What a mission

Today has been, as you might have guessed from the title of this blog, a complete and utter mission. I have been out all afternoon standing in queues and waiting for things to be done, spending copious amounts of money, and all to no good end. Anyway, by the end of this blog you'll know all about it and aren't you the lucky ones.

Lots of clouds and low fog to start the day

Last night was a lovely clear night and the moon was out with an yellowy/orange sickle shape. I was on my way to bed when I saw it and didn't have my tripod or remote control for the camera so there was no picture taken. I'm hoping that tonight I will remember and the clouds which are currently hovering around will clear again so I can try for a shot. I slept like a baby and, other than being woken at 4.45 by someone beeping their horn for my farmer (who didn't come out so he kept leaning on it then eventually stopped, got out, and started shouting; what's wrong with going and knocking on the blasted door!!) I went straight back to sleep and woke again at 8.10. Now THAT is what I call a lay in. And on a weekday, no less. I was straight up and out of bed as the need for a brew was great. Rambo looked expectantly as I exited Julian however he could wait; I needed to get a drink. Today was a "nothing happens until I have my first brew" type of start and, other than strolling along and taking a snap off the balcony to record just how filthy a start to the day we had, I did nothing until the last drop had been drunk.

I'm not sure what to use these for now

I say I did nothing but while the kettle was boiling Sassy, who had been rested over by the entrance to the lab when I came rushing upstairs, went into her cage and started banging and crashing the door to let me know that she was hungry and thirsty and would I please see to her now or she'd keep banging. Bless her. It's great to have her back healthy. Once I had drunk my brew, and had a good morning chat with a tired person, I went out and quickly fed Rambo. He was happy to see me however also hungry so while he was scoffing his food I went and recovered his blankets (which he threw out on the grass ages ago) and hung them on the washing line to dry out. I don't know if I'll give them back, or maybe use them to make a bed for him on the porch. They are dry as I type this so I'll be going to get them in soon.

Gorgeous blue sky and vapour trails from military jets

I had some paid work to do which I finished off quickly as I had decided on a small win for today; I have been wanting to get rid of all the glass and rubble on the balcony for a while and, with the sun now breaking through, I figured today was the best day for it. I started before the morning call (which I was able to join) and then finished off afterwards with one big bucket and two wheelbarrow loads of rubbish being carted down to the dumping place. While I was doing this I continued to hear airplanes in the distance and even though they are too high to see I caught a glimpse of these vapour trails just dissipating.

Seaweed probably dropped from a storm

While I was scooping up all the rubble and sand from around the collapsed chimney I found something quite strange; what looks like a chunk of seaweed. It still smelled salty and was damp so I reckon that monster storm in the night must have dropped it when it went over; you do hear sometimes of fish being deposited by big storms so some seaweed isn't too large a stretch to understand.

Really pleased this is now swept clean

It was actually quite hot work and I could feel a bit of sweat on my brow as I emptied the last wheelbarrow but I managed to get it all done and while it isn't 100% perfect at least now I can walk around the main part of the balcony bare foot and not worrying about all the glass that was on there. Finishing the balcony is a really low priority task which probably won't be done for at least two years yet so it's good to at least clean the thing.

Babies and parents in attendance

While I was going in and out to the bedroom through the living room I saw that the eggs have hatched in the swallow nest in there so after I had finished the work I grabbed my zoom lens and waited for them to make an appearance. The parents were flying in and out and were obviously not pleased by my presence but at least once they flew past the nest and tweeted in a way which caused the babies to open their mouths and I was ready. They didn't stop but flew on and then went and sat on the curtain rail. So as to not distress them too much I left after this as I don't need more pictures.

A load of stuff to be burned

After this I did a bit more work and then, in a fit of "getting things done" decided to pop upstairs to review what was needed to do to clear the roof for when the men will start taking it down which should be in two weeks (yes, still two weeks!). With not having T for next week either this is now a task that I have to do on my own. Right at the top of the stairs was a big pile of old maps and newspapers that had been soaked through as it was under one of the holes that did not get fixed. This struck me as a good place to start as any and so, putting a mask on as it was super dusty, I did about half an hour of sorting and pulling out stuff to burn before deciding that it was time to shower, eat and head off to get Thomas done.

I put the kettle on and challenged myself to go and shower and dry before it had boiled and I succeeded. It was then a lovely tuna mayo butty for lunch and time for me to leg it to town. I drove past Usmivka on the way down as he was walking back from the local town having taken his milk in (wearing the bag that I had bought him, bless) but as I was accelerating away on the new road I realised that I hadn't picked up the V5 and MOT document and so I did a U turn and met him again on the way up, giving him a lift up to his house.

A brief stop off at kaulfand to grab some bits (but they still don't have any broccoli in which is a real shame) and I headed over to KAT to start the process of changing Thomas over to a Bulgarian number plate.

This ended up being not so simple as Lucy. This was to be expected I suppose. First of all I went to go through the weigh station as I had been told to yesterday and a cop came over and said I couldn't wait there and I had to go and park in the carpark. After a few minutes Lubo arrived and we went to the little lean to in the carpark to arrange my "Eco-Tax" and insurance. After a short conversation Lubo ran across the road to KAT and left me with the person there and then another girl arrived (seemingly to take the cash from the last few days) and they spoke English for a bit. After a while Lubo returned and it was agreed that I would have to go to a notary to get a contract for sale.

Over here, when you buy a car you go together to sign a contract. As Thomas was obviously bought in England and we don't have such a custom they are able to draw up a contract based on the names and dates on the V5 which is then admissible as proof of ownership. Cunning. We jumped into Lubo's car and went to town where we were seen very quickly by a notary who took all the details, drew up the contract, stamped it and returned it for the princely sum of 8 lev. Normally I don't put amounts in this blog but today I am going to, just to give an idea of the costs involved in this process.

As we drove back to the little lean to Lubo pointed to a building that was cordoned off with tape and indicated that it was badly damaged; there were huge cracks in the walls and it had subsided dramatically. This had been caused, apparently, in the earthquake. I didn't get a picture and forgot to go back at the end of the day but maybe I'll remember to pop up there next time I'm town to snap one. It brings home how serious that earthquake actually was.

Once we got back to the lean to there was a bit of confusion as the girl couldn't enter my details correctly so she had to ring through to an office where they did manage to do this. She stamped, I signed, she stuck and stapled and shuffled and then asked for 380 Lev which was the insurance and the taxes all paid up. This stage was simple, if costly.

After this we headed back over to Office Number two from yesterday and there we stood in line for a while before the lady got rid of the people in front of us and it was my turn. It turns out that Bulgarians don't understand (officially) what a "pick up truck" is and she was wondering if it was a car or a truck. She went into another office and came back and started serving someone else while another member of staff looked up the codes she needed to input everything correctly. After a few minutes this was delivered and then she decided she needed my passport so I was running back across the road to Thomas once again. From this point it did not take that long and then I was told "to the weigh ramp".

I drove Thomas over but there was another car in the way so the same cop came and told me to move it. Lubo stayed by the ramp to save my place and I took Thomas back to the parking lot then sat in the back, on the roof, so I could see him waving my turn. It wasn't that long and I drove over however another car pushed in front. Lubo dealt and made the guy reverse out of the way and I pulled up to the light-testing-machine feeling confident. I had asked Lyubo at the garage to sort my lights over the weekend. He hadn't and this put a complete stop to the whole process as they wouldn't go any further with the inspection.

What to do now. I was convinced the lights had been sorted but looking at where they were shining on the cardboard held up in front of them I could clearly see they were pointing to the left, not the right. Lubo said he had a friend so we went to one garage, then another where a chap started to unscrew the radiator to get to the lights, but it became clear he wouldn't finish it today so we left. From there it was to a motor factor where Lubo got them to order some lights (though they weren't sure if they were the correct ones) and I paid a 100 lev deposit. These will be delivered maybe on Thursday and then the saga will continue.

As I said, what a mission.

Welcomed home with sunshine and warmth

So it was home and past time for a beer to wash away the dust from being out in the heat all afternoon. It has been warmer today and the sun was out really nicely when I got back so I had a bit of time on the balcony while I was typing this blog - just to make sure I do get to enjoy it a bit. I was barefoot and really loving the non-glass-covered surface.

The hole spider out of its hole

So I'm going to stop typing this now and set to make some lovely pasta for this evening with the mince I bought yesterday and left out. It has clouded over after that lovely sun from earlier which is a shame and maybe I won't get to take the pictures of the moon this evening. I really hope I can. I'll leave you for now with another shot of my "hole spider" as it was right outside before and I was able to get a good picture (though Rambo came bounding over and I had to be quite firm with him to stop him from disturbing it) before it dropped back inside when I opened the door to Julian. You'll notice that the babies have gone.

EDIT....

Beautiful sunset

Just now I was heading out to Julian to take the bedding off (I'm going to run a load of washing tonight) and I got as far as the landing and stopped. The sunset was incredible, with a dark funnel of cloud adding to the drama. I took this actually standing on the windowledge to get the correct angel so I could get the detail on the dark clouds at the bottom as well. What a stunning thing this place is. Five minutes later when I did go down to Julian it had completely gone.