Looking for work

This is actually going to be a short update this week; I've barely taken any photographs as frankly you're probably all bored of pictures of snow by now and I know that we are pretty bored of being limited by its presence.

It has also been a pretty tough week for me as I've been quite down; I have decided for various reasons that I should probably start earning again soon and this has opened up the spectre of having to go away once more. I really REALLY don't want to have to go away at all. I have applied for several fully remote permanent jobs and the one that I really wanted decided that, as I'm not actually UK based, they aren't wanting to even talk to me. This is very frustrating and rather hard to understand but that's life. I spent all week pretty much being rather unhappy and focusing on having to leave but woke up yesterday morning to give my head a wobble and I think I've snapped out of it. What is the point in spending my time while I am here being sad and worrying about when I may not be able to be here. Just silly. Also there's been a few bits of bad news from several of our friends which has made both of us sad. So yeah, not too much to write about but let's get it done and posted.

A very messy chicken house to be cleaned out

Rambo watches on....

Nicely swept and ready for hay

My first hot chocolate

A with her surprise present

Having said all of that Tuesday was actually quite a busy day. We got up and tidied up the living room and also lit the fire up there to get the chill off. After this A went out to clean the chicken shed out, now we're pretty confident that our flock doesn't have bird flu, and what a difference that has made. The chooks are very happy to have deep hay to hide in. I was about to help her with that hay when I noticed a van stopped by our gate. It was a delivery of more fire wood however they had managed to get stuck on the ice. I used Thomas to tow them out and up the drive and then was rushing, as they threw the logs into the garage, to stack the logs up so we could still fit Thomas inside. I then had to tow them the entire way back along our front lane to the top of the village. All of this happened and there were no photographs taken at all as we were way too busy to think of the camera. We then had time to finish our tidying before Chaz and Ivan turned up which was a lovely visit. We went out for a kebab (I had a lovely hot chocolate or two) and then via the post office and ekont came back for a brew which was drunk sat upstairs for the first time for ages. They then had to scoot off but A was most impressed with one of the deliveries which was some lovely warm Hobbit Feet slippers. She has worn them almost continually since.

Snow falls again. Fortunately not very much but it did settle

Can you spot both the puppies. They are both visible

Wednesday was a write off for me - spent entirely sulking, looking for work, feeling sorry for myself, doing some modelling and generally not being very productive at all. Thursday it started snowing again. We couldn't really believe it and neither could the puppies who hid in their blankets on my lazy boy and refused to come out. Other than this excitement I was also pretty much focused on the job hunt and modelling - my days are running into each other in my memory and it is only the photographs that reminds me of what happened.

Twelve models assembled and painted to my satisfaction

Putting together another few

I'm sorry to bore you but Friday was pretty much the same. I was feeling a little less unhappy as I pulled out of the gloom as described and I had a good day at the modelling table, finishing off my warband of Hunter Orcs and getting a start assembling the next models I want to create. We did head into town to try and get A registered onto the Bulgarian Health Insurance thing however found that because her residency card isn't valid for long enough they would not let her sign up. Our translator was very surprised by this but the woman was pretty clear in her response. Back to the drawing board there. It was really cold all day, the thermometer on Thomas was down around -10 or -11 all the time.

Early morning view

Mist and smoke obscure the parents' hotel

"The Gap" - where the sun rises in the summer

Here it comes on this winter day

A sheet of ice over the tiles

Saturday dawned bright and early for me - I've been waking up before the sun comes up all week and heading downstairs early to get the fire lit and the room warmed up for A. I went onto the balcony with the camera for the first time in the week, a sign that I was starting to cheer up as there's been any number of opportunities for scenic shots that I have ignore this week. It was a glorious view and I stood as long as my bare feet could stand it on the ice. Stunning.

Rambo's run along the fence

A beautiful view from the lane across the valley

Puppies getting warm again

When we got back we took the puppies for a short walk up the village to the bin. Rambo's run along the side gate is so impressive through the snow, showing where he bounds up and down whenever we leave him alone. It was a lovely day, warm enough to not need our coats, and everywhere the snow was melting. After lunch we went for another walk but I didn't take the camera as one of the reasons for the walk was to recover the lens cap that had been dropped during the first walk and if we couldn't find it I didn't want to risk damaging the lens. I wished I'd taken it, however, as we walked over towards the headland and there were so many wild animal tracks in the snow. We're pretty sure one of them was a lynx as its cat-like paws were huge. The puppies and Rambo were having a ball and so were we; it was glorious and again very warm. Out there, however, the snow was still very deep. Maybe I'll see if those tracks are still there later today and take the camera as we did find the lens cap. When we got back the girls were straight into their cocoon on my chair again.

Foggy start to the day

It starts to burn off

Now the sun is shining and the sky is bright blue

It is still really cold though

Seamus' face melted off

And so we get to today. I was up again early and got the fire lit and this time managed to burn my finger on a log - idiot. A reminded me about the Aloe Vera plant I'd bought her and since rubbing its sap on the burn it is a whole lot better - amazing. It was a very cold one last night (we lit the fire in the bedroom which was awesome as you get to watch the movement of the flames on the roof and walls) and this morning there was freezing fog. I cooked us breakfast and then A has headed out to town to do some shopping. While she has been gone the sun has burned through the fog and it is a glorious day out there though not warm yet. The sun has had quite an effect on Seamus and his face has melted away.

I'm going to wrap this up now and do a few more bits and pieces around the place before A gets back.

Here's to finding a super remote permanent job so I don't have to be away for extended periods of time ever again.

Another winter week goes past

Here we are again, another week gone past and another huge dump of snow that prevented us getting out all week. It is surprising, though, just how well we are coping with being cooped up in one room 24 hours a day - it's been a good week.

The view from the cheren put on 3rd January

I'll start off with a panoramic photograph that I took way back at the beginning of the month from the top of the men's cheren put. I forgot about it then in the post I did and it is too lovely for me to ignore so here you go. What a beautiful sight, looking out towards the Greek mountains.

Inside one of the pipes - not a pretty sight

In the process of cleaning out the soot

More snow to clear on the roof terrace

Mid-shovel, and being careful not to fall over

Nicely cleared roof terrace

I did it all, honest

The snowman takes shape

Louise is less than impressed

A proudly shows off her creation

A house I am making

Tuesday morning (for that is when my pictures start) began with me getting a jump-start on the day as I had to clean the pipes for the kitchen petchka. A helped me to get them lifted down, which actually went more smoothly than I expected with no drips on the tiles at all, and then I took them outside and gave them a good scrub. They were solid and no wonder we had smoke in the kitchen - it's a wonder anything could get through them. Once they were clean and put back in place we lit the fire and it didn't smoke at all; success. After warming up a bit I was up onto the roof terrace with the snow shovel to get that cleared off before it built up too much. It was still snowing a bit as I was shovelling but it didn't end up taking all that long to clear. I did find out that the tiles we've used really aren't good when they are wet and I'm wearing wellies - it was quite slippery out there. When I came downstairs I found that A had gone outside and done some more on her snowman which was starting to take shape well. As you can see the snow was falling and Rambo was loving it however Louise took the opportunity of me opening the door to get in out of the cold. Bless her, she's not a snow dog at all. That evening I spent some time modelling and made some good progress on one of the houses I'm building.

Early morning and snow still falling

Snow clinging to the chain link fence

Look at the shape Thelma has got herself into

I think we're going to print this photograph for our wall

The snow was still falling on Wednesday morning when we woke up and it continued to fall pretty much all day. It was looking very pretty however was also preventing us from getting workmen on site to finish off our office. I stayed inside doing the washing up while A put my wellies on and took the camera and the puppies into the snow to check the chickens and ducks. It was already almost over the top of those wellies and still falling, as I've said, and this snow was the sticky stuff that clings to everything including fences and little saplings. She went up into the orchard and cleared up the twigs in there, particularly the olive trees; we do not want a repeat of two years ago when they snapped in half. Rambo and Thelma were loving playing in the snow while Louise was inside with me.

Little olive tree in the snow

Deep undisturbed snow to walk through

Panorama on the walk down

A beautiful wintry wonderland

Those trains just keep on running

I decided to walk back through the park

Joined on my walk back up the hill

After lunch I got myself wrapped up (though this time in my sheep-skin coat not my German Army Greatcoat) and headed down into town for a few things. Before I left I waded through very deep snow to our other olive trees and made sure they were OK. The walk down was easy once I got down the lane next to our land and onto the hill as the grit had been put down and also a plough had been up relatively recently. It was stunningly beautiful and not too cold and I stopped a few times for photographs but then when I got into the valley I was wishing I'd put the snood on that A made for me as the wind whistled along and bit into my neck. I turned the collar up on my coat and pushed on. This time there was no surprise that the train pulled into the station as I approached but there was when it was still sitting there on my way back. I had had a successful and brief town trip, taking the scenic route back through the park, and A was on her way down the hill with the puppies to walk back with me. I met her near the bottom of the hill and we walked up together which was lovely. It really is good to get out and stretch my legs. I was less keen on this when, already in bed that night, we realised we hadn't shut the door to the chicken house so I had to go out and wade through deep snow to keep them safe.

Snowdrift across the front of the kitchen

Wrapped up ready for balcony work

Another nice collection of snow

Cleared a path around the edge

Baked ducks eggs for lunch

Two buried vehicles, and still it snows

It was still snowing on Thursday morning and the level was really starting to rise again everywhere we cleared before. There was another drift appeared outside the kitchen door on the patio and I laughed a lot when I let the puppies out for their morning toilet and they dashed outside, encountered this snow-wall, and immediately rejected the idea of running to their usual spot and went along the track towards the front door. They aren't stupid. I, however, apparently am as I headed out onto the balcony while it was still snowing to clear a path around the edge. The thinking was that this would help prevent icing of the drainage channels and allow the balcony to clear quicker once this lot melts. It wasn't too tough a job in the end and I spent more time chipping at the old ice, and clearing away Sassy's run, than actually shovelling. The snow continued the entire time I was out there. A greeted me with a very lovely lunch of baked ducks eggs which she did in the petchka and they were superb. I stayed in for the rest of the day but did take an amusing video when A went to check the chickens; the snow was so deep the puppies weren't able to move properly and the chicken gate had become stuck even since the night before. Incredible. And still it snowed.

It's like I was never out there the day before

Getting stuck in

Thelma found her old ball

Louise is up to her neck in it

Finally on Friday morning the continual fall of snow ceased and this prompted a flurry (sorry, no actually I'm not) of snow shovelling activity. First of all we went onto the balcony again which looked like I hadn't done anything the day before but wasn't a huge job to quickly sweep round and clear the track again. We spent some time having fun with the puppies with Thelma, who loves deep snow, legging it around and enjoying it while Louise, who hates it, having fun for a short while then running away.

Thelma and Louise venture outside

Nearly 50cm deep here, and more elsewhere

Puppies look out over the snow from ground level

Some of the driveway is uncovered, finally

With the balcony cleared it was time to make a start on the major task - digging out the drive again. We started on this together but first of all had to show just how deep it was, and this was not by far the deepest spot. We dug together for a while which was brilliant however after our first break decided to that A should go and have a look at the roof terrace and clear that. Again. That left me down on the driveway so I switched off and just shovelled and threw snow and shovelled a bit more. By lunch time I had cleared the drive completely and also dug out a good sized turning circle in front of the green building.

So much snow on the roof terrace

Another huge drift of snow

Getting closer to the gates

Time for a relax

As I've said A was up on the roof terrace while I was digging out the drive and what a sight that was when I went up to see how she was getting on; I only dug this out completely a couple of days before and it was even deeper than it had been back then with huge drifts against the roof wall. She did get this cleared, however, and now it's lovely up there again. We have made a promise to ourselves to make more use of that area this year after not really using it at all last. Anyway I can sum up the rest of my day in one word; exhausting. I dug and dug and when A shouted me at about 3.30 to say that a brew was ready I was within a few meters of the gate so I just kept going being fully aware that if I went back inside I'd not come outside again before it got dark. It was quite an undertaking however when I was laying in my bath with a double helping of radox and soaking it felt good and I was pretty pleased to have done it all and not left anything for the next morning.

The new bridge into town hasn't be cleared at all

My book arrived - finally

Enjoying chicken soup

We live to the right, under the clouds

Blackbirds outside while we eat our dinner

Ahh - the next morning. Saturday. We were hoping to be able to get out in Thomas down to collect a large delivery I was very excited about, then do a little bit of shopping and finally get to our favourite restaurant for lunch however before all of that we would have to get down our lane. There was a bit more digging for me (yay!) at the gate so it could be opened however I couldn't be bothered to get the pickaxe to clear the compressed snow and ice where the sheep had been at their feed. As soon as the text came through to say that the courier did have the package we got Thomas out and I made an attempt at the lane. As you can see from the video above this went well then stopped as I ran completely out of traction in the very deep snow that I slid into. After about half an hour of very cold hassle trying to put snow chains on for the first time ever (and with bad instructions that didn't help at all) we finally managed to make headway however there was no video of that as we were too focused on moving. The hill was not as bad as expected but when we turned over the new bridge into town that was pretty icy and I was very cautious indeed. We made it into town and while A was in Lidl I stayed outside to very excitedly open my package to get to my book; finally it's here! We then went to our favourite restaurant as planned, had a lovely lunch, and drove back home without any dramas. The weather in the main town was lovely - a clear blue sky, however this took a lot longer to appear at ours and even as we were driving home the cloud was still thick over our area.

The sun comes out over our snowy patio

Looking towards the laboriously cleared driveway

A with Seamus

Thelma pauses in her snow-play

Rambo loving the snow also

Our front lawn and raised beds covered in snow

Beautiful sky looking back over the rooftop

Westward into the misty mountains

The top bank - maybe there'll be a swimming pool here soon

We were both happy to have made it out, and proven Thomas in deep snow, and we spent the afternoon in more relaxing pursuits. After a brew we both headed onto the patio so A could finish the snowman (now named Seamus) and I took pictures of her having fun doing this. That raft of cloud had finally cleared and we had blue sky and strong sunshine and there were signs everywhere of melt. It wasn't warm enough to stay outside in and the next time I ventured to leave the warmth of the kitchen was to go onto the roof terrace for some pictures of the sky as the sun had just set. It really was a beautiful view and I wandered around up there for a fair while taking shots. Gorgeous.

Frozen tea trees from the freezing fog overnight

First ever pour of this resin - looking good I think

Ice crystals formed on the surface of a lump of snow

The chain link fence is decorated also

Being watched by the prisoners...

... who make good their escape

Saturday night was very cold and Sunday morning we woke to freezing fog. The fog had literally frozen to the branches of the tea trees however as per usual after a while this burned off and we had sunshine again. A had a much needed lay in so I got up and tidied a bit then finally poured the water effects resin onto the river on my scenery. This turned out to have been a bad idea as I wasn't aware of just how smelly it would be and we ended up having the windows open for a while before it cured enough for me to move out into the corridor. Whoops. My task for the day was to get out and do some more shovelling as we have to get into the chicken house to clean it out and you couldn't even open the gate properly. It was beautiful out there after the freezing night and ice crystals had formed on top of the snow. The cold, however, meant that I did need to get the pickaxe to clear the ice and compacted snow which had built up from us walking in and out of the chicken house on top of the snow.

Bright sunshine over our snowy village

Looking up the valley to the South

The sun sets and lights up the clouds

The rest of the day was spent inside as A was not feeling well at all. I did lots of modelling which was good fun and also made Sunday Roast which came out superbly if I say so myself. I also got onto the roof terrace again to get some pictures just before the sun set as it was a beautiful evening. We had a quiet rest of the day as well watching a film and then playing with the puppies. I didn't even look at this update, begun yesterday morning, after I typed the first couple of paragraphs.

And so we get to today. All I've done so far (and it is now lunchtime) is the washing up and helped A to get the snow chains on Thomas so she could get out. She has, obviously, been out in Thomas and as I type this she's just messaged to say she's on her way back so I'll just get time to publish before I go down to open the gates for her. It's been a grey day today with only the merest hint of sunshine and she said the hill was quite icy. I did ring Bekir yesterday to see if they wanted to work however his village is still cut off so we'll have to wait a while.

And there you have it - thanks for reading and see you again next time. Hopefully we can change the tune and it won't be about snow however the forecast isn't looking promising...