Wow the last few weeks have been amazing and extremely busy - I've have no time to write the blog at all! It's been 3 weeks, but to keep it short(ish) I will just write about two weeks for now and add this week just gone to next weeks post... if that makes sense!?
Monday 9th
It started off a beautiful day, which was lucky as we had Petes mum (Kathy) and step dad (Dave) arriving in the afternoon. We sent the morning sprucing up the place and getting ready. At about 3 o'clock Kathy and Dave arrived at our house after checking into the local hotel. We had a lovely afternoon giving them a tour of our place and catching up over a couple of beers.
 |
| Family are here! |
In the evening it started to cloud over and did eventually rain, so we decided to go for dinner at the hotel where they were staying - which has lovely food and even more lovely wine! We had a great night with them but left relatively early as they'd had a long day travelling.
Tuesday 10th
The sun was out today so we decided to have a working day (parents are here for working holidays of course!) Dave had said that he wanted to fill in and render the horrible gaps above the windows, where we'd replaced the lintels. This was fantastic news as this is something that makes the house look so messy and is was a job that we wouldn't have got round to for ages. Me and Pete popped to Chirpan first thing to get a few supplies and then K & D came over to ours at about 11.
 |
| Yellow room window is a state outside |
Dave got on with the windows whilst Pete mixed me up some adhesive and we got started on tiling the balcony. Kathy very kindly cleaned out the chicken coop, which also involved adding a few layers of bricks to our temporary compost bin to build it up higher. It was a nice, relaxed working day with a stop for a lovely lunch.
 |
| Dave working on the window |
 |
| Kathy in the chicken coop |
 |
| Me and Pete tiling the balcony |
 |
| Over hanging the tiles to stop the walls getting wet |
In the afternoon Kathy limed all the trees in the garden as, so they look pretty now and are protected from bugs. Pete helped Dave with the rendering - we'd bought a tool from Chirpan that was supposed to flick the render at the wall so it gave the textured effect and would blend in with the old rendering, but after several attempts and two breakages we decided to sack it off and just flick render at the wall instead. This worked surprisingly well and Dave did an amazing job of blending it in with the old stuff, and he actually managed to get one window finished. So good! I managed to get half of the balcony tiled as well, which is great.
 |
| Kathy liming the trees |
 |
| The tool that is supposed to help with the rendering... |
 |
| ... but this brush worked better. |
 |
| And now it looks great! |
 |
| Old and new blending well |
 |
| Half the balcony is tiled |
Oh also! Dave helped us to carry our very heavy stone sink over to where we need it, so it is not just lying in the middle of the garden anymore!
 |
| Careful balancing |
In the evening we had a very yummy BBQ and afterwards sat up around a fire chatting and having a few glasses of wine.
 |
| Evening BBQ |
Wednesday 11th
One thing me and Pete had wanted to do last year was visit the 'Valley of the Roses' whilst the roses were in bloom. Kathy also wanted to see this, so today we arranged a day out! We got up early and went to the hotel to join K & D for breakfast before all setting off in their car. We didn't really know what we were looking for, all we knew was that the main rose industry was around Kazanluk - so we headed there first. The drive is over an hour to Kazanluk, but it's beautiful scenery through the mountains and into the valley.
 |
| Driving picture - towards the mountains |
We decided to drive along the main road and were slightly disappointed to not see many rose fields. Thinking we'd see some more fields off the main road. so we turned off towards a village and then followed some signs we saw to a rose distillery. Amazingly the distillery was beautiful and we were able to have a tour from a girl that spoke perfect English. It was a really interesting tour and the process is actually happening now so we were able to see it in action. The distillery we visited was the oldest working distillery in Bulgaria so we also learnt some interesting history about the rose industry here in BG.
 |
| At the distillery |
 |
| Cool old still |
 |
| Rose petals! |
 |
| Field of roses |
After the tour we were all feeling peckish so we headed to a restaurant by a reservoir that our tour guide had recommended. We had a delicious lunch and then went for a relaxing stroll along the top of the dam, which was beautiful.
 |
| Picking cherries |
 |
| Lunch by the reservoir |
 |
| Walking on the dam |
 |
| Pete and his mum |
 |
| Looking down the dam |
On the way home we made a diversion towards the church in Shipka and stopped for an ice-cream before heading home. Back at home it had started to rain a bit so we sat in the yellow room for dinner and had a fun evening playing games with a few glasses of wine.
 |
| Shipka |
Thursday 12th
Today K & D went for a day out in Plovdiv, so we stayed at home and finished the tiling on the balcony.
 |
| Finished! |
When K & D joined us in the evening we had another BBQ and bonfire in the garden. It did start to drizzle a bit but it was nothing major and the fire kept us lovely and warm. Also I think it was this evening that we saw our first fire fly of the year!
 |
| BBQ time - it wasn't actually as cold as it looks here! |
Friday 13th
Market day of course! The day started off quite nice so all four of us headed into Chirpan and we spent a long morning shopping and showing K & D around. On the way home we stopped in Spasovo to get wine from the wine lady and to try and have a look at the still - which is closed at this time of year. Annoyingly by the time we'd got home the weather had turned, so after unpacking the shopping we hung out inside for a bit and had a coffee.
 |
| At the still |
 |
| Playing with Lucy |
Thankfully the rain did clear and after about an hour the sun was shining and we were boiling outside! This weather!!? Dave started getting on with starting to render the second window - this one had a much deeper hole so needed a scratch coat before doing the final layer tomorrow. Pete and Kathy got in the veg garden - weeding, harvesting more spinach and lettuce and tying up the tomatoes etc.
 |
| Another bad looking window |
 |
| Scratch coat on |
 |
| Weeding |
 |
| Tying up the toms |
 |
| Getting bigger! |
 |
| Beets are nearly ready to harvest |
 |
| We've eaten spinach salad EVERY day this week! |
 |
| Little friend in the watering can |
Whilst they did that I decide to clear the area by the house where we want to move our kitchen to in the summer. This area was crazily over grown so I pulled out as many huge weeds as possible before strimming the rest. Once it was clear Pete helped me to put the big gazebo - which will be our outside living area for when it rains.
 |
| Bit of a disaster area! Before... |
 |
| ... and after ... |
 |
| ... and with gazebo. |
Another lovely day and another great evening around the fire with yummy food. This is the life :)
 |
| The nook in our barn |
Saturday 14th
This evening we were expecting my parents to arrive at about 9 o'clock so I spent the morning cleaning the house and setting up the yellow room as a bedroom. Pete spent some time in the kitchen doing a few bits - including preparing a stew for dinner and making absolutely delicious olive bread which we ate for lunch. Whilst we were doing that Kathy was out in the beautiful sunshine doing some more gardening and Dave was getting on with finishing the window.
 |
| Carrot thinnings - we've replanted some and the chickens enjoyed the rest |
 |
| Spare bedroom |
 |
| Amazing olive bread made by Pete |
 |
| Lunch in the sunshine |
In the afternoon Pete and his mum went for a walk through the village and over the hill whilst Dave and I stayed home - he was still rendering and I grouted the tiles on the balcony.
 |
| Finished and looking fab! |
 |
| Tiles are grouted and clean |
It had been a stunning day all day so I was a bit annoyed to see the clouds come rolling over the hills about an hour before my mum and dad arrived! It was quite an impressive storm with loud thunder and massive lighting bolts. My parents arrived at about 9 and we showed them the house and then drank wine and ate a delicious dinner of sausage stew, that Pete had cooked earlier, around a fire. We ate dinner at the table but then the rain did eventually come and we had to retreat to the gazebo. We actually managed to carry the fire pit over and kept it going underneath the gazebo, so it wasn't too cold!
 |
| Amazing colours during the storm |
 |
| Fire and drinks under the gazebo |
Sunday 15th
Today we had both sets of parents here together so we decided that we'd have a chilled day and do an afternoon BBQ. Luckily it was a gorgeous sunny day and in the morning we gave mum and dad the grand tour of the veggie garden before having a feast of bacon, eggs and bucks fizz for breakfast. K & D joined us around eleven and we had a lovely afternoon hanging out in the sunshine. We also started planning the campsite toilet block which we were going to build with dad over the next couple of weeks.
 |
| BBQing |
 |
| Chilling time |
It was forecast to storm again in the evening so we had an earlyish BBQ (which was delicious, of course!) and got a fire going with the hope that it wouldn't be too bad. But sadly the rain did come - and there was a lot of it - so it was back to the gazebo, with the fire pit again. It was K & D's last evening and they had an early flight in the morning so they us at about 10.30 and we said our goodbyes. It was so great to have them here again - thank you two for all your hard work, it was much appreciated!! :D Once they'd gone we stayed up for a while drinking lots of red wine and catching up with mum and dad.
 |
| Back under cover after such a beautiful day |
Monday 16th
Today was the start of the big job that mum and dad were here to help us with - building the toilet and shower block for the campsite. Which is exciting! We were all up quite early and after a coffee Pete dad and I went out to Chirpan to buy supplies. We needed ALOT of wood! We were out for a couple of hours and got the van fully loaded before coming home and unloading it all off the van - which also took ages, even with four of us.
 |
| WOOD! |
The next step was to strim and clear the area where we were going to build - which is at the bottom of the walnut orchard. We spent the afternoon propping up the 12 upright posts on to large stones and laying all the floor joists - this is how much you can do if you know what you're doing! All four of us helped out - me and mum cutting wood whilst Pete and dad hammered it in place. Already, by day one, it looked great!
 |
| Strimming up to the orchard |
 |
| One post up... |
 |
| Four posts up... |
 |
| Big stones for the posts to sit on |
 |
| The workers |
 |
| Floor joists in... |
 |
| And we have the beginnings of a building! |
In the evening we got cleaned up and headed out to the local hotel for dinner as it had started to rain again. It was still raining when we got home so we watched a bit of TV in the yellow room before having an early night.
 |
| Lucy doesn't like our nettle beer |
Tuesday 17th
Already we needed more wood so me and Pete went out again first thing to stock up on boards for the floor. Whilst we were out Dad was back in the loo block putting noggins in the floor joists and bolting everything together.
 |
| Dad's on the noggins |
 |
| Bolted together |
Once me and Pete were home (after another 2 hours shopping trip) it was all hands on deck again to unload the van and get the boards on the floor. We managed to get most of it done but it got late so we left the last corner unfished. Another very productive day, and now we can walk on it! When we were finished we had a beer on the new deck and then had a nice evening with a BBQ for dinner and a fire going afterwards.
 |
| Pete cutting the floor boards |
 |
| Mum awaiting instructions! |
 |
| (Most of) the floor is down |
 |
| Chickens in the grass |
 |
| One of my small sunflowers in bloom |
Wednesday 18th
Back at work again! The days have been getting hotter and hotter so we got up early to crack on whilst it was still cool. We started the day by finishing the floor boards and then Pete and dad got to work on making the uprights actually level and putting in supporting beams.
 |
| Hard at work |
 |
| Bilko is helping too |
This wasn't really a four man job so mum got busy in the garden - planting out more seedlings we had, tying up the beans and peas and putting straw around the strawberries as they have been rotting. She also thinned out our cherry tomato plants into separate containers, which are late but have finally started taking off. Whilst everyone was busy I ran about between the loo block and the garden trying to help everyone!
 |
| Planting peppers |
 |
| Gardening mum |
 |
| Straw for the strawbs |
 |
| Oh and I planted the cress that Kathy bought me! |
Early afternoon we ran our of wood (again) so it was another drive to Chirpan to load up on materials - if only we had a bigger van! We weren't so long this time and when we got home mum had made a lovely spread for lunch.
 |
| Another sunny lunch time |
 |
| We found this turtle in the road and set it free in the garden |
The afternoon was spent much like the morning with me, Pete and dad working on cutting the uprights to length and putting up the rafters for the roof. Mum was also busy moving a big tree that'd we'd cut down weeks ago and was now totally overgrown! She organised the wood into kindling and fire wood and then strimmed the area where it had been lying, which now looks great. Amazingly we were able to get all the rafters up and now the building is really starting to take shape.
 |
| More toilet block action |
 |
| Mum strimming |
 |
| Pile of kindling to dry out |
 |
| All the rafters are up! |
Whilst we'd been out in Chirpan earlier me and Pete had bought a huge oil drum to make a new BBQ out of. Pete has wanted to do this for ages and having 6 people in the house (from tomorrow) was the perfect excuse to buy one! He cut the drum in half length ways and added bars across to hold a grill. The weather held out today and it was a gorgeous sunny evening spent around a huge fire in the new fire pit, eating yummy food and drinking wine - gooood times!
 |
| Beer time on the decking |
 |
| Making the new BBQ |
 |
| Fire in the oil drum! |
Thursday 19th
Today was the day my brother (Charley) and his girlfriend (Maya) were arriving! This was very exciting as they'd been living in Australia and I haven't seen my little bro for nearly a year and a half! We were expecting them at about 1 o'clock this afternoon, so in the morning me and Pete went out to buy more wood whilst mum kindly tidied the house. Dad did a few more bts and pieces on the loo block - including digging two big holes to hold the posts for the steps. Me and Pete were back before 11 and we all unloaded the van. Just as we'd finished unloading Charley called to say he was already in Chirpan - so we quickly got ready and rushed back out to meet him in a cafe.
 |
| Big hole for post |
 |
| The bottom posts for the stairs |
 |
| The whole family! |
We stayed for a beer and some chips in Chirpan, as well as doing a quick shop for more food now we had 6 mouths to feed for a week! Back at home we showed Charley and Maya around (weirdly they were quite familiar with everything as they read the blog!) and then chilled out for the rest of the afternoon. Before dinner we got their tent set up in the walnut orchard - our first campers of the year - and then had another lovely evening cooking food on the new, massive, BBQ. We didn't stay up too late as C & M had been travelling all night and day and we had lots of work to be getting on with tomorrow!!
 |
| More guests arriving! |
 |
| Charley meeting the chickens |
 |
| Tent up in the orchard |
 |
| Big barbie |
Friday 20th
Market day again and there was massive amounts of shopping to be done! C & M came with us so we were out for a while showing them the sights of Chirpan and stopping for a coffee. We also ordered a huge amount of wood for panelling, that was going to be delivered later today.
 |
| At the market |
 |
| Pete and Maya |
Back at home mum and dad had been busy - Dad had secured the posts for the stairs with gravel, as well as starting to building the wooden frames that will be the walls for each cubicle. Mum had been working hard as well and had managed to dig up two bin bags full of hemlock - an extremely poisonous plant that we have growing as a weed all around the garden.
 |
| 2 bags of hemlock |
 |
| Building the walls |
After lunch me and Pete went up to help dad carry on building the walls whilst the other three set themselves the task of clearing a very overgrown area of the garden. This area needed cutting right back and uncovering a big pile of huge logs that we hadn't yet got around to chainsawing or splitting. They did a fab job - Charley even got the chainsaw out himself and started to cut some f the logs to a reasonable size. They also got other areas of the garden strimmed and tidy and cleared the area where we hope to build our compost bin soon. Charley also made a start at organising the barn (he was always much tidier than me) by building us a little tool rack. So much progress is made with so many people! :)
 |
| Very messy and overgrown before |
 |
| Clearing and chopping wood |
 |
| After - so much space! |
 |
| Organised tools |
Me, Pete and dad got all the walls up - including putting a frame of baton around each section that will hold the wooden panelling. At about 4 o'clock the guy came with the delivery of wood - all 52sqm of it! Even with 6 of us helping it took a long time to get it all off the truck.
 |
| All walls are in and framed |
 |
| And we have 4 door ways! |
 |
| Skirting on around the edges |
 |
| All the planks delivered for the walls |
Early evening we all got clean, chilled out for a bit and had an early dinner before heading down the road to meet S & G at the bar for a few beers. When we got there we found that the bar was closed this weekend so we invited S & G back to ours for some drinks instead. It ended up being a really fun evening with a huge fire and lots of laughs!
 |
| Charley has started to whittle us a new axe handle |
 |
| Dinner time |
Saturday 21st
It was forecast to rain all day today - and that it did. We all had a bit of a lie in and then, as we couldn't do any work outside, we decided to go to SZ to do some MORE shopping! There are some things for the loo block that we can't get in Chirpan so we visited several builders merchants and then had lunch out in the centre of town. Not the most exciting day out, especially in the drizzly weather, but it needed to be done.
When we got home it was still raining so after chilling out for a bit we all went out to the hotel for dinner. It was a really fun evening - we ordered way too much yummy food and the restaurant was the busiest we've ever seen it, which made a great atmosphere.
 |
| Cheers! |
Woo that was long, so I'll leave the blog there for now as I'm sure you're all tired of reading it anyway! I'll definitely post again next weekend - with another massive update I'm sure! Chao x x
