The Good, The Bad and The Downright Fugly!

The last couple of days have gone past in a bit of a blur, time seems to have speeded up and as we have friends and family here on holiday for the week we don't seem to have had the chance to get on with "Normal" things inbetween. It's been one long round of cooking, catching up, running around picking up this and that and shopping to feed an extra 4 adults!

Things have at last quietened off a little tonight and I've had the chance to get onto the pc to check mails etc and have a little "Me" time. It's lovely having people come to stay but you tend to forget how hectic things become when they're here, what didn't help was me being ill for 2 days last week and not being able to get the bungalow all sorted before they actually arrived. But we're sorted now and everyone has a bed to sleep in. My usual pottering around in the kitchen has become a bit more permanent as I try to cook for 8 each day - big change from cooking for 2 last month and we seem to have amassed a few empty vodka bottles from the last couple of nights, although I've yet to get a hangover thankfully.

Back to normal business and what's been happening here lately......we decided to wean Charlotte from the piglets as they are old enough now to be separated and all of the babies are eating well and look incredibly healthy, Charlotte on the other hand is looking a bit too thin so feeding 10 babies has taken it's toll on her. All went well for the first hour, apart from Charlotte removing the door of the stye, and things were ok but noisy, after a while everything quietened down and we thought they'd all gone to sleep but after checking I found that Charlotte had jumped over the barn door and put herself back in with the babies so we need to have a re-think on what to do next.

Yantra the newest dog has settled in well and loves to be around people, so much so that if we try to leave her inside when we're busy in the garden or around the yard she has taught herself to open the front door and let all of the dogs out! Vasko seems a bit low but is eating well and I can't find anything wrong with him, maybe he's just confused as to why there are so many people here at the moment.

There has been a few changes again at the new school the kids are attending and today we were told that they will have to stay home and study to complete years 3 and 4 to catch up and then they will be welcomed back to school. The director seems a lovely man but speaks no English (although other staff do speak English) and tried to explain why this would be better for them but at the moment we're a little confused as to why things have changed since last week. The kids are ok about it and both knew they'd have to catch up so they will just have to get on and do it. I'm sure the school will continue to help and support them but I'll have to ask in the morning when I go in.

The weather has been nice again but was a little cooler today. Autumn is on it's way and soon we'll be having to light the woodburner at night times. Luckily we have a fair amount of firewood chopped and stored already with more to be done when there's time. Most of the timber we have is dry and well seasoned so should burn well. We're still using up old roof timbers too and although it seems a shame to burn old oak beams they really are past their best and most have woodworm. They are ideal for keeping us warm and toasty in the colder months though. I'll be harvesting the last of the garden produce soon and that means chutney time mmmmm. I am hoping to plant a few vegetables for overwintering too but we'll see how the weather goes before I make a firm decisison.

I'd love to find out from any readers what they've been up to, so please feel free to leave comments on this blog. I'll be back in a couple of days to update and maybe there will even be some new photos to post if I get the chance to go out with the camera.

Achieving Things

I must have mentioned somewhere on this blog about things taking forever to sort out here in Bulgaria, and it is true, although occasionally the opposite does happen. Today I've been into town with a friend to see if we could enrol her children and my 2 into the school there. Now my Bulgarian language skills may be fine for chatting to the neighbours and ordering some building supplies etc but I still have a long way to go before anyone could accuse me of being fluent! So to say I was not looking forward to this task was a bit of an understatement. But I need not have worried as everything seemed to fall into place, an English speaking teacher was there to help out when conversation got a bit stilted and all 5 of the children are going to school tomorrow - Yay :)

I'm happy, the kids are happy (the school is newly refurbished and has good facilities), my friend is happy and the director was lovely to us all. Result! Yesterday was also a good day and hubby, Yordani and I went out to meet some lovely people in an area we hadn't visited before. The drive there went well and the scenery was fantastic and reminded me why we chose to move to Bulgaria. We spent a lovely afternoon chatting about lots of things and then drove home to find the animals had all been fed and tucked away for the night, the house had been cleaned up and the kids hadn't broken much - only the sweeping brush lol.

There are an abundance of creepy crawlies around here right now, spiders, beetles of all shapes and sizes and hundreds of moths. Last week I saw the biggest caterpillar ever too, it was amazing. Our new hallway in the extension has a double height ceiling and it's covered in moths at this moment, quite an amazing sight but something that won't happen for much longer as I'll be ordering the glass for the window we've recycled and used in there. I've actually been to see the window guy today for something else but forgot to take the measurements with me - Doh.

Well I best keep this short and sweet as I need to be up and ready early tomorrow for the first day of school activities. I hope all the children have a good time and make new friends easily.

School Days

Schooling here is somewhat different than the UK. The subjects are mainly similar with an emphasis on teaching the 3 R's, reading, writing and arithmetic. The school books I've seen are colourful and informative without being overbearing or boring.

I love my mornings when the kids are at school, the house is peaceful and I can get on with things before they get home at lunchtime. Our kids go to the village school and are learning Bulgarian very quickly, also Russian which they don't care much for but it is part of the curriculum. School starts at 8am and the younger classes get breakfast at school (free), by 12.30 school is usually finished for the lower classes and 1.30pm for the older students so every day the kids have the afternoons to themselves. Most children here help their families and do some kind of work, whether that be helping prepare a meal or collecting firewood etc.

Our kids do help around the house and feed the animals twice a day as part of their chores, we feel it's important that kids are involved in things and do help out and learn life skills etc. Sometimes they complain about having jobs to do but there are days when I don't feel like doing much either!

Today I've gone about my usual routine of horses and donkey out, animals checked etc then decided to head off up the garden to one of our derelict properties and collect sticks for lighting the fire. That done I headed back to the house to grab a coffee to warm up. A strange smell seemed to be following me so I left my boots outside thinking that I'd probably stepped in something.....still the smell was around me and getting stronger by the minute! So after looking about and not seeing anything that would cause such a nasty smell I decided to drink my coffee and have a break. Now this is when the smell seemed to get worse! and it wasn't coming from me......At last I spotted the culprit - my lovely little Cocker Spaniel Molly, not known for being ladylike and affectionately called "The Ginger Minger" by all of us she;s lived up to her nickname today! Oh and boy does she stink, she's been rolling in something dark coloured and rancid smelling and looks ever so proud of herself. Time for a bath me thinks. She aint gonna like it but it has to be done!