Spring has sprung

What a difference a bit of sun makes. It's been rather a good week, certainly the most positive and happy I've felt for quite a long time; it turns out that I really am a creature of the weather and my moods swing with the clouds. I know this has been tough for A as I've really struggled for the past two or three months with the miserable weather then with us both getting so ill.

Things really have changed, though, since my determination to work less and take more time for me and more importantly Us.

And so to the update...

It's a great pleasure getting back into our office - Room 13

The plum tree by the Green Building is budding again

This is always the first to start the year, and was yellow through the snow

Daffodils from Lidl start the year off

A smile for Spring

This view makes me more productive, honest

To prove that Spring really has sprung I took my break time during the day last Monday to come up and clear Room 13 in preparation for our return. Tuesday was lighting the fire to take the chill out of the room, as it's been empty for months, and also A mopped the floor. We had a bit of a disaster as the flue pipe bent and fell out while the fire was lit but with the asbestos fire gloves and a bit of care we got it back in place and wedged so it can't fall again. Outside the signs of Spring are everywhere, with buds appearing and the Lidl Daffodils I bought four years ago now (yes, this time four years ago I was driving across Europe with my parents on my way out here... nearly another anniversary is upon us) have once more put on a glorious display. On Wednesday the weather was so good I could sit outside grinning like a loon and eat my lunch on the patio while the sun warmed me and things became good again. To be able to sit at my desk and look out at that view across the valley is also really good for my soul; and now as I sit here typing looking out into the gloaming as the day draws to a close I remember once again why I fell in love with this property and this HUGE job of renovation.

The dawn breaks with plenty of clouds

Later in the day it threatens rain, and it did come

The Big Reshuffle of Stuff has begun again

A putting potting compost into trays

The tomato seeds have done so well again

In a tray in Room 13

Of course after the lovely sunny day on Wednesday when we moved upstairs it was less lovely on Thursday however every time the sun did break through the entire room brightened and that alone lifts ones mood. We have decided to invite Bekir to come back and do some more work around the place early this year, mainly get the Games Room and A's Art Room finished as I've massively failed in my challenge to get the electric in there over winter. To this end we lifted out the wonky unit I made and I've started shifting things out of there. He came over today (Sunday) to check out the tasks we have for him and may start a week tomorrow so that gives us some breathing space to sort everything out. A had started her seeds in the tupperware last week and so this week they are already ready to plant out, well the tomatoes are anyway. We're aiming on being overloaded with tomatoes again this year so we can make lots of home made ragu.

The Parents' hotel is somewhere in there

A really stunning morning

Puppies hunting for the shaft of sunlight

A planting more seeds

Me enjoying more sun

Louise loving being in the sun as well

Which ball (answer - neither)

Louise being really helpful as A weeds the beds

Look at this big lump!

This is how you get lots done

Thelma has had enough "helping"

After a hard day, Louise tucks her nose

The rain of the previous day and over night washed the air clean and it was an absolutely stunning morning on Friday; I was running up and down stairs looking for the camera for the first time this year. Of course with the sun out there's a time during the morning when I can't see my screen so I have to shut the curtains; the puppies were outraged and did everything to find what sun broke through the gap. A was able to get some more seedlings planted, I think these are for sunflowers, while I once again had a Happy Beard Moment in the Sun. Thelma and Louise are also both so pleased to get back outside more, though Thelma sometimes can't choose which ball she wants. That afternoon A got outside for a while and cleared out a number of the raised beds and she was ably assisted in this task by the puppies.

Final winter plumage photo

Summer must be here!

What is this, up the tree?

Thelma getting some fresh air

Beautiful valley with the stream running down the centre

Thelma showing she is better

The cows are wondering why we've stopped in their home

A true Bulgarian traffic jam

Another option for the list

Louise less than impressed at the wash

Stunning sunset to finish the day... nearly...

Saturday dawned really bright and I finally made the decision to remove the Winter Plumage; what a change and it's been nice to not have it tickling my ears any more. We went out for a drive on Saturday before lunch towards some locations that A had spotted on the map. The first one involved an amazing drive through some stunning scenery but no house that we saw struck us as a good option; it was beautiful though and really enjoyable. As we drove back along that road (it was a dead end) we spotted something stuck up a tree and had to get a picture; it looks like a body! Very strange. Thelma was struggling a little bit with how windy and bumpy the roads were that far into the sticks and we stopped a couple of times to let her stomach settle; one stop in particular was at a lovely location next to a stream with stunning views down the valley; the cows and bulls which appeared along the road were not impressed with the puppies in their 'hood, however. We worked our way towards the second location A had spotted, stopping for a quick snack from a roadside shop as it was past lunchtime, and got caught in a very topical traffic jam. Finally we reached our destination and we were very impressed with this place; it has gone onto the list and we will investigate owners. The mud was pretty deep and both Thelma and Louise had to be washed off in the spring. On our way home we stopped for a brew with SandS which was just so lovely to see them; we think it has been four months since we saw them what with one thing and another. We were exhausted when we got back and had A had a nap while I did some hobby time and also rushed onto the balcony for the first time this year to get a picture of the sunset.

Very excited for kebab

The band gets going

Ivan getting into the groove

Rock 'n' Roll Star

Very nearly a smile

I have sadly forgotten his name. Bad form!

The night was not over, however, as Venko's band was playing in town; as it's been so long since we went out we decided to get dinner at the Turkish place A had found on her night out with Emma last year; this was a great choice as the food was really nice. We got to the venue and found almost the entire place reserved however we got a table, then were joined by a friend of Venko's who spoke a bit of English, and this guy's niece who spoke a fair bit. We did try our Bulgarian but they were very pleased to speak English; a bit later the rest of the family joined us and we sat with them for the whole night; they were really lovely - it's always nice to meet new people, especially locals, and hopefully we'll stay in touch. The band were on form and it was quite reluctantly that we had to leave as we'd left the puppies for hours; the fire was out by the time we got home so any later would have been bad.

First time we've had breakfast on the balcony this year as well

What a stunning location to play our game

Sassy hopped out and ran around the balcony

Rambo on his rounds

Table set up for the first game

Three orcs traverse the slopes

Traveling through a wooded area

Rambo chilled out in the shade underneath the balcony

Thelma in her sun trap, gasping in the heat

Louise preferred to sit on the chair near us

Shot mid-way through the final game

And so we reach today, another day we had awesome plans for. The sun rose bright however the fog rose shortly after which delayed us getting out onto the balcony but it burned off very quickly. Bekir arrived for his quick look at the tasks we have lined up while we were waiting for the sun to break back through so that was very good timing. A made some porridge for our breakfast and we were able to eat this sat out on the balcony before we set up for our game; we were going to play a new small quick version of the normal wargame we play based in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. It was a glorious day and we played two games before lunch, then had butties on the patio before going back up and playing a third and final game. We let Sassy have her cage open and for the first time ever she hopped out on her own while Rambo went on a round of the land before relaxing in the shade on the drive below where we were playing. All in all it was such a lovely way to spend time and certainly we will be playing games out on the balcony again; we have a new 4' square folding table on its way which will help a lot.

This is actually helpful from our animals

Getting stuck in to my digging chore

The flock in helping me out

Ming (front) and Blondie Bald Neck

The small task, completed

Very strong sun today

We were both exhausted by the time we finished, but more from the sun and fresh air than anything else, so had an hour or two kip which refreshed us quite a lot. I woke to make a brew and get out into the garden to start digging through the vegetable patch and while I was making the brews I watched the chickens digging into the raised beds. I targeted clearing the section that had the failed sweetcorn in last year and A brought the chickens in to help me out; they do a good job scratching and if we'd left them in here all winter we may not have as much to do now; there's a thought for next winter. By the time I had finished my targeted area for clearing I was pretty shattered, it's amazing how unfit I am again, and I came inside to start on this update. A caught the sun quite badly today which does show how strong that sunshine was. We forgot to get a thermometer out but it was certainly up to high twenties on the balcony.

And so there you have it; a rather long update but then this week has been surprisingly busy. We have a week remaining to prepare for the return of the workmen and then I'll have to up the regularity of these updates again.

Thanks for reading, as always

A brief whack of winter

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.

I can't wait for summer!