A Kit and a Kat

Welcome back! What a day it has been here at the Old School. Up at 5.30am (I know!)

I had an early start for a reason today; I had been invited to go to the local market day with Little Lady (Sanie) and their son's wife (Oygul). I really wanted to go and so I got up, had coffee and a shower and managed to get all the work finished by 8am. By 8.30am, as agreed, I was being shouted for at the gate! When I got to the car there was Sanie, Hasan (Uzmivka) and two other neighbours whose names I don't know. It was like a Bulgarian road trip! Great fun indeed. We all got into Lucy, who doesn't do well with weight in her and trundled down to town. I dropped the men and the other lady off at the bus stop by the market and Sanie and I went to see Oygul and later, Orhan when he popped in to communicate via Google translate with me.

I can only assume that he read the blog and realised that I wanted to buy chickens after I couldn't quite get my intentions over to Sanie last time I was there. They were rallying round to help me buy chickens from the market. What absolutely lovely people they are! They really make me feel so welcome and I really feel like part of the community. Fantastic!

We all went back into town and picked out two egg layers who are not quite ready to lay yet, but the hens which were ready did not look particularly healthy to be honest. They had been pecked a lot and almost all of them had lots of feathers missing from their backs. We are not in a big hurry and I would rather have healthy chickens who need nourished and looked after for a while than unhealthy ones.

Sanie went off with a friend to buy whatever she needed and Oygul and I did the same. We then hopped in the car and went back to her house. They are all so kind and they never have you in their homes without offering food, coffee or something to eat or drink. When Sanie and the other lady from the village returned suddenly there was a table full of food and ayran and water for me, not to mention a plate of fresh cherries, which I didn't think I liked until now!

I was supposed to be back and working for 11am, but I was a little late in getting back.  When I did get back there was a truck on the drive, right by the porch. I realised it was one of the men from the drainage firm who had been sat in the car as I had left Rambo roaming around and he is terrified of him. I'm not really sure why so many Bulgarians are afraid of dogs; perhaps due to wild dogs, who knows. Anyway, he had come to collect all the workmen's tools and the spare cement. He suggested that they were finished but I didn't think they were. They had dug up some of the patio area to lay the pipes and whilst the digger was here yesterday, it damaged some more around the edge. I managed to tell him that they need to lay down the ones they lifted in olace of the missing and damaged ones and he made a phone call, said they would come another time to do it and everyone was happy; off he went, leaving a bag of cement to secure the slabs.

Unfinished

I had to get straight in and set to work as I was by then, 45 minutes late! Of course, after such a quiet day yesterday, today was the opposite and the work had poured in whilst I had been out. Typical! I completed one file and then ran down to settle the chickens into their new house.  I will introduce you shortly.

On the way back in I remembered that I spotted a plant growing that looked like a creeper or climber of some kind. I have no idea what it is, but I stuck a cane in there and we shall have to wait and see. Probably a weed, knowing my eye for plants!

Climber

There is also another plant that survived winter and I forget the name of, but is going really well. The Mr will know, he planted it.

Survivor

I am going to bore you senseless with pictures of my  corn, but this is the biggest and bestest thing I have ever grown and I am so proud!

Growing tall!

Having settled the chickens in and fed them and left them clean water, it is now time to introduce you.  This one with the spotty chest is called Kit.

Kit

And this one here is called Kat. Say hello.

Kat

Kat and I had a little game of hide and seek earlier when she hid in the longer grass. I finally caught her and got her back inside with Kit for some food and a bit of company. It will take them a few days to settle I should think but I am hoping they explore a little bit more as time goes on as they have hid either inside or in the long grass most of the day.

Now, the issue of Rambo is going to be a delicate one. This will be an interesting few weeks until the other three get back. Talk about a zoo!!

Leka nosht!

A x

Motivation returns

Last night I wanted to try something I saw our neighbour cook one lunchtime and I had bought some of these peppers whilst out shopping. She simply drizzled an ample supply of both oil and salt over them and slow fried them. Well, I can understand why; they were absolutely gorgeous and went very well with my pork belly strips and salad. Delicious.

Peppers

I went to bed at a decent time last night but I was awake throughout the night with really quite bad stomach cramps and a bit of a dodgy stomach. I think I woke up about four times throughout. Now I hadn't really been feeling great for a few days on the lead up to this, so it came as no real surprise. When I got up this morning it was around 8am and I didn't rush myself into doing anything. My plan was to go down to the market, but I was still feeling unsure about my stomach and decided to wait a couple of hours. I usually go early but it was around 10.30 before I left and I was really starting to feel better again, thankfully.

They used to allow stalls in this little square section but they seem to have moved all of the stalls to the streets up above. However, there seems to be either the beginnings of something or the end of something in the square with a bandstand and a merry-go-round.

Market day

With not having felt great first thing I hadn't eaten anything this morning and by 11.30, after my mooch around, I was really feeling hungry. I just had to get a kebab from the best kebab shop I have eaten in so far. I did only have a small one and actually struggled to finish it, but I got there!

Best kebab in town

Whilst in the kebab shop I was approached by a big guy who spoke English. He was a friend of the kebab shop owner and said that the boss had said we buy property here and do it up and if we would like to buy another one or knew of anyone who would. I laughed into myself and thought of all the extra work and a little part of me died - haha. He was a very nice man and he told me that he had lived in the States for 15 years before coming back and getting married. It is also funny that people recognise us and (partially) know what we are doing here. Such a small community.

To let the kebab settle I decided I did not fancy a coffee in our local bar and so I sat and admired the little square outside the shop. Underneath the clock are water taps and people do use them a lot, just to get a drink or wash their hands. This is the lovely thing about over here, they seem to have respect for communal areas and don't damage them. I dread to think what would happen in the UK to things like this.

Taking a moment

I got back to the School around 12.30 and let Rambo out of his pen. I got hollered at by Little Lady to come for coffee and it was agreed that I would go over in ten minutes. As it is market day the men all go into town for the errands and a lot of beer, so she gets a rest day also and some time to herself. It's nice to just sit and pigeon chat with her.

I came back home not long after as her phone was constantly ringing and we kept getting interrupted and it was also threatening a big downpour. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do and when I saw the clouds I thought it would be a good opportunity to spend a while running through some of the Bulgarian language course we had got ourselves. I spent about 1.5 hours learning everything from the alphabet to colours.

Language lessons

The clouds had blown off and with the threat of torrential downpours tomorrow I wondered what to do with the hay from the strimming, so Rambo and I were out and looking around when I had an idea. I gave him a stick to occupy him whilst I was away doing my thing. He was very unsure when I told him it was his and he did a little double take. He was also most put out when I called him back after I took a fit of laughing at him just so I could get a photo.

Big stick

I thought if the hay, which was not quite completely dried out yet, was off the ground that after it rained it would dry faster and without moulding if most of it were off solid ground. Who knows? I dug this in and it probably is not as deep as it should be but I hope it holds through the wind and rain due tomorrow.

Experiment

So it was fairly secure and not too wobbly and I loaded the hay. I am not sure what they use here for their fantastic haystacks, but possibly the same idea. I will find out.

Haystack

I was feeling much more energetic now I had done something and I thought about the chicks I have agreed to take from the Little Lady - she has too many apparently. So, without attempting to build the chicken coop (that's a blue job and will probably leave me feeling like I failed again), I had an idea to use Rambo's enclosure for them to nest in at night as he doesn't use it any more and as they will roam during the day, he will be able to use it if the men need to put him away. Win. However, the grass needed some attention in there and I was the only one able to do it. Woman versus Nature!

Grim Reaper

This is what I was looking at when I opened the gate and I already was sorry I had even thought of it, but I needed to at least trim it down a bit if the chickens were to use it.

Enclosure

I took a couple of breaks as the sun was out and it was still hot out there but determination, stubbornness, call it what you will, but it got me through and I cleared a fair old amount of it. At least now the chickens will be able to walk around in there without getting lost in the jungle. They will have to be compounded for about 48 hours so as to get them used to where they roost/nest - my "Keeping Chickens for Dummies" book told me that. Thanks CJC and Fi!

Roughly cut

I got the job done and whilst it is not complete, it will be fine for what is needed. Usually the Mr does all this sort of stuff and to be fair, I may get the neighbours to sharpen the scythe for me as it would be much easier to use if it wasn't as blunt. So tomorrow I will be making two nesting boxes for the chickens and the Mr can build the coop when he gets here so that we can perhaps add to the flock. I really hope Rambo doesn't eat them.

I am about to prepare my salad for dinner and relax with a film and a cup of tea. So I will leave it here and tell you all about the chicken preparations tomorrow.

Leka nosht.

A

Busy day off

Yesterday morning I awoke to darkness.  I thought it was the middle of the night so I got up to use the bathroom and quickly climbed back into bed for my second snooze.  I looked briefly at my phone to check the time and it was 6am!  Dark at 6am!  This will take some getting used to.  I must have fallen over to sleep straight away again only to wake drowsily to the alarm, so I snoozed it.  After the snooze I must have dropped off yet again - I was very tired!  It was light now and I panicked thinking I had overslept for getting the men.  It was 7am, so all was fine thankfully.

I popped in to say hi to Sassy.  She has been a little bit anti-social over the last couple of mornings and she was back to her usual curious self again.

Morning Sassy

This was the misty morning sun:

Cloudy start

I had gone out to put Rambo away before setting off to collect the men and just as I turned the ignition on my Bulgarian phone rang and sure enough, it was Bekir.  "Deneska, neh raboti, A". He did say something else, presumably trying to explain why, but I did not understand.  Bless him, he was practising his English also by repeating it in, I must say, very good English.  So, back to the School for me and Rambo was super excited to be let out so soon.

We were expecting some new workers to arrive to start the drainage works.  It was arranged through our architect, Lubo, who informed the Mr that they would be here on Monday so long as it did not rain.  So, the sun was out and I sat with my morning coffee watching and I waited.  After texting and e-mailing the message came back that the ground was still too soggy to complete any work.  This was frustrating, but fair enough as they will probably need a big machine in to start the clearing of the perimeter.

So, as per last week, my day was eaten into by work so there is nothing to really report other than by the end of the day I was exhausted, again and I decided I would treat myself to dinner in the restaurant by the river, a short drive away.

It was lovely as usual, but always very difficult to order when you are on your own as you inevitably want half the menu but can't have it as it is wasteful.  Here you can see an amazing lamb shank that was perfectly cooked and fell off the bone.  I absolutely did not* order two potato side orders.

A treat

I woke up this morning to another drab day.  A low level cloud had set in all around us and no sun was to be seen.  This was a shame, but it was due to brighten up.

Low cloud

Last night I promised that after I collected the men I would take Rambo out for another walk.  He loves getting out and although he is becoming more and more active around the land, I wanted to get him out for a while also.  Will do me good as well! Just as I was finishing my coffee and getting prepared to leave for the men, my Bulgarian mobile rang.  It was Bekir.  He spoke very good English initially which surprised me, telling me that they would not today, tomorrow, tomorrow and then something in Bulgarian about a hospital and that he would call me on Monday.  I could not quite make out what exactly had happened, but I do hope that they are both ok or whoever is in hospital has nothing serious!

So I made myself another coffee with a view to heading up the mountain with Rambo afterwards.  It was still very gloomy outside with that low cloud hanging down.  Off we went and as usual, Rambo was super excited and had to be held on a tight lead most of the way through the village as the villagers were letting their livestock out for the day. Here is the neighbours dog, relaxing in the paddock.

Basking

We headed back to the reed pond where he almost choked himself pulling on the lead in order to get to it (also helping pull me up the last of the hill).  Straight away he was in, paddling around.  I decided I would throw a stick in for him to fetch and as it landed I thought it looked a bit deep and sure enough, he went completely under the water and had to swim to get back out again.  I did not laugh much, honest.  Then he went back in again of his own accord.  He really is a water-dog. We made it back down home without incident and he had worn himself out, or so I thought! We came in and he got a treat for being good and sitting and waiting for me to close and lock the gates (I am a soft touch, me).  The dog is a machine.  Here is is, begging for more interaction, patiently waiting for me to take the Kong and throw it, as if he hadn't had enough exercise, I was beat!

Morning swimmer

It rained a misty rain the whole time we were out but it was still quite warm, so when we got back I didn't bother to change straight away and fed the two animals and caught up with the Mr as he got to work.  It was market day today and I had promised myself I would go as I needed a new pair of slippers.  The ones I had bought in the UK were literally falling apart.  After a short chat and a further coffee, I hopped in the shower and change my clothes before setting off. On the way down to town I stopped to pick up the Kmet as he was heading in also and I took my opportunity to moan to him about the lack of water situation.

As I drove through town I noticed that there were no stalls in the square and asked the Kmet where they were.  Apparently they had moved them all up to the top end of town, but I am not sure about why.

No stalls

I had to pop in to the solicitors to collect some paperwork for the Mr and I shuffled off up to grab the bits I needed.  As I was walking round I grabbed a pair of tracksuit bottoms for working around the School in as well as two pairs of slippers.  It was around 11am and too early for lunch so I parked myself in the usual cafe for a half an hour and was laughing as this little bird could not work out the concept of glass and why he could not come in - bless it. What make and model is it?  Do you know?

New bird

I packed up, deciding that I would just grab a bite to eat at home and forego the kebab - I know!  But I had much to do and wanted to go and take Lucy to the garage as the oil light had flickered the other day and as she has been sat all winter and is my only mode of transport here for a while, I wanted to take no chances.  I called in to the shop owned by the garage to speak first with Zak who speaks very good English thankfully.  I collected some documents that she had held for us over winter and she rang ahead to the garage telling him what I needed. When I pulled in I spotted them immediately.  Puppies!  Loads of them!  I got straight out of the car and called them from the other side of the drive so as to ascertain how protective the mother was, who was on a chain.  She seemed interested, but not enough to move or get up.  This little chap came bounding over straight away and rolled over at my feet!

Cute!

Look at this face!

 There were six in total and they were all very chilled out puppies lying, or trying to lie, in the shade of the curb.

Five of six

Do not even ask me what it took for me to walk away from the little fella once the car was ready, especially as our mechanic told me to take one.  I wanted them ALL! Anyway, I was strong and I left empty handed and with a lump in my throat.

Back home the sun was out and it was really quite warm.  I reckoned it was time I stopped delaying what the Mr has nagged me about since he left and I set to planting out some seeds.  I found the seed box (not knowing at this time that there is another in the garage) and pulled out the ones I wanted.  So, her you can see that we are especially fond of strawberries (me) and parsnips (him).  But I will plant some more of the others in another week or two so as to stagger the harvest.

Seeds sown

I was appreciating the stretch in the evenings and I took the new garden chair out onto the patio where I sat for twenty minutes in the last of the sun.  It was nice to sit out there again feeling the sun on my skin.  Then a huge black cloud came overhead and I legged it back in to start dinner.

Dinner was a quick curry.  I cheated on this one as I hadn't had time today to prepare one from scratch, but it was very nice and I was able to finish it off by simmering it over the petchka whilst the rice boiled.

Curry on the stove

So that was today and what a busy and good day it has been.  I am glad I organised to take a couple of days off this week as work was just horrendous and I felt like I was achieving none of the things I have been wanting to do because of it.  So here am I, signing out and saying goodbye to the day.

Mountains on fire

Leka nosht.

A x

* I absolutely did.