Hoorah!

Well after 28 hours the pool is now full, and I'm really glad we'll only have to do it once a year. For the next couple of months it will be a godsend as the weather gets even hotter. The path is also finished and looks really good, I just need to find a place for the solar lighting and we'll be one step closer to having a garden we can enjoy and relax in.

Our lovely quince trees are looking well but don't have many fruit on them this year. The large plums are abundant however so I'll be making lots more of my favourite plum jam mmmmm. Hubby cooked pork fillet for tea tonight and added a little plum jam to the sauce which was fantastic. Better still, he washed the dishes too! So that's one less job on my list for tomorrow.

My Castor Oil Plant is looking rather splendid right now and towers above the abundance of flowers at the start of the garden. I do know the seeds are poisonous so planted it where none of the animals would go. Reported poisoning cases are rare thankfully. Also looking well (but not pictured) is my small olive tree, it will have to come indoors for the winter with a few others but should be ok.

With less than a week until our next piglets are due I'm looking forward to having some babies around again. Hopefully this time things will go a little smoother as Charlotte is no longer a first time mum and the weather is much better. I still have bottles ready just in case and may get a small amount of milk replacer from the vets if I get the chance. Best to be prepared for all eventualities! I'll update you on any progress as soon as she goes into labour.

Barrowing Along

This morning I got up, did my usual jobs then got on with making the new garden path. Hubby had kindly put a load of stones where the edges were to be and all I had to do was sort out the weed control fabric, lay it all flat and then fill the path with gravel. Sounds easy enough for me to do and not exactly brain surgery either. Armed with a shovel and wheel barrow off I go on the first of many trips to the sand/gravel pile that's always outside of our house (and the donkey loves to roll in!).

Vasko pictured above, is as usual following me around in the hope that there may be some food on the go! Sometimes he really does get in the way but other times I find it quite nice that he's decided he wants to be around me. When I was last in the UK I did buy some weed repressing fabric but could I find it today when I needed it? Of course not, so I recycled our ever growing pile of pig feed bags, sliced them in half and used them instead. Hopefully they will help keep the weeds from coming through my new path and as it's wider than the old path should mean slightly less scything too.

Back and forwards I go with my trusty wheel barrow, stopping every so often for a quick break and to look at some of the lovely flowers growing in my garden this year. By lunchtime I was done and our new path is almost complete, just one small part left to do but hubby needs to remove a slab of concrete first, then I'll get the last 2 or 3 barrow loads of gravel down. I must admit it does look good and with the pool sitting on it's new concrete pad being filled as I type this I reckon by tomorrow afternoon it will look great. I can't wait for the kids to come home and see it! We're forecast for fabulous weather at the weekend so hubby and I may just spend a little time chilling in the pool if we get the chance.

Let's just hope Charlotte the pig doesn't go into labour until her due date so we can have some R & R time either Saturday or Sunday.

Slightly Bewildered

Now there are people that may think I live my life in a state of slight bewilderment all of the time, and I'd say that it could be partly true. I'm rather haphazard and dis-organised, but I'd like to think that's just part of the quirkiness that can be me. Today's event however, have left me feeling more out of sync than I like to. Possibly because I just don't completely understand what went on in court this morning. I'd expected to be met by an interpreter, stand in a court room full of people speaking a language I only half understand and find out who stole our machinery and then possibly even find out they/he/she would be given a sentence or whatever and we'd get our stuff back.

Unfortunately that wasn't the case today and the court hearing was all about them taking another statement from me in front of the judge, clerk, prosecutor and a lady police officer, along with the interpreter they had provided for me. Her translations were good (apart from telling me I was there to be interrogated!) and the judge was pleased that I was trying to learn Bulgarian and understood half of what was being said. Around 20 minutes later we were done and I was on my way back home. I understand the need for an official statement of course, but that's 3 that have now been given about the same break in and very little has changed - apart from us realising there is an electric planer also missing which was added to the list today. No mention of anyone being caught, questioned, or any of our things being found. Ho hum :(

On a much more positive note the concrete pad for our new above ground pool is finished and boy does it look good. I'm putting a new path in tomorrow and will take photos once it's completed. Really could do with one of the strimmers though as the grass and weeds are growing like crazy with all the rain we've had lately. Let's hope the sunshine returns soon or the pool will be very cold!

How did your day go?

The Nitty Gritty

We've had a good weekend, made a start on the concrete pad for the pool, spent an evening in great company with good food and a few drinks and then had a day off on Sunday to relax and recover from a slight hangover. Back to work it was today though and whilst hubby has been cooped up in the workshop for most of the day getting on with some woodworking projects, I've been indoors all day due to the weather and decided it was time to get on with some much needed housework.

So I've cleaned and scrubbed, washed and mopped, dusted and moved furniture etc and still the rain keeps on coming. The poor horses and donkey have been inside all day as they'd be miserable out in this weather. Parts of Bulgaria are on flood alert today and the field outside is once again like a river, but at least the spring will keep running all summer so we get free water for the animals. It would be great if we could fill the pool from the spring but unfortunately our garden is on higher ground so we can't run a hose pipe from it.

Our beehive is doing really well and the bees are producing loads of yummy honey, soon we'll have to harvest it and store it for using over the winter and spring. I'm hoping that it will help with my hay fever next year and also come in handy for any cuts, grazes or scratches we get. Honey has lots of medicinal uses plus being very tasty too. I'll have to find somewhere to buy extra jars from as most of mine already have jam in and I'm sure to be making more before the winter arrives.

There are a lot of things we need to do before winter gets here and as the days are longer now my internet time is a bit shorter as I struggle to catch up and keep going with things that need doing. Hubby is working most days which is great, and while the kids are still away I have the house to myself during the day. Next week I'll be even busier as it's almost time for Charlotte to give birth to the next litter of piglets which is exciting. This Saturday we're going to have a hog roast and I'm really looking forward to it. Our 2 male piglets are nearing the end of the time they can stay in with their sisters and another sow we have here so one of them will be on the menu this weekend. Whilst it is sad that one has to go at least they've had a nice life, been well fed and cared for, plus had plenty of attention, belly rubs and playtime. I'll let you know how it goes although I'm sure we'll have a great time and be very thankful to the pig for his contribution.