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.

You Can Take The Girl Out Of The Village.......

But not the village out of the girl! I've been into town shopping today and while it's lovely doing something different from the normal I do miss the peace and quiet of home. Some people live their lives entirely in a town and thrive on it but to be honest I don't miss the hustle and bustle. Yes, it's easier to find things you need, public transport is abundant and there's plenty to do and see, but for me it's not what I want or need in my life right now. I'm happier at home or even down in the village cafe chatting over coffee with the local ladies.

The village centre is always kept clean and tidy, at this time of the year it's full of flowers and most mornings is quite busy with people buying bread, meeting up and generally doing their morning chores. Friday mornings are the busiest since it's market day and everyone seems to be in a good mood. A lot of the villagers have no transport apart from donkey/horse and carts so rarely go out of the village, they survive on food grown in their gardens and basic necessities that can be bought in one of the many shops.

When we first moved here I did find one or two of the shopkeepers quite blunt but now that we know them all better things are great, and they're used to me asking the bulgarian names for things by now! They do appreciate that I am trying to learn Bulgarian even if sometimes I struggle with things I don't usually buy.

I'm not sure I'll ever be totally fluent in Bulgarian but do enjoy being able to have a conversation with the lovely friends we have here. Reading and writing Bulgarian is something I find very hard and admittedly I don't really try. Place names, food items and road signs I can manage but that's about all. Maybe I should add learning to read and write Bulgarian to my winter things to do.

The piglets are growing up so fast and are hilarious to watch as they dart around the yard and will play with anything they can get hold of - tonights game involved an empty feed bag and they looked like they were having a great time. Mum is totally unconcerned when they are in the yard and usually carries on munching at the bits of grass growing while they play. They are so unfazed by us being around and enjoy a bit of a scratch. We still have 3 of the older piglets here too and they are getting rather big and have been busy making themselves a wallow by tipping their water bucket at least twice a day! They're filthy but happy and that's what counts.