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.
Please make use of the comments box to ask questions or suggest blog subjects too :)
What is this? Almost a regular blog update?! Amazing!
It is quite a simple update this time round, though, as basically it's lots of pictures of snow, snow falling, us in the snow, the puppies in the snow, us shoveling snow and then the snow melting. All in all it's about snow.
There are some videos as well, sprinkled through the update.
I will open with a video, and not one of snow. This is how you keep a puppy occupied with minimal effort from yourself!
A collecting wood as the snow falls
Rambo laying in the kitchen enjoying the heat
Snow drift on the window of the guest room
Digging out the kitchen door
Rambo looking in
Snow drift into the wood shed; a great shape
This drift is up above my knee
It started snowing on Monday last week but the main thing was the wind; the snow was quite dry and it drifted massively on the high winds, though actually not all that much fell and there were quite large areas that had only the slightest dusting. It was cold, though, and A took pity on Rambo and let him inside for a bit; he does like it for a while but then he gets uncomfortable and wants to go outside again. I had a nap in the afternoon and when I woke up there was a huge drift of snow on the window ledge. We actually had to dig the kitchen door open as it was drifted up so it wouldn't swing. Of course one of the best things about the snow is watching the puppies having fun in it and so there is an obligatory "so deep they almost go underneath the level of the snow and disappear" video. The drift directly outside the kitchen door was over knee high, while the wood store really needs a front on it for this type of weather; the wood was buried in snow.
A white morning greets us
Clean snowfall
A gets ready for shoveling
Thelma with her ball
Louise staying inside
A gets started shoveling the snow
I take my turn
Nearly done; who said a 90 square meter balcony is a good idea?
The next morning we woke to a white world, deep snow, and A got started straight away clearing the balcony. What with the wind it was drifted up here as well, while some areas had less than an inch. Thelma was enjoying chasing her ball, and snowballs, while Louise stayed inside in the warm; sensible puppy. I helped out for a bit and then had to get back to work and A did a superb job of clearing the lot. The best thing about this change in the weather was the fact that the sun was back out; I've missed blue skies and sunshine.
Balcony isn't clear any more
Puppies by the fire
Making their way through the snow
Louise wants picking up....
... but then she's racing ahead with Thelma
Snowy ridges
Thelma waiting impatiently
Rambo really does love the snow
Thelma also really loves the snow
Louise doesn't so much
The Old School in the distance
Of course that night it snowed again and we woke once more to a white balcony; typical. This time we didn't go out to clear it yet but instead left it for later. It was a cooler morning and the girls were both happy when the fire was lit, though they both wanted the same bed. At lunch time we got ourselves wrapped up and took ourselves out into the snow with all three puppies to stretch our legs, get some fresh air, and appreciate the snowscape; I don't know why but I absolutely love walking in the snow. We made our way all the way to the end of the ridge looking over the town, river and road below, then made our way back. It was quite hard work as the snow was so deep and soft. A really good way to blow the cobwebs away though.
And then more snow fell
-17 degrees so the fire is lit
A glorious start to the day
This year the tractor cleared to our gate
Snow locked village
A different view of home
Leaking tap
Exploded tap
Snowy hill
Icicles under The Other Brother's car
Our so amazing neighbours
Not long after we got back it started snowing again and laid down another inch or two so we were glad that the attempt wasn't made to re-clear the balcony. A had headed onto the roof terrace to check that out as well and it was really deep however I have no pictures to show you, sorry. That night I took an early-ish night and the forecast was for very low temperatures so we had the fire lit in there for the one and only time this winter. It was lovely to lay there listening to it thrum and it kept us warm all night. The next morning was beautiful and clear with bright sunshine greeting me out of the bedroom window. We were going to head back out onto the ridge again but decided instead to take the rubbish up to the bin. One of the standpipes in the village always leaks and had a a chunk of ice however it was nothing to a burst pipe outside another house that was still spraying and freezing. We also bumped into The Other Brother, The Little Lady and The Special One and she asked me to take a picture of them together.
Two puppies looking like one
A hungry woodpecker
Almost all the snow is gone
Thelma and Sassy say hello
Fascinated by each other
A took a walk down into town the next day and it started raining while she was there. I was really pleased that she got to enjoy the walk down in the snow as it is a beautiful walk. It was still cold, however, the puppies were determined to be warm and they both squashed into the tiny bed; you can barely see Louise is even in there. This cold weather has been hard on the local wildlife and while I was washing up I watched a couple of woodpeckers looking for food on the ground outside the window. The rain continued all night and by the next morning almost all the snow was gone/ While feeding Sassy Thelma said hello again and they were sniffing each other happily for quite a while.
Flags coming up by the path
Flags and other bulbs coming back to life
Thelma loves shouting at her kong
Game time
With the snow melting spring really does feel like it is here. Saturday was actually warm and sunny. We had a bit of a stroll around the garden while I was doing my chores and enjoyed the sight of the bulbs breaking through even more than before. Thelma doesn't care though so long as she has Rambo's giant kong to play with. The melt was pouring out of the drainage, into the lane; a couple of years ago all of that would have come through the house! We also played a game during the day, which was a lot of fun, and sat on the balcony in the sun during breaks; it won't be long now before the temperature rises and we can start to live outside again.
The last vestiges of snow
This morning there is just the tiniest touch of ice and snow around, it's all gone. It is also overcast; the sun has gone too.
Hello again, I'm back and finally starting to get back to normal health (though we're still not back to full health by any means) and I do want to say just how much this has sucked. Neither of us are good at laying around doing nothing but that has been what this illness has forced us to do. Let's hope this is all the bad things over with for the year; onwards!
This update is again going to be a short sweep through the last three weeks. Most of that time has been spent being ill so there isn't actually all that much to update about. I have managed to stick to my promise to myself to work less and take more time for myself and with A and that has been a real bonus as well.
It does the soul good, to see that view
A picture I've not taken for a while, of the parents' hotel
I took great pleasure hanging the washing out
Thelma with her ball on the balcony
Sassy saying hello in the sun
Patio time with the puppies
We've seen very little sun for the past month; right now there are snow flakes falling and the grey cloud of the past two weeks is heavily overhead. Early in February there were a few days that were particularly lovely. We got onto the balcony (I slept wrapped in a duvet on the recliner a couple of times which was awesome) and we also got to have coffee/tea/breakfast/lunch on the patio. Everything is always better when the sun is shining.
A walk up the village with the puppies in the snow
The pond isn't frozen so the duck gets a swim in
Low cloud and snow flurries hides the valley
I love this angle of the school
Two days later and the weather had changed entirely. We had a dump of snow overnight that continued into the morning and put a few inches down. It didn't continue and melted relatively quickly on our land however in sheltered areas a bit higher up the mountains there was still snow even last weekend.
The first signs of spring
Bulbs pushing through
More lovely bulbs on their way
Thelma and Louise sniffing around the man hole cover
This is what was hiding in there
When the snow had cleared I took a walk around the garden, actually quite a big step for me in feeling better and being able to get out of the house, and was so pleased to see that we have bulbs coming up both in the Tortoise garden, along the edge of the "lawn" and round where A planted loads next to the parking area. These are going to look amazing in a month or so - spring must be coming, right. The girls were very interested in the manhole cover by the standpipe so I pulled the lid up and found a few toads hiding there. By the time I got back with the camera all but one had escaped. Thankfully the puppies didn't catch any as they are poisonous.
The fishing lake near one of the houses
A beautiful mountain view
Lovely mountain flowers
Thelma always finds a stick to play with
The Castle we climbed to with my parents last year
Down by the reservoir
Thelma found a log this time (yes, she carried it)
Rambo does love water
Louise was cold, so were we
Looking back up towards them
The next sunny day (and the last one I can remember though my memory may be bad) was last weekend on the Friday and Saturday. We went out with Dincher, our lawyer, for a drive around some properties he owns that we may be interested in purchasing and had a really lovely day with him. We do live in such a beautiful place and one of the houses in particular we liked quite a lot so we'll see what happens there. We went right up into the mountains and then afterwards over to one of the smaller reservoirs (still quite a big place) and enjoyed every second. The next day we managed to get out again and went back to the house we'd liked and decided to offer on it. We took Rambo out with us that day and he absolutely loved it, particularly the little duck pond that he could jump in.
Two puppies very interested in Sassy
Caught mid-hop as she explores the balcony
A lovely, rare, cuddle with Sassy
Getting our game back on
A about to smash me to pieces hah
Getting some seeds onto damp tissue
I was actually able to do almost a full week of work this week, which was very satisfying, and so yesterday I did not turn the laptop on all day. After morning chores (which involved cleaning Sassy out, letting her have a run around the balcony and the puppies getting to say hello) and then a lovely cuddle with her which is very rare as she doesn't like being handled that much, A and I got to finish the game of Hobbit SBG we began weeks ago, and then to top it off had a second game with different models. It was a lovely day; A even got some seeds into pots to start sprouting over the next few weeks, and taking time off is top of my list of priorities for this year.
The snow settling on Thomas before I pulled him inside
Now the snow is still falling, and settling now. I've pulled Thomas into the garage as if this continues we'll want to be able to get snow chains on and get out in an emergency. I'm about to make some Posh Scrambled Eggs and then we'll see what today brings; it is certainly another day of no work though.
It went in working and then in being ill with flu.
Not much fun.
Not really what I left the hell hole of the UK for either. Something is going to have to be done and, being who I am, something WILL be done. The work/life balance needs to be redressed.
My surrogate family
The young boy was ill, his sister makes him smile
Father and Son part 1
Father and Son part 2
The gift bread, with the prize baked in it
My pictures go back to New Years Eve and a lovely wonderful evening had with The Little Lady, Usmivka, The Special One and The Other Brother and family. I even tried to video Usmivka and The Other Brother dancing but didn't hit record so that went away unfortunately. It was a lovely night and the last time I've really let myself appreciate being here.
New year, clean chicken house
The ducks using the pond
Cooking the right way
Thelma and Louise on the edge
Louise at high speed
Louise just before being at high speed
A cleaned out the chicken shed, with me providing the clean hay. This time the old hay was spread around the base of the trees in the orchard which was a great idea, apart from the chickens went up there and scratched it all out again. This winter has been very mild, we had a little skiffle of snow which meant I could take the puppies up onto the headland for a run - I do love walking in the snow. They had a great time, I don't think Louise stopped running. Getting outside is such a rarity for me right now, it was a perfect moment for sure.
Plucked chicken
Processing in our sink
Louise didn't want them, but wouldn't let Thelma have them
The bird, roasted for our dinner
One night I heard a load of flapping and squawking while I was asleep so I dashed onto the balcony and made a load of noise. By the time we got to the chicken house, which had been left open by accident, we found one drowned chicken in the pond and a bunch of others that were outside. After some chasing we got them all inside and locked up; we reckon maybe a cat got in and chased the poor girl into the water and she couldn't get back out. The Little Lady helped clean and butcher her, with Louise getting the giblets and stopping Thelma from even looking at them, and then that weekend we had our own chicken for dinner. It was pretty good - at least you know there were no chemicals in it.
Finally I was in the UK the other week (where I got ill) and my colleague visited us here before we flew to Manchester. It was lovely to show him around, though he was so battered from the flight I do wonder how much enjoyment he managed to get. The trip to the UK was good, I got to see some very special friends and took some good pictures but my phone is not letting me transfer them onto the computer. Gutted.
No filter - the red moon
I'll leave you with this picture of the moon, so red as it rose the other night. We've both been so ill, we're both still ill, and I'm sorry this has been such a delayed post and now it is written it is hardly filled with the joys of life. As I said in my opening remarks this overwork cannot continue and so it will not.
