Change of plans

Today has been a day of plans changing and I didn't even expect to be sat here writing a blog as I went out for the evening however the weather (which has been pretty atrocious on the whole this year) foxed that plan as well. But anyway, that's (as always) me getting ahead of myself so back to the beginning.

Totally horrible miserable start to the day

So I headed to bed last night, read a bit, then went to sleep as the storm which blew in went away again without really bothering me or dropping much rain or anything. I was woken this morning, however, by one of the biggest bangs I've heard and the whole house shook with it. I tried to get back to sleep, though I thought about trying to capture another big bang and a little while later I really wished I had got the video camera out as another one happened and again shook the house. There were quite a lot of other more distant bangs but nothing as impressive after this. I did get back to sleep eventually and woke again at about 8.30 and decided I should probably go and feed the boys. It had been raining when the first explosion woke me and it was still raining now and it looked pretty set in. What a miserable start to the day.

Just a small storm in the last few hours

I headed out to feed the boys and they were pretty obedient again, they really are getting the hang of feeding time if they aren't perfect at all other times. With the rain there was no need for a watering round so I went straight inside to make another cuppa and have some breakfast. I while I was sat at my computer watching some sport I looked on this excellent lightning map site and found that yes, there had been quite a lot of activity the night before around my area and (though I'm not posting this) there was a few strikes within a mile or so which would have been the huge bangs I heard.

(clockwise) stairs, towards sun terrace, above Room 13, open roof

It took a while before I built up the courage to go upstairs and check the state of the roof under the not-sealed new part of the roof but when I did open the door and go up I was pleasantly surprised. There was standing water but very little and not enough for me to bother trying to clear it off. The areas where there was no roof at all were obviously the worst, but even the gappy planks were doing a bit to prevent the horrible flooding I had experienced before.

Set in for a dreary day

I took a short turn around the roof, getting slightly wet but hey I'm English I should be used to that right, and and I took some pictures looking at the different aspects, trying to see if there was any sign of a let up in the cloud. There wasn't; all around there was low cloud, rain, miserable and dank and horrible weather. Just to remind you, this is supposedly a Mediterranean climate and today is August 2nd. Just ridiculous how bad the weather has been this year.

I don't know what he wants...

I spent a large part of my morning either on the computer watching sport, chatting to people online or laying in bed reading. In fact, that is how I have spent most of my day today. Ralf last night was super clingy; he was sitting by my feet as he does but then he'd force his way up looking to get on my lap. The few times last night that I let him up he just wriggled and jumped straight down again, only to be trying to get up again a few minutes later. He was like this again this morning. How can you refuse that face?! Well I can, I tell you.

Ralf taking an interest in the neighbours

One thing that crossed my mind was maybe he wanted out (he is on his lead again inside as he will use the rooms with no floor for a toilet which I suppose is understandable but not something I want to allow) so as last night when he started acting like this I took him outside and he dashed ahead and had a really long wee so maybe that did have something to do with it. While I was out with him this time it had mostly stopped raining so I took a little turn, had a check on Shiva and Jesus (no sign of either of them this time) and then heard clucking and was amused to see the chickens going past with a couple of tiny chicks running after them. Ralf was also most interested as you would expect.

Over the morning it cleared

I spent most of the next few hours in bed, resting and trying to shake off a nasty sore throat and headache which had taken me over last night and had woken up with it feeling worse. With the weather and this there was the first change of plan which is referred to in the title. I had planned on walking (or driving) down into town as there was some sporting event, maybe wrestling, taking place. I cried off with this and rested right through until it was time for my Special Guest to get off to her leaving do and I pulled myself out of bed and saw that in the time I had been switched off the clouds had blown away and the sun was out. I popped onto the balcony to record this, and felt a little bad that I hadn't gone down to the sporting event that I had been so looking forward to.

I fried up the bits and pieces that I had laying around, running out of mushrooms and onions in the process,and also discovering that the nardenitsa had gone off so replacing that in my recipe with some cubed bacon and I made myself a pretty good spicy bacon and mushroom pasta for my dinner, nearly 3pm and very late but I only started feeling hungry as I was dishing it out. There was an unpleasant moment during this when, having given a chunk of the nardenitsa to Ralf I decided (against my usual habits) to give the rest to Rambo. He took the meat and, as I walked past him to go onto the patio to stand outside for a minute, he started growling really aggressively at me. I obviously was not going to stand for this so I subdued him and forced him behind me while I walked him back to their compound and put him in there in disgrace. This reinforces my decision that I need to start training him very soon on the fact that food (which he understands isn't his when he hasn't been given it) is not something he should growl over when I come near him while he is eating.

As of yesterday

After this I remembered that I had not taken the progress picture for last night and so I popped up onto the back bank with Ralf and snapped the shot. It was quite nice and I stood there for a few minutes enjoying the sun and the breeze before heading back in. She headed off out about this time so I was left to my own devices again.

A grasshopper's shed skin

I went back to bed and read until I had finished the book I was reading which was really excellent and was, which I had hoped it was but hadn't realised, based on a true story. I would recommend this to anyone. The time I finished the book was about the time I would need to set off to meet S and S in town if I was going to join them for the evening festivities. I got up, had a drink of water and finding myself feeling largely better I shook myself and decided to go. I put on my jeans, then found my new shorts and changed into them then realised that the shirt I had put on, even though it was clean from the wash, was dirty so I went to get another shirt from the downstairs wardrobe. Clinging to the front of the wardrobe was the shed skin of a large grasshopper which looked so spooky and awesome I decided I had to snap a picture but this proved slightly harder than you would think as the flash washed the detail out, but the no-flash was a long exposure that was hard to steady.

Mother and child

I then realised that I could not find my car keys for Lucy anywhere and I searched high and low, tidying Room 13 a bit in the process, before deciding to look in the last place I knew I'd had them and there they were, still in the ignition of Lucy who was parked under the tree on the track! What a relief. In the field just there was another lovely sight as the little foal was nuzzling up to its mother. I snapped a whole load of pictures then, waving to the cousin from the farm, and the Little Lady who was shelling peas on her balcony, I headed down into town.

The street is full of market stalls

When I had parked up and walked down I found that the market was still there, though it was being packed away as one stall holder after another decided they had had enough, but the whole street was still full of stalls and people walking around checking out the wares. It was lovely to see so many people out and about. I went and sat to wait for S and S for a bit at the place we agreed to meet, texting them to let them know that they couldn't park in the usual place.

All the fun of the fayre

After a bit I decided to wander around again and went back to the main square where I was amused to see cotton candy being sold by a large number of stall holders, and loads of people were walking around eating it. Shortly after this I headed back and just as I got to the meeting point again my phone rang and S was on the phone describing where they were at so I walked the couple of minutes over and found them straight away.

Really black clouds blowing over

We stood chatting for a bit then decided to find a beer and some food and S very kindly bought me a chicken skewer and a beer. We had to move from the table we had chosen, however, as the lovely weather was over and the wind picked up and huge dark threatening clouds were blowing in. At times the wind was so strong it really did feel that the tent we were under was about to disappear. This really is not what you expect in Bulgaria in August.

Before the rain and after (4 mins between shots)

After eating we went to watch the singing but then it started raining heavier so we (along with most of the crowd) ran for cover at the edges of the square while the poor performers kept at it and the hardier souls stayed put.

It didn't rain for long so we headed back out into the centre and I was really pleased as I got to stand and video a whole performance from the musicians, singers and dancers that were doing such a great job on the stage. About half way through this you can hear applause and a group of dignitaries came and sat at the front, accompanied by some very humourless looking men with earpieces and hands tucked inside their suit jackets - the very image of the Balkan security officer. Very serious looking men indeed.

After this the rain began falling again and S and S and their companions decided to bail on the whole thing and headed off, which was quite a sensible decision in the end. I stayed for another 20 minutes or so, enjoying just strolling round the edges of the crowd watching the performance, and enjoying said performance as well, before deciding to leave before it got too dark so I could get back in daylight. This was a very good time to go as I got to the car just as the downpour hit though I got completely soaked through at the other end as I ran from Lucy to the front door.

So I got back in time to write this blog today after all, and I have done so in a very short time really, listening to the Band of Brother sound track and feeling quite chilled out and relaxed really. Tomorrow the forecast is for better weather and it would be really nice to get out and do some more weeding, and maybe even get round to shifting the piles of wood from the back bank before the men tear the next section down. We shall see. The headache which is still hanging around now may be combined again with the nasty sore throat so I may take the wiser course and rest again.