Back to it with a bang

Wow what a busy day, and it doesn't seem to have stopped yet as I have just had a call from Georgi Stankov of "Bulgarian Properties for Sale" offering to buy me food and vodka at the hotel we went to for lunch the other day. I am going to type this VERY fast to catch up (though I think I will have to leave half way through up post this late) so here goes.

Rambo greeting me through the mist

The day dawned really misty and cold, so cold that I put jeans and my hoody on again, though I did put my sandals on this time. The shower I had was hot, long and just what I needed, providing me with much needed warmth. I had my morning cuppa but I wasn't in the mood for eating at that time so I didn't bother. My early start enabled me to really crack on with my paid work and I had done a few hours before the workmen arrived.

Attacking the overgrown trees

Their task for today was to continue the fencing round the perimeter, taking up where me and T had made a start and pushing on round as far as they could in a day. The first part of the fencing went past the little garden which my neighbour had been making use of and they had a fair task removing the old fence and trimming back the overgrown trees which were getting in the way of the path of the fence. T was assisting at this point and they were working really well together

At this time Lubo arrived with his weekly update. I was aware of an issue he would have run into (if he was doing his job properly) and I was interested to see if he would pick up on it or not. He did. This was a really good thing. It has delayed the process maybe by about a week but that isn't so bad; it gives him time to get everything else together while we wait for the Obshtina to have their monthly meeting. He gave me a few more updates, left some copies of some letters, and then headed off. When he had arrived the Kmet had done so at the same time, delivering a much anticipated parcel. I opened this as soon as Lubo left and it was so lovely to receive, so thank you :) The men were still cracking on and didn't appear to need any encouragement so I decided to take Rambo on a ramble.

Slow to clear in the valley

We headed up through my village along the track the racing trucks had been up the other week and bumped into a couple of villagers on the way, who all knew I was the englishman who had bought the school. They weren't sure what Rambo was for though, thinking he was a shooting dog maybe. I don't think they have the concept of a pet dog here. As I climbed out the village I was above the clouds and the sun started shining brightly and warm; I had to take my jumper off. The mist still stayed in the valley though and made for a gorgeous view.

Heavily wooded hillsides

The path took us up past some forest on one side, and scrubland on the other. It was really lovely, very peaceful with only the sound of the wind for company. Rambo was calming down a lot by the time we got up here, having been very hyper when I first went to get him, and wasn't really pulling my arm out of the socket very much.

Protecting the flock

After a while a grassy track led off to the left so I took that up and over the ridge and onto more open pastureland. A little way up we saw the local sheep and their guardian dogs who, as soon as they saw us, started barking and herded the sheep into a little circle, while watching us suspiciously. Rambo did the sensible thing and ignored them, just keeping next to me with barely a sidewards glance. Bless him.

Red and green

Shortly after this we went past a spring where Rambo had a good long drink and then we turned to go down and try and find our way back to the village as part of a circular walk rather than turning and going back the way we had come. The view really opened out across the valley towards the local town and I must admit this is not the only picture I took of it. I particularly loved the colour of the flowers in the grass contrasting with the green around it. Lovely.

Woodland path

Our path next led into the woods and wound down, at times steeply and every now and then, very overgrown, through mixed woodland. It was beautiful if slightly treacherous under foot and you could tell that no one had really come this way for a fair while.

Voracious caterpillars

As I was picking my way carefully through the spiky branches I spotted another of the caterpillar nests hanging on a branch. I snapped a picture then chose another route, aware of the advice I had received that they pack a nasty punch.

The new road, below me

The path continued, getting narrower and narrower until finally it emerged into daylight near the new road. About 20 feet above said carriageway. I had emerged about a cutting, with a soft bank in front of me leading to the road, and no immediately visible method of descending.

Slipping and a sliding

I made my way carefully down to a ledge a few feet below the top and walked along. The mud was thick, clinging, and did not feel that safe. Fortunately after a few metres I came to a place I felt comfortable descending so, with Rambo held behind me (so he didn't pull me down) I carefully slid and walked down to the tarmac below. It wasn't too bad but, as I walked a bit further back up I saw a slip had occurred already, highlighting how unstable the whole thing actually is.

Yes, I am stood in the drinking trough. What of it?

There followed a long walk, about 20 minutes or maybe more, along the side of the road to get back to the track up to my village; I hadn't realised quite how far I had progressed away from my house. The walk back up the track was hot and sweaty and then it was even tougher to climb up the back way (I decided to not go back through the village) and into my land via the path. Rambo was in his cage, had a drink, and out bouncing around wanting more but, after 1.5 hours of walking with very few stops, I was done. I changed out of my jeans into shorts and joined the men and T at the table tennis table drinking sweet black coffee and eating chocolate brought by my neighbours. They are so very friendly.

Terry the Tortoise, looking grumpy

T was up continuing to finish clearing the old fence, and undergrowth, from the path of the fence as the men were moving incredibly quickly to put up the chain link. I was working inside on paid work and popped out at one point to have a look and he pointed out a little tortoise which he had uncovered when he chopped back a piece of scrub. It was still backed firmly into its hole and was looking at us suspiciously. I felt a bit bad that we had disturbed him; I hope he finds another home, or is able to stay in that one.

Having it!

T had brought a petrol powered bladed strimmer yesterday and today he got to play with it. His first job with it was to clear the brambles around where the garage door will be. He had to do a mix of oil and petrol and, after a few attempts, it started and ran pretty smoothly. I stood taking pictures until the barrage of chunks of wood flying and hitting me in the face encouraged me to go back to my paying work.

Bekir fencing

Mean while Bekir and Sally were flying along with the fencing, making far more progress than I expected and also which T expected. He was happily tidying after his strimming fun when he realised he should dash back and carry on with the fence as they were catching him up.

After lunch myself and Bekir went into town to see about the digger machine, and the windows. The digger man is going to come tomorrow to have a look and probably get the digger out the same day, and the window man was arranged to come up (with a translator) and look at the place again and make a note of which things I wanted done first. It was a quick and successful trip but I forgot to take the EVN bill so will have to do it tomorrow. We did have to stop at the level crossing on the way which is the first time so I took a boring video of the train going past, then was most amused to watch the lady in the little house having to manually wind the barriers back up.

I'll put the silver birches here

When I got back I spent a few minutes taking stones and plotting out where I want the tree planting holes to be dug (should the expedition for the trees go ahead on Wednesday) and I think I have changed my mind a bit already. Oh well, that is why you plan. I'll talk to the digger man tomorrow to get his assessment too.

All the brush has been cleared away

After this point the men just got on with their tasks, working really hard, as per usual, and I spent some time doing a few bits of admin like transferring my money locally and sorting out some more of my paid work. It is all about the money, as was proven when the window men turned up. We went through everything that I want to be done immediately, and then they said I had to pay a deposit, in cash, of nearly half the total order value. Bekir straightened this out and they are going to start making the doors and windows tomorrow, as my money doesn't arrive until next week due to the bank holidays. This is really good though as it means I will probably have the initial windows and doors done next week! There was a scary moment when the man was climbing out the windows to measure them; I was sweating watching him balancing on the rotting windowledges. Scary.

And so we get to now. I am about to leg it to the hotel for a meal, and then I'll be back later to finish this and post it. The men have just left, having done more than half of the fence in one day. I have mentioned to Bekir about maybe starting to take the roof down towards the end of the week; I am not totally convinced by this but pretty sure it is a good idea.

Anyway, onwards. I don't want to keep Georgi waiting.

A glass of vodka. I only touched a drop

And so I am back from a very enjoyable meal, chased down with a few sips from a lovely glass of vodka. Only a few sips as I had to drive home and so I gave the rest to Georgi.

Half my dinner...

For dinner we had the usual mix of dishes, though I chose Duck Hearts which I had not had before. They were very nice, though a little overdone maybe but very tasty. The chicken liver done in a village style were not as nice as the normal livers so I won't be trying that again. Everything was really tasty though.

...and the other half

Our conversation was wide ranging, covering lots of very technical subjects from PuP to residency and Georgi was forthright on all subjects, including explaining some details about the PuP law that I need to clarify with Sofia. Namely, that the law applies to buildings which are in Government ownership and have been renovated using Government funds, and this is definitely not the case with my building. Interesting.

The upshot is they are going to come past tomorrow and then Georgi offered to sort out all my paperwork issues; the car registration, the residency card and everything. It would be marvellous to get this done so fingers crossed when we talk tomorrow he is able to stay and help. I have promised him a meal to pay him back, so this may delay AGAIN the collection of the tor from Bekir and Sally. I am sure they will understand though.

So I am back and going to publish this then chat for a bit then bed; it's been a cracking day with loads achieved and it looks like tomorrow could be very similar to today.