It's December Already!

This year has gone by so fast and I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing!
Almost mid December now and we have snow, looking out of the window the sunshine looks warm, but it's bitterly cold with a awful wind so the woodburner is on and my socks are dry Alan!

I still can't get over the fact that 1 week we can have 20 degrees C and then the next it's -7 degC. All gardening has finished for the year and the last of the volunteers will be heading on his way at the weekend probably. We've had such a fantastic bunch of people here this year, over 40 in all, and the work they have done is amazing. We've laughed, celebrated birthdays, ridden ponies, shoveled muck, pulled weeds and had some great times.

Today is 12.12.12 and the last of those kind of numbers we'll see. Oh and who can forget the mention that the world will end on 21.12.12 according to the Mayan calendar? Well to me they are just days, and no different from any other day here in rural Bulgaria. there are still animals to feed, water and clean out and I still have to make the evening meal. Plus keep the fire going and make an attempt at keeping the house clean.

Keeping the house clean in winter is pretty hard with all the dogs and cats going in and out, snow and mud on boots and the dust that just never seems to stop. But I can ignore all that for a while and do some writing work or watch a movie. And we do have our fast internet now so that makes blog posting easier (but doesn't mean I spend less time in front of the computer!).

Here's hoping that where ever you are, you are warm, happy and content with your life.

Ciao for now :)

Anyone For Waterskiing?

It's rained and rained and rained again this last week or so. The ground is waterloged outside and the sky is dull. Temperatures have fallen so we've had the woodburner lit most nights, it really doesn't feel like May.

Tomorrow is a national holiday here in Bulgaria so the villagers will be celebrating with friends and family for Georgiov day. It's a bit like St George's day in the UK. This is the time of year when usually you see more people out and aboutg but due to the weather most are staying indoors. I don't blame them either, even the chickens are looking pretty miserable and egg production has dropped too.

I finally gave in and bought a new keyboard for the computer, unfortunately it seems to have a minor problem and occasionally throws an extra 'G' in when I'm typing, it's not too bad but does mean I have to check anything I've typed for mistakes a little more carefully than usual. But it does have it's plus points as I now have the Bulgarian alphabet on the keyboard too - just in case I ever manage to learn enough to type a message or e-mail!

There have been a couple of trips into town this week, more than usual and tomorrow I'm off out for an hour or so to go meet someone who is interested in buying one of my saddles, fingers crossed all goes well. Hubby has some beautiful longbows and one flat bow for sale that he's made over the winter and I have to admit they are wonderful things. Almost makes me want to take up archery, although after my last attempt I think it's wise that I just be content watchingand let hubby get on with it lol

Hubby is feeling a little better but still won't take any notice and not try to do small jobs like splitting logs. It drives me crazy but there's nothing I can do and I do realise that the inactivity is getting to him too. It was probably worse today as the satellite tv had been disconnected because I hadn't paid the bill - easily fixed and after a short trip to town to pay a few bills it was back on within 3 hours. It's not the best system in the world but it does give us something to do when we can't get on with jobs.

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.