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.

A Task A Day

Today I feel like I've not achieved much, I've felt too hot to do anything outside so have pottered about indoors for most of the day, not really doing anything in particular but doing something! The washing is done and hung to dry, another load on the go. The bathroom and kitchen have had a quick whizz round and tidy up, the animals are all happy and I've sorted out collection of barley for 2 of our friends.

Yet still I feel like nothing much has been done - so off to the kitchen I went to make pease pudding. While there I got to thinking that if I could set myself a task to cook/make something for the winter every day then it would soon mount up and I'd start to feel like I've achieved more. So that's my new challenge and I'd be really grateful if you could help me by sending recipes that I could try and I'll let you know how I get on. To add to the pease pudding today I've also roasted peppers for the freezer, pureed a load of chillies we were given (these will be frozen in ice cube trays) and am busy right now making fresh tomato and bean casserole which will also be going into the freezer for the winter (and tastes fab I must add!).

I've finally managed to take a photo of a hummingbird moth in the garden. They're wonderful to watch but dart about very fast and so are hard to catch on camera. Their wings make an amazing noise as the pass close by and they love the flowers I have growing. The vegetable garden is a bit of a washout this year as it was so wet for so long. I'm not going to stress about it though, just need more careful planing for next year and to try and preserve/freeze as much as I can from the produce we do get. The neighbours have been bringing cucumbers, tomatoes, aubergines and chillies by the bagful and I'm very grateful for anything they can spare. Hubbys sister has had a great crop of pumpkins and courgettes, and some of them are already frozen or made into chutney.

Just a quick thanks to new readers and those who continue to read my blog. I'm loving the comments and it's great to know people visit and comment.

Straw Bale Building

Over the last 2 days our straw bales have arrived for animal bedding over the winter, we've moved and stacked them but have run out of space in the barn so some will have to be under plastic until we need them. It has renewed my interest in building a straw bale structure at some point in the future though. It's something we're both interested in and would like to try. Unfortunately the bales we get here are not all of uniform size or shape, probably down to the old machinery used by the village corporation. They are cheap though and would be fantastic insulation for a timber framed house.

So far we have the hay, lucerne, straw and barley all in and stored for winter feed. Still to collect is maize and corn, plus maize stalks if we can (they're free so go quick). Hopefully we're well prepared for this winter. The freezer is already full of food for us to eat and we could possibly need another freezer. We have to be aware and remember that if the weather is really bad we may not be able to get out of the village to the supermarket for a few weeks. But fingers crossed the winter won't be too bad or long.

I like all of the season here in Bulgaria and even when the weather is really cold it doesn't feel as low as the thermometer is telling us. On the flip side though the summer can be just as harsh with high temperatures, humidity and no rain for weeks. In the summer we sometimes moan we're hot but in winter we moan about the shorter days! Maybe this winter I'll get round to some decorating or finally sorting through the things we still have stored in boxes.

Hopefully I'll muster up the courage to get back on with riding Maya when the autumn gets here, although we've still not had time to build a fenced in paddock. I miss riding horses and still miss my lovely Sol, that I sold before moving here. He was the perfect horse for me but there's no reason why I can't have a similar relationship with Maya. Milka on the other hand prefers to be handled by men, she tolerates me but is always better for hubby. Admittedly neither of them have done much work this year and it shows - as they're rather podgy right now and so am I!


Well it must be animal feeding time as Vasko is barking at the windows - he's quite impatient and does love food. It's the only time of the day he gets excited so I best go get them all sorted and settled for the night. The piglets are already stealing mum Charlotte's food so will be getting their own meals from tomorrow.

Preparing For Winter

Yes, I know it's only August and the weather is fab, but we have to start preparing for winter already. Hopefully we'll have another 8-10 weeks or so of really nice weather but you never really can be certain so it's always better to be prepared. We still have lots to do before the winter arrives but luckily autumn is usually quite mild here.

Our "To do" list goes something like this :-

• Chop and stack firewood, remembering to keep the older, drier logs at the front
• Finish off gable ends of house and roof tiles
• Get barley, corn and maize milled for animal feed.
• Thorough clean out of barn and stables
• Re-attach central heating pump and re-fill the system
• Defrost and clean the small freezer then re-fill
• Plant trees and winter vegetables in October
• Drain down boiler and water pipes in Bulgalow, check lagging on all other pipes and replace if needed
• Clean out woodburner and flues thoroughly

I'm sure there are more things that could be added but I'm tired now so can't think! In between trying to sort all that out, keeping up with the everyday jobs and taking care of the animals we'll have to collect the rest of the animal feed that's been ordered, unload and stack the 120 bales of straw (when they arrive) and fit in a week off from other work when hubby's oldest son and his friends arrive for a holiday.

Today we collected and bagged 660 kilo's of barley, tomorrow it's bags of mixed grains for the chickens and over the next 2 weeks we'll have to collect and bag the maize and corn. We're fast running out of space but will find somewhere for it to go. For the animals we should have enough feed, hay and straw to manage through the winter and at the moment there's still enough grazing to keep them happy through the day.

Run Piggy Run!

Today has been a rather busy one but there have been a load of laughs along the way. This morning I was up bright and early, horses out to graze, washed and dressed myself in decent clothes and off I went with the ladies for our usual Friday morning jaunt to the village centre and a chat over coffee. I also needed to find the guy who turns and bales our hay/lucerne as it had been cut last weekend and is due to come off the field. Unfortunately this time he can only bale it so poor hubby and our friend Jordani have had to go row and turn it all by hand this afternoon.

No sooner did we get settled at the table than the electricity went off, which is not uncommon here (and we don't get any warning either). Luckily we already had our coffees by then, so normal chat resumed with the table filling up fast as other Bulgarian ladies piled in.

I had to nip off during the chat to help an english friend order winter provisions for his donkey and chickens, and that sorted headed back for my coffee. I am getting better at understanding the conversations going on and sometimes even get a joke or 2 in Bulgarian. The ladies gently ribbed me about not charging for translation services but in reality my Bulgarian isn't that good! So off we went to pay bills and bargain hunt, luckily for me there was no water bill this month and the electric isn't due until next week.

10 minutes later and I'm home, still no electric but a few things sorted out and still lots to do. Hubby went off to sort the lucerne, and I went inside to get changed. There was lots of noise coming from the barn/stable yard so I had to go check things were ok, expecting to find Charlotte had decided to remove the sty door again. Nope, but the older piglets had broken through the barn door and were having a great time helping themselves to a 20 kilo bag of feed! Grrrr, no chance of getting them back in the barn since they've broken the bottom half of the door, demolition pigs have been at it again. Oh well at least they were secure in the yard and seemed to be having fun.

Back inside I did some housework, hubby came home, then friends came to collect their 2 pigs. Now in theory the "We'll let them out of the yard and they'll follow food to the trailer" should work, but not when the pigs have been stuffing their faces for the lst couple of hours! So we arranged people at various "Pig stopping" points, backed the trailer right up to the gate and tried to coerce, force, push, chase and generally get the pigs in the right direction.  So after half an hour in 35 degrees C and much amusement we finally had one pig in the trailer - the other had gone off for a trip to the bungalow garden but was swiftly rounded up by me, attempt 2 saw us making slow but sure progress with a fresh cucumber and a feed bucket and after some squealing (by the pig) and a bit of swearing (me) the second pig finally joined number 1 in the trailer for their short trip to their new home. Phew, happy days and filthy legs!

Busy Bees

Once again we've had a few busy days so my internet time has been shorter than usual. We had friends arrive in the village last week who have finally made the move here full time and I'd forgotten how much of a pain and time consuming it is trying to sort bills, materials and other stuff out. A short trip into town quickly becomes an all day thing, nothing gets done quickly here and paperwork mounts up fast. The heat doesn't help either, summer is truly here and the temperatures are set to be in the high 30's for the next few days.

Charlotte and her mob of fantastic piglets are doing really well, the babies are starting to investigate everything and each time we open the sty door they make a run for it! They're extremely friendly already and have realised that humans are great for getting tummy rubs from. I've already stocked up on starter feed as they'll be getting their first taste of solid food next week. They seem to be bigger daily and have already at least doubled in size since birth, mum looks well still but is getting extra rations to help keep her milk production up.

We have yet another new addition to our menangerie, well to be truthful not so new but different! When hubby's sister bought her house in the village she "Inherited" a rather sweet mixed breed dog, who was promptly named Baba. The dog then gave birth to 4 puppies, one of which is our original outside dog, Butch. Well after 2 years living here, sister in law is returning to the UK and needed homes for all of the animals she has. Baba does tend to spend half of the week here anyway and seems to like to be here so she's moving in for good. She will be living outside with Butch as that's what she's used to. There will be no more puppies as she was neutered last year and she's not a bother to have around at all apart from liking to bark at horses and carts.

Vasko is doing much better and we seem to have the fly problem under control. I bought a spray from the vets that seems to be working well and also has antiseptic and antibacterial in it so that is helping him heal quickly. We're being extra vigilant and also making sure that all of the animals have clean water at least 3 times a day to help them cope with the heat. Lucky for us there is a water spring just outside with an abundance of fresh, cold and best of all free mineral water, makes life so much easier!

We're donkey free at the moment as Maggie has gone to our friends place for a few weeks to help control their jungle of a garden, I'm sure she'll enjoy the attention she'll get (and extra food rations) and be home before the winter sets in. Tomorrow we have 2 pigs going off to their new home which will help free up some barn space for Charlotte and her babies to move into next week. As the piglets are growing so fast they'll enjoy the large part of the barn and will be able to run around a lot more.

Quick Update

We've had a pretty hectic couple of days and I've not had the chance to update my blog - Shame on me! Not only have the days been busy we have been out 2 nights in a row to friends houses for a meal and it's been lovely catching up. Tonight I was thinking that hubby and I would get some quiet time together to chill out, watch tv and enjoy an evening together.....until our friend Marian (male) popped round and hinted that he was going fishing - hubby looked at me, waited for a yes and then shot off to get his gear together and into the car! Humph so I'm a fishing widow tonight, but at least I have chocolate to keep me company lol

As the weather is very hot now the above gound pool is becoming a godsend, somewhere to cool off, relax and have some quiet time lounging on an inflatable lilo. I'm not much of a swimmer so a quick dip usually suffices, hubby likes to have a swim and although the pool isn't huge he still enjoys it. I must point out that I can swim, just don't really feel the urge to. We have to remember to put the filter on every day and clean the bugs from the top of the water but it doesn't take long.

Vasko has had an eventful day, he's all recovered now from his accident and is back to normal apart from the flies. So hubby and I have given him a trim around the face in an effort to stop the flies laying their eggs on him. He was so patient and didn't try yo bite us once, it's as though he knows we are trying to help. He's had his face washed, and any red areas checked. Fly eggs (and a few maggots) removed, had a clean with an antiseptic wipe and been sprayed with fly repellent a few times today in an effort to keep them at bay. Hopefully now that the area can get more air to it we should be able to alleviate the problem and he can sleep soundly in the shade during the day without being plagued by flies.

The piglets are growing fast and getting more playful and inquisitive by the day. They're quite happy to have a little stroke now too and like to investigate anything new. Mum Charlotte is so chilled out this time and happily leaves them alone for a few minutes at a time to have a wander round the stable yard. They're all looking healthy and happy and will be starting to try solid food in about 10 days time. We have already had people enquiring about when they will be for sale so hopefully they'll all go off to nice homes in 6-8 weeks time. Also moving off to a new home is one of the older piglets, she'll be joining another that we've had here for a friend until she could move into her house, so at least they'll be good company for each other.

A last littel thing I wanted to say was a huge thanks to English Mum for offering to send things for Vasko dog if we can't find the necessary things here. I'll be popping to the vets when I go to town to see what they suggest and fingers crossed we'll have him in tip top condition in no time :) If you click the link you'll find a lovely site with great pictures and whole load of humour thrown in.