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 :)
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
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!
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!
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| The ladies off to work. From left to right : Joanna, Allison, Cheryl, Camille & Dee. |
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| Nick having a go at Archery. |
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| Dee & Antoine at the archery range. |
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
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 :)
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 :)
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Volunteer Season is Here
What a lovely month this is turning out to be - in fact, the last 4 weeks have been fabulous. The garden is coming along nicely, animals all happy and shedding their winter coats and we have volunteers staying with us again.
All's good in my little world. We're enjoying life again and winter is definitely behind us. There have been some lovely nights in and out with friends, my birthday, beautiful sunshine, temperatures rising and everything is green and healthy looking.
Hubby surprised me and bought a new camera for my birthday, plus tiled the kitchen walls. Once I get a new memory card I'll be out and about taking snapshots of my daily life for you all to see.
Keep posting the comments folks, I really do enjoy reading them and wanted to say thank you to anyone who reads this blog for sticking with it.
Back soon with an update on what's growing well and any other news from my corner of rural Bulgaria.
All's good in my little world. We're enjoying life again and winter is definitely behind us. There have been some lovely nights in and out with friends, my birthday, beautiful sunshine, temperatures rising and everything is green and healthy looking.
Hubby surprised me and bought a new camera for my birthday, plus tiled the kitchen walls. Once I get a new memory card I'll be out and about taking snapshots of my daily life for you all to see.
Keep posting the comments folks, I really do enjoy reading them and wanted to say thank you to anyone who reads this blog for sticking with it.
Back soon with an update on what's growing well and any other news from my corner of rural Bulgaria.
Friday, 3 June 2011
Busy Bees
This week seems to have flown by and now the kids have broken up for school holidays too. Summer is truly here but we're still having thunder storms almost every day and there's been a lot of rain too.
Luckily it stayed relatively dry yesterday as we were busy helping lay an above ground pool concrete base. Boy was it hard work lol, the concrete wagon turned up at 10.15am and delivered almost 4 cubic metres of ready mixed concrete onto a large tarpaulin then a team of us had to load it into wheelbarrows and move it to where it was needed. In the UK we'd have probably got a concrete wagon with an extending arm that might have reached the 30 metres or so to the site, but not here, so it was all dumped as close as we could get it and the hard work then started.
Thankfully there were 9 of us, with 6 wheelbarrows and shovels, and we managed to get it all moved and in place before it set. On the downside the company it was ordered from delivered less than they were paid for so the last 8 wheelbarrow loads had to be mixed by hand with hastily borrowed sand and cement. But it's done now, smoothed off and level and just waiting for the pool to be set up once the cement has cured for a few days.
We were hoping to have one of the larger paddocks cut for hay this week too, but the tractor driver has yet to show up despite promising he would be here on tuesday. Maybe the weather this week has put him off as we've had lots of rain and storms so the grass has been quite wet. Hopefully he'll turn up at some point and we can get a good crop of hay ready for the winter.
There are lots of seedlings now in my flower bed, some of which are probably weeds, but they can wait for a drier day to be pulled out. We seem to have an abundance of pumkin plants this year and they are still popping up through the soil. So I'll be looking for recipes later in the year! I'm trying to grow swedes this time and so far they are doing ok. I do miss swedes but the Bulgarians don't seem to eat them and have a variety of different radishes instead. Mostg of the tomato plants are now in their final places, beans are doing well and the peas are starting to fruit now so I shall be picking them in a few weeks. Yet again we'll have a load of plums from the trees and might get round to making wine with some of them.
I've plenty of cucumber, squash, melon, peppers and aubergines growing now. Plus onions, lettuce, garlic, sweetcorn and fodder beet (for the animals). But haven't used all of the garden this season as much of it is in desperate need of being plowed and of course the plow our neighbour has developed a problem and needs repaired. Still there should be plenty of produce to eat and freeze down for winter. I may yet plant a few more things but we'll see how it goes. I'm in charge of the vegetables and don't get any help and there is only so much one person can do!
Since we're rained off today hubby has been in the kitchen and by the aromas that I can smell we are having a curry for tea - mmmmmm. So I'll leave you all now and wait for my plate of top nosh lol
Luckily it stayed relatively dry yesterday as we were busy helping lay an above ground pool concrete base. Boy was it hard work lol, the concrete wagon turned up at 10.15am and delivered almost 4 cubic metres of ready mixed concrete onto a large tarpaulin then a team of us had to load it into wheelbarrows and move it to where it was needed. In the UK we'd have probably got a concrete wagon with an extending arm that might have reached the 30 metres or so to the site, but not here, so it was all dumped as close as we could get it and the hard work then started.
Thankfully there were 9 of us, with 6 wheelbarrows and shovels, and we managed to get it all moved and in place before it set. On the downside the company it was ordered from delivered less than they were paid for so the last 8 wheelbarrow loads had to be mixed by hand with hastily borrowed sand and cement. But it's done now, smoothed off and level and just waiting for the pool to be set up once the cement has cured for a few days.
We were hoping to have one of the larger paddocks cut for hay this week too, but the tractor driver has yet to show up despite promising he would be here on tuesday. Maybe the weather this week has put him off as we've had lots of rain and storms so the grass has been quite wet. Hopefully he'll turn up at some point and we can get a good crop of hay ready for the winter.
There are lots of seedlings now in my flower bed, some of which are probably weeds, but they can wait for a drier day to be pulled out. We seem to have an abundance of pumkin plants this year and they are still popping up through the soil. So I'll be looking for recipes later in the year! I'm trying to grow swedes this time and so far they are doing ok. I do miss swedes but the Bulgarians don't seem to eat them and have a variety of different radishes instead. Mostg of the tomato plants are now in their final places, beans are doing well and the peas are starting to fruit now so I shall be picking them in a few weeks. Yet again we'll have a load of plums from the trees and might get round to making wine with some of them.
I've plenty of cucumber, squash, melon, peppers and aubergines growing now. Plus onions, lettuce, garlic, sweetcorn and fodder beet (for the animals). But haven't used all of the garden this season as much of it is in desperate need of being plowed and of course the plow our neighbour has developed a problem and needs repaired. Still there should be plenty of produce to eat and freeze down for winter. I may yet plant a few more things but we'll see how it goes. I'm in charge of the vegetables and don't get any help and there is only so much one person can do!
Since we're rained off today hubby has been in the kitchen and by the aromas that I can smell we are having a curry for tea - mmmmmm. So I'll leave you all now and wait for my plate of top nosh lol
Friday, 27 August 2010
Normality Resumes
I'm feeling much more settled and less emotional again, which is a relief. In fact I'm feeling rather positive and looking forward to seeing the kids when they come home in about 2 weeks time. Hubby has been working here this week mainly and it's great seeing the house change, jobs being done and some of the things we've been dreaming about starting to happen. Tomorrow we should finally be able to knock through the old house wall and have access to the extension that hubby built last year. It should make a huge difference to our lives and finally the kids won't have to share a bedroom! The house and ourselves have gone through so many changes in a relatively short time and I'm really glad we took the plunge and moved here.
Molly has been out in the yard today trying to play with the piglets, but she's not too sure about them and is a bit wary. The piglets on the other hand are not fazed at all and really enjoy the time they spend outside and rooting around in the barn. They've discovered the delights of apples, cucumber, pumpkin and tomatoes lately and are all eating well and gaining weight. At just over 3 weeks old they look really well and are very boisterous.
Vasko is once again having minor health problems, I discovered a burst abcess a couple of days ago and have been treating him with antibiotic spray and making sure it's kept clean. Today I gave him a brush and found he also has a skin complaint so I'll have to get some medicated shampoo and give him a wash while the weather is warm. He's very patient now and allows me to handle him, and even sometimes decides he wants attention. It's great to see his personality emerging and tea time is still his favourite part of the day.
Lastly, I can't believe I've managed to ramble and rant my way through 210 posts here! Thanks to all of you who continue to read the blog and share parts of our life story with us.
Molly has been out in the yard today trying to play with the piglets, but she's not too sure about them and is a bit wary. The piglets on the other hand are not fazed at all and really enjoy the time they spend outside and rooting around in the barn. They've discovered the delights of apples, cucumber, pumpkin and tomatoes lately and are all eating well and gaining weight. At just over 3 weeks old they look really well and are very boisterous.
Vasko is once again having minor health problems, I discovered a burst abcess a couple of days ago and have been treating him with antibiotic spray and making sure it's kept clean. Today I gave him a brush and found he also has a skin complaint so I'll have to get some medicated shampoo and give him a wash while the weather is warm. He's very patient now and allows me to handle him, and even sometimes decides he wants attention. It's great to see his personality emerging and tea time is still his favourite part of the day.
Lastly, I can't believe I've managed to ramble and rant my way through 210 posts here! Thanks to all of you who continue to read the blog and share parts of our life story with us.
Monday, 26 July 2010
The Nitty Gritty
We've had a good weekend, made a start on the concrete pad for the pool, spent an evening in great company with good food and a few drinks and then had a day off on Sunday to relax and recover from a slight hangover. Back to work it was today though and whilst hubby has been cooped up in the workshop for most of the day getting on with some woodworking projects, I've been indoors all day due to the weather and decided it was time to get on with some much needed housework.
So I've cleaned and scrubbed, washed and mopped, dusted and moved furniture etc and still the rain keeps on coming. The poor horses and donkey have been inside all day as they'd be miserable out in this weather. Parts of Bulgaria are on flood alert today and the field outside is once again like a river, but at least the spring will keep running all summer so we get free water for the animals. It would be great if we could fill the pool from the spring but unfortunately our garden is on higher ground so we can't run a hose pipe from it.
Our beehive is doing really well and the bees are producing loads of yummy honey, soon we'll have to harvest it and store it for using over the winter and spring. I'm hoping that it will help with my hay fever next year and also come in handy for any cuts, grazes or scratches we get. Honey has lots of medicinal uses plus being very tasty too. I'll have to find somewhere to buy extra jars from as most of mine already have jam in and I'm sure to be making more before the winter arrives.
There are a lot of things we need to do before winter gets here and as the days are longer now my internet time is a bit shorter as I struggle to catch up and keep going with things that need doing. Hubby is working most days which is great, and while the kids are still away I have the house to myself during the day. Next week I'll be even busier as it's almost time for Charlotte to give birth to the next litter of piglets which is exciting. This Saturday we're going to have a hog roast and I'm really looking forward to it. Our 2 male piglets are nearing the end of the time they can stay in with their sisters and another sow we have here so one of them will be on the menu this weekend. Whilst it is sad that one has to go at least they've had a nice life, been well fed and cared for, plus had plenty of attention, belly rubs and playtime. I'll let you know how it goes although I'm sure we'll have a great time and be very thankful to the pig for his contribution.
So I've cleaned and scrubbed, washed and mopped, dusted and moved furniture etc and still the rain keeps on coming. The poor horses and donkey have been inside all day as they'd be miserable out in this weather. Parts of Bulgaria are on flood alert today and the field outside is once again like a river, but at least the spring will keep running all summer so we get free water for the animals. It would be great if we could fill the pool from the spring but unfortunately our garden is on higher ground so we can't run a hose pipe from it.
Our beehive is doing really well and the bees are producing loads of yummy honey, soon we'll have to harvest it and store it for using over the winter and spring. I'm hoping that it will help with my hay fever next year and also come in handy for any cuts, grazes or scratches we get. Honey has lots of medicinal uses plus being very tasty too. I'll have to find somewhere to buy extra jars from as most of mine already have jam in and I'm sure to be making more before the winter arrives.
There are a lot of things we need to do before winter gets here and as the days are longer now my internet time is a bit shorter as I struggle to catch up and keep going with things that need doing. Hubby is working most days which is great, and while the kids are still away I have the house to myself during the day. Next week I'll be even busier as it's almost time for Charlotte to give birth to the next litter of piglets which is exciting. This Saturday we're going to have a hog roast and I'm really looking forward to it. Our 2 male piglets are nearing the end of the time they can stay in with their sisters and another sow we have here so one of them will be on the menu this weekend. Whilst it is sad that one has to go at least they've had a nice life, been well fed and cared for, plus had plenty of attention, belly rubs and playtime. I'll let you know how it goes although I'm sure we'll have a great time and be very thankful to the pig for his contribution.
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