From A Different View

For the last week or so we've been without internet. A problem with the supplier meant we were disconnected and needed a new contract. On the plus side it meant more time to get jobs done around the place and on a rainy day I rolled up my sleeves and got baking. Hubby has been busy creating things and we almost have a dog proof garden fenced in just for us humans to enjoy. He's built a water feature from recycled items and it's working really well, he's also made a lovely frame for our hammocks that reminds me somewhat of a maypole, but looks very nice. A little more work to level the ground below it and we'll be almost set for summer :)

The kids have been on spring holiday from school but are at the point where they refuse to help with anything and I end up frustrated and shouting at them, which turns into an all out war sometimes grrrrr. Being a parent is the hardest job in the world and there are times whether I wonder if I'm doing it right or making a complete hash of things! But at this point it's much easier to walk away from a teenager who's shouting in your face and go dig a patch in the garden - certainly helps with anger management and it's good for the garden too. Occasionally they will do small jobs but are now much more interested in music and eating judging from our food bills.

I now have onions, fodder beet (for the pigs), peas, sweetcorn and a whole range of other things planted in the garden. The over wintered garlic is shooting away and I wish I'd planted more of it (note to self for next October - plant more garlic!). Tomatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines and courgettes are starting to show themselves, whilst the radish and lettuce are growing nicely and should be ready to start harvesting in a few weeks. I'm really looking forward to preparing a meal straight from the garden. It's going to take a bit longer to get the main growing area into shape this year as our neighbour's tractor has broken down so he's unable to plow for us, such a shame but it does mean I should hopefully be able to work off some of my excess weight digging and turning the ground over.

Sometime next week I'll get out with the camera and snap new pictures to put on here, I had planned to sit outside and blog today from the laptop as our new internet connection does not need to be tied to a electricity supply but the signal was not good and I kept losing the internet, still it is nice to be back outside in the garden most days and even better to be able to see new life growing everywhere. My favourite plum tree is just about in blossom at the moment so by this time next week we will have a confetti look everywhere. It's amazing how much plants and trees can change in such a short time and it gives us something different to look at almost every day. Well that's break time over so it's time to head back into the garden for an hour or so before the animals decide it's time to come in for the night.

Snails Pace

I'd planned to blog today about autumn and the changes it brings to a Bulgarian household. Some of the wonderful sights and usually quite mild weather. I may even have included a few photos of the garden and scenery, but no, I'm sorry I've changed my mind and am gonna have a rant instead!

Don't get me wrong, I've not had a bad day at all. In fact it's been an ok day. The rain stopped, all the animals enjoyed their time outside, the kids helped with feeding etc and I even had an online chat to hubby. But tonight the internet is driving me mad! Unfortunately living in a rural Bulgarian village has it's downsides at times. We're 22km's from the closest town and surrounded by fields and hills. It's quite olde worlde where we live which also means that unfortunately technolgy here just hasn't quite caught up with the rest of the modern world.

In all the cities and towns internet speed is very good, wi-fi is offered in a lot of places and life goes on at a rather hurried pace. Here things are slightly different. Our internet currently runs at less than dial-up speed and that's on a good day. We're limited on options as to how we connect to the internet and have to use a dongle which to be frank is absolutely pants! We curently use a M-tel homebox which is supposed to supply our internet and home phone service via wireless and works very much like a mobile phone. Of course that is when it wants to work - the internet is usually ok (apart from being slow) but does get affected by the weather, the phone part rarely works and people get tired of trying to ring us and to be honest I understand why. We also have pre-paid mobile phones with the same company and they work great if you want to stand in the middle of the field with one leg in the air, shouting like a lunatic because the person calling can't hear you and freezing your backside off in the colder months...........grrrrrrrrr. Maybe it's time for a change I can hear you all saying, but the truth is we haven't found anything else that works for the kind of money we have to spare (not a lot).

Well that's my rant over for today. Hopefully the god's of internet will allow me to post this quickly then I can drag myself off to bed with a book. Night night x