Back in the saddle

So it's back to blogging daily which will probably become a drag again rather quickly the one benefit of which is to you, the reader, who will get shorter blogs from me. Evidence of this is the length of this introductory paragraph which is brief in the extreme. Onwards.

I made her wait so I could take this picture

After finishing the blog last night it was dinner time and A had cooked me a fantastic Bangers, Mash and Onion Gravy which is just my favourite meal ever along with all the other meals. We sat eating at the dining table that we have set up by the windows on the landing and it was so lovely to watch a (slightly rubbish) sunset and sit together at a table eating and talking. The girls were very good indeed and waited in their bed with only a few sneaky paws on the floor until we finished. After this it was feeding time for them and then they got their post-feeding cuddle. The evening was a quiet one and I was pretty exhausted so we went to bed early enough.

The sun slowly burning through the mist

I had a disturbed night early on jumping awake at one point with a pounding heart and real fears, which in turn terrified A who thought I was about to be sick. It took me a fair while to calm myself down and every time I almost dropped off I woke again in the same way. Eventually I did sleep which was a relief as I was so close to just giving up and going and eating. I woke up to an empty bed thinking it was really late so I dragged myself up feeling exhausted  only to find it was about 7am and I could have had a lie in. I decided against and instead took the camera onto the balcony as it was a lovely misty morning with the sun just burning through. The forecast had been for rain for today however this start to a day almost always means a lovely sunny day so when we headed out to the garage to take Thomas to have his lights changed I wore shorts and a vest top.

It was a good idea that I did as the clouds had burned off and it was baking while we were sat waiting for Lyubo to become free to do the work. It was a little bit of a mission for them as one of the screws had completely broken in the hole and they had a lot of trouble removing the front grill. They are nothing if not determined though and it was eventually finished and I was able to head off. We'd taken the girls with us which was nice however when A headed off to the shop and then home as she had a bit of work to do she took them with her as it was way too warm for them really and we hadn't brought a bowl of water for them.

A meeting of minds

The trip to and from the garage was quite interesting as they were digging up the road to re lay it which is very overdue to be fair. We also stopped at the carpenters for more sawdust but he said he didn't have any for about ten days so we'll have to go back. Going backwards in time for a second A had fed the girls this morning and the routine is after a meal they get to snuggle for a bit and so I encouraged them to get this from her. It's very important to me that they settle with her as well and to be fair they are doing this so very well.

Some of the detritus from the snow damage

So anyway I got back from the garage shortly after A and set to doing some paid work. The weather was still nice which was good as it's better to be able to look out on sunshine than showers. After a bit however it clouded over so I decided to take advantage of the slightly cooler temperatures to make a start on the humanure collection point. We'd done a quick walk round first thing this morning looking at locations and eventually settled on a really good one; just down between two of the tea trees. The area was covered in brush wood from where Bekir and Sally had tidied up after the snow damage so the first task was to drag this all out of the way.

Humanure trench

It only took me about five minutes to finish this so rather than go in then I decided to make a beginning on digging out the slight trench that you need for a humanure collection point. The idea is that the juices from the humanure do not leach out into the surrounding soil but stay within the humanure so they can help with the decomposition process. Or something. Anyway I picked up a shovel and started digging and felt the burn; I've been sat behind a desk for too long without doing any real exercise. I had to take a few breaks but got into a bit of a swing and actually managed to also do all the digging before heading inside for a rest and to do another hour or so paid work.

Harvest starts in June around here

It is sounding like I'm the only one doing any work around here today however that is certainly not true. A has been in her paid job very much today however she still managed to find time to get down and sort out the freezer which I brought over. We're going to have to slowly transfer food over from the big fridge/freezer in Room 13 so it can be moved out of the way for our tiling attempts so it is important that it is ready for that. We also got some nice time together sat with the dogs as the Little Lady and another lady from the village came over to harvest some of the tea tree blossoms. I did have to warn them that this year there'd be no climbing on the green building as it is ready to collapse. They're so tiny they did need some height assistance however so A leant the Little Lady one of the stools to stand on.

One side of the collection point is done

Lunch for me was nardenitsa and sirene butties on fresh bread which really does take me back; this was the staple diet of my first visits to Bulgaria as you can make sandwiches really easily while on the road with these ingredients. A laughed at my stuffing my face and made up a pasta dish like I had on the journey (not that you know about that yet; yes I know I'll get round to it I promise!). After lunch I worked some more then mid afternoon I decided to go out and do some of the woodwork for the humanure collection point. I measured twice and cut once and against all the odds the first end was perfect with no rework required!

Look at their huge grins!

It's been so great to see how well the girls have settled in; they're playing with Rambo a lot now (though we do still have to remind him just how much bigger than them he is) and also they are getting to know the land. They're chasing each other round outside through the tall grasses but when they are wanting a lay down they have found a spot just past the power pole, near the man hole cover, and while I was working on making the end wall for that is exactly where they went and they stayed there the entire time. It's great that they are so well behaved; it takes such a pressure off us.

I took a rest, then did the last of my hours for the day paid work before heading back out to do the second short wall. This was slightly more complicated due to an uneven floor and the first attempt was very close but not quite right. I amended it quite easily, luckily, and now I just have to build the long back wall, and then put a diver in, and I can assemble it. I'm also going to put a fence at the top of it so Rambo and the girls cannot get in, which will need gates in it so we can actually put the humanure in.

My lovely girls watching the burn

I did a little bit more paid work while waiting for A to finish her final file and then we burst into life with a few final tasks for the day. First of all we had a large pile of burning stuff which has been building up since I got back and started saying "oooh that can be burned!" as A is about to walk up to the village bin with the rubbish. She did a run up there (while I was starting this blog) and when she got back we went straight out and after an uncharacteristic struggle to light it, got the fire flaming away. I had to get in and rip out the weeds which were close around the drum just in case they caught light but it ended up being OK and is right now just smoking away into the evening.

Offering up the uprights to the finished square

The second task was me bullying A into finishing the gate which she started while I was away. I had seen the constituent parts stacked up in one of the downstairs rooms when we were unloading and made a mental note to get that looked at at the earliest convenience and that time had arrived. It took some struggling with both of us, the new driver, and a drill bit but eventually I got the screws in which had defeated her (that was NOT easy!) and then we laid it down and offered up the vertical sections.

A showing just how handy she is

After this I handed the tools to A, grabbed the camera, and watched as she put the screws in correctly to hold the uprights. I actually suggested the wrong length screws at first but we quickly worked this out and put slightly longer ones in. Some of the wood had warped a bit however with the long screws we managed to straighten them and it was a very satisfied couple who tided up and returned inside after doing this.

She's not in jail, honest

Look at how pleased she is!

And so now I sit at my desk finishing this blog as dinner bubbles away on the excellent cooker next to me and we look forward to once again sitting at the dining table and eating together in our home. I may get up and do a little bit of sorting of the boxes in the guest suite as that is a job which needs doing; all the train set stuff is being moved up into the loft to make space. I also really want to pick some pictures to put up in the bedroom and around the landing.

It's been such a brilliant day and I'm so happy that I'm here again, with A, and we've now got no plans to leave at all - it's really enjoyable to think ahead to not see a departure in our future. It is, however, quite daunting when you look around the place and see just how much there is to do. I've contacted Lyubo today and he is going to come over tomorrow so I can talk to him about the decision we made yesterday to get the kitchen floor done. I've also decided to talk to Isat, the building supplier we used last year a bit, who has a building firm and get him to quote for the job. If we can get this done and started sooner rather than later that would make me feel better. Finally we REALLY need to get Bekir and Sally back to finish the guest suite and bathroom before my parents' visit.

Pressure there!