Stuff that's happened since

Now we're just going to sweep through the past few months as quickly as possible, just picking out things that have happened.

Grass and Garden

Exploring the jungle of the garden

Very very long grass

Louise decided to ride with me

The fenced garden is so over grown

Making some really good progress

Starting to hack the brambles out

A fully loaded bee

Nearly completed the brambles

Flower beds buried in weeds

And cleared again

So, one thing that we've spent a lot of time on is cutting the grass and keeping the garden nice. The grass was super long when I got back from the trip so I ran the ride-on around and it took ages as I had to empty the collector so often. It wasn't only the grass that was overgrown but the garden as well. I went into the fenced garden and weeded it out to try and find the potatoes and the onions. It took a few days but was a very satisfying feeling to see the soil reappear from the tangled weeds. Angela and Rosie went away for a few weeks and I took advantage of this to attack more garden jobs. First of all I was clearing the tangled brambles that had taken over behind the chicken house and this also took several days of working every morning before the sun came up. The rest of the garden needed focus too so I had a lot of fun (honestly!) weeding through everything and I got it all done as a nice surprise for Angela when she got home.

Rosie picking tomatoes

Angela harvesting potatoes

Rosie planting potatoes

Carrots and tomatoes

New raised bed full of soil

We've also had a bumper harvest of tomatoes this year, so many that Angela got quite fed up of processing them. Rosie and I have been picking tomatoes almost every evening after dinner for weeks and weeks. We pulled a bunch of potatoes out of the raised bed and then Rosie dug some more in, though it doesn't seem like those are coming up yet. The raised beds have been so good for us this year, and the flowers that Angela planted are maturing well - the entire garden is really coming along. I have also built some metal raised beds for the patio but don't have pictures of all of them unfortunately. One of these has been given to Rosie for her to look after and she's so far doing really well with it.

Adventures with Rosie

Rosie with the Old Farmer's dog (we call her Josie)

Dancing while we wait for food

Achieving a state of zen

Mummy and Rosie riding their bikes

Me and Rosie having a swim in the river

Bouncing with a new friend

Rosie at the Classic Car Show

Camping in the big family tent

On the back of James' bike

Enjoying a BBQ on the patio

Riding James around the pool

Throwing her glider

Exploring the region

As usual we've had a lot of fun with Rosie, including several weeks visiting her cousins. I am not going to write a lot here, the pictures tell the story.

Steam Excursion Day

Last but not least last weekend I took Rosie on a "treat day" up to near Veliko Turnovo to ride on a steam train. It was amazing and here is that day.

Rosie very excited with the play area

Having a tasty burger and chips

Rosie in her awesome cupboard hiding place

We went up on the Friday afternoon, after lunch, and got to our hotel in time for a short rest before we headed out to find food. The hotel room was very large, almost an apartment, and this gave us plenty of scope for hide and seek. It also had a balcony and Rosie was very excited to watch a couple of bats swooping around in the early evening. It was a perfect place to stay, really.

Rosie wearing her official hat

Both so very excited for the day

Let's make some smoke!

Rosie with her flowers

Re-enactors gathering by the locomotive

The next morning we were up and packed and out to Lidl to grab some breakfast and spend some time in the play area next to the shop. I heard the sound of the train's whistle and that prompted us to head to the station. Rosie was having a great time and she was so excited at the train. She did wear her hat into the locomotive however I was being interviewed for TV and couldn't get a picture (and they wouldn't let me turn round to get one which was annoying). Pretty soon we were on the train and it was making steam as we pulled out of the station. The day before had been Independence Day and part of the attraction of this trip was some re-enactments of the events of the day. Rosie was able to gather some flowers that were used in the show, and was even given some by one of the ladies who was taking part.

Making her face look happy

Steaming along the line back to the car

It was a super hot day, getting up towards 40 degrees, and when we reached the end of the first leg it was quite a walk to get to a restaurant from the station however we were able to slot in on the end of an occupied table and get some good solid food in us. Rosie was tired but doing well. I was tired as well! After lunch we went to some shops so Rosie could spend her pocket money and then made our way slowly back to the train, via an ice cream parlour of course. I had a little rest then while Rosie watched some tablet and then the train was filling up and we were on our way back to our original station. It had been an awesome day, and Rosie had loved it so much. Brilliant.

Maisie broken down and waiting for assistance

We drew lots of pictures, resting on those logs

Rosie made a fire as it got dark

The journey home was going really well when suddenly round a blind corner I saw a motorbike on my side of the road looking to overtake a truck. I swerved to avoid it and went off the side of the tarmac and then, as I struggled and fought to guide Maisie back onto the road the rough edge of the tarmac ripped a hole in the tyre and also damaged the rim and I was immediately fighting a flat tyre. I was able to keep control and stop the car safely, thankfully, but then we were stuck by the side of the road as my jack was too tall to fit underneath Maisie! The insurance I took out did come with free roadside assistance and fortunately we did not have to wait long. Rosie was an absolute star, I cannot praise her enough, during this whole process. While we were waiting she encouraged me to draw with her, which distracted me from pacing and waiting and then when the repair man was there she did everything I asked her, stayed safely out of the traffic (it's a very dangerous road, and where I was stopped was a bit dodgy to be honest) and was just a diamond. Soon we were back on the road and she was asleep pretty quickly again.

So there it is. I think I've caught up. I'm hoping that the men will be back next Monday, while tomorrow I hopefully will finally get the new rims and tyres on Maisie. Thanks for reading and back Monday.