Thursday 6 January 2011

Snowy Driving

Well we've been out today to stock up on much needed supplies, the kids had started complaining about being made to eat my "When the snow's here" winter stock piles of food from the freezer and we were almost out of dog food too (and vodka!).

Once winter has truly arrived we make the decision to stay at home with the log burner on and a good book rather than risk our lives and make unnecessary trips anywhere. It may seem boring to some but it's quite nice to be honest. Being able to slop around in your pj's all day is great too - although I do put on over trousers for going to feed and check the animals!

So our trip out today made a change although the roads were far from ideal and the temperatures dropped to -10 degrees C the closer to town we got. The closest large town to us is 22km's away and usually the drive takes no longer than 25 minutes. Today it was double that as the other half was going steady to avoid slipping and sliding on the snowy roads. We were amazed that the roads had been gritted though as in past years they haven't been - is Bulgaria moving forwards? I'm not so sure about that.

I do love to see the beautiful Bulgarian countryside all covered in snow, the trees looking sparkly and the fantastic icicles hanging everywhere. Hubby's not so keen and could quite happily never see snow again in his life. The kids aren't interested in sledging or snowball fights this year and the 2 spaniels come in from the garden looking like Yeti's. Although Yantra the latest dog has decided that her place is right in front of the fire and she's not moving for anybody.

All in all we're still happy in our little world, Bulgaria has, and continues to be full of new experiences and things we'll remember for a long time. Each year has been different and encouraged us to try harder. There were no new years resolutions made here but I'm hopeful that 2011 will be a good one. We'll just have to wait and see. Another few weeks and the snow will be disappearing, then we know it's only a matter of time before the summer sun will be back.

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Shovelling My Way into 2011

I'm back and hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and new year. We've enjoyed a bit of a break, a few drinks and some lovely meals and are now raring to go again ish!

Christmas here was a quiet family day, it was also a muddy but very warm 17 degrees C, not at all like you expect for the time of year. Alas winter has reared her ugly head again and we currently have a rather good covering of snow and even day time temperatures have stayed around the zero mark. Snow and cold weather means the woodburner is lit early and the animals don't get out as often as they should do, which leaves me more time to read books or watch films.

Daily life goes on for the villagers and they still manage to get to the cafe every morning (even Christmas day) to discuss the gossip or find out what's been happening. New years eve is a bigger celebration here and the whole village was alive at stroke of midnight as the fireworks were set off and the locals celebrated, some were even out bringing in the new year to the sounds of kalashnikovs being fired!

So that's the excitement over and done with for another 11.5 months approx now and we've been thinking long and hard what to do with ourselves in 2011. We're hoping that new challenges may present themselves and the weather is good for the veggie garden!

What are your hopes or dreams for 2011?