This is my blog about emigrating to Bulgaria. It starts with the idea and will take you through all the steps I am taking to create my new life in this wonderful idyllic country. Thank you for reading.
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I remembered to update on the day! Wahey! Today has been a day of two halves and hardly seeing the men.
Empty bucket ready for brambles
Totally over-full bucket of brambles
Filling in a hole from the wood store into the enclosure
Hopefully enough to keep critters out
I took Rosie to school this morning then when I came back I grabbed the pickaxe and a bucket and went into the chicken enclosure and dug out all the brambles that were starting to come back since my last blitz. I got this completed before the men arrived. When they did arrive they headed straight out with Thomas to go and try and buy cement and a new reservoir for the roof space. Unfortunately my phone was turned off so when Halil was trying to contact me about one they found I didn't see the message until they were already back here, without a reservoir. Ahh well, I told them to head back out after lunch and they got stuck into filling in the gaps in the chicken house wall, and also blocked the final little gap next to the back gate.
1000L water tank successfully sourced
Knocking out dead plaster into a bucket
Wetting the hole down ready for repairs
All nicely filled
After lunch the men disappeared again and were gone for ages but by the time I got home from collecting Rosie they had just arrived back with a huge reservoir. The men got it manouvered into the roof however it's too big to set next to the existing one so now tomorrow they'll empty and remove the old one and then fit the new one. To fill up the end of the day I asked Bekir to have a quick look at some loose plaster I'd spotted in the games room and before I knew it they were up the ladder, had knocked it out and found it was quite a big hole that would have caused a huge problem if we'd left it. By the end of the day this hole has now been fixed. Great work.
Rosie watering her plants
Before dinner Rosie made a bracelet for her teacher at school, having given them a necklace today. After dinner we did our watering and Rosie watered her plants like a good girl. She also got her scooter and bikes out for a ride.
So there you go - that's today. Thanks for reading, back tomorrow.
I am so out of the habit of writing regular updates. Yesterday (yes, it is now Tuesday morning) I thought about writing this all evening and then when Rosie was to bed I came upstairs and completely forgot about it! So yeah, two updates today (so long as I don't forget again tonight).
Maisie getting new boots
Such a beautiful sunrise
Friday breakfast tradition is established
That's Romania over there
Battle is commenced
Good food with a good friend
Train pulling in to the split-station
A couple of quick things to cover off that weren't about the men's return. On Thursday last week I got Maisie finally to the tyre place and had her ripped tyre replaced; in fact I had both front tyres replaced. She's been fine ever since. Friday there was the most incredible sunrise here which I saw while outside loading the car for my trip away for the weekend. Angela and I are trying to have breakfast together after dropping Rosie to school every Friday and we did it again, I then took her back to the village before starting the 7 hour drive to my mate's house. The route took my right up along the Danube, which was a nice way to go and a new road; the border with Romania runs down the middle of the river. The weekend was an awesome one; some very good games, a lot of fun and banter, and on the last day my mate and I went into Vidin for lunch before I drove back. The journey back was pretty easy; at one point I was stopped at a level crossing while a train went past and stopped at the station; half the platform was on one side of the road and half on the other! Anyway, there you are. Let's get to the meat of the update.
Sifted soil for this little raised bed
Looking for hornets, but they stayed hidden
Getting started on the fence
Raised bed getting full
Sieving the old raised bed soil for the new ones
Bekir getting his welding on
Angela working hard clearing the raised beds
Yesterday I was up and out filling the last currently assembled raised bed (two weeks after I began and then got sick and had to stop) when I got back from dropping Rosie to school. The men arrived pretty much on time and the first thing we asked them to do was look at the hornets which appear to be nesting back in about the same place as last year. Bekir was able to reach from the roof terrace however despite us watching them crawling inside the eaves, none of them came out when he banged. He's going to look again tomorrow so they gathered themselves for the true first job which is finishing off the barbed wire around the chicken enclosure. I continued shoveling and sifting soil until the raised bed was full then went in for breakfast and to do a load of inside stuff. There was some welding for Bekir to do to create the angles piece to attach the wire to and then they headed out to buy some threaded rod to fix it all in place. Angela was also working very hard all morning in the garden, clearing back the raised beds and removing most of the tomato plants. It looks incredible now she's done.
Angela getting to work on the raised bed
Looking at fixings
This part is now secure
Fixing above the back gate
Very long ladder being moved
With the soil all in the raised bed Angela set about putting in compost and other stuff to improve its quality ready for us to plant. Technically, according to Rosie, this is my raised be so we'll see what gets put in here. The men were continuing to work on the barbed wire section, tying it all in to the wall securely and making sure there were no gaps. They completed the first section, above the duck pond, and then headed to the back gate to finish up there. By the end of the day all the barbed wire work was done and tomorrow they will be doing some brick laying by the back fence, to fill in above the column they poured, and also around the entrance to the wood store - the lintel is actually not supported by anything so that needs to be tidied up some. The final job of the day was lifting the long ladder out and round so they can have another go at the hornets.
Such a beautiful flower
I'll leave you with this beautiful rose - the garden this year has been lovely indeed.
So there you are; I hope I remember to update again tonight! Thanks for reading.
We've reached the end of another week and we're so close to finishing this chicken enclosure roof it's very exciting for the next task!
An extra run of wire
Angela weeding the flower bed
The mesh is begun
Bekir zip ties the mesh in place
The stick with a nail tool
I once again had the pleasure of dropping Rosie to school which I always like to do, and then it was back home. The first thing the men did when they arrived was to run more of the supporting wire across the gapes to give a better support for the mesh. Angela had a great day again today, first of all weeding and spreading more mulch on the garden and then getting loads and loads of cleaning and tidying done. Out at the chicken enclosure all the wire was now run so they began to lift the mesh over the top and tie it in place. Initially they were using twists of wire but then Halil found some cable ties which were a much better idea indeed. They have managed to cover the whole of the orchard area now leaving only the small dogleg around the build for Monday. Very exciting indeed!
Rosie painting on her castle
Colouring in book time
Getting ready to dress the tree
After school it was time for some hobbying with Rosie, and then books and colouring in and, after dinner, Angela and Rosie are now starting to put up our small Christmas tree in the library while I do this update. Yes, she's very excited!
You'll have to wait until Monday now to see the tree. Thanks for reading.
Another day, and a slightly calmer one like a deep breath after a race. The men still got a fair amount done, though, so let's get to it.
Not a golden start to the day
The trailer has been pushed into it's place
Bekir going up to finish the plastering
There was very heavy rain over night however the new roof made no noise at all from the rain which is great news. When we woke the rain had passed but it was still cloudy and threatening. When the men came in they set to tidying and clearing out underneath the carport (and checking for leaks - we're going to have to re-tile the external balcony sooner rather than later sadly... more un-asked for jobs. Oh well. They got the trailer pushed in, cleaned out the drains and Bekir mixed up some more plaster for a second coat over the holes he filled yesterday.
Angela mulches in the garden
Lots of sweeping and tidying
Mixing a small amount of mortar
A pole is put up
Right in the centre of the washing line
While tidying up the men had gathered two wheelbarrows full of broken up bark and sawdust so Angela took it and used it to mulch around some of her plants in the garden; that should help keep the weeds down and also protect the plants should the temperature drop suddenly. With all the tidying done the men went into the chicken enclosure to put up the final poles for the mesh roof while I headed into town to pick this material up. Unfortunately it was not there at the shop yet; we'll have to go back tomorrow.
So there it is. I think there's more rain forecast for tonight. It's a good thing, as even with the two days of rain we've had so far already the grass is starting to green. Thanks for reading, back tomorrow.
Another week and another Monday without the workers however they were back today so let's catch up on everything that has happened since Friday.
Reading as a family which is great
Rosie draws a face on the scarecrow
Rosie with our scarecrow
Angela getting into the garden
Incredible clouds
Thelma and Xena with a log
Daddy Saturday was an epic day. First thing I sat with Rosie and read through loads of her books while the puppies slept on my legs which was awesome. Once we'd both properly woken up, and Rosie was out of her PJs, we went outside and made a scarecrow for the chicken enclosure. Rosie really enjoyed this and was very proud of it indeed. We then had to go into town for a few bits and pieces and when we came back Angela was up and in the garden. We had a lovely call with my Mum and sister then were back outside into the garden for more planting for Angela while I lay on my back and watched the clouds and played with Rosie and the puppies. It was, all in all, a great day.
Rosie doing some hobbying with me
The tent is pitched and ready for us
Xena sat on my lap
Hot chocolate in the tent before sleep time
Sunday was a very windy day and we spent more of it inside, Rosie did some hobbying with my which was great fun and then, while she was having a nap in the afternoon, I pitched the tent so we could camp that night. The weather slightly improved so we went ahead with this but were woken in the early hours by a pretty impressive thunderstorm with very strong winds, heavy rain and lots of bangs and crashes. Rosie was very brave and we stuck it out, eventually falling back to sleep and then waking in time for her to head to school. It was really awesome to get to camp again this year as I think this'll be the last time before next Spring.
Angela working in the garden again
Lots and lots of planting out
The pallet arrives
Our solar boilers
As I've said we didn't have workmen yesterday but it was still an exciting day. After the storms over night the day was a bright and blustery one, very autumnal, and Angela took advantage to get into the garden again and do loads of planting out of things she received last week. The garden really is filling up now! Just before lunch the courier arrived with the solar boilers from Greece and we had the fun task of unloading them. Luckily the driver was happy to help, which is unusual here to be honest, and we got everything shifted and stored safely in underneath the car port. I'm now very excited to get these mounted and find out how well they work.
Moon over the pre dawn glow
Golden autumn morning
Old drains ready for blocking off
Carving insulation to fill those gaps
Halil stacks and stacks and stacks
Finally we reach this morning and it really was a beautiful start to the day, clear and colourful. First of all the moon above the pre-dawn glow and then, later, the sun bright over the fog in the valley. That fog did rise up to our level soon enough but I was in town with Halil talking to the bank by that point. When we got back we found Bekir had finished all the work on the carport and was doing the final finishing up which was to trim the drains from the now-covered balcony and fill them in with insulation and later on plaster. Halil, for his part, went into the woodstore to finish that job as well. This morning we had lots and lots of fighter jets flying over head and I did manage to get a very bad video of one of them.
Lots and lots and lots of wood
Bekir plasters while Halil tidies
As far as they got digging by hand
Bekir resorts to power tools - sensibly
Not long later the major job that is stacking all of our wood was completed - what a great task and stacked so well as you can see. With that job complete Halil set to tidying all the tools that had been scattered all over the garage and the windowsills while Bekir continued with the plastering and insulating of the gaps. They were both finished and so jumped to the next job which was to complete the digging of holes for poles to support our mesh roof for the chickens. Sadly the incredible winds we'd experienced on Monday night (while camping) had actually snapped our scarecrow in half however Bekir has saved it and he is standing strong again. Tomorrow we'll get the mesh and hopefully this will be a really quick task to get completed as well. I'm so excited for the boilers and the roof space to be done!
So there it is; another long one but that's how these long weekends for the men go. Thanks for reading, back tomorrow.
