93 - 95.

 

Wow, how time flies! Suddenly it has been nearly 3 weeks since the last update. We are completely bored with the snow now, to be honest, and are impatiently watching outside, waiting for spring to arrive. Just a quick update today I think..

 

The snow is slowly starting to disappear but has been replaced with rain and mud, which isn't much better. The temperatures are still pretty cold too. Our days have mainly consisted of lazy mornings with tea in bed and long brunches in the kitchen. In the afternoons we've been out for walks, doing a few odd jobs and/or watching films - depending on how we feel!

 

Pete behind a huge pile of snow (from the plough)

These birds of prey are everywhere and so visible at this time of year

 

Lovely sunset

 

Games and wine in the evenings

 

After I left you last time we spoke to some friends in the village and managed to track down where our village mayor was hiding. There was more snow forecast for the middle of the week so we wanted to ask the mayor about getting a plough on to our road before then, in case the plough came and we missed the opportunity. So on the Monday we trudged to the mayors house (with a note very neatly written out in Bulgarian) and managed to ask her about getting the plough on our road. She gave us a reassuring 'dobre' and a shake of the head and so we went home feeling pleased with ourselves. 

 

The mid-week snow never arrived and neither did the plough. By the end of the week we assumed that our request had got lost in translation so we decided, with nothing else better to do, that we would dig our way out! Pete started on his own at first and did a great job, although it was very slow going. The next day we went out to do it together and with a good system in place (Pete breaking up the ice and me shovelling it) we managed to do about 3 or 4 hours of digging and got pretty far. It was bloody hard work but at least it got us out the house and was good exercise. Our neighbours thought we were crazy and kept rolling their eyes and saying 'young people!'

 

Pete starting to dig

He did well for a couple of hours work

Day 2 of the dig - look how far away the van is!

Beer in the sunshine after a hard days work

The next day we were back out digging and got a couple of hours done before going into the house for a tea break. As the kettle was boiling we heard a loud rumbling coming from up the road and we went to the window to see what it was. Guess what - the plough was here to clear our road! Argh! So that was a waste of time, but c'est la vie, at least we tried.

 

As soon as the plough had passed us we finished our teas and jumped straight in the van for a trip to Chirpan. Surprisingly there was not a lot we actually needed but it was good to get out the house. The road into town was good and we actually had to stop and take our snow chains off. We got home just as it got dark, but found the steep track up to our road was still too snowy to drive up (even with the chains on) so had to leave the van at the bottom of the hill and walk up.   

 

Lots of this going on!

 

Work wise we have been doing small things here and there. We managed to find a scrap of wood in the barn that was suitable for the mezzanine floor so were able to finish that. We have been storing the OCB for this job for ages, so once we'd fit the final beam in it was just a question of cutting and fitting the OCB in place - which was easy but at our current pace took a couple of days to finish! Once we'd been to Chirpan to stock up on supplies we were able to varnish the floor and fit the skirting. The mezzanine is pretty much finished now - just to wire in a couple of plug sockets and we can get the fairy lights and bed up there! After going to Chirpan and getting grout I was also able to replace all the old silicon in the bathroom with lovely new grout. Not a fun job, but it looks much better now. We also dug out the front patio in the garden so there is room to manoeuvre out there now, if we wanted to (which we don't at the moment because it's too cold.)

 

Mezzanine floor

Skirting in a painted

Pete in the mez

Finally we can walk outside without slipping over

 

We have, of course, been eating lots of lovely food as always. I haven't been taking many pics though as I'm sure you're all bored of looking at them. Amongst other things, Pete has made bagels for the first time and lemon pickle using the preserved lemons we made last year. Both were a hit! Our sauerkraut is also ready so we've been eating that too.

 

Homemade bagel (the hole closed up!)

Lemon pickle

Sauerkraut

 

In other news, we had a visit from a wild animal (possibly a jackal) one night, and we awoke to find the chicken coop completely empty. Over the course of the next day one chicken and one cockerel returned, but they were in shock, or something, and they wouldn't go in the coop. They made a new home on the balcony instead and even slept outside over night in freezing temperatures. We'd been planning on slaughtering the two cockerels this year as, obviously, they don't supply us with any eggs - so we made the decision that we would just dispatch the last two birds now and not have any chickens this year. Pete spent some time researching how best to do this and then bravely did the job - in a very quick and humane way. I was a bit sad as we've had the chicken as a pet for nearly two years, but this is the way of life here and if I want to eat meat I better suck it up, especially as we plan to get lambs and perhaps even pigs for meat in the future. We then plucked the chickens and gutted them and they are both currently stored in the freezer for later.        

 

Thank you chickens :-)

The cockerel ready to eat

 

That is really all the excitement from the last three weeks. We had a couple of days where temperatures hit 8-10 degrees and the snow really started to melt fast, everyone was sure that spring was on it's way and we started to get excited about planting vegetables. But then we woke up this morning and groaned and cursed at the sight out the window - a fresh layer of snow on the ground and more falling, nooo! Thankfully it wasn't thick and by the afternoon it was already melting before it hit the ground, so it's not too bad. Here are a few more pictures from the week.

 

Collecting wood

Before the melt

Walking in the lavender fields (also before the melt began...)

The moon

 

On a final note, since having the van back in action we've had a day out in SZ, been to check out a nearby town (called Parvomay) and been to the market for the first time this year. Market day was actually this morning and despite the grim coldness and snow fall there were several stalls set up in the centre of town celebrating the 'wine and love festival', which is on the 14th February. The stalls were set up by local wineries and were handing out free wine. We were with our friend S so we stayed for a glass of breakfast vino and watched the kids doing the traditional dancing.

 

Another evening stroll

Parvomay

Wine and love festival in Chirpan

The weather today.. it can only improve

 

We have a few celebrations planned next week for Valentines day/wine and love festival/our anniversary, but after all that is over we have decided we will start getting up at a normal time again and hopefully begin a bit of work in the garden. That's all for today... here are some cat photos. xx