Latest Photo's

I wanted to share with you some photographs of our latest volunteers and the work they've done. Five out of six are leaving this weekend to continue their travels and we're so lucky to have had them stay with us.

So this Blog post is dedicated to all of the volunteers we've had over the last year, who have helped, created, laughed and enriched our lives. Thanks guys and girls!

The ladies off to work. From left to right : Joanna, Allison, Cheryl, Camille   &                           Dee.                                                  

Nick having a go at Archery.

Dee & Antoine at the archery range.

Changing Times

May has been a strange month so far. We've had higher than average temperatures and lower rainfall, until this week when all of the rain seems to have fallen over 2 days with more forecast. So today was an indoors, quiet and pretty dull day.

Maybe it's because hubby filled the above ground pool? a freak weather pattern? or possibly just global warming/cooling? Who knows for sure? But please just let me have a little sunshine during the day and rain after 8pm :)

Our volunteers are getting along well and working very hard. They have a few projects on the go and some are staying longer than planned as they'd like to see things through and complete tasks they have a part in. I really must say that they're a lovely bunch of folk, from a variety of places and with many skills and ideas between them. Plus they will eat almost anything so I'm getting to try out a few new recipes, which seem to be appreciated.

The vegetable garden is starting to produce again and is almost fully planted. New raised beds have been built and there are a few experiments on the go using old straw, compost and whatever I could find around the place. I'm glad to say that the last 3 years trying to improve areas of soil seem to be paying off nicely.

We have some lovely new artwork done by some of the volunteers, more planned for another rainy day and hopefully they will remind us of the fun we had when they were here. The sewing machine has been getting regular use, new cushion covers made, garments altered or repaired with some fabric leftover for more projects.

Our orchard area is now clear of the many young, wild fruit trees that were dominating the area, new fencing has been erected and a stone wall rebuilt. Hopefully soon the weather will break and it can be finished. Then the horses can enjoy grazing without being tethered.

I'm off to bed soon and hope you are all enjoying life, but before I go I wanted to answer Michael's comment from my previous post.

There are a fair amount of British expats in the VT region, and differing reasons for moving to this area. Some may find solace in the fact that there are others close by that they have things in common with, others because property is cheap here. Personally we moved here because we loved the scenery (and did look at other areas of BG before VT). Plus we could find what we were looking for - which was a structurally sound house (in need of renovation) with more than the average amount of land. Truthfully the British residents in the area are pretty well spread apart and do not live in each other's pockets. We are 1 of 4 expat families living in this village (10 people in total including 3 children) and a very small proportion of the village inhabitants (at the last census 806). We all live in different parts of the village and have Bulgarian friends and neighbours.

Keep posting the comments folks :)

One of "Those" Nights

Why is it that I tend to get a bit deep and meaningful at this time of night? Maybe it's because I have the peace and quiet and knowledge that everyone in the house is asleep and I won't be disturbed. I'm not sure but sometimes I just feel the need to try and make sense out of my jumbled thoughts and maybe now is the time to do it.

So....... in my head today I'm wondering if we all make too much of a fuss about the past? Surely what's past is past and we should be looking to the future and not wondering what could have been different? It's nice to remember good times and friends lost, but is it healthy to be asking yourself how life could have worked out if only you had done something a different way? Yes we all probably have regrets about various things and I'd like to think it's not good to dwell on them for too long. If you're happy with your life then enjoy it, on the other hand if you're unhappy then change it.

Fate surely needs a helping hand now and again. It takes courage to think outside of the box and take a leap into the unknown, but there must be times when it's worth the risk. How will you know until you try?

Well that's the latest rant over and I'd like to remind you all to get your thinking caps on and send me your suggestions for the next Pimp My Project! page. Oh and I took a small leap into the unknow on friday and actually went to the hairdressers for the first time in 3 years, and I quite liked it too! I even brought about 6 inches of hair back in a ponytail as a momento for hubby ;)

Winds of Change

Whilst catching up on Twitter tonight I had a slight relevation...or maybe it's the sour cherry liqueur I'm drinking. A fellow twitterer (is that a real word?) has changed his username as he felt that he needed a change after posting under the same name since 2004. What it made me think about is if we ever realise how we're constantly changing and what we want from life is possibly changing too?

Back in 2004 I was quite unaware of how much my life would change. Going from day to day living in an ex-council house and working enough to pay the bills and not much more. I had animals then too, they've always been a large part of my life as far back as I can remember. Our first family pet when I was small was a goldfish called Chips, who ate any other fish we tried to put in the tank with him and lived until a ripe old age (well for a fish he did). When I left home the first dog came along (and stayed with me until she was 19 years old), then cats, followed by horses, goats and anything else I could fit on a rented 5 acre allotment plot.

My kids went to school locally and were doing ok, life was passing me by at an alarming rate and then I met hubby whilst I was working in a hotel. We were friends for quite a while and each went about our usual lives, until one day, when he felt sorry for me (it was my birthday) and invited me to an impromptu dinner party he was having at his house. And I can honestly say we've barely been apart since. It's strange how fate can suddenly take hold and alter your life forever.

Moving to Bulgaria was something that really came out of the blue too. Of course we'd talked about moving away but to start with it was little more than a drunken conversation after a night out, 6 months later we were on a plane and heading into unknown territory! Oh and it feels so long ago. We went from semi rural (supermarket 10 mins away, fields just outside) to the middle of nowhere really. And to be honest I much prefer the life we have here, maybe it is what we're meant to be doing with our lives? Who knows? As long as we do the best we can then we aren't letting anyone or ourselves down. I read somewhere once a quote that said "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO- HOO what a ride!".

How has your life changed over the last 10 years? and maybe more improtantly how much will it change in the next 10 years?