Electrickery

It's a late start to this update so maybe it'll be short but likely I'll just not get to bed for ages as actually a little bit has happened today. Let's not faff about though; onwards.

She is even more excited about this than she looks

The day started off in the best way possible; no alarm. We woke up about the same time (and Louise as well) and both the puppies jumped up to say hello. I kind of remembered in the night that they had again asked to go out and again asked A which was perfect and apparently Louise had pounced on A to wake her up. Haha. The weather was looking pretty vile first thing with a solid raft of cloud from horizon to horizon apart from a gap near the hills where the sun was shining through. We dozed on and off and suddenly this blew away and we were left with a lovely start. We got up for brews and to do the watering round (while there was water) and after a lovely time pottering around and weeding and checking out all the plants I went onto the roof terrace and found that one of the sunflowers was looking fit to open today or very soon.

Small screen: work. Big screen: cycling

There were quite a lot of things we needed to do in various towns today which was our priority but I didn't want to head out too early in case we got anywhere before the shop opened. I spent a bit of time checking out what we'd need to buy in town to help me do the electrics later and also realised that today was the start of the Tour de France and my eurosportplayer subscription had expired so I renewed that. This will be my next three weeks. I'm very excited.

Building materials for the kitchen floor

Just as we were about to head out the workmen arrived and A pointed out they had brought materials for insulating the floor. I was driving so as A went to open the vehicle gate I stopped to snap some pictures. From there it was down into the local town to pick up my company stamp as Dincher had alerted me yesterday that it was ready. This was a simple pickup then we headed to the big town. On the way out a car in front started driving erratically then pulled over and we were pleased to see the Other Brother waving at us as we drove past. He was heading to his flat and waved again as he turned in. Lovely chap.

This is why you buy a 4 x 4

Our first port of call was the hardware shop where I found all the things we needed for the wiring and then we spent a fair bit of time pottering around the tiles and bathroom sections picking out what we want. We have now selected tiles for Room 13 (lovely and bright), the vestibule and all the kit for the wet room including a particularly lovely sink/stand combination and an awesome shower unit with multiple heads and computers and things. We'll be heading back there with Bekir once he returns (hopefully on Monday) to start putting the guest suite together. As we were leaving A spotted a really lovely small petchka which we both agreed would look brilliant in the bedroom so we bought it on impulse. I'm really pleased with it. From there we went round the corner to our usual carpark in the centre however town was rammed today so I was forced to resort to my old trick of bouncing up onto the rough ground next to the carpak. A found this hilarious so here I am king of the mountain.

Road bikes one minute...

.... and scramblers the next

We were in town to visit bank with my new stamp, and make payments to my accountant for my new business. The lovely girl served us who had helped A when she was here on her own and we got everything sort out very easily indeed. I do need to go back with invoice numbers for some of the bills I have been sent as they actually input the invoice number on the transfer and won't send money unless you have an invoice. Clever. After this we went past Lidl for a few things and spent a fortune (standard) then we were back home. On the way we saw a large group of bikers from over the mountain going towards Greece and then some dirt bikes on a track down by the river. Motorbikes are definitely getting more popular in this region.

Long term idea for cable tidies

When we got back I went straight into the roof to get stuck in with the wiring. The task was to take the gypsy wiring that I had disconnected from the bedroom and get it reconnected again, but via a consumer unit on the stairs. First order of the day was to get the cable tidies in place. Now Dan will recognise these are racking for effects and I brought these with me this time purely for the purpose of giving a frame on which I can zip tie cables to keep them tidy. It did not take long at all for me to attach a bar every two metres of so down the side of the roof to where the consumer unit will be.

Taking apart the old connections

Plug circuit tidied

Before I could run the cable along this tidy I had to sort out the tails from the bedroom and get them jointed to the new run of cable. This was a bit of a mission as first I had to extract the cables from the box they had been cemented to the wall in. Once I had them free I then spent quite a bit of time and effort tidying them up, straightening their ends, then taping and fixing them into a chunky bit of joint strip. Finally I was happy and could think about running the actual cable. A was a lifesaver at this point, bringing me brews and also running the power up so I could have the bulb on which Bekir and Sally had rigged which meant I didn't need to use the headlamp as much. The only problem with this picture right now is I need to change the tape from green/yellow to brown. More on the reasons for this later.

Cables nice and tidy

And so with the new roll connected I ran enough cable down to where the consumer unit is going to go. I used my zip ties to connect the cable to each metal strip and by the time it was done I felt pretty good as it had worked perfectly as I had planned. Excellent. Now I stopped for a cup of tea and to watch a bit more of the cycling.

Making a start on the consumer unit

With this in place I started to fit the box on the wall. At first I attempted to drill holes into the concrete raft which runs around the top of the wall however this proved way too tough even for the hammer drill that is as old as I am so I shifted down and got it nicely seated with wall plugs in the old bricks. I then wasted a lot of time being very confused by the wiring going down to the lights in the bedroom and after help from friends on twitter (and a lot of abuse as well which is fair enough frankly) I decided I was not comfortable doing something I didn't understand and declined to run a cable for that at all. I then started on the armoured and, using the craft scalpel to strip and clean the cables (much easier than a cable stripper) I got the neutral and earth wired in. In fact in this time I had to go to my little builders merchant (no joy) and therefore into the big town to pick up an earth strip so I could do this.

Making changes so we have consistent wiring

There then followed another lengthy pause in the progress where I realised that the colours that Steve had used for his consumer unit downstairs, which I was copying for this work, did not match with what Bekir had used going down into the bedroom. Briefly (I hope this is clear) I was expected blue and brown to be one of live or neutral (over here they don't care which is which) and the other colour to be the earth. Now some of the cables had green/yellow and some had black but that is fine; so long as we matched the first two colours the other one would always be earth. This was good until I realised that for the cables running into the bedroom we had the brown pulled back as earth and black (in this case) going down as one of the line wires. I thought about this for a while then ran some ideas past A and the upshot was I went into every plug in the bedroom and swapped the black out to earth and put the brown is as a line. This was a good thing to do as I learned a lot about wiring plugs and also I was able to re-fix one of the sockets which had come loose over the last few weeks.

Ready for the next step tomorrow

We did some fun searches on google while looking in to this and found that generally in Bulgaria no one follows standards and it does depend who does your wiring as to which colour refers to which task. I just want consistency and so I'll make sure, if Bekir does any more wiring, that he understands this. At this point I was still completely confused by the lights circuit and had discarded all plans of doing anything with it before Bekir comes back so I just cracked on and got the rest of the consumer unit wired, including my circuit breaker for the plugs circuit. What a buzz (boom boom) to have made such progress and hopefully succeeded at something I've worried about for a while. Tomorrow will be the big day though when I wire the other end of the armoured into the unit downstairs and turn the supply on. Fingers crossed!

Lots of excellent food

My superb awesome Kavarma

With my work done A suggested we go out for dinner and this was such a cracking idea. We packed away, then put the puppies into their cage and headed out. A drove as a treat for me and we had a lovely time. The food at our local restaurant is just superb and the service is excellent (even if they did forget my kavarma until I reminded them) and it was just lovely to sit outside in our favourite restaurant and eat and chat and laugh and enjoy ourselves. It has been a pretty non stop two weeks, mainly my fault because I built up such a head of steam not being here that I want progress and I want it NOW, but these times of peace and stopping are just so precious. /We were also able to talk through the lighting circuit and work out what it was so maybe I can get it done tomorrow also.

Since getting back I've been typing this and A has been around watering things and playing with the puppies. Louise is still very hangdog while Thelma is almost hyperactive (just now she went tearing down the corridor, into the "living room", round that room and back up and round Room 13 and back, all while Louise sat on her chair and watched as if to say "what is WRONG with you!". We just hope she gets better and back to normal soon.

Time for me to sign off; ciao.

Just as I was adding the pictures A came up shouting that there was a firefly on Rambo's back so I went down with the camera and got this video. Hah!

Motivation returns

Last night I wanted to try something I saw our neighbour cook one lunchtime and I had bought some of these peppers whilst out shopping. She simply drizzled an ample supply of both oil and salt over them and slow fried them. Well, I can understand why; they were absolutely gorgeous and went very well with my pork belly strips and salad. Delicious.

Peppers

I went to bed at a decent time last night but I was awake throughout the night with really quite bad stomach cramps and a bit of a dodgy stomach. I think I woke up about four times throughout. Now I hadn't really been feeling great for a few days on the lead up to this, so it came as no real surprise. When I got up this morning it was around 8am and I didn't rush myself into doing anything. My plan was to go down to the market, but I was still feeling unsure about my stomach and decided to wait a couple of hours. I usually go early but it was around 10.30 before I left and I was really starting to feel better again, thankfully.

They used to allow stalls in this little square section but they seem to have moved all of the stalls to the streets up above. However, there seems to be either the beginnings of something or the end of something in the square with a bandstand and a merry-go-round.

Market day

With not having felt great first thing I hadn't eaten anything this morning and by 11.30, after my mooch around, I was really feeling hungry. I just had to get a kebab from the best kebab shop I have eaten in so far. I did only have a small one and actually struggled to finish it, but I got there!

Best kebab in town

Whilst in the kebab shop I was approached by a big guy who spoke English. He was a friend of the kebab shop owner and said that the boss had said we buy property here and do it up and if we would like to buy another one or knew of anyone who would. I laughed into myself and thought of all the extra work and a little part of me died - haha. He was a very nice man and he told me that he had lived in the States for 15 years before coming back and getting married. It is also funny that people recognise us and (partially) know what we are doing here. Such a small community.

To let the kebab settle I decided I did not fancy a coffee in our local bar and so I sat and admired the little square outside the shop. Underneath the clock are water taps and people do use them a lot, just to get a drink or wash their hands. This is the lovely thing about over here, they seem to have respect for communal areas and don't damage them. I dread to think what would happen in the UK to things like this.

Taking a moment

I got back to the School around 12.30 and let Rambo out of his pen. I got hollered at by Little Lady to come for coffee and it was agreed that I would go over in ten minutes. As it is market day the men all go into town for the errands and a lot of beer, so she gets a rest day also and some time to herself. It's nice to just sit and pigeon chat with her.

I came back home not long after as her phone was constantly ringing and we kept getting interrupted and it was also threatening a big downpour. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do and when I saw the clouds I thought it would be a good opportunity to spend a while running through some of the Bulgarian language course we had got ourselves. I spent about 1.5 hours learning everything from the alphabet to colours.

Language lessons

The clouds had blown off and with the threat of torrential downpours tomorrow I wondered what to do with the hay from the strimming, so Rambo and I were out and looking around when I had an idea. I gave him a stick to occupy him whilst I was away doing my thing. He was very unsure when I told him it was his and he did a little double take. He was also most put out when I called him back after I took a fit of laughing at him just so I could get a photo.

Big stick

I thought if the hay, which was not quite completely dried out yet, was off the ground that after it rained it would dry faster and without moulding if most of it were off solid ground. Who knows? I dug this in and it probably is not as deep as it should be but I hope it holds through the wind and rain due tomorrow.

Experiment

So it was fairly secure and not too wobbly and I loaded the hay. I am not sure what they use here for their fantastic haystacks, but possibly the same idea. I will find out.

Haystack

I was feeling much more energetic now I had done something and I thought about the chicks I have agreed to take from the Little Lady - she has too many apparently. So, without attempting to build the chicken coop (that's a blue job and will probably leave me feeling like I failed again), I had an idea to use Rambo's enclosure for them to nest in at night as he doesn't use it any more and as they will roam during the day, he will be able to use it if the men need to put him away. Win. However, the grass needed some attention in there and I was the only one able to do it. Woman versus Nature!

Grim Reaper

This is what I was looking at when I opened the gate and I already was sorry I had even thought of it, but I needed to at least trim it down a bit if the chickens were to use it.

Enclosure

I took a couple of breaks as the sun was out and it was still hot out there but determination, stubbornness, call it what you will, but it got me through and I cleared a fair old amount of it. At least now the chickens will be able to walk around in there without getting lost in the jungle. They will have to be compounded for about 48 hours so as to get them used to where they roost/nest - my "Keeping Chickens for Dummies" book told me that. Thanks CJC and Fi!

Roughly cut

I got the job done and whilst it is not complete, it will be fine for what is needed. Usually the Mr does all this sort of stuff and to be fair, I may get the neighbours to sharpen the scythe for me as it would be much easier to use if it wasn't as blunt. So tomorrow I will be making two nesting boxes for the chickens and the Mr can build the coop when he gets here so that we can perhaps add to the flock. I really hope Rambo doesn't eat them.

I am about to prepare my salad for dinner and relax with a film and a cup of tea. So I will leave it here and tell you all about the chicken preparations tomorrow.

Leka nosht.

A

Re-learning to drive part 2

Wow what a week! As I sit here on Sunday afternoon and think back over everything that has happened I realise just why I’m feeling quite so shattered right now. It has been, to be fair, an absolutely epic week so I will get straight into it typing up about it….

 

Rain drops frozen on the roof of Thomas

Monday morning dawned bright and cold but it was only when I got out to the car that I realised quite how cold it was. Thomas was locked in by a hard frost which took a fair amount of scraping to shift. While I was walking around and scraping all the windows I became quite concerned by the amount of smoking coming from the exhaust; now he has been a bit smoky starting recently which I had put down to potentially worn out glow plugs but this looked a little more than that. No matter, he was running OK once started and after I had cleared my view I was off and up towards my appointment with the driving instructor.

I had arranged to meet at the same place as last week, but half an hour later, and I reached the carpark fine and about 40 minutes early as standard. I read my book and chatted with A and then noticed the car and trailer pulling into the carpark. I hopped straight out to assist putting the cones out for the reversing manoeuvre which is what we focused on for the day. I did it maybe five or ten times over the next hour and a half and asked him to take videos for me so I could watch it back, which proved very useful. I have sped them up for you in the video above as 3 minutes of a car moving very slowly backwards is pretty dull. The most pleasing thing about this session was I was able to complete the exercise successfully every time, even when I made a mistake and got out of position I was able to recover it and end up correctly. Right at the end of the lesson I requested practice reversing up to the trailer to hitch up and was glad I did as I struggled with this (mainly the clutch control) far more than anything else. We were making such progress that Pete gave me an extra twenty minutes for free before I had to leg it to work.

 

Super tasty lunch; all the meats

I dropped Thomas back with the garage as soon as I got to Blackpool and then walked back to the studio to work through the day. On the way back I bought a bag of good food from my favourite butchers including a minted lamb henry for my lunch which I microwaved to get really hot and devoured in very short order. The rest of the day was spent focusing on my day job and it was a pretty productive day all told.

 

Comfortable little bed, and breakfast of biscuits

I had planned on sleeping at the studio overnight and had brought a sleeping bag and fold out mattress for this purpose however as the day went on and I felt more and more tired the attraction of finding a hotel took hold. I would be able to go to sleep whenever I wanted without distractions from staff or bands and also I was starting to really appreciate the thought of a change of scenery. I walked out down the road and found a little gay hotel with a spare single room for the night for not much money and was very pleased with myself indeed. I am not sure if they were meant to be open as they seemed a little surprised when I rang the doorbell and then said they wouldn't have a room for the following night but the “Vacancies” sign was illuminated so I didn't feel too bad disturbing them. I went over after finishing work at about 9pm and slept really well, then broke my fast with the lovely biscuits they had provided on the tea and coffee tray. It was a very good night’s sleep indeed and the only problem was the lack of shower facilities; a stand up wash had to suffice.

The next day was the actual driving day of my lessons and I was over to Preston for 8am to meet up with the instructor. It turned out that we had actually met at the driving test centre so I was able to see what went on and had the process explained to me before we set off on the road. This was a slightly sobering experience as I committed two “immediate fail” major mistakes in the first five minutes and then spent the remaining four hours driving around being told to either go faster (“make some progress, man!”) or slow down (“use the brakes! USE THE BRAKES!”) but it was a fantastic learning experience and at the end I felt like I had picked up some good habits again to replace a fair few of the bad ones which I had fallen into since passing my test. One of the best aspects of this instruction has been the logic and reasoning given behind almost all the expected actions; very different from when I first learned to drive when you were told to do things which made no sense.

Little borrowed car from the garage

Feeling pretty wiped out, but also quite pleased with myself, I headed back to the studio and let Dan borrow Thomas to move a few things from his garage. After this he dropped him back at the garage as Chris wanted to see the cold start smokiness for himself. He didn't have a loan car available immediately but towards the end of the day one was confirmed so I popped over and picked it up; I was able to keep this until I got back from my outing the next day and this took all the pressure off the next morning which was ideal.

 

Another bedroom, this time with shoe-supported-window

Once again I made the decision to book into a hotel and went walking around to find one again at about 6pm. The hotel from the night before did not have its sign illuminated tonight but I found a place just a few doors up which was open and very happy to give me a room. I chose the room with the ensuite shower and headed back to the studio to finish working. When I got back later that evening there was quite a lot of noise from the rooms above with what sounded like kids running around and jumping but it quieted about 10pm and I slept pretty well once more. The window did not want to stay open which is a problem as I have to have fresh air but I was able to juryrig a solution with a shoe.

I woke in the morning feeling rested and jumped into the shower only to find that there was no hot water, no matter how long I ran it for. Today was the Big Day of my test and I was starting to feel a little nervous so, against my plans, I logged into work and did an hour or so before breakfast was served. This did help to keep me calm. I then had to decide whether I was going to take up the invitation to watch the preceding test or stay away and arrive just before my own. After chatting with A I decided to head over and I’m glad I did. It had rained in the night but was drying out as I drove across to the centre but then, as I sat and watched the chap do his manoeuvre (I was convinced he would have to do a shunt but he managed to save it very well) and then the unhitching it began to rain quite heavily. The instructor had called me up to come chat with him so I drove from my spying spot and met up with him.

I think this also really calmed me down a lot and the time we spent chatting about non-driving things, including a quick trip to a butty van for a brew and a bacon sarnie, distracted us both so much that we missed the time and the guy from the test before suddenly appeared, beaming as he had passed with only 2 minors, and went away after wishing me luck. He had completed his test quite early so there was time for me to jump into the car and go for a 15 minute round the block trip which again helped so much. When the examiner finally called my name I was feeling pretty good.

We did the first step of the test (read a number plate, answer some questions) and then got straight into the reversing exercise. Other than being a little too accurate pulling forwards so I wasn't between the cones (which is not a marked part of the challenge) I aced it, with no shunts and feeling fully in control at all times. I did get out to check at the end and then back it up another couple of inches just to make doubly sure, but all in all it was an awesome way to begin. From there it was to the hitching and unhitching and this came off as well without (wait for it) any hitches.

Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.

With the manoeuvre part of the test completed we headed out onto the road and drove around some roads which I’d practiced on and some which I hadn't but all roads which I knew pretty well from my time living up there. The examiner was a really friendly chap and was asking me questions about why I wanted to have the B + E and then expressing interest in Bulgaria when I explained my plans. I am sure that partly he was just trying to distract me a bit to make sure I stayed in control of the vehicle at all times but it also helped me to feel comfortable with him as we nattered away. After what seemed like no time at all we were heading back towards the test centre and I pulled up feeling confident, but also pretty nervous. All of that was for nothing though as he confirmed straight away I had passed and with only one minor on the record. What a buzz!

I DID IT!!!!

I shook his hand then went with Peter round to my loan car which had a slightly flat tyre which he pumped up for me and then snapped me standing very proudly with my certificate in front of his car and trailer. I then headed off cheering and talking to myself and feeling so amazingly happy; what a weight off my mind. A was super pleased as well and the fact is this success means I can bring everything we need back with me in June.

 

Nice and tidy front room

That evening I played my game and relaxed at home then got to bed and found that after all the stress building up to my test day I was unable to sleep. At least I had slept well the previous two nights I suppose else it could have worked out otherwise. I did eventually sleep and woke on Thursday to walk to the office for the first time for what feels like ages. It was good to be in there again and see my colleagues who I really do get on with well, but I ended up staying a little later than planned trying to sort a problem out. I got back home and dashed around tidying then legged it to the shop before jumping in the shower and being ready for my expected guests to arrive just about in time.

 

Five nice bottles of whisky for us to taste

Rather than have a large group as usual we had decided to limit the invite list to five of us, harking back to the very early running of the whisky night. Everyone arrived pretty much on time and we got down to the serious business of trying each whisky before we selected our favourite for the night and then drank everything remaining. Every whisky was good, as usual, but Rob had brought our favourite which was Bowmore Darkest.

 

Two good friends, so lovely to see them

With a wee dram having been drunk from every bottle we started round again. Jon was the first to leave as he had a train to catch but he stayed until after 9 and it was such a pleasure to see him again; I hadn't seen him since before leaving last year. After this Lee’s mrs came to collect him and then it was left to myself, Rob and Ryan. Rob bailed about 2am (he was taking his young family to the zoo the next day) but me and Ryan sat up til 4am drinking, listening to music and talking very loudly about lots of subjects before suddenly deciding it was time to sleep.

 

The morning after the night before

When I woke at about 9 the next morning Rob was shuffling around and getting ready to go to the zoo (rather him than me) but Ryan was just a shape underneath the rug in the front room. I ended up having to set up my laptop in the office so as to not disturb him and it was quite late morning before he suddenly emerged. I had already eaten a bacon and egg butty and eventually I persuaded him he would have one. We made a stumbling outing to the shop to get headache pills and Lucozade, though I wasn't feeling at all hung over, and after this I decided I was not going to drive at all today so when Ryan felt up to it we called him a cab and off he went. I managed to hang on in there until about 6pm when, on the way to a shower having rejected the idea of a bath, I accidentally fell into bed and woke up fully dressed at 8pm only to roll back over and go back to sleep.

 

Am man! WILL COOK MEATS!

I won’t say I slept right the way through as I woke again at midnight and got up to sweep up the kitchen and have a milky coffee before putting my head back down but other than that I was asleep until about 6.30am the next day and boy did I need that rest. My busy week was by no means over yet though as I was up and out the house driving down south to Reading to see some old friends down there. Sadly my plans to visit my old studio fell apart on the way as he was unable to get away from another commitment but this just meant I spent more time with Wardy. It was a lovely sunny day and he proudly pulled his brand new BBQ out and proceeded to feed me all the meat! We had a tray of sausages each and two home made burgers each, plus some pasta he cooked. Afterwards I felt like I would never move again.

 

The hotel was a little busy

We sat in the sun until it was time to walk round to the pub to watch the FA Cup Semi Final which had Reading playing Arsenal. He is a Reading fan and even had the shirt to wear, while I’m pretty agnostic to football. It ended up being an excellent game which was really frustratingly lost by a mistake in extra time by the Reading goalkeeper who up til then had been the star of the game. Never mind, it’s only sport and Wardy was able to see that they had played very well indeed. It was a slightly sad pair who walked back to his though and then sat with his wife and two young daughters as they told us about their day. I headed off to my hotel about 10pm feeling quite tired and when I got there I struggled to find a parking space; it was complete rammed!

 

Breakfast time; I was first to be seated

I was straight up to my room and bar a quick surf I was asleep quite quickly. I was a bit disturbed in the night as I hadn’t been able to get hold of A all evening and all sorts of horrible scenarios were playing out in my head but when she got hold of me about 4am I was able to drop back to sleep and slept really well until my alarm went off to get me to breakfast. I actually got down there before they opened but after only a few minute wait they let me in, brought me tea, and I munched my breakfast before heading back upstairs. I took advantage of the internet to have a lovely video chat with A and we agreed the next steps for Bekir and Sally to do after the guest suite and then it was in the car again to drive back up north.

 

The blur is her tail; she was SO happy to see me!

It was not straight home for me, however. Today was a most exciting day. Today was PUPPY DAY! I made really good time and got to the address where Thelma and Louise were waiting for me without having seen a single cash point. I had to go exploring and eventually found one in a corner shop which charged me but today I didn't care; so long as I could get there and pick up the girls that’s all that mattered. I parked back up near the house and knocked on; it was quite a long wait but after a minute or so the door was opened and the friendly lady was there holding both of them in greeting. She passed me Louise and we sat down for a bit chatting about things; she was able to give me a box with the pet food they have been being fed which was excellent. I counted the money out, while trying to stop Louise from jumping off the sofa into some nearby wellingtons, and then was helped over the road with them both by the son.

 

In the car ready to go home

I left the girls in their cage tussling with each other while I dashed inside the Co Op to pick up dinner for myself and then we came home. They were really well behaved and by the time I got back Thelma had actually fallen asleep in the bed, though Louise was still fighting it and clambering around a lot. Their little claws are so sharp they keep getting them caught on things (including my beard and clothes when I am holding them) and the bed was no exception. They seemed really happy though and kept pretty quiet all the way.

 

Playing tug of war with each other

I unloaded the car then brought them in one at a time to the kitchen which is where they’ll be staying while I’m at work during the day. They are such excited and inquisitive creatures it was hard for me to focus on making myself a butty as they gamboled around my feet and played with each other. Eventually I did manage to get the sandwich made and took it into the front room to eat. After that I decided that I should bring them in here with me and I tore open a large cardboard box to cover the carpet in case of accidents which were pretty much to be expected. It was then that I started trying to write this and it proved to be quite hard to stay focused as they both wanted to attack my feet (Thelma’s mouth is large enough to try and eat my entire big toe) and were bouncing around chasing each other very noisily). The first toy they picked up actually was one of their leads so I took that off them and gave them something that is a tug toy and they took to it really well.

 

"You looking at me?"

After quite an energetic hour or so bouncing around the room fighting and playing they slowly calmed down.  For a short while at least. Here Louise is sat in the bed with Thelma sat on the floor near my feet and they are engaged in what seems to be a context of wills. This happened several times: Louise would stare and Thelma would stare back and then one of other would start making squeaking noises and then Louise would be up out of the bed pouncing on Thelma and fighting her only , after a minute or two, going back to their starting positions again. Very strange indeed.

I was being nagged by people to get a video of them play fighting but of course they stopped as soon as I got the camera out. Never the less there is a good example here of how they were bounding around and also just how lovely and friendly they are; I’m already working out that Louise is the one who likes fusses; she’ll stand still for you to scratch under her chin. Thelma is a bit more standoffish but only in that she wants to be in control; she will come running and then run off and play tag with you for ages. They do know their names a little bit already as well which bodes well for their intelligence.

 

Finally settled for a kip

I was really being distracted by them all this time so it was quite a relief as they started gravitating towards the bed and finally settled in it to sleep. They have now been down for about an hour and are both starting to pop their heads up and look however they are still sleeping as I type this. Indeed, Thelma was just snoring for a bit.

I have fish and chips for my dinner tonight and when I stop typing I’m going to wait for them to wake up and then play with them until I’m ready for bed. I hope they sleep OK tonight; they’re going to be shut in the en suite next to my bedroom so I can hear them if they fuss. I need to really work on the toilet training aspect though which is going to be a challenge with me not being around much. Anyway, next week I’m sure there will be so many puppy pictures you’ll all be bored to tears.

Progress

I am back! Two days I have to cover and it is already 8pm here, so I won't drone on too much, for a change.

What happened yesterday? Well, I was working, so I really did not get up to very much outside of that. The men however, they were cracking on and the front section of the house is now having its drainage trench dug out.

Front trench

Inside, Bekir and Sally were flying through the tiling and were almost fished by lunchtime. Bekir laying the tiles and spacing and Sally grouting. What a team.

Tiling

I am missing photos from a couple of hours in the afternoon as I had Lubo, the architect, pop by and he was meeting the boss from the building firm who are doing the drainage. There was a lot of looking around and chatting in Bulgarian and everything seemed to be ok, Lubo explaining that in some points they cannot dig down much further as there is a risk to the building and also discussing where the out pipe will go and flow to. There was a more serious discussion to the rear of the building where there is a slight alcove/inlet and where the back door and door leading from the garage are. Initially, translated through Lubo, they wanted to bypass the inlet and build a retaining wall behind the piping and stick some membrane on the wall. Now, I'm no builder, but my gut instinct was to say no. At that point Bekir came out and I was so glad. Much as I do not always fully understand everything he says, I got enough to see that he was not happy and quite frankly, nor was I. It was at this stage I called the Mr. I explained about the wall and the angle they wanted it and also the fact that they wanted US to build it in anticipation of them laying the pipes. After a pretty harsh discussion on Skype with Lubo, and ongoing discussions via a video call outside, the pipe will now be laid in the inlet as we originally wanted it and no need for a wall. I was extremely stressed. All that Bulgarian being spoken and I had only a small grasp of what was happening. Scary when it is as important as the drainage system. Anyway, we were happy, they less so, but we are paying them for what we want after all.

The men were pretty much done in the bedroom for the day at around 4pm and so, as I had asked last week, Bekir had brought his chainsaw with him so that he could tidy some of the broken branches and sort out the ones hanging from the trees around the land. There are quite a few. He was cutting away and I had just finished up a rather long piece of work when I looked out the window and saw him up the tree, chainsaw in hand. They are afraid of nothing!

Tree climbing

This was a delicate job as there was a telephone line running through the branches and I have no idea how, but they managed not to rip it down. Sally was meanwhile tidying up the branches and piling them up on the driveway.

Broken trees

The oak tree had some damage also and I will have to go out and gather that up to keep it dry. Perhaps a job for tomorrow?

Old oak

I went back inside to finish the last piece of work and I heard shouting and laughing. Our little neighbour had arrived with Turkish coffees for us all and they all settled down to have a chinwag - I just listened and laughed when they did, it was great fun.

Coffee break

As I was getting my things together in preparation for the drive back with the men, Little Lady and Usmivka came in for a look at what the men are doing. I showed them the almost completed terrace on the roof and they were all smiles and loved it. This was a good feeling. I then took them down to show them the bedroom tiles and immediately the little Lady said "where are you sleeping?" and I think then suggested that if I needed a bed I could sleep at her house - these people are so kind. I showed her that I was perfectly set up on a bed in the guest suite and she was happy to let that be. Herself and Usmivka started to remove the plants that she had stored in one of our rooms over winter, so I left them to it and went off with the men.

Well, that was Monday. I had a day off from blogging yesterday as the update came from the UK and so, exhausted after not sleeping well on Sunday, I headed to bed just before 9pm and I slept reasonably well which was very much needed.

Today started at about 6.15am and I was up before the sun again, making my coffee and wishing I had stayed in bed until the alarm went off. Never mind, I was up now. Rambo was still asleep and didn't even get up when I went in to open his door, the lazy sod.

It was due to be a cloudy day and sure enough, it did not fail the forecasters.

Cloudy start

I came back from getting the men and there was no sign of the drainage man - that is disappointing.

With the last bit of grouting finished off first thing the next job was to start running cables for the electric. We were not going to do this yet, hence the floor being laid but I would like this room to a stage where it is pretty much finished with the exception of the electricity being connected. It would just be nice to have it painted - yes, I know, I am such a woman. So Sally was preparing to make a mess of something and was covering the window and the floor. I had no idea what to expect, but they know what they are doing!

Covering up

I took myself off to the shops in town and once in the second shop I thought "oh, I made a list". It was on my phone. My phone was not in my bag. I got that awful dread feeling in my stomach that it had been stolen from my bag. Then I thought it was in the car and had maybe fallen out. I rushed around the shop picking up the things I could remember and legged it outside to the car. No phone. Then I tried to remember if I had actually brought it with me as I got interrupted by Bekir mid-process. Anyway, if it was gone I would just have to deal with it, so I set off for home.

Arriving back to a very excited Rambo I rushed past him and up into Room 13, much to his disgust, to find my phone on charge on the desk. Relief!

Shopping put away and I was off out to the garden determined to get my onion sets and potatoes planted. I had got a telling off from the Little Lady yesterday for not doing it yet. So I dug out the rest of the thistles and weeds and came across this little guy - so bright!

Caterpillar

I also heard a lot of buzzing activity and there are some huge bees out here, much like a bumble bee but completely black and about an inch, if not bigger, in size. I am rather pleased with this shot.

Huge bee

I finished the bed finally and I was rather pleased, especially with the one solitary purple broccoli plant that has survived the winter.

Dug out bed

I was having a quick break and a drink and pulling out my sets and seeding potatoes when the Little Lady came running over and was taking charge! Haha. I was actually rather glad as I have never planted either a potato or an onion before and after watching her do the first row of onions, we finished the bag of sets off together. Now, I would have covered them in more soil if I had been left to my own devices but she was insistent that only "malko" soil. A little bit. We then did the same for the potatoes and again, I would not have done it the same way, but two Marie Piper's went in the same spot as they were very small seed potatoes and one King Edward in each hole. Again, I would have covered with more soil, but she has been doing this for years, so I am grateful for the lessons. I asked if I should water them and a definite "No" was uttered. So that was it. In a matter of ten minutes, my first lot of spuds and onions are in the ground. I am so excited!

Potatoes, onions and broccoli

I tidied away all my tools and thanked the Little Lady very much for her help, bless her, she is very good to me. I was about to water the seed pots when I noticed that I have babies! Look!

Babies!

In this pot there are broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower and I have a few of each that have shown. How exciting!

I went off to see how the men were getting along and progress was great. After misdirection from me on the location of the armoured cable, Bekir had moved everything around to suit our requirements and had been drilling away with the hammer drill all afternoon.

Big drill!

Sally had also been busy and they had pulled down the cables we need for the plug points and light switch. Sally had painted our bedroom pink. There will be a Barbie theme going on in here. Only kidding, this is some form of sealant I think and the Mr tells me that the plaster will probably be easier to apply once this has been applied as the walls are dusty - I have no idea.

Pink!

I had been thinking about all of the lizards I have seen out and around the School over the last few days and so I went lizard hunting. I had seen two this morning whilst I waited for Rambo to finish his breakfast, one being bright green and the other similar to this.

Lizard

They are so fast and timid that they scuttle away faster than you can even catch a glimpse of them and as I startle them, they in turn make me jump. I am such a coward though that any noise makes me jittery.

So the men left, I made a bolognese and I feel happy with the progress this week so far, so much has happened. I am going to leave you now and put my feet up for a half an hour before I go and hit the hay.  I hope you enjoyed the update as much as I enjoyed telling you about it.

Leka nosht.

A xx