Back to it with a bang

Well I am shattered now from the effort I put into the last task of the day, so I may not type much but I do have photographs and progress and news to report so yeah, I'm going to blog as much as I can.

Last night we tried to watch a film in bed but it wasn't very good so was turned off quickly and then sleep came soon after that. The washing machine went in the night which made some noises that confused the both of us however a quick recce and a toilet trip calmed us that it was only the squeaking on the polystyrene, not rats. I did wake at sunrise as always but didn't have the camera to hand so I just looked at the gorgeous glow and thought "bah, I can't be bothered to get my camera" so went back to sleep. The snooze button had a good work out but soon we were up for a brew and then out to do the boys. They are getting better, though once again Ralf didn't eat all his serving so we're going to switch back to a smaller bowl from tomorrow I think.

Something is on fire

I went to fetch the men and on the way back asked if they wanted to get some nails as I had noticed they were running low. We popped to the builders yard but on the way noticed a huge fire that was burning in town. The men were talking as if it may have been a shop on fire. It certainly was a pretty huge plume of smoke.

Where's my ball?

We got back to find that my Special Guest had got stuck in with the broom in the boys' enclosure and was airing their bedding and everything; aren't they spoiled! She put his ball on top of the gate for Rambo and eventually he jumped up and got it. Bless.

Squishy mold on the hugelkultur

I went and did a little bit of weeding on the Hugelkultur as I wanted to see how it was doing and I found this really strange squishy mould that was growing out. I am wondering if that is growing on some of the wood that is buried. Any ideas?

Breakfast nom

We were both quite hungry so I made bacon and eggs, using the eggs given to me by the Little Lady a couple of weeks ago. They were amazing, with such lovely huge yellow yolks and they tasted just as good as they looked. One bad thing though; today I opened my second and final Daddies Sauce bottle so any aid parcels anyone may want to send me; please send me Daddies Brown Sauce!

With breakfast out the way we set off for our travelling and chores. First job was to get the two olive trees over to my friends house and to do this we went via the Cheren Put which my special guest was most excited about going up. We also got to go past a very large dead snake by the side of the new road which I may try and get a picture of tomorrow. We had a coffee, and a lovely little chat, before heading into town to go to the garage shop and the little shop for provisions. The garage shop was a bit concerning as she enumerated everything that had been done to Lucy and they still didn't know what was wrong with her. After a bit of chat we agreed to go see Lyubo at the garage and find out for ourselves. First of all we took a short stroll through the market as it was market day and then bought everything that we needed to from the grocery shop, including two loaves of the excellent fresh crusty bread.

From there it was down to the garage and when we popped the hood I immediately saw some water pooled around a coolant hose. I pointed this out and we spent the next twenty minutes or so chilling out while Lyubo ran her engine and squeezed the pipe, then switched the seal and did it again.While we were there I had a cal from my friend saying that Bekir had run out of the fuel and oil for his chainsaw so could I get some. I decided to bail from the garage and we spoke (via an English speaking worker) and explained we would be back tomorrow. This English speaking guy had chatted to us quite a lot, telling us to watch out for untrustworthy people (but trust me) and also asking how much I paid for my house. Intrusive, but standard.

We legged it home and found that the men were on their lunch so I put the shopping away and then went down to talk to Bekir. He agreed to come with to get the fuel and additives and oil that he needed and it was a good thing he did as no one had what he wanted and we went to about three of four places before we purchased everything we needed. We also found out what had caused the fire; there was a burnt out trailer and massive pile of partially burned hay in the carpark just by the road into town and it was this that had been burning so badly.

When I got back (finally) I was gasping for a brew and quite hungry. I found my Special Guest doing the watering round (there had been no free water this morning and I hadn't had a chance since to really do it from paid for) and she wasn't hungry but I was so I put 1 1/2 tins of chili beans on and some toast and had lovely beans on toast for dinner.

Trust us to pick those

This done it was time for our next chore. We had been to the big builders merchant in town earlier in the week and found some tiles we liked and today we were going back to buy them, a bedside light, and a rug for the bedroom. We chose the tiles, were told they were available, went and found the bedside light, an extension to get power to the bedroom from Room 13, and also got a really cheap (14 lev for the fitting as well) light for the bedroom. We totally forgot about the rug and it was only much later that we remembered. The funny thing was that you collect the tiles from the yard round the corner, rather than in the shop, and the ones we had chosen were right at the top and when I say right I mean REALLY high up. They called the forklift driver and we all watched (and they laughed as I took pictures) as he pulled the pallet down.

The men have been hard at work

They loaded 15 boxes of the tiles into the back of Thomas and then we were off, and we were not surprised in the slightest that the thermometer in Thomas read 33 degrees as it was REALLY hot. We went past Kaufland for more of the tins of dog food, and some more lettuce for our dinner, and then it was back home. The boys were super excited, my Special Friend let them out and I was already carrying boxes of tiles upstairs and Ralf appeared so fast and was SO excited to see me. He's a dear, sometimes. I took that box up then went to check on the men and wow what a lot of work had been done. They have built the outrigger beams for the roof, and also put an a frame up to pull the spine beams across. Brilliant.

I had just told Rambo off. Yeah. Angry

I then set back to bringing everything upstairs and my Special Guest hid in wait and snapped a picture of me just after I had told Rambo off for coming in the house and don't I have a scary face. I'm don't normally look like.

Wasps on their nest

As I was stacking the boxes up in what will be the living room I noticed that what had been two wasps on the next in the window was now five wasps. I ran to get the camera and by the time I came back they weren't quite as well lined up however the picture came out really well so I put them in anyway.

Rambo pretending to be pretty

While I had been driving around with Bekir I had decided what would be happening on my return. My Special Guest has (bless her) been working pretty hard doing stuff and she has neglected the holiday part of her stay. For this reason I decided I would drag the hanging chair down to where I was going to do my next chore, so she could lay there, read her book and chat to me and take a weight off. My task was to dig out the trench which would contain the bricks and concrete for the outside house for Jesus and Shiva. The boys were around and taking a lot of interest and she was most pleased with this photograph of Rambo.

Digging the first length for the tortoises

I found the pickaxe after a bit of hunting, started digging then found that the head was loose so I hammered a wedge in which fell out and then Sally did a proper job on it and I was back to excavating. I got blisters really quickly which then lost their heads and became sores after about five minutes and that is a shame as I had toughened my hands up nicely before but I have been lazy working recently. The trolley came into its own bringing the bricks down to the location.

He had just been sleeping on sawdust

Ralf had been present, then disappearing, then coming back and we weren't sure where he had gone but then we noticed. He had found the pile of sawdust from where Bekir had been cutting wood with his chainsaw and he kept coming to see us, then going back and lying down in it. Bless. He wasn't half covered in the shavings.

Welcomed home in style

I worked on the trench until I got a stitch (I was starting the third and final stretch so that wasn't too bad) and then I stopped and went inside. The men were working away and I thought they were ready to go but then the chainsaw kicked in again and I found out why they were cracking on so much when we were in the car taking them back; they wanted tomorrow off. The trip there and back was really easy and I was welcomed home by my Special Guest stood on the balcony with meat on the BBQ and a beer in her hand. What a great welcome.

The house, with boys in attendance

Before going up to join her and claim my beer I went up to the photography point and snapped a picture of the current state of the roof. The boys were still outside and they came up with me and I loved this picture with them both stretched out in full run. What lucky timing.

This was before it failed

I then tried to make a ferrule for the stick I found at the not-quite-an-abandoned-power-station yesterday but it didn't really work out very well so back to the drawing board with that I fear.

Yes. My arse. *coughs*

We had a really lovely time sat on the balcony, with the BBQ smelling great and sipping beer watching the sunset, chatting and chilling. I do apologise for the picture above. I never meant for this to be posted but I have had my arm twisted heavily. So. Sorry. Seriously. We did have some profitable chats including deciding to knock the kitchen through into the corridor, and make the store room into a pantry to give us more space for both kitchen and pantry, and a window which would let the evening sun into the room. Lubo replied to my text with "that isn't a problem" so that is great.

What a gorgeous sun down

All through the evening the photographs of the sun going down had been being taken by both of us and I have taken ages going through them to pick this one, which was actually the last one taken and I snapped it using my long zoom. It is such a stunning place. We were able to watch the sun go down, the sheep being herded in, and were also summoned to the side gate by telephone by the Other Brother and the Little Lady who had a tub of milk still warm and just taken from the cow. When she heard that my Special Guest is going home tomorrow the Little Lady dashed off to get the biggest tomato you've even seen, and two more cucumbers. As if I was running out. Bless them, they are awesome.

Massive locust

So as you can tell I have come back to this blog after eating and drinking and chilling and having a cracking evening. We have had a corker, with Pink Floyd (in honour of the fact that today it was revealed they are releasing a new album) and now Meatloaf. When she took the boys to their enclosure (Ralf had curled up and fallen asleep while we were still sat on the balcony. He really shows what cute is, that one.) she shouted me down as a locust had found its way inside and was on the wall by the stairs. I snapped a picture then grabbed it and threw it into the night.

And so, finally, after many hours (literally) of typing this blog is done. Goodbye.

Day two of the weekend of rest

I'm pretty late starting this blog, and didn't really want to do it either; makes me tempted to maybe start reducing the number of blogs I do, particularly over the weekend, or maybe shift them so I do them in the morning. Anyway, I'm here and the sun is going down and so to tell you all about our day.

Why I woke up I don't know; but hey - great view

It was my turn to wake up this morning just before the sun rose and I grabbed the camera, cracked open the balcony door, and took the required photograph of the gloriousness that is pre dawn at my place. I then went back to bed and become a person who did not want to wake up and despite my Special Guest being chatty at me I got a fair old lay in, til at least 7.30. Yes. Seven Thirty. Anyway, the boys had been good up til this point and not barked or howled but a brew was what made us want to wake up and so a brew was made and then on to the feeding round which was unusual in that Ralf didn't eat his entire portion but left about half. Maybe he is finally learning that food is not something he needs to panic about here.

Lavender, and my lettuce run

After this we did some planting of the lavender plants bought from Kaufland the other day, and a run each side of the path of lettuce; curly leaved on one side and iceberg on the other. We're not going to grow that much this summer but having fresh lettuce is a really good thing. The lavender is now protected from Rambo damage by some more chairs and I for one am starting to like them on the flower beds; maybe I can train some climbing plants over the next year.

The upright for the bed footer

Breakfast was toast and was just enough and then it was back to doing making. Now the first major making task of the day was the head and foot boards for the bed. We decided on the foot board first and so set to with the tools at our disposal. First of all a saw, then moving on to using a chisel and finally (after much effort, swearing and sweating on the first upright) I used the electric saw and the axe on the hammer and cut a 15mm notch 200mm up the length of the wood. I then used the drill to recess three screws each for fixing it to the frame.

Footer fitted

We then took them through to the bedroom and fitted them, with a combination of power driver and manual driver, and then lined up the cross piece and countersunk the screws in for that. It was a far longer task than I expected, mainly from using the wrong tools for cutting the notch, but it looks great. It took so long that there was no drive left to do the headboard so this had been left for another day.

We stopped for a rest and made a brew then went out to the pile of wood at the back to select some pieces for the next making; a bed side table. This rapidly degenerated into clearing and sorting more wood from the random junk that had been thrown off the roof. So much for a rest. We had also started a fire so every now and then went up to chuck more stuff onto it. She went inside after a while and I popped back up to the fire to put more stuff on and threw on the empty expanding foam can. We were sitting having fishfingers butties when it blew. What a great bang that was.

Using power tools

After a really lovely lunch it was back to it and we took the selected plank of wood, measured it twice and cut it once and it was my Special Guest who was operating the power tools. I was limiting myself to a purely advisory role and she did really well, and really enjoyed herself (or at least, that's what she told me anyway). We had to trim the boards down, then join them together and the wooden struts we tried first weren't the greatest success so I made use of some of the metal strips I have left from England. The table top was complete.

Making friends

Before we started on the legs we were both really amused to see Ralf and Sassy once again meeting and sniffing and this time I had a camera to hand. The angle I was taking them at wasn't the best but still. It's so lovely and Ralf wasn't snarling and growling at all, he was just wagging his tail and sniffing.

After this my Special guest chose a couple of sections of wood and cut four legs from them, which proved tough as the power saw has quite a wide cut and so one of the legs was actually the wrong length. No matter, when we screwed it all together we put a wedge of wood in to make it the correct length. Perfect bodging.

Getting some sanding action

I had had the Tour de France on the laptop with the sound up so I could hear the commentary while we were doing this and, once the table was complete, we took all our stuff up to the roof so I could watch while sat in the sun, and she could sit in the shade and sand down the table top. It was so hot up there I was loving it and sat in the shade she did a brilliant job smoothing the top and now this little table is slipped in its home next to the bed and already it has junk on it.

Been working hard. Or something.

Because it was so warm up there that my Special Guest couldn't sit out with me I suggested we go sit on the balcony which had a breeze and was a little cooler. We made our way down there, carrying everything, and I once again sat in the sun with the cycling on and she took a few minutes of rest. This was curtailed by the flies that kept buzzing around so she got the Raid and got rid of them.

Flames licking the chicken

Shortly after this it was time to put the BBQ on and so I made the BBQ (which is really flimsy, but it did the job) and then lit the coals and sat waiting and waiting and waiting for it to get ready. Eventually I got so hungry that I just put the chicken on to cook anyway, hoping that the fat dripping would help and it did.

Yep. Cloud. Must be BBQing

It seems the tradition of putting the BBQ on and having the weather turn bad is just as valid over here as in the UK as a huge raft of cloud started blowing over as soon as we lit the fire and it just kept coming and coming, initially turning the baking sunshine into a hazy sunshine and finally dropping the temperature so much I actually shivered, though I am told it was never that cold. Anyway. I was glaring at the clouds while keeping an eye on the food and watching the cycling which was really good as always and we were having a good laugh.

Loaded up with meat

All this time the meat was sizzling on the BBQ and first the kyufte were ready (they were good; so good I went and got two more each to replace the first set) and then the burgers (home made from the accidental 3kg of mince I had bought the other week) which were incredible and finally, after the second helping of kyufte, the chicken was ready and all of this was accompanied by a really lovely salad prepared by my Special Guest. Washed down with beer, and sat in the overcast, what a lovely way to end the day.

Can you spot where we stopped BBQing?

Of course, as soon as we had stopped eating, the cloud suddenly narrowed in the distance, with a 90 degree turn (what is THAT all about! I was only joking about the BBQ weather but it seems it is actually the case) and so it was that we were sat, with our legs dangling over the edge of the balcony, laughing at Rambo who was running around doing his patrol, and Ralf who was up on the balcony and stalking Rambo around the edge, with the sun shining on us and still with some good warmth to it.

Going down in a blaze of glory

Then it was time to reluctantly come inside to type this little blog for you and aren't you glad I did so. I've sent my Special Guest out while I've been typing to take the required photographs of the oh so stunning sun set and, with some grumbling, she has obliged so you do have a photograph of that to feel jealous of.

Ralf has been sent to the compound (ok, not sent, carried and locked in) a couple of times today for snapping at Rambo very nastily. I really don't know what gets over him but there is just no need it isn't when he is threatened he just runs over and snaps. He knows he is wrong because as soon as you walk towards him afterwards he runs and then when he is cornered, he submits on his back. I really hope he grows out of this as most of the time they are great together.

Tomorrow we are dropping the two olive trees at my friend's then heading to the garage to hear the bad news. Depending on how depressing/expensive that is we will then go to town to buy tiles for the bedroom, an extension lead and bedside light, and maybe the light fitting for the bedroom as well. I really hope the news about Lucy isn't too dreadful.

EDIT

Beautiful red sky

Yep. Even before I published the blog I have been presented with a photograph which "must be put in the blog" and I agree. What an incredible red sky. I hope the shepherds are delighted tomorrow, though I'm sure the men are hoping for overcast and a bit of drizzle; It is SO hot up on that roof during the day. No wonder they don't normally work summers.

A day out

Straight into it today; been a busy and long day and there will probably be LOADS of photographs so yeah; tired.

The sun makes its appearance

Last night we took the other laptop into the bedroom and watching "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang". Well, I did but she fell asleep (she claims she was listening all the time, I have not yet quizzed her on the dialogue from the last half of the film so I'm not sure about those claims). Anyway, it's a good film and it was really nice to set on the comfortable bed and be able to watch stuff. The Wifi works down there too which was good to find out. I slept like a baby after this and struggled to wake up. Fortunately my Special Guest woke, grabbed the camera, and snapped a picture through the fly screen on the bedroom window of the sun just appearing over the mountains across the way. I was fast asleep and woke up well after the sun was up. The boys were barking and howling a bit and that eventually caused us to finally decide to feed them to shut them up.

Feeding time was really easy again, and we both sat out in their house with our brews while they ate and they were pretty good all in all, though the ball being thrown for Rambo set Ralf off a bit while we were on the top field doing the watering. The pressure on the free water was back up again today which was also really good. We did a few chores (I did the washing up and we also put the wardrobes into the bedroom and put some clothes in them) and then it was time for going out.

Plans today were to drive into town and buy me some sun glasses and then go on from there out on my favourite road through the mountains past the lakes and up to the Abandoned Power Station which probably wasn't a power station at all but anyway. We were eventually into Thomas and heading out the door having gathered everything together and put the boys away with two extra big bowls of water as we were leaving them for a longer time. The shopping trip was a success and I am actually really pleased with my sunglasses. Pictures of them will be later in the blog.

Beautiful vista

We left town and headed up into the mountains and my Special Guest was suitably amazed by the views. We have between us taken over 300 photographs today so believe me I am going to be working hard to cut them down. We stopped a few times by the side of the road on the way up to snap the views and she was hanging out the window quite a lot as well. This is the first shot that she took on the way up and I love it; what a stunning view.

Colourful bug on a colourful thistle head

A bit further on we stopped again and as well as the stunning views there is also loads of wildlife out here and as the first of many here is a bug sat on a thistle. It is orange and black and was quite large.

Plants in front of the lake

It wasn't just her taking pictures, I got in on the act as well and I am particularly pleased with how this has come out. I spent a while working on different framings and focus settings and the one which is focused on the plants with the lake blurred in the background worked really well.

Butterflies for the day

There were loads of butterflies around all day and we took what pictures we could though it was so warm today they weren't settling anywhere for long and it was quite hard to sneak up on them and focus and snap before they took flight. There are a fair few pictures of boring ground where just shortly before a lovely butterfly was sitting.

The bravest frog of them all

Despite the regular and welcome stops we got to the parking spot for the Probably Not A Powerstation and were making our way towards the buildings to have a look around before hiking to the spot when my Special Guest yelled out in pain and started hopping around. She had been stung by something right on the bottom of her foot. I managed to help her to the steps onto the bridge and she sat there and after a few minutes, and some help from me to remove the stinger, the pain subsided enough for her to walk again. Not a pleasant moment at all. We crossed the bridge and went down to the water and both soaked our feet in the river and after five minutes she was feeling much better and we could set off. It wasn't long before we saw our first frogs as they panicked and dived for water but one wasn't bothered and refused to move as we went past.

Just some cool dude standing, looking cool

And now, the first picture of the sunglasses and don't I just look awesome! This is just up from where the frog was and you can see just how hot and dry it is even just by the river. We were heading about a ten minute walk along the stones, including three crossings of the river, up to the island which I had found with The Electrician. It had grass, shady trees, and some calm water next to it. Perfect for a picnic.

A crab hiding behind a rock

We set up the rug and I was hungry so I had a bite of bread with nardenitsa which was lovely. I then changed into my swimming shorts and we both went down to the water to sit and cool off. She went before me and shouted out that she had found a crab; I managed to snap a picture though it heard my approach and hid behind a rock which is just typical.

Yep. That's a snake. In the water

The other very exciting thing was as I was looking at it I saw a snake in the river as well. I had not been aware that there were snakes in Bulgaria that go in water but here was one right in front of us. I got a few pictures as it sat very still and we were both very careful to stay clear of where it was when we went to sit down.

Dude in sunglasses

So I went to sit on some rocks but slipped but I didn't hurt myself at all however it was surprising just how slimy the underwater rocks are. I went a bit further upstream and sat carefully in the shallows and it was lovely; the sun was really hot and the water was shallow so it was not too cold (actually it was really nice as it was cool) and we both sat there for ages watching the life that was teeming all around us.

Loads of life in the river

There were minnows in the shallows and, as we sat still, some slightly larger fish appeared. There were also some bottom feeders that moved really slowly and then suddenly dashed to another location before carrying on their grazing. It made me wish I had brought my snorkel as I would have been happy to lay on my front and observe the animals for hours and hours.

Are these Elm trees?

After this it was lunch time which was just lovely, and then we moved the rug out into the sun and sunbathed for about twenty minutes until it got too warm and then dragged it back under the shade from the elm trees. At least, I think they were elm trees. All the time we were there we were being rained on by the sap from the trees.

Our shaded spot

The spot under the trees was really nice; the grass was soft and we were only slightly disturbed by the cows that were grazing up and down the river bed.

Who is that asleep over there

It wasn't long before I was asleep and while I didn't doze for long it was really nice to be so relaxed and in such a peaceful and lovely place that you did just drift away to the sound of the river and the frogs and crickets and all the bird life that was flying around. What a heavenly afternoon.

When I woke up I went down to the water to cool down again and saw that the water snake, which had disappeared before, was now back and in a slightly different place. I crouched down on my haunches and watched for a while hoping that it may feed on a fish as there were loads of minnows around but it didn't. It did, however, start to move and I wished I'd brought my phone so I could take a picture as it swam, then stopped, then swam again really quite fast to the shallows. It lay with its head just out of the water, resting on a stone, and then just as suddenly turned back on itself and writhed through the water and disappeared under a rock where I think it remained. Brilliant. We later did a search and I think it was a Dice Snake.

Slightly closer shot of the snake

We did not have a time telling device so had no idea how late it had got but we both felt it was time to head back. There was a path I had seen on the other side of the river which I hoped would take us back to the bridge and via a different route which is always nice so we packed up, crossed the river once more, and set out along the track. It climbed up the valley side til we were a fair way above the water but continued following the valley and, after a few close encounters with crickets and a lizard which legged it, we found ourselves just by the bridge and exactly where we had needed to be. Brilliant.

Stunning view, and the wedding party agreed

Thomas was very hot but we just got moving with the windows down and were on our way over to the fish restaurant. This was the second part of the plan for today and it was amazing. We parked up on the hill and walked down and found it was pretty empty so we had the pick of the seats. As we were early we ordered drinks first and sat and chatted and enjoyed the stunning views across the water. A very nice Mercedes came down the hill, decorated for a wedding, and the bride and groom, and best man and maid of honour, got out and they were taking pictures all around, including next to the speedboat that was moored next to the restaurant.

Her dinner and mine below

Eventually we decided to order and she went with the Trout while I had the Catfish. Both our meals were absolutely amazing and the Jelena salad was stunning, as were the sauteed potatoes. It really is a good place to eat and when you consider that it cost almost as much as I pay the men for working for one day (each) then you can see that it is actually quite a posh place, even if it seems cheap to us.

Sun set picture number 1

After we finished and paid up (cash only, please) we were in Thomas and singing along to classic driving rock songs on the way home. The sun was going down and we were in a race to get back in time to get some pictures off the roof terrace. I sent her on ahead to run up with her camera while I let the boys out. There were REALLY excited but I suppose having be left all day that is to be expected. I carried all the gear inside and then went onto the roof where she had already taken about fifty pictures of the sun going down.

My contribution

I also got my camera out and this was the best picture I managed to get as the sun made its last farewell before dipping below the horizon. This sun terrace on the roof is going to be absolutely amazing and I am very excited to get it finished this year so we can use it in August and September, hopefully.

It has nearly gone

She was still snapping away while I played with Ralf and got this which was about ten seconds before it disappeared. Sorry for all these pictures of the various stages of the sun set. Well, actually, I'm not. You should expect it by now.

Gone to other lands

Finally for this blog here is the sky just shortly after the sun set, still burning and glowing but with the most amazing shades as you go higher from the horizon. I love it. While I've been sat slaving over this computer (and it has taken me about one hour and ten minutes to do this so far, including some interruptions getting burs out of Ralf's fur and things like that) my Special Guest has been playing with Rambo in the dark and also getting Ralf into a playful mood and generally giving them the attention that they need. Ralf has kept tapping into the room, saying hello (sometimes with kisses) and then disappearing again. He is so settled now.

Tomorrow then is a day of making and planting and then Monday it is back to the garage to find out what is wrong with Lucy as I had a phone call today from the lady at the shop which sounded a little concerning. There is nothing I can do for now so I'm not worrying until Monday.