What a lovely month this is turning out to be - in fact, the last 4 weeks have been fabulous. The garden is coming along nicely, animals all happy and shedding their winter coats and we have volunteers staying with us again.
All's good in my little world. We're enjoying life again and winter is definitely behind us. There have been some lovely nights in and out with friends, my birthday, beautiful sunshine, temperatures rising and everything is green and healthy looking.
Hubby surprised me and bought a new camera for my birthday, plus tiled the kitchen walls. Once I get a new memory card I'll be out and about taking snapshots of my daily life for you all to see.
Keep posting the comments folks, I really do enjoy reading them and wanted to say thank you to anyone who reads this blog for sticking with it.
Back soon with an update on what's growing well and any other news from my corner of rural Bulgaria.
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Todorov Den at Arbanassi
I've just noticed that I wrote this blog post and didn't publish it.......oopps!
On Saturday March 3rd I headed off to Arbanassi, which is a village about 30 minutes drive from us that is very popular with tourists and holidaying Bulgarians, I met up with 2 expat friends and we had a great afternoon.. Arbanassi is a beautiful place, very traditional looking but also full of stalls selling souvenirs. There are some lovely looking restaurants and hotels, a large castle-like place that is very over the top for my tastes and also riding stables where there are a lot of sport and competition horses kept.
Todorov Den is a celebration of the horse, loosely translated it's St. Theodore day. Horses have their manes and tails plaited and wear red & wed bands to follow the tradition of Baba Marta and then there's a parade through Arbanassi village to the centre.Where the mayor, priest and a large crowd are gathered to celebrate and watch the proceedings. There are prizes for the best turned out horses and each rider and horse are blessed by the Popa (priest).
The weather was sunny, but cold and very windy. Despite that, the horses all behaved really well and a good day was had. Some years there is shojumping back at the stables but this time the ground was too wet to be safe. Some people did get to ride the horses around the yard and the children present all got to pet Gina the Shetland pony.
So a much needed afternoon out with friends, a few laughs and beautiful horses was just what I needed. Here's a photo of the carriage horse pair.
On Saturday March 3rd I headed off to Arbanassi, which is a village about 30 minutes drive from us that is very popular with tourists and holidaying Bulgarians, I met up with 2 expat friends and we had a great afternoon.. Arbanassi is a beautiful place, very traditional looking but also full of stalls selling souvenirs. There are some lovely looking restaurants and hotels, a large castle-like place that is very over the top for my tastes and also riding stables where there are a lot of sport and competition horses kept.
Todorov Den is a celebration of the horse, loosely translated it's St. Theodore day. Horses have their manes and tails plaited and wear red & wed bands to follow the tradition of Baba Marta and then there's a parade through Arbanassi village to the centre.Where the mayor, priest and a large crowd are gathered to celebrate and watch the proceedings. There are prizes for the best turned out horses and each rider and horse are blessed by the Popa (priest).
The weather was sunny, but cold and very windy. Despite that, the horses all behaved really well and a good day was had. Some years there is shojumping back at the stables but this time the ground was too wet to be safe. Some people did get to ride the horses around the yard and the children present all got to pet Gina the Shetland pony.
So a much needed afternoon out with friends, a few laughs and beautiful horses was just what I needed. Here's a photo of the carriage horse pair.
Friday, 17 February 2012
Bring on The Cabin Fever
This week hasn't been my best. We are still snowed in and although it's certainly not -20c something now it's still cold and there has been fresh snow overnight. Yesterday I felt really rough and could have quite happily gone to bed and given up on the day.
It's like living in Narnia without the fun adventures. Yes, the garden looks beautiful in the sunshine, all shimmery and clean. But I'm tired of the inactivity now. The poor animals are bored too. Bored animals usually means more repair jobs in the Spring and this year will be no different as the pigs have managed to demolish half of the barn wall. Having a bout of cold hasn't made thinsg easier for me and I'm still sniffling and coughing and short of breath at times but I'm getting better and since I decided to give up coffee I'm also sleeping much better than I have done for a while.
On a much more positive note, hubby is now a grandfather. His daughter gave birth to her first child, a son, on valentines day. The new arrival is named Ethan Jay and both mum and baby are doing well. Hubby flew off to the UK last weekend in the hope that he could be there when the baby was born and his wish came true. He's due home tomorrow though and it will be lovely to have him back and some company again :)
We had a slight mishap here last week. Eon turned up at the door and announced they were disconnecting our electricity. Apparently we should have had a letter to remind us that November's bill hadn't been paid, but to this day that letter has not arrived. There was nothing we could as they went direct to the electricity cables outside the house and cut them. Luckily we rang a friend, Dimitar, from Veliko Tarnovo and he went to Eon, paid the bill and the reconnection fee. We spent a strange night by candlelight and within 20 hours EON were back to switch us back on. Lesson learned, never miss a bill! Even though December and January had been paid they are well within their rights to disconnect the supply if there is a bill outstanding for 90 days.
Today there is brilliant sunshine, but a nippy wind. I've been to the village centre this morning for a cuppa with the ladies and a few essentials. If the weather forecasters are correct we're due to start thawing out over the weekend, so I'll have to try and finish the new ditch that hubby started, which should help drain the snow melt from the garden quickly. There's only a small bit to finish but I couldn't even see the ditch earlier today! It's time to check drainage areas in the hope that our garden doesn't get flooded. I'm looking forward to better weather, riding the ponies again and getting to work in the garden. I'm missing the long days, my shorts and flipflops and eating fresh vegetables that I've grown. What are you looking forward to this year?
It's like living in Narnia without the fun adventures. Yes, the garden looks beautiful in the sunshine, all shimmery and clean. But I'm tired of the inactivity now. The poor animals are bored too. Bored animals usually means more repair jobs in the Spring and this year will be no different as the pigs have managed to demolish half of the barn wall. Having a bout of cold hasn't made thinsg easier for me and I'm still sniffling and coughing and short of breath at times but I'm getting better and since I decided to give up coffee I'm also sleeping much better than I have done for a while.
On a much more positive note, hubby is now a grandfather. His daughter gave birth to her first child, a son, on valentines day. The new arrival is named Ethan Jay and both mum and baby are doing well. Hubby flew off to the UK last weekend in the hope that he could be there when the baby was born and his wish came true. He's due home tomorrow though and it will be lovely to have him back and some company again :)
We had a slight mishap here last week. Eon turned up at the door and announced they were disconnecting our electricity. Apparently we should have had a letter to remind us that November's bill hadn't been paid, but to this day that letter has not arrived. There was nothing we could as they went direct to the electricity cables outside the house and cut them. Luckily we rang a friend, Dimitar, from Veliko Tarnovo and he went to Eon, paid the bill and the reconnection fee. We spent a strange night by candlelight and within 20 hours EON were back to switch us back on. Lesson learned, never miss a bill! Even though December and January had been paid they are well within their rights to disconnect the supply if there is a bill outstanding for 90 days.
Today there is brilliant sunshine, but a nippy wind. I've been to the village centre this morning for a cuppa with the ladies and a few essentials. If the weather forecasters are correct we're due to start thawing out over the weekend, so I'll have to try and finish the new ditch that hubby started, which should help drain the snow melt from the garden quickly. There's only a small bit to finish but I couldn't even see the ditch earlier today! It's time to check drainage areas in the hope that our garden doesn't get flooded. I'm looking forward to better weather, riding the ponies again and getting to work in the garden. I'm missing the long days, my shorts and flipflops and eating fresh vegetables that I've grown. What are you looking forward to this year?
Thursday, 5 January 2012
300 Posts & Happy New Year to all
Double whammy - Best wishes for 2012 and my 300th post here. So what does the future hold for us all? I'm not even sure I'd like to know if it was possible. Much easier to take things as they come and work out any problems on the way.
Speaking of problems - we've had no phone line now for 16 days thanks to Vivacom, their inept customer service and even worse, their ability to actually listen to clients and get off their backsides and fix the problem. How many e-mails and phone calls will it take to finally get sorted? I hope they don't expect to be paid for this month either.
Did you make any New Year's resolutions? I will admit to not making any at all this time round, nor even really thinking about it. Christmas and New Year have been a very quiet one for us and my days have been much the same as normal. Animal feeding, mucking out, riding the ponies and not much else. But the weather has been good, bright and sunny even though we've had a fair amount of snow.
I've figured out that Maya really likes snow, and loves to go out hacking in it. Instead of being quite laid back and happy to plod she can get quite exciteable but does calm down after 10 minutes or so. The snow has almost melted now but we're due more at the weekend but hopefully if all is well on saturday Karen is going into town so I can hitch a lift and stock up on provisions again. Karen has been over today so we managed a nice leisurely hack out with both of the ponies. It went well apart from Milka getting a fright when my dog Baba ran up behind her twice. Baba doesn't usually come with me but must have decided she fancied a change of scenery!
The 2 dogs we have been caring for over the holidays will be going home this weekend. Their owners Alex and Jodie are due back from Texas and are looking forward to seeing their pets again. It'll be a little quieter with 2 less dogs and a cat and great to see our friends again.
I'm already thinking about what to plant this year in the garden, but will have to wait until the ground dries up before I can really do anything. I'm hoping we have more volunteers too as there are plenty of jobs and I really do need the help. Plus I enjoy having friendly, interesting people about the place. It's always lovely to hear their stories, swap ideas and generally have a laugh.
Our friend Neville is back in hospital unfortunately as he has an infection. He's been rather ill again but hopefully is on the road to recovery. Get well soon Neville xxx
Speaking of problems - we've had no phone line now for 16 days thanks to Vivacom, their inept customer service and even worse, their ability to actually listen to clients and get off their backsides and fix the problem. How many e-mails and phone calls will it take to finally get sorted? I hope they don't expect to be paid for this month either.
Did you make any New Year's resolutions? I will admit to not making any at all this time round, nor even really thinking about it. Christmas and New Year have been a very quiet one for us and my days have been much the same as normal. Animal feeding, mucking out, riding the ponies and not much else. But the weather has been good, bright and sunny even though we've had a fair amount of snow.
I've figured out that Maya really likes snow, and loves to go out hacking in it. Instead of being quite laid back and happy to plod she can get quite exciteable but does calm down after 10 minutes or so. The snow has almost melted now but we're due more at the weekend but hopefully if all is well on saturday Karen is going into town so I can hitch a lift and stock up on provisions again. Karen has been over today so we managed a nice leisurely hack out with both of the ponies. It went well apart from Milka getting a fright when my dog Baba ran up behind her twice. Baba doesn't usually come with me but must have decided she fancied a change of scenery!
The 2 dogs we have been caring for over the holidays will be going home this weekend. Their owners Alex and Jodie are due back from Texas and are looking forward to seeing their pets again. It'll be a little quieter with 2 less dogs and a cat and great to see our friends again.
I'm already thinking about what to plant this year in the garden, but will have to wait until the ground dries up before I can really do anything. I'm hoping we have more volunteers too as there are plenty of jobs and I really do need the help. Plus I enjoy having friendly, interesting people about the place. It's always lovely to hear their stories, swap ideas and generally have a laugh.
Our friend Neville is back in hospital unfortunately as he has an infection. He's been rather ill again but hopefully is on the road to recovery. Get well soon Neville xxx
Saturday, 24 December 2011
White Christmas
We've had snow this week and it looks like it might actually stick around for tomorrow so it's a white christmas here. Everything looks crisp, white and clean, but the temperatures aren't that low - Yet!
As it's only the 2 of us here we aren't making a big thing of christmas but will be having a nice home reared pork joint with all the trimmings for lunch and a quiet day. There's a possibility of alcohol being involved too :) I'm also making up 2 spare lunches for our friends Patrecia and Neville and will walk down with them on boxing day. Poor Neville was meant to be coming here for christmas lunch as Patrecia should have been going to the UK to spend the holiday with her grandchildren, but Nev took poorly and ended up in hospital having major surgery and is lucky to be alive. He's home now and comfortable so I thought it would be nice to make them a lunch too.
Unfortunately we won't be able to telephone friends and family tomorrow as Vivacom have recently renewed our phone. We now have a fixed wireless connection instead of the old analogue line, but it's not working properly and we cannot dial out at all. Not even to customer services! I'm hoping it may miraculously be fixed tomorrow but that may not be the case :(
I've not been riding as much this last week due to the weather, but have the last 2 days managed to get out on one of the ponies. Maya and I had a lovely canter across the fields today in the snow. Certainly warmed me up and I felt completely free. I'm leaving off riding Milka again until the weather clears a bit, as she's a bit more of a handful and I don't fancy falling off in the snow - what a wuss eh?
This morning we had a visit from Karen and Peter, friends who live in the village. Karen has made us a lovely Christmas cake and also brought me a pair of Mountain Horse riding boots, designed for cold weather. Plus a rug to cover the horses back during cold weather. Maya and I certainly appreciated them both today, my toes and lower legs were toasty warm. Thanks Karen.
Well I'll sign off now and hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas time. May all your dreams come true and enjoy the festive season. Love to you all xxxx
As it's only the 2 of us here we aren't making a big thing of christmas but will be having a nice home reared pork joint with all the trimmings for lunch and a quiet day. There's a possibility of alcohol being involved too :) I'm also making up 2 spare lunches for our friends Patrecia and Neville and will walk down with them on boxing day. Poor Neville was meant to be coming here for christmas lunch as Patrecia should have been going to the UK to spend the holiday with her grandchildren, but Nev took poorly and ended up in hospital having major surgery and is lucky to be alive. He's home now and comfortable so I thought it would be nice to make them a lunch too.
Unfortunately we won't be able to telephone friends and family tomorrow as Vivacom have recently renewed our phone. We now have a fixed wireless connection instead of the old analogue line, but it's not working properly and we cannot dial out at all. Not even to customer services! I'm hoping it may miraculously be fixed tomorrow but that may not be the case :(
I've not been riding as much this last week due to the weather, but have the last 2 days managed to get out on one of the ponies. Maya and I had a lovely canter across the fields today in the snow. Certainly warmed me up and I felt completely free. I'm leaving off riding Milka again until the weather clears a bit, as she's a bit more of a handful and I don't fancy falling off in the snow - what a wuss eh?
This morning we had a visit from Karen and Peter, friends who live in the village. Karen has made us a lovely Christmas cake and also brought me a pair of Mountain Horse riding boots, designed for cold weather. Plus a rug to cover the horses back during cold weather. Maya and I certainly appreciated them both today, my toes and lower legs were toasty warm. Thanks Karen.
Well I'll sign off now and hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas time. May all your dreams come true and enjoy the festive season. Love to you all xxxx
Sunday, 18 December 2011
So Much to Tell
Where to start? It's been a while since I last updated, and there have been a few changes around here yet again. I've been making the most of the lovely weather we've had recently and indulging myself......by getting out and about on the horses.
There's so much of the village we rarely see and it's lovely to be plodding around the lanes and seeing things from a different view. Driving in the village you tend to miss things, pass them by or just don't have the time to look properly. Riding the ponies gives me the chance to take things in more, speak to the locals as I pass and just enjoy the beautiful countryside around us. And the ponies have been fantastic too, much better than I could imagine. There's a story to how I ended up back in the saddle so here it is.
If you've followed my blog you'll know that we've had the ponies for over 3 years and I've never really successfully ridden either of them. Partly due to a total loss of confidence on my part and the fact that they were only really ever used for pulling a cart in their lives before we bought them. Now I'm an experienced horse owner and have ridden for 30 years, but got stuck as I'd tried what I thought was the right way to retrain them and to be honest it hadn't really had much effect.
I had taken them back to basics when in reality they didn't need that, what they needed was a confident rider to just get on and ride! So when my friend Laura popped over one day with her Bulgarian rider Anton, that's what happened. Laura competes at 3 day events around Europe and does very well. Anton is her stable lad, who helps out and also rides very well. So on orders from Laura, poor Anton was literally thrown on one of our ponies, straight from the field and told to ride. I watched and suddenly saw a riding pony, working well in walk, trot and canter and not the driving pony I've been looking at for 3 years! So the next morning I put the tack on and went for a ride, got back safe and exhilerated(sp???) and did the same with the second pony - well what's the worst that could happen? So I've been riding most days since and it's given me a new sense of freedom and some much needed exercise too. And my driving ponies are now enjoying hacking out and being riding ponies :)
There's more news to post but I'll wait for another time, off for tea now and to relax with my husband. Catch up with you all soon.
There's so much of the village we rarely see and it's lovely to be plodding around the lanes and seeing things from a different view. Driving in the village you tend to miss things, pass them by or just don't have the time to look properly. Riding the ponies gives me the chance to take things in more, speak to the locals as I pass and just enjoy the beautiful countryside around us. And the ponies have been fantastic too, much better than I could imagine. There's a story to how I ended up back in the saddle so here it is.
If you've followed my blog you'll know that we've had the ponies for over 3 years and I've never really successfully ridden either of them. Partly due to a total loss of confidence on my part and the fact that they were only really ever used for pulling a cart in their lives before we bought them. Now I'm an experienced horse owner and have ridden for 30 years, but got stuck as I'd tried what I thought was the right way to retrain them and to be honest it hadn't really had much effect.
I had taken them back to basics when in reality they didn't need that, what they needed was a confident rider to just get on and ride! So when my friend Laura popped over one day with her Bulgarian rider Anton, that's what happened. Laura competes at 3 day events around Europe and does very well. Anton is her stable lad, who helps out and also rides very well. So on orders from Laura, poor Anton was literally thrown on one of our ponies, straight from the field and told to ride. I watched and suddenly saw a riding pony, working well in walk, trot and canter and not the driving pony I've been looking at for 3 years! So the next morning I put the tack on and went for a ride, got back safe and exhilerated(sp???) and did the same with the second pony - well what's the worst that could happen? So I've been riding most days since and it's given me a new sense of freedom and some much needed exercise too. And my driving ponies are now enjoying hacking out and being riding ponies :)
There's more news to post but I'll wait for another time, off for tea now and to relax with my husband. Catch up with you all soon.
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
The Great Escape
And this time it wasn't the animals - for a change!
My weekly pattern doesn't alter very often, but when it does sometimes it's for the best. I'm usually pottering about in the garden or kitchen, or online and of course there's the animals to take care of too. Apart from the odd bill paying and shopping trip I rarely go out of the village and don't need to.
Yesterday though, we were invited to a birthday party and although hubby thought he wouldn't make it due to other committments he did manage to come along later in the day which was lovely. Friend's picked me up at lunchtime and off we headed through beautiful countryside to the party. The drive was nice and pretty straightforward with plenty of friendly chatter. When we arrived at our destination there was a lovely welcome and new people to meet. Most of us had chatted before on the internet at some point but just never met so it was great to meet new friends.
Welcomes and introductions over and we all settled down around a large table to chat and have a few drinks (soft drinks and coffee for me and a few others, beer for the birthday boy and a couple of the men folk). Conversations were wide ranging and about many different subjects. The thing we all have in common is we are expats in Bulgaria and belong to a facebook group set up for expats and friends. We all were served a lovely meal and dessert too mmmm. it was a fantastic day and we really enjoyed it. A big thank you to our wonderful hosts and new friends for making it a great day :)
I'd planned a rather quiet day today, but fate has made it otherwise and the 120 bales of straw I ordered and paid for on Friday have been delivered, so now need moved and stacked in the barn. But it's still too hot so I'll leave it another hour or so and make a start, after I've had a quick dip in the pool. August is the month when our above ground pool normally comes into it's own and gets regular use. It's great to jump in and cool off to escape the heat. Hubby keeps it very clean and makes sure the chlorine levels are correct etc. So it's ciao for now and I'll be back with another blog post soon.
My weekly pattern doesn't alter very often, but when it does sometimes it's for the best. I'm usually pottering about in the garden or kitchen, or online and of course there's the animals to take care of too. Apart from the odd bill paying and shopping trip I rarely go out of the village and don't need to.
Yesterday though, we were invited to a birthday party and although hubby thought he wouldn't make it due to other committments he did manage to come along later in the day which was lovely. Friend's picked me up at lunchtime and off we headed through beautiful countryside to the party. The drive was nice and pretty straightforward with plenty of friendly chatter. When we arrived at our destination there was a lovely welcome and new people to meet. Most of us had chatted before on the internet at some point but just never met so it was great to meet new friends.
Welcomes and introductions over and we all settled down around a large table to chat and have a few drinks (soft drinks and coffee for me and a few others, beer for the birthday boy and a couple of the men folk). Conversations were wide ranging and about many different subjects. The thing we all have in common is we are expats in Bulgaria and belong to a facebook group set up for expats and friends. We all were served a lovely meal and dessert too mmmm. it was a fantastic day and we really enjoyed it. A big thank you to our wonderful hosts and new friends for making it a great day :)
I'd planned a rather quiet day today, but fate has made it otherwise and the 120 bales of straw I ordered and paid for on Friday have been delivered, so now need moved and stacked in the barn. But it's still too hot so I'll leave it another hour or so and make a start, after I've had a quick dip in the pool. August is the month when our above ground pool normally comes into it's own and gets regular use. It's great to jump in and cool off to escape the heat. Hubby keeps it very clean and makes sure the chlorine levels are correct etc. So it's ciao for now and I'll be back with another blog post soon.
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Rain Dancing
This week has flown over and it's not because anything overly exciting has happened, in fact it's been a rather quiet week, where we've managed to get a few small jobs done around the house, I've made more stuff for my winter freezer stash and hubby has been busy with a woodwork project that is now finished.
We've had 20 hours of rain, so watering the garden hasn't been on the evening job list as much as usual, and although the rain was much needed it did get a bit monotonous and slightly reminiscent of a UK summer. But the ground is drying now and the plants look refreshed after a good drenching. My pepper and aubergine plants are producing well and the cherry tomatoes are being picked by the bucket load almost daily. Unfortunately the other varieties of tomatoes are showing signs of blight. The pumpkins and squash are doing really well and should make up a bulk of our winter diet. Along with the freezer full of home reared pork we already have.
I'm still missing the kids dreadfully and hope they're doing ok. I speak to them on the phone when I can and look forward to catching up with them on facebook too. I'm finding facebook more and more useful now especially for keeping in touch with family and friends and also keeping up to date with what's going on in their lives. I've also made a lot of new friends via groups etc and love to read the jokes and see photo's of other expats enjoying their lives here in Bulgaria.
My daughter has finally started to learn how to cook, despite refusing every time I've asked her. It was somethging she said she wasn't interested in although my son quite enjoys spending time in the kitchen. Just shows how much things can change over a relatively short space of time. Hopefully they will find out over the next 3 weeks whether or not they have been accepted into school and then the fun will start in September as they get used to English education again.
Finally, just to let you all know that I am reading your comments but am having problems commenting on my own (and other people's blogs). I'm not sure why but hope this will work itself out soon. Oh and Alan, I'm just about to try and add a subscribe by e-mail button just for you :)
We've had 20 hours of rain, so watering the garden hasn't been on the evening job list as much as usual, and although the rain was much needed it did get a bit monotonous and slightly reminiscent of a UK summer. But the ground is drying now and the plants look refreshed after a good drenching. My pepper and aubergine plants are producing well and the cherry tomatoes are being picked by the bucket load almost daily. Unfortunately the other varieties of tomatoes are showing signs of blight. The pumpkins and squash are doing really well and should make up a bulk of our winter diet. Along with the freezer full of home reared pork we already have.
I'm still missing the kids dreadfully and hope they're doing ok. I speak to them on the phone when I can and look forward to catching up with them on facebook too. I'm finding facebook more and more useful now especially for keeping in touch with family and friends and also keeping up to date with what's going on in their lives. I've also made a lot of new friends via groups etc and love to read the jokes and see photo's of other expats enjoying their lives here in Bulgaria.
My daughter has finally started to learn how to cook, despite refusing every time I've asked her. It was somethging she said she wasn't interested in although my son quite enjoys spending time in the kitchen. Just shows how much things can change over a relatively short space of time. Hopefully they will find out over the next 3 weeks whether or not they have been accepted into school and then the fun will start in September as they get used to English education again.
Finally, just to let you all know that I am reading your comments but am having problems commenting on my own (and other people's blogs). I'm not sure why but hope this will work itself out soon. Oh and Alan, I'm just about to try and add a subscribe by e-mail button just for you :)
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Piggin Lovely
Once again we've been busy, and now there are a few more small jobs finished in the house and they can be ticked off the evergrowing list of things to do. The tiling in the living/dining room and on the staircase is finished and what a difference it makes. I've still got to grout some of it though but that's the easy part!
Yesterday evening we had friends around and roasted a half pig, it was such a beautiful sight and enjoyed by everyone who came along. Each person brought along a side dish and none of us really knew what the other would bring so that added an element of surprise too. The table was laden with food, drinks flowed nicely and all 6 of the children that were here managed to behave quite well mostly. The rain stayed away and although there was a slight breeze the weather was nice. I'm sure we'll have another pig roast (this was our second) or BBQ at some point this year as it's really nice to be able to enjoy an evening with great company. The only downside to last night was when hubby decided to have a quick dip in the pool and forgot to remove his full pack of cigarettes and lighter from his pocket, they're ruined but it was rather funny.
My garden is looking a little crowded, as admittedly I've not done any weeding for some time. But we are picking ripe cherry tomatoes daily and everything else looks well. Apart from the young onions that I grew from seed and the last chilli plants that went in as the dog has dug them up overnight in her attempt to stash leftovers from the pig roast! Poor Baba the Bulgarian mongrel is looking a little sorry for herself today and I can only guess that she may have eaten too much pork last night. Hopefully she'll perk up tomorrow and be back to her usual, happy self. Neighbours and friends have been giving us bags of cucumbers so we're eating a lot of salads.
Tomorrow we have to go and collect the barley from the village corporation that we ordered earlier in the year. We never know until it's been harvested how much we will get as you pay by the amount of land so some years the harvest is better than others. This year we have 2 decares of land and the harvest was 320 kilo's per decare, so we are collecting 640 kilo's of barley tomorrow which will help feed the pigs and horses over the winter months. There's still straw to order and maize to collect when it's ready too. We just need to sort out some storage for everything now.
I've already started on stocking the kitchen cupboards for winter but am finding it really hard to cook for just two of us, instead of 4, so the plastic freezer tubs are starting to be filled with things I've made that we can just reheat later in the year. Soon I'll be in preserving mode and I'm just waiting for the victoria plums to ripen fully before I turn them into jam. This year I will make less jam and simply freeze some of them for crumbles and puddings over the winter. I won't be making chutneys this year as we still haven't eaten all of the last batch I made. However, I will be turning a lot of the tomatoes, peppers and aubergines into sauces and soups again mmmmmm.
Well I'm off now to sort out leftovers for tea, feed the animals and spend a quiet night in front of the TV.
Yesterday evening we had friends around and roasted a half pig, it was such a beautiful sight and enjoyed by everyone who came along. Each person brought along a side dish and none of us really knew what the other would bring so that added an element of surprise too. The table was laden with food, drinks flowed nicely and all 6 of the children that were here managed to behave quite well mostly. The rain stayed away and although there was a slight breeze the weather was nice. I'm sure we'll have another pig roast (this was our second) or BBQ at some point this year as it's really nice to be able to enjoy an evening with great company. The only downside to last night was when hubby decided to have a quick dip in the pool and forgot to remove his full pack of cigarettes and lighter from his pocket, they're ruined but it was rather funny.
My garden is looking a little crowded, as admittedly I've not done any weeding for some time. But we are picking ripe cherry tomatoes daily and everything else looks well. Apart from the young onions that I grew from seed and the last chilli plants that went in as the dog has dug them up overnight in her attempt to stash leftovers from the pig roast! Poor Baba the Bulgarian mongrel is looking a little sorry for herself today and I can only guess that she may have eaten too much pork last night. Hopefully she'll perk up tomorrow and be back to her usual, happy self. Neighbours and friends have been giving us bags of cucumbers so we're eating a lot of salads.
Tomorrow we have to go and collect the barley from the village corporation that we ordered earlier in the year. We never know until it's been harvested how much we will get as you pay by the amount of land so some years the harvest is better than others. This year we have 2 decares of land and the harvest was 320 kilo's per decare, so we are collecting 640 kilo's of barley tomorrow which will help feed the pigs and horses over the winter months. There's still straw to order and maize to collect when it's ready too. We just need to sort out some storage for everything now.
I've already started on stocking the kitchen cupboards for winter but am finding it really hard to cook for just two of us, instead of 4, so the plastic freezer tubs are starting to be filled with things I've made that we can just reheat later in the year. Soon I'll be in preserving mode and I'm just waiting for the victoria plums to ripen fully before I turn them into jam. This year I will make less jam and simply freeze some of them for crumbles and puddings over the winter. I won't be making chutneys this year as we still haven't eaten all of the last batch I made. However, I will be turning a lot of the tomatoes, peppers and aubergines into sauces and soups again mmmmmm.
Well I'm off now to sort out leftovers for tea, feed the animals and spend a quiet night in front of the TV.
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Plodding Along
Changeable weather here again with more storms thrown in for the dramatic effects, in fact we were sat outside last night watching the lightning flash across the fields with the rumbling, rolling thunder right overhead. It was fantastic and again I got off from garden watering duties as the hevens opened and did it for me.
We had friends and family arrive on Tuesday who will be staying for a couple of weeks, so things are a little less peaceful here and it's lovely to see them again. I hope they enjoy their holiday.
Today has been breezy and cool so I managed to get in the garden and clear another raised bed ready for other things to be planted. I have some carrots, beetroot and chard that need thinned out so they'll be transplanted later on once the sun has gone down. We've eaten our first cucumber and tomatoes from the garden and they were lovely. Hopefully there are plenty more to come.
We are having a half pig roast next week and it will be lovely to have more friends around and catch up. As there are a few kids coming I've decided that they will have their own table and picnic food - I'm not the most patient of people and like to eat my meal without a lot of fuss and kids grabbing at things so this seems the easiest option. Plus they can get in the pool and have fun while the adults chat etc. let's see how it goes, I may even take some photos for this blog as it's lacking in a bit of colour lately :)
We had friends and family arrive on Tuesday who will be staying for a couple of weeks, so things are a little less peaceful here and it's lovely to see them again. I hope they enjoy their holiday.
Today has been breezy and cool so I managed to get in the garden and clear another raised bed ready for other things to be planted. I have some carrots, beetroot and chard that need thinned out so they'll be transplanted later on once the sun has gone down. We've eaten our first cucumber and tomatoes from the garden and they were lovely. Hopefully there are plenty more to come.
We are having a half pig roast next week and it will be lovely to have more friends around and catch up. As there are a few kids coming I've decided that they will have their own table and picnic food - I'm not the most patient of people and like to eat my meal without a lot of fuss and kids grabbing at things so this seems the easiest option. Plus they can get in the pool and have fun while the adults chat etc. let's see how it goes, I may even take some photos for this blog as it's lacking in a bit of colour lately :)
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Catching Up
Over the last week or so we've been quite busy. Last weekend was daughters 15th birthday so we had friends over for a curry and a dozen or so teenagers here too. A nice mix of Bulgarian and English and I hope everyone had a great time. The weather, luckily for us was fantastic so we were able to sit outside until the sun went down. Hubby made a lovely curry for the adults and the kids managed to munch their way through pizza, pasta, crisps etc.
We're still setting and catching mice in the house and just now I can hear something scrabbling around in the roof too so that will have to be investigated at the weekend. There's not much more we can do apart from keep setting the traps and trying to see if there are any access points we can find to block up and stop the critters getting in. There seem to be a lot more rodents around this year despite the fact we now have 2 more cats. Although Fatty and Farty as they're affectionately named - Thomas and Purdy in reality, are not proving to be very good at catching or even hunting anything and prefer to spend their days sleeping or eating!
The 2 boy dogs seem to be enjoying their new dog run and we've had no more escapes since I put extra bars on the barn window. But Fudge has decided that it's fun to bark and threaten the pigs through the window so I'm trying to nip that in the bud before it becomes a habit. Fudge is about to begin the process of injections and blood tests that should in around 6 months or so allow him to go and live in the UK with my sister in law. Fingers crossed that it all goes well and to plan.
We're still setting and catching mice in the house and just now I can hear something scrabbling around in the roof too so that will have to be investigated at the weekend. There's not much more we can do apart from keep setting the traps and trying to see if there are any access points we can find to block up and stop the critters getting in. There seem to be a lot more rodents around this year despite the fact we now have 2 more cats. Although Fatty and Farty as they're affectionately named - Thomas and Purdy in reality, are not proving to be very good at catching or even hunting anything and prefer to spend their days sleeping or eating!
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| It's a hard life......... |
Monday, 20 September 2010
The Good, The Bad and The Downright Fugly!
The last couple of days have gone past in a bit of a blur, time seems to have speeded up and as we have friends and family here on holiday for the week we don't seem to have had the chance to get on with "Normal" things inbetween. It's been one long round of cooking, catching up, running around picking up this and that and shopping to feed an extra 4 adults!
Things have at last quietened off a little tonight and I've had the chance to get onto the pc to check mails etc and have a little "Me" time. It's lovely having people come to stay but you tend to forget how hectic things become when they're here, what didn't help was me being ill for 2 days last week and not being able to get the bungalow all sorted before they actually arrived. But we're sorted now and everyone has a bed to sleep in. My usual pottering around in the kitchen has become a bit more permanent as I try to cook for 8 each day - big change from cooking for 2 last month and we seem to have amassed a few empty vodka bottles from the last couple of nights, although I've yet to get a hangover thankfully.
Back to normal business and what's been happening here lately......we decided to wean Charlotte from the piglets as they are old enough now to be separated and all of the babies are eating well and look incredibly healthy, Charlotte on the other hand is looking a bit too thin so feeding 10 babies has taken it's toll on her. All went well for the first hour, apart from Charlotte removing the door of the stye, and things were ok but noisy, after a while everything quietened down and we thought they'd all gone to sleep but after checking I found that Charlotte had jumped over the barn door and put herself back in with the babies so we need to have a re-think on what to do next.
Yantra the newest dog has settled in well and loves to be around people, so much so that if we try to leave her inside when we're busy in the garden or around the yard she has taught herself to open the front door and let all of the dogs out! Vasko seems a bit low but is eating well and I can't find anything wrong with him, maybe he's just confused as to why there are so many people here at the moment.
There has been a few changes again at the new school the kids are attending and today we were told that they will have to stay home and study to complete years 3 and 4 to catch up and then they will be welcomed back to school. The director seems a lovely man but speaks no English (although other staff do speak English) and tried to explain why this would be better for them but at the moment we're a little confused as to why things have changed since last week. The kids are ok about it and both knew they'd have to catch up so they will just have to get on and do it. I'm sure the school will continue to help and support them but I'll have to ask in the morning when I go in.
The weather has been nice again but was a little cooler today. Autumn is on it's way and soon we'll be having to light the woodburner at night times. Luckily we have a fair amount of firewood chopped and stored already with more to be done when there's time. Most of the timber we have is dry and well seasoned so should burn well. We're still using up old roof timbers too and although it seems a shame to burn old oak beams they really are past their best and most have woodworm. They are ideal for keeping us warm and toasty in the colder months though. I'll be harvesting the last of the garden produce soon and that means chutney time mmmmm. I am hoping to plant a few vegetables for overwintering too but we'll see how the weather goes before I make a firm decisison.
I'd love to find out from any readers what they've been up to, so please feel free to leave comments on this blog. I'll be back in a couple of days to update and maybe there will even be some new photos to post if I get the chance to go out with the camera.
Things have at last quietened off a little tonight and I've had the chance to get onto the pc to check mails etc and have a little "Me" time. It's lovely having people come to stay but you tend to forget how hectic things become when they're here, what didn't help was me being ill for 2 days last week and not being able to get the bungalow all sorted before they actually arrived. But we're sorted now and everyone has a bed to sleep in. My usual pottering around in the kitchen has become a bit more permanent as I try to cook for 8 each day - big change from cooking for 2 last month and we seem to have amassed a few empty vodka bottles from the last couple of nights, although I've yet to get a hangover thankfully.
Back to normal business and what's been happening here lately......we decided to wean Charlotte from the piglets as they are old enough now to be separated and all of the babies are eating well and look incredibly healthy, Charlotte on the other hand is looking a bit too thin so feeding 10 babies has taken it's toll on her. All went well for the first hour, apart from Charlotte removing the door of the stye, and things were ok but noisy, after a while everything quietened down and we thought they'd all gone to sleep but after checking I found that Charlotte had jumped over the barn door and put herself back in with the babies so we need to have a re-think on what to do next.
Yantra the newest dog has settled in well and loves to be around people, so much so that if we try to leave her inside when we're busy in the garden or around the yard she has taught herself to open the front door and let all of the dogs out! Vasko seems a bit low but is eating well and I can't find anything wrong with him, maybe he's just confused as to why there are so many people here at the moment.
There has been a few changes again at the new school the kids are attending and today we were told that they will have to stay home and study to complete years 3 and 4 to catch up and then they will be welcomed back to school. The director seems a lovely man but speaks no English (although other staff do speak English) and tried to explain why this would be better for them but at the moment we're a little confused as to why things have changed since last week. The kids are ok about it and both knew they'd have to catch up so they will just have to get on and do it. I'm sure the school will continue to help and support them but I'll have to ask in the morning when I go in.
The weather has been nice again but was a little cooler today. Autumn is on it's way and soon we'll be having to light the woodburner at night times. Luckily we have a fair amount of firewood chopped and stored already with more to be done when there's time. Most of the timber we have is dry and well seasoned so should burn well. We're still using up old roof timbers too and although it seems a shame to burn old oak beams they really are past their best and most have woodworm. They are ideal for keeping us warm and toasty in the colder months though. I'll be harvesting the last of the garden produce soon and that means chutney time mmmmm. I am hoping to plant a few vegetables for overwintering too but we'll see how the weather goes before I make a firm decisison.
I'd love to find out from any readers what they've been up to, so please feel free to leave comments on this blog. I'll be back in a couple of days to update and maybe there will even be some new photos to post if I get the chance to go out with the camera.
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
Achieving Things
I must have mentioned somewhere on this blog about things taking forever to sort out here in Bulgaria, and it is true, although occasionally the opposite does happen. Today I've been into town with a friend to see if we could enrol her children and my 2 into the school there. Now my Bulgarian language skills may be fine for chatting to the neighbours and ordering some building supplies etc but I still have a long way to go before anyone could accuse me of being fluent! So to say I was not looking forward to this task was a bit of an understatement. But I need not have worried as everything seemed to fall into place, an English speaking teacher was there to help out when conversation got a bit stilted and all 5 of the children are going to school tomorrow - Yay :)
I'm happy, the kids are happy (the school is newly refurbished and has good facilities), my friend is happy and the director was lovely to us all. Result! Yesterday was also a good day and hubby, Yordani and I went out to meet some lovely people in an area we hadn't visited before. The drive there went well and the scenery was fantastic and reminded me why we chose to move to Bulgaria. We spent a lovely afternoon chatting about lots of things and then drove home to find the animals had all been fed and tucked away for the night, the house had been cleaned up and the kids hadn't broken much - only the sweeping brush lol.
There are an abundance of creepy crawlies around here right now, spiders, beetles of all shapes and sizes and hundreds of moths. Last week I saw the biggest caterpillar ever too, it was amazing. Our new hallway in the extension has a double height ceiling and it's covered in moths at this moment, quite an amazing sight but something that won't happen for much longer as I'll be ordering the glass for the window we've recycled and used in there. I've actually been to see the window guy today for something else but forgot to take the measurements with me - Doh.
Well I best keep this short and sweet as I need to be up and ready early tomorrow for the first day of school activities. I hope all the children have a good time and make new friends easily.
I'm happy, the kids are happy (the school is newly refurbished and has good facilities), my friend is happy and the director was lovely to us all. Result! Yesterday was also a good day and hubby, Yordani and I went out to meet some lovely people in an area we hadn't visited before. The drive there went well and the scenery was fantastic and reminded me why we chose to move to Bulgaria. We spent a lovely afternoon chatting about lots of things and then drove home to find the animals had all been fed and tucked away for the night, the house had been cleaned up and the kids hadn't broken much - only the sweeping brush lol.
There are an abundance of creepy crawlies around here right now, spiders, beetles of all shapes and sizes and hundreds of moths. Last week I saw the biggest caterpillar ever too, it was amazing. Our new hallway in the extension has a double height ceiling and it's covered in moths at this moment, quite an amazing sight but something that won't happen for much longer as I'll be ordering the glass for the window we've recycled and used in there. I've actually been to see the window guy today for something else but forgot to take the measurements with me - Doh.
Well I best keep this short and sweet as I need to be up and ready early tomorrow for the first day of school activities. I hope all the children have a good time and make new friends easily.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Something a Bit Different
Today sister in law and I have been out of the village and done something totally different. For the first time in years we've been to a car boot sale and actually sold things instead of buying! Years ago I used to quite regularly attend car boot sales in the UK, but probably haven't been to one now for over 10 years and had forgotten how hectic they can be.
When we headed off this morning the weather was overcast and breezy and just a nice temperature. We found the venue which was a lovely camp site run by British expats. The website for the campsite can be found Here and the scenery there is fantastic. There were already quite a few cars lined up along the road and a few sellers set up. We parked and got out of the car and were suddenly surrounded by a large amount of people (mainly Bulgarians) trying to see what we had to sell. A manic 20 minutes follwed while we tried to get things out to sell and answer questions on prices etc in Bulgarian and English, there were a few hand gestures (nothing cheeky of course!) and we were struggling to get things out before people were wanting to buy!
Phew....this went on for at least an hour, the table we'd taken along got sold before we managed to actually get anything onto it and there was almost a rush when a microwave came out of the car! It was a lot to take in and a lot of people to try and keep track of, but eventually it did start to calm down and things were a little easier. It appears that the Bulgarians are actually quite good at haggling and looking for bargains but I must admit my language skills deserted me a couple of times lol.
Still it was lovely to do something different and to chat to a few people we recognised and some we didn't. Everyone was good natured and polite and the coffee Nev, our friend who had helped bring along some of the things to sell bought once the rush had died down was really appreciated. All in all a good half day out and something we'd do again, although next time maybe we'll try and get there earlier to get set up before the hoardes descend! There really is a good ex-pat community in the area, and we need to try and keep in touch with some of the lovely people we've met a bit more. It always good to know there are others with similar tastes or ideals living not too far away.
Hubby stayed home and set to work on reinforcing the barn door. Charlotte broke the bottom panel some time back but her and the piglets needed to be moved into the barn as they've outgrown the pig sty. So now we have all of the pigs sleeping in the barn which should make life a little easier and gives the 10 rowdy babies much more space to play, they seemed very content when I fed them all at tea time and were enjoying the bale of straw that was put in for them to sleep on. Tomorrow I'll clean the small sty out and hose the floor down ready for Charlotte to go back in there when weaning time arrives.
After the excitement of the day I've had a lovely quiet and very peaceful night, hubby is out fishing so I've caught up with a few things on the internet and chilled out. Back to work tomorrow as there are still a lot of jobs to do before winter arrives and the extension to finish hopefully before the children get back next week :)
When we headed off this morning the weather was overcast and breezy and just a nice temperature. We found the venue which was a lovely camp site run by British expats. The website for the campsite can be found Here and the scenery there is fantastic. There were already quite a few cars lined up along the road and a few sellers set up. We parked and got out of the car and were suddenly surrounded by a large amount of people (mainly Bulgarians) trying to see what we had to sell. A manic 20 minutes follwed while we tried to get things out to sell and answer questions on prices etc in Bulgarian and English, there were a few hand gestures (nothing cheeky of course!) and we were struggling to get things out before people were wanting to buy!
Phew....this went on for at least an hour, the table we'd taken along got sold before we managed to actually get anything onto it and there was almost a rush when a microwave came out of the car! It was a lot to take in and a lot of people to try and keep track of, but eventually it did start to calm down and things were a little easier. It appears that the Bulgarians are actually quite good at haggling and looking for bargains but I must admit my language skills deserted me a couple of times lol.
Still it was lovely to do something different and to chat to a few people we recognised and some we didn't. Everyone was good natured and polite and the coffee Nev, our friend who had helped bring along some of the things to sell bought once the rush had died down was really appreciated. All in all a good half day out and something we'd do again, although next time maybe we'll try and get there earlier to get set up before the hoardes descend! There really is a good ex-pat community in the area, and we need to try and keep in touch with some of the lovely people we've met a bit more. It always good to know there are others with similar tastes or ideals living not too far away.
Hubby stayed home and set to work on reinforcing the barn door. Charlotte broke the bottom panel some time back but her and the piglets needed to be moved into the barn as they've outgrown the pig sty. So now we have all of the pigs sleeping in the barn which should make life a little easier and gives the 10 rowdy babies much more space to play, they seemed very content when I fed them all at tea time and were enjoying the bale of straw that was put in for them to sleep on. Tomorrow I'll clean the small sty out and hose the floor down ready for Charlotte to go back in there when weaning time arrives.
After the excitement of the day I've had a lovely quiet and very peaceful night, hubby is out fishing so I've caught up with a few things on the internet and chilled out. Back to work tomorrow as there are still a lot of jobs to do before winter arrives and the extension to finish hopefully before the children get back next week :)
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