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?

Are We Nearly There Yet?

I've not heard from hubby today so will presume the drive back is going ok. It's not easy to cover 2500 miles in a couple of days with a car full of stuff and an 8 year old but unfortunately that was the way it had to be done this time. Here at home we've managed to move everything that needed moved and now just have a big tidy up to do. I've no idea where to put half of the stuff we're storing but will work it out at some point. At least now I have an excuse for having an untidy house!

Weaning the piglets is going well and they've all settled into their new arrangements and seem quite happy, feeding times haven't changed so that makes them easier to handle in theory. Vasko is having a bad day today and has fallen over a couple of times, the colder weather seems to be affecting him quite a bit and I don't want to leave him to the point when he'll suffer so I have decided that he will be put to sleep in the next 2 weeks which makes me sad and also angry, angry because his former owner let him get in such a state in the first place then wasn't bothered about having him back when he turned up here. We've heard that the first person to ever be prosecuted on animal cruelty charges went through the Bulgarian Justice system last month so hopefully that marks a step in the right direction.

We've now got both of sister in law's dogs here and her 2 cats also. The dogs have settled nicely and are asleep in their new kennel in the garage overnight. Hopefully one will be going off to a new home in about 2 weeks time and the other will also find a permanent home soon. I think the 2 cats may end up staying here though, the little female has started adjusting nicely and sneaked onto my bed last night, but the tom cat who only arrived today (he'd gone off outside when I went to collect him yesterday) is still hiding behind the sofa so needs a little more time. Another week or so and I expect they'll be used to everything and acting like they've always been here :)

I'm missing hubby but manging to keep myself busy and know he's gone for the right reasons, at least I know he'll be back too and then everything will seem better. For now though I'll have to make do and snuggle up to a hot water bottle in bed until he's home.

To Blog or Not?

I must admit to being a bit haphazard lately and my blogging has taken the brunt of it. Hopefully I can get back to a regular routine and on a much more even keel soon. Some days I just can't find much to write about and I'm sure this happens to other bloggers too. Today is not one of those days!

Hubby and I have both been down to the weekly market/coffee in the village cafe this morning for a change. Usually he doesn't come along due to other committments so it was nice to see him chatting with one of our neighbours over a strong espresso even if they did sit at another table away from "The ladies".

As usual there were bargains to be had at the "Drip Shop" or nearly new clothes stall and today I bought us all something to wear. Hubby got a lined fleece jacket, daughter a pair of jeans, son a winter jacket and I bought myself a padded waistcoat. All for the pricely sum of 10 leva (£4.29ish) brilliant! They'll come in handy as the weather continues to get cooler and the nights are drawing in. And as Autumn is officially here we've started draining the pool today so it can be cleaned and stored for the winter.

My remaining crops are due to be harvested this month and the plants all pulled out so the garden will be looking bare again. I made a start at removing the dead flowering plants today and already the garden is looking very different. I need to decide whether it is worth trying to plant peas at this time of year and have bought a packet just in case, but may hang onto them until spring. There are the house plants to bring back inside and find space for, a lemon, olive and avocado tree (ok so they're only small trees) and lots of geraniums that I'm going to butcher for cuttings to plant next spring. I WILL have a beautiful garden next year!

Another job for today was to vaccinate and seperate the piglets from their mum. Poor Charlotte has lost a fair amount of weight now feeding 10 hungry babies and is starting to look a bit poor, plus she seems to be slightly under the weather (although that could be due to a food change as our usual pellets were out of stock) so we've moved her into the back of the barn and let the piglets in with their older female sibling. There has been a good amount of squealing but everything is quiet now and hopefully within a couple of days they will all settle down. Charlotte will be getting extra attention and rations to help her gain some weight.

The chicks we were given a few days ago are not doing well either, in fact they are dying and I've no idea why. They're warm, fed, have water and a clean box to stay in but one by one they are getting poorly and very quickly dying on us. Tonight we have only 4 left and it's quite upsetting. Vasko is also a little under the weather, as I've said before he's an old Bulgarian hunting dog and not in the best of health. He has more than likely been abused/mistreated and never fed correctly for his whole life and although he has made improvements since coming to live here we are worried how the winter and cold will affect him. He's already opting to spend longer in his kennel during the day than last month and is not eating as well as he has been. In fact he's barely even putting on any weight and I'm quite worried that a lifetime of neglect is finally catching up with him. Maybe it's kinder to have him put to sleep before the bad weather really appears and while he's relatively pain free. What do you think?

Arggghh so much to think about and what with hubby and sister in law heading off in the next few days I'll be stuck home on my own for a large part of the day with too much time to dwell on things.

Change is in The Air

Since the rather wet car boot sale on Sunday there have been some changes here, quite dramatic but necessary at this point in time. Hubby's dad (and my father in law) has had swelling on the brain following a stroke and had to undergo emergency surgery and is currently in Intensive Care. This has brought forward my sister in law's plans to return to the UK, which is completely understandable in the circumstances, but also means that from the weekend I not only lose her company, shopping partnership, wit and fabulous cooking but also that hubby will have to go with her as co-driver and to see their dad.

I'll really miss her and little madam, her daughter, and will also miss hubby for the time he's away but know I can cope and will be fine here with the children and animals. It's rather hectic this week trying to sort out various things, clear sister in law's house and close it down and also deal with everything else going on.

Yantra the new dog is a total escape artist and opens the front door when she feels like it - twice in the last week I've woken up to find her gone and the front door wide open! She comes back but I find it unnerving that she just disappears and worry each time she goes, especially as she's not spayed yet. Next step will be the vets although we have no idea how old she really is, just that she's young and has her adult teeth. Sister in law's 2 dogs will be coming to stay with us until she can get them back to the UK and her 2 cats will also be staying with us, so once again we're full to the rafters with animals!

The piglets and Charlotte their mum refuse to be separated, each time we try there's pandemonium so we've left them all together in the large barn until they're ready to wean themselves. We still have one older pig from the first litter left but she is earmarked for our freezer at some point over the next 3 months. Our friend and neighbour, Yordani, arrived with 11 chicks a few days ago and left them on our dining room table in a banana box! 11 has become 9 today as the 2 weakest died unfortunately but the remaining 9 are snug in a bigger, better box but still on the dining room table where the temperature is quite steady and warm enough for them. I'd imagine they'll be bantam or bantam X's but as our laying hens are getting on and egg production is dropping they will stick around to supply us with fresh eggs next year.

Well I best get off now and have a shower as I need to be up early for a meeting at the school around 7.30am! Hope things are ok with you and I'll be back in a few days to catch up again.

Worn Out

Well what a week we've had! Friends and family have been here for a holiday so it's been busy non stop and we've had some great laughs. There have been birthdays to celebrate, drinks to be drunk and some hilarious times to boot, it's been lovely seeing them again and I hope they all had a great week. Some people think we live in a town and can get quite a shock when they realise how rural it is here and how far it is from our old lives.

In other news, the kids are going to school again and never missed a day. I think it was more of a lack of language and communication on all parts but am glad it's now sorted out. The piglets are all ready to go to new homes and we have had some enquiries and reservations already. Charlotte is due a well earned rest from motherhood and time to pit some weight back on and chill out. Maggie the donkey is now back home after going for grass cutting duties to a friends house for a few weeks. All of the animals are starting to get their winter coats in as the nights draw closer and temperatures drop. Soon I'll have to bring the houseplants and cuttings indoors before we start to get overnight frosts.

Sister in law and I are off to a car boot sale again tomorrow, and hopefully coming back with an empty car as she tries to sell of the last things she needs to get rid off before returning to the UK. I'll be sad to see her go and will miss her loads.

Hubby has some work to do over the next few weeks and I need to sort out winter accomodation for all of the animals, get everything mucked out and fresh bedding sorted and make sure they'll be snug and dry for when the colder weather comes. This year all of the manure is going onto the top of the garden to try and help improve the soil. I'll spread it out and let the frost break it down ready for the growing season next spring. The pool needs emptied, cleaned and packed away this week as it's not warm enough now to use it. Another summer over and done with!

Right now it's raining and the ground desperately needs it, everything is parched and very dusty. Let's hope it's stopped before morning otherwise we'll be wearing wellies to the car boot sale lol

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.