag onto the next post as we have Samantha arriving for a few days on Friday which is really exciting.

Take care all. Stay bug free.