Week 57

Life is nothing but unpredictable.......

Monday is freezing cold. We wake to a very white village covered in sparkling frost. Picturesque but not good for the painting that needs doing. Looks like that will have to wait for a while. So whilst Pammi does the daily house clean, the dogs are shedding their coats now so there is fur everywhere, I cut my hair then give the car a good clean. Anti-freeze and water bottles checked, an extra thick winter coat put in the boot, that is as much as we can do today. An afternoon then of chilling out, internet work and Pammi knitting. It is going to be a long winter.

First snow of the year

Tuesday morning we wake to a thick blanket of snow, it is snowing hard and the sky is full of it. But today I have to go to Ruse for a job interview. In England the country would be at a standstill now but here the roads are perfectly clear and with the winter tyres on the car you can drive perfectly normally. Pammi is at home preparing meals of veggie burgers, hot pots and butter nut squash soup for the freezer. She then spends the rest of the day playing with the dogs in the snow. My interview went well but how I will cope with my limited Bulgarian in the workplace remains to be seen. It continues to snow heavily all day and the countryside is beautiful. They are predicting a guaranteed white Christmas here.

Our snowy lane

Maizi and Marple playing

There are lots of woodpeckers and eagles about now

Outside our house

Wednesday is very cold but sunny. The village looks gorgeous so, unable to do much work, we go for a long walk. We go to the top of a hill that overlooks the valley and surrounding villages that we have not climbed before. We follow deer tracks until they disappear into the thick woodland and carry on until we get to ploughed farmland so turn back. At home Pammi makes us warming soup for lunch then she knits whilst I do more internet work. I send off a couple more applications and am surprised how much work there is here for non Bulgarian speaking people. They could be fake ads but we'll see. The evening follows the usual routine of fire lit, meal then DVD.

The snow is melting already

The village church

Gorsko Ablanovo in the valley below

Hunters tracks into the woods

Thursday morning we wake to another hard frost. It was minus 7 last night but all the snow is gone now. It melted so quickly but luckily with none of the slush that usually happens. It is too cold and icy for the weekly shop to be done by cycle so after a lazy start to the day we defrost the car and go to Opaka. The market is just closing up but walking back through to the car we stop at the donut stall where they are making fresh donuts. I love hot donuts but these were vile. Lesson learnt. Back home we have our soup lunch in the garden, it is very cold but beautifully sunny. It is still impossible to paint so another long afternoon and evening spent pottering indoors. Pammi has made me a cushion so that I can sit on the floor with the dogs in front of the fire at night. How long before they hijack it for themselves?

Frozen fountain. Time to bring it in

My (until the dogs have it as theirs) new cushion

Friday follows the pattern of harsh frost then beautiful sunshine. I am off to more interviews today whilst Pammi is at home doing the daily chores. She takes the dogs up the farm tracks so they can have a good run around before the hunters arrive again this weekend and they will not be able to go up there. Having finished one set of interviews and on my way home I am contacted by another company who want to interview me via skype. So a mad dash home to get set up ready. An hour or so later I have a full-time job. Yikes! This was never part of the plan but makes financial sense and will stop me getting bored. All change again then for everybody. Pammi is so used to me being at home that it will  be as big a change for her as it is for me. But it is not like we are not used to change so here goes again!! A rather subdued evening as I think of the changes to our life again and maybe all the little jobs that I could and should have done now I will not be around all the time.

The girls having fun 

Saturday we are up early and head into Popovo. I have managed to break my spectacles so need some micro screwdrivers to fix them or to find an opticians. Luckily I find the tools I need so that's another job sorted. We have a walk around the shops but as it is now lunchtime most of the shops are closing for the day. We head to find my new place of work so that I can see the state of the roads to gauge my travel time. As it turns out the roads are really good and so will only be about 40kms from home and an easy commute. It is late afternoon by the time we get home. So the fire is lit and the cold is shut out for another day. 

Maizi and Marple enjoy the fire

Sunday I am out for the day doing work related things which should have taken a few hours but ended up taking most of the day. This is going to take some getting used to. Tomorrow I start work so when I get home I get myself prepared for getting back into the routine of work. Pammi has made a lovely bread based meal of dough filled with feta cheese and olives with a couple of salads. It was delicious. After that we sat by the fire with the dogs watching DVD's. The dogs have already commandeered my new cushion.

Beetroot and walnut salad

Cabbage, carrot, lemon and white wine vinegar salad

So a new week, new job, new life again........

Take care all. Keep warm.