Walkies then Bureaucracy

Today has been a very expensive day, mostly my fault, and not entirely unexpectedly either to be fair but right now I am wincing and my bank account is cowering and terrified about tomorrow which will likely be about the same if not more. Terrifying.

The wood has already split since I took this picture

Anyway, the blog today starts quite substantially with last night. As you may remember, yesterday was not a great day for me and it was made less great by one of the wheels on my office chair snapping completely and almost throwing me onto the floor with its suddenness. Anyway, I'm nothing if not resourceful and so I have put a short term fix involving a chunk of wood under the wheel-less leg and while I am now not able to scoot back and forwards with as much ease, I am stable and comfortable again. Success.

Rambo pretending to be a house dog

My mood yesterday was so low, and it was so chilly, that I decided to put the petchka on to give me the lovely crawling whooshing sound that it makes, and also to take the damp and the chill out of the air. Just before I did this I went downstairs to also get changed into long trackie bottoms and while I was outside Rambo looked at me with such sadness that I melted and decided that, for one night only, I would allow him in and upstairs to sit with me. After a really good sniff around, and a few "no!" commands from me when he went somewhere not quite right, he settled down behind me and dozed while wagging his tail. I think he was a happy dog.

There was one quite weird moment when he suddenly jumped up and went to the door. I presumed he needed to go to the toilet so put my call (which was going a long way to cheering me up as well) on hold and took him downstairs. Rather than running off for a toilet break as soon as the door was open he legged it out growling and staring around. I hadn't picked my torch up (why would I?) when I heard a bang from by the piles of bricks just to the side of the entrance. The outside light doesn't reach round here and I could not make out anything so I dashed back up, grabbed the torch, and returned to shine it around. I could see nothing. It was a bit strange and it did spook me a bit (I am not ashamed to admit) so I locked the internal door when I came back in and then when I went to bed I kept the torch really near me just in case. It sounded like a small animal to be fair and was probably a fox digging around.

Very dark sky, the sun is there somewhere

After this excitement I slept right through the night (being a bit annoyed again when the rain started hammering down but the sound must have lullabied me to sleep) and I woke up at 6.40 which was this morning close enough for me so I got out of bed and went in, frowning at the continuing overcast that was afflicting me again today (though there was a glimmer where the sun was coming up), and put the kettle on. My chores this morning were again easier what with the rain so I fed and watered Rambo and then did the washing up before drinking a drop of the brew.

A downpour. In June. In Bulgaria.

I had paid work to occupy me first thing and did a good two or three hours before I decided that never mind the weather I wanted to take Rambo for a walk and so I would do so. To give you an idea of just how brave this was there was an absolute cloudburst that went past at about 9am which went from nothing to a drizzle to torrential and back to nothing in about 10 minutes. It is June 2nd.

Heavy socks and walking boots, not sandals :(

To continue my whinge this is what I went out to Julian and changed into. Thick walking socks and my walking boots. Remember when I arrived and I was determined to only wear sandals and not make use of even the thinnest of the socks that I brought with me. Oh innocent fool I was then however I was still not even considering the wearing of these socks until today. I really need to find out just what is going on with the weather here at the moment and get it sorted.

Happy doggy setting out on his walk

Suitably accoutered I put Rambo on his lead and we headed out the main vehicle gate and left to follow the path there to the cheren put and then round. Rambo was super excited as you would expect and as soon as we were past the farm I let him run to the extent of the lead. He very rarely goes so far that it runs out but at least he gets to explore while I can also control him if I need to.

This 4x4 drove up here!

As we made our way down the rocks and across the ruts I could hear an engine. I presumed that it must be the sound of the diggers and road making machinery that is getting higher towards my village however just round the corner I saw something white and then, bouncing and jouncing along happily, there came an EVN (electricity company) Lada Niva. Now I know what the road is like further down and this is about as impressive a piece of off roading as I have seen so far. It isn't so much steep as really rocky and with a lot of very strange cambers. I do not know where he had been (I'm certain he can't have come right up from the track this way as there are trees too close together towards the bottom) but he waved and went past, then got stuck behind the parked white car of the farmer. Ironic.

My house to the left, the Cheren put to the right

The track I mentioned bends down to the left after a little but directly ahead of me was an enticing field/moor that I knew led to the top of a very steep bluff that would look down on the new road and my river. On the way there was a comedy moment when Rambo ran around a thorn bush and back to me and then, when I tried to unwind the lead, he kept following me. We managed to sort it out in the end with me pushing him one way and me walking the other. Muppets. Anyway when we got to the bluff the trees blocked any really good view however the sound of the road (a big truck went squealing along while I was standing there) was really bad. I am glad that I do not live in sight of the road as about the only thing that bothers me is the motorbikers who use it as a drag strip. I did get a picture looking back towards my house, with a glimpse of the cheren put just to the right.

This is progress, this is....

We skirted the edge of the bluff and eventually reached the continuation of the track which finishes at the cheren put and we made our way down it and reached it quickly. Now to climb back up and try and get home in time for my morning telephone call. On the way up we walked past the location where the road builders are working at the moment and it was with quite a lot of sadness that I see what they have done to my favourite place on my cheren put. There used to be a little waterfall, shaded by a tree, and with a small pool right where this dirty great big hole has been gouged. I never did climb down to it and now I really wish that I had done. Oh well.

That side there was a pump running and the workmen were carrying boards down into the deep hole that was dug which required ladder access. On the other side, however, the big digger machine was bashing and smashing away at the trees and rocks to create what I am presuming is going to be a culvert to take any water run off from my mountain and keep it off the road. I stood and filmed it for a bit as I know that there are those amongst my readership who enjoy a good bit of heavy machinery porn.

Rather than walk through the village we cut up the bank and reached the back fence at the top of my land. It was nice to see just what progress T has made and I was pleased to see how secure the fence is all the way along. Unfortunately my walk had taken ten minutes longer than planned and so I was back just too late to reach the stand up in time. I had sent an email before I left with my progress though so it wasn't the end of the world and I was back in time to have a chat and clarify some other things on my other task.

Around this time a really weird siren started up, sounding very much like an air raid warning, and it kept going long enough that after a while I decided to video it to share and it only stopped just after I stopped filming. I don't know if you can pick it up from this video but it sounds almost like there are more than one going, one of them further up the valley, or it could be an echo. Anyway, I've not heard this sound before and I still have no idea what it was signifying.

After another period of working I stopped for lunch but then realised that I wasn't actually that hungry so decided not to have any. I saw a white van come along the road and then suddenly heard voices outside. I popped out to see what was happening and saw that the van was parked up next to Lucy however there was  noone near it. I went through the house and out the back door and there were two men by the telephone exchange. They were very pleasant and one of them had a little English (he originally thought I was greek; have I really tanned that much?) and they were seemingly OK with Rambo who was hovering around interested as always.

Shortly after I went out to get him to put him in his compound as I was leaving and he had left them alone and was back asleep on the porch. I took him, put him away, then got my stuff together to go out to register Lucy in my name. As I left so did they so I was able to drop through the gate and leave one of them to shut it behind me. As I went through the village Usmivka came running to shake my hand through the window and say hello; he really is lovely, and then I was down the hill and off on the new road to town. I had two chores to complete before meeting Lubo who was going to help me out with the paperwork.

First of all I stopped at the hardware store to pick up a Mitre saw so I can do the cuts for the bed and be sure they are completely straight. I really wanted to get Makita as I have almost 100% Makita tooling at the moment however they didn't sell a Mitre saw by that make so I had to settle for the cheap and nasty option which hopefully will hold out with the amount I will use it. I do hope to make quite a lot of furniture myself so it could end up getting a fair amount of use. As per usual I was given a full tutorial on its operation while on the shop floor, shown it was working, and then the box was carried for me to the checkout. One fail was that I forgot to take the broken chair wheel in to ask them to swap it out and I will try and remember to do this tomorrow now.

From there I was off to Kaufland where I had quite a long list of things to get including tin foil and more Raid. I went past the meat counter and asked for 1kg of mince and when I was offered it in a packet I accepted only for the lady to return with 3kg. I didn't have the heart to tell her so I have just split and frozen most of it down. I had a really successful trip only being unable to find spinach anywhere, which is a shame. As usual I was harassed as I unloaded by a gypsy lady who wanted to take my trolley back for the money. I have said yes in the past but now I am not so keen so I told her to go away and walked. She probably cursed me. Never mind.

I drove from there to KAT (the vehicle licensing place) and pretty typically found that I was over half an hour early for the appointed time. I sat in Lucy and then thought I would text Lubo to let him know that I was early and he almost immediately replied to say he would only be a few minutes. I went to stand on the road and after a short while saw him park up. He checked I had all the paperwork (I did) then we went in.

There are three offices numbered, helpfully, One Two and Three. Taking the logical first step we went into Office Number One and were told that no, this was not where you start, and we should go to Office Number Two first. Standard. Neither of these was the one that myself and Bekir had visited months ago after I bought Lucy so I think we had gone to the wrong place as well. Anyway, the queue in Office Number Two went down pretty quickly and soon I was in front of the window and all my documents were being checked and very slowly entered into a computer. After signing a number of pieces of paper I was given another scrap with some scribbles on it and then we went back to Office Number one (the logical progression I think you will agree). One thing that did amuse me (and has prompted me to listen to them this evening) was Skunk Anansie were playing in the office while we were waiting. Not something you expect to hear in Bulgaria.

Once in there I had to pay a small admin fee and then she took the paper work which I had just been given, got me to sign a load more bits of paper, and directed us over to Office Number Three where we handed the receipts over and were told to come back in 20 minutes when the new documentation would be all ready for us. While the process in England is simpler (fill out the V5, send it off, wait) this is actually far quicker as you walk away with your registration document in your name as quickly as this.

Lovely gardens and the church

Lubo had brought the drawings with him (sensibly so he doesn't have to come to mine tomorrow morning and give them) so we strolled over to his car and collected them, then put them in Lucy for my onward journey. I then looked up and asked about the church and ruins that was right next to the carpark. Lubo said that he knew the priest and we walked up however his friend was teaching a Sunday School so was not about. We walked around the grounds for a bit while I snapped a few pictures and while we did this the sun put in an appearance that was very gratefully appreciated.

The old church walls

Within the grounds there were some ancient ruins and Lubo told me the church was here from 400 to 1400 when it was destroyed by the Turks who burned the whole of the town to the ground and didn't leave until the 1700s. Apparently this main town that I live near was only reincorporated in 1902! This was a really interesting talk and I really hope that tomorrow, when we are back to register Thomas, this priest is in and we can get inside church and I can hear more about the history of the region.

We headed back across to KAT but were still early so Lubo tried to find out what the process would be for tomorrow. I am still rather confused as to what order things need to be done in (I need an eco-tax, to pay to get a Bulgarian number plate and insurance, but if I have a Bulgarian number plate on my car then my existing insurance is not valid however I can't get insurance as I don't know what my number plate will be.....) but I suppose that is an adventure for tomorrow. For now the time eventually came and I collected my stuff from Office Number Three (which was the one that Bekir and I had been to before) and then we were off into town to change over the insurance to my name as well. This was achieved very quickly and easily (once again thanks to Lubo) and now I think all I need to do is go to the local Obshtina and tell them that it is my car. So much paperwork!

No matter, I can relax as I am now not at risk of getting fined for not registering the car. This completed I set off to the garage to pick up Thomas and drop Lucy off. I had new tyres on Thomas and when I found out the price I wished I had not bothered as it was a very hefty bill (as mentioned earlier) but my fault as I didn't specify a cheap brand so they went for Continental 4x4 rubber which is just crazy skupo! Anyway I drove away sweating slightly, having transferred all my purchases, and collected the old tyres, and went past the little shop to get veg. Sadly they only had cabbage so other greens goes back on my list and I'll have to go back to Kaufland tomorrow to get them; I really want to get back to eating healthily with fresh produce again after a couple of pizzas last week that probably didn't help me feel tip top yesterday.

Suddenly there was sun and blue sky

As soon as I got home I made up my honey marinade that I have been planning since last night which involved pouring honey into a little bowl, adding a chopped up chili and some olive oil, and mixing it with a fork. I then smeared it all over the three pork belly strips that were fully defrosted from last night. I put my tatties in to boil and then noticed with great joy that the rain I had been dodging when I arrived back had suddenly cleared and there was blue sky and sunshine outside! I grabbed the camera and went and stood on the balcony for a few minutes, enjoying the feel of the sun, and snapping a few pictures until I became worried about my dinner boiling over so went inside. Here's to this being the change and maybe it sticking for once.

Very tasty dinner

Skunk Anansie serenading me as I typed this blog and cooked I waited for the tatties to get close to cooked then put my marinaded pork belly strips into the pan to fry them off. I also chopped some cabbage and then, towards the end, boiled it briefly with the tatties and then put it into the pan to finish off and pick up some of the flavour from the glaze. Dinner was served and it was luscious however I think the marinade and glaze was a bit too liquid so I will live and learn on that one.

The sun going down, backlighting the clouds

Since then I have been listening to more music (two Skunk Anansie albums and one Rage Against The Machine have been sung along to this evening, though I am once again in silence now) and typing this blog and just a few minutes ago I suddenly realised that the sunset was occurring so grabbed my filter, jumped on the chair at the back window (I will have to put something permanent there when the renovations are done, for this purpose) and snapped away. This was what I would term a quite hard sunset, with a glaring sun and not much defuse colour however the way the clouds were ranged further away, catching the golden glimmer of where it was still full daylight, was really pretty.

Sassy is hungry again

As I stepped off the chair to come back to finish typing I saw that Sassy was eating the greenery I had thrown in the other day after doing the Hugelkultur. I went to take her picture and she hopped over to see me at the gate then went back to her munching. She is so much better now and is really acting how I am used to her being. I hope she doesn't scare me like that again.

And so it is time to finish this blog and let it out into the wild to be read, or not, by you lovely people. Tomorrow is going to be another busy one as I aim to get Thomas swapped from UK plates to Bulgarian, and then insured. I will of course report back on how that goes.