Monday, March 27, 2017

101.

A gorgeous, sunny week
 
Hi all! Firstly - I'm not sure how many 'locals' read my blog, but anyway I just wanted to advertise a car boot sale that is happening in Sredno Gradishte this Sunday. It is the first of it's kind and if all goes well it could become a monthly event, which would be fantastic! If you live nearby please try and come along to show your support and perhaps pick up a bargain! We hope to see you there :-D 
 
 
Okay... onwards with the weekly update. What with the clocks changing we have worked until a bit later than usual today, so just a quickie this week!
 
Tuesday 21st
 
What a gorgeous day! In fact all of this week has been incredible, it has got up to about 22 degrees. We started the day by getting the outside taps and toilet block all plumbed in and turned on again for summer. Annoyingly we were missing one part for the plumbing, so our work was interrupted by a quick trip to Chirpan. Back home all plumbed in easily and we connected the hose and watered the veggie seeds.
 
Water in the garden!
 
Pete then spent the rest of the day painting the porch with two coats of lime wash. As the wash goes on it looks thin, but it dries a brilliant white and in such warm weather it dried in no time and looked fab! We can't wait to get the rest of the house done, what a difference it will make.
 

Porch painted in lime
 
Whilst he was doing that I started work organising the barn. We've been storing everything in there over winter and in it's current state we could barely walk in the door one meter - so this was a big job! I started by dragging a lot of the bigger stuff out and then moving one of the bonfire wood piles into the wood store (which is now nearly empty of winter wood.) This created some space but by the end of the day the barn, and the garden, were looking worse than when I began! Well, it has to get worse before it can get better.
 
Clearing the barn

This is actually at the end of the day.. :-/
 
In the evening we hung our Martenitsas on our plum tree (a Bulgarian tradition to celebrate the arrival of Spring) and Pete made Moroccan meatballs and cous cous for dinner. Yum.
 
Martenitsas up

Tasty Moroccan inspired dinner
Wednesday 22nd
 
We had invited some English friends over this afternoon for a drink, they were here visiting Bulgaria for a week. We spent the morning cleaning the house and tidying up the garden and Pete made a lovely loaf of walnut bread to eat with our friends. They (let's call them P & T) came over around 3 and we sat up in the orchard, having a few beers, until it got dark. It was a lovely afternoon and great to catch up with them. Once they'd gone we ate some dinner and had another glass of wine in the kitchen. Although the days are warm it is still very chilly once the sun has gone down and we've even had the fire going a couple of nights.
 


Views of the orchard in the sunshine
Thursday 23rd
 
Now that the porch was painted and dried it was time to put up the gutter for around the balcony. We already had everything we needed so we started work on this first thing. The only problem we had was that we hadn't left enough overhang on the balcony to fit a wooden trim around as well as the gutters, so we (Pete) had to drill every fixing straight into the concrete. This made the job much longer, but even so it was very simple as these plastic gutters fix together like Lego. We got all the fixings in place today but couldn't put the gutters up because we hadn't finished painting behind them, and we needed to buy more paint in Chirpan. Still, that was the hard bit done so we were pleased.
 
Fitting the guttering
 
With that done and a coffee break had we both moved over to the barn to clear another huge stack of wood we had stored in there. This was a combination of broken furniture, beams from the house and just general scraps and off cuts - so most of it needed chainsawing to a manageable size, and that it what we did. I dragged everything out whilst Pete cut it and then I stacked it all into the wood store. We are creating a decent size bonfire wood stack already. We did sort though the wood and kept all pieces that might be useful for making stuff in the future. This inspired Pete to make another picnic table using some of the off cuts we'd kept, so he got to work on making a two seater coffee table for the garden whilst I carried on clearing the barn.
 
Bonfire wood
 
In the evening P & T popped over again - this time on their quad bike, which we had a go on! Oh my god, we need one of these in our lives!! They stayed for a quick beer but wanted to get back before it was dark, so once they'd gone Pete worked on his table for a little longer and I pottered about in the kitchen and got dinner going.
 
Our seedlings are starting to appear

Having a go on our friends quad bike!
Friday 24th
 
Market day. We went early today as we needed to take all our old metal fencing (that we'd taken down in the orchard) to the scrap yard as it was taking up all the space in the back of the van. We sold it for 25 lev, which is not bad at all and more than covered the price of all the wire for the new fence. :-)
 
Back home after doing the shopping we unpacked and had some lunch. Then on with the first couple of jobs - I finished painting the porch whilst Pete bolted this picnic table together. We then both fit the gutter into place, which was easy peasy. We were not massively keen on the plastic guttering but bought it as it seemed so much easier to fit than the metal one and all the shops recommended it. We actually think it looks alright anyway, especially in grey, and it was so easy to use that we've decided we will use it to replace the main gutter on the house too.
 
Little two man table

Gutter finished
 
By now it was already late afternoon so I spent some more time organising the barn whilst Pete did some housework and made pizza for an early dinner. We ate up in the walnut orchard, in the gorgeous sunshine, before showering and getting ready to go out for the evening. We went to Spasovo bar with S & G and P & T and had a fun evening there over a few beers. It wasn't a late one though and we were home before midnight.
 
The barn is slowly getting clearer

We could open a museum with all the cool, old stuff from the house!
 
Pete and Bilko enjoying dinner in the orchard
Saturday 25th
 
Today was a boring day! We wanted to get the leaves raked up and the orchard fully cleared of debris before the forecast rain tomorrow. We got a fire going in our portable fire pit (an old wheelbarrow) and I raked the leaves and picked up the stones whilst Pete followed and dug up the many roots of clematis, saplings and large weeds. The weather was cloudy but hot and muggy and it was just such a tedious job. It was also hard work and took ages, so we didn't even get it all finished.
 
Raking and burning leaves, all day long
 
In the evening Pete took Lucy out for a walk and in the 20 minutes he was out I had three different guests turn up a the same time! Our neighbour H arrived with his two grandkids, who wanted to come and pet the dog. Our friend George popped over to say hello and pick up his bike we'd been storing for him. And another guy came, who we hadn't met before, but whose parents live in our village and he wanted to meet 'the young English people' who have moved here! We had a chat with him and he stayed for a beer - he was a friendly guy who was excited about our campsite and has said he will bring his friends here in summer, so that is great! 
 
Once everyone had gone we were tired after such long day - we had a dinner from the freezer and an early night.
 
Sunday 26th
 
Sunday funday! We were meeting some friends in Rakovski (a town around an hours drive from us) to go to a large market today. We met them there in the morning and spent a few hours browsing the stalls. There were three big sections to this market - the usual fruit, veg, plants and clothes, a section of second hand bric-a-brac and an animal section. We were a bit late in the day to see many animals being sold (as well as the fact there has been a bird-flu outbreak so there were no chickens for sale) which was a bit of a shame. But we did get to see some lovely piglets and cows and it is also good to know this place is here for when we do come to buy some animals down the line. We also managed to get several good bargains in the bric-a-brac section and even got to practice our haggling skills!
 
Cows for sale

Some horses for sale - this area is usually full, we are told

Once we'd been around the market we visited a near-by garden centre and then stopped in the town for a coffee before saying goodbye to our friends. It was around 3 when we got home so we had some lunch and then went out the plant the pomegranate and bay trees that we'd just bought. We finished doing this just as a huge storm came over the hills and we had a monsoon of rain and crashing thunder and lightning. Wow, we'd forgotten how loud these Spring storms can be! The deluge didn't last too long but it carried on drizzling all evening, so we chilled out for the rest of the day and I made a veggie curry feast for dinner. I made a beetroot dahl and a green bean and spinach thoran, which we had with lemon pickle and red onion. Yum.
 
Martenitsa tree in Rakovski

Veg is coming!

The bay we planted

The pomegranate we planted (photos taken the next day, after the storm)

Storm a-coming

South-Indian feast
Monday 27th
 
Thankfully it must have been a clearing storm yesterday as this morning was gorgeous and sunny, although with a cold wind. We were back up in the orchard this morning to finally put the last of the wire on the new fence and secure the ends to tighten the whole thing. Once that was done we built a stile for access into the forest. This involved bolting some poles across (we made them sturdy so people can climb on them) and then digging in some upright posts to get a step up. We also cleared the area behind and put a few stones in to outline the path. We think it looks pretty good!
 
Supporting the last post

Stile

Stile
 
Once that was finished Pete decided to sand the picnic table down, as we had the extension lead up there. So, whilst he did that I dug in two posts and made a very simple bench by one of the camping plots. After that we had some lunch and then both worked on finishing tidying the barn. I forgot to take a photo but it is pretty much finished now, aside from clearing and sweeping the floor. This means we can now empty and tidy the toilet block, which we have been using as winter storage because the barn was so full! 
 
Sanding the table


Rustic bench for campers
 
We worked until nearly 7, without realising, because of the clocks changing. For dinner Pete picked some young nettles from the garden and made spaghetti with a 'deconstructed' nettle pesto - fresh nettles, walnuts (also from our garden), lemon juice and cirine cheese on top. It was delicious.
 
Nettle pesto pasta
 
Thanks for reading everyone! Goodbye for now xx  
 
 
 

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

100.

View of the house from the orchard
Tuesday 14th
 
Today was horrible and very rainy. We had a slow start to the day and then went out to Chirpan to do a few bits, so as not to waste the day. We stopped at the garage as we have a problem with our reverse lights, but annoyingly he told us to come back to tomorrow. The weather wasn't letting up so the rest of the day was spent not doing a lot. That is just the way it goes sometimes!

Late sunset from the kitchen
Wednesday 15th
 
We were up early-ish and got to the garage at 9.30 - when it opened. We didn't have to wait long to been seen and, even better, all was fixed with a quick spray of WD40! And all for free! We had been prepared to spend the entire day waiting for the van, so this was a result and we headed home soon after. The weather was still wet and cold today so back home we chilled out for a bit and had some lunch.

Oh also, when we were in Chirpan we saw that the local stork had returned from his winter adventures in Africa - the first real sign that Spring has arrived!

The stork is back
 
Mid afternoon the rain turned to a fine drizzle so we took the opportunity to go out and get a few things done. We started by going up into the orchard and dismantling the old fence up there. We then proceeded to dig two more new posts into the ground. This used up all the pre-painted posts, so the next job was to make some more. 

Taking down the old, broken fence

A couple more posts in
 
We wanted to get the rest of the posts cut and painted with bitumen so they would be ready to go into the ground tomorrow. Pete cut the posts using the chainsaw and I spent an hour or so bitumen-ing them. Once they were done we thought we'd use up the petrol in the chainsaw and made a start on chopping wood for our summer bonfires (this is wood from pruning trees and scrap wood.) Once that was cut and stacked there was still daylight and still no rain, so we planted the raspberry canes that we'd bought last week. At the moment they look just like sticks with roots on, but fingers crossed they'll live!

Cutting more posts

Painting more posts

Starting the bonfire wood pile

Planting raspberries
Thursday 16th
 
The posts we'd already got in the ground were sturdy and properly secured in with gravel. We decided today that we would start the rest by just making all the holes and come round again to secure them in afterwards. So that is what we did. We were lucky because the ground became less rocky so using the cork-screw tool was slightly easier (although still hard work!) By lunch time we'd already finished the holes for the sloping side of the orchard and were making good progress along the top. :-)


All in before lunch time!

After lunch we had some clearing to do before we could carry on with the holes. We tore the old fence away from the vines that were holding it down and cleared it of old plants before rolling it up so we could keep it. There was then another large section of fence that had fallen down many years ago and was so completely covered with clematis that you wouldn't even know it was there! We decided to try burning this area, which worked a treat and cleared enough grass and vines so we could see what we were doing. Once this entire side of the orchard was de-fenced and cleared we could carry on making holes for more posts. By the end of the day we'd dug 20 holes! Woo, it was hard work!   

We cleared and kept this piece of old fence

Uncovering yet more fallen fence

No more fence here

No more fence there
How many more times can I write fence!       Fence.

And that's 20 posts in one day

Lovely sunset
Friday 17th

Market day! We did the usual shop and stop at the builders merchants before getting home around midday. We then spent the afternoon doing some gardening at our friends house. The weather was finally perking up a bit and we even saw a bit of sunshine. Back home there was just time to cut and bitumen the final six posts in preparation for tomorrow, before calling it a day and going inside for dinner. Despite the spattering of sunshine we still had to have the fire going again this evening, I hope the cold doesn't last too much longer or we will run out of wood!

Painting the last of the posts
Saturday 18th

So, with only 13 posts left to dig holes for we thought we would have them all finished by lunch time and we would move onto to securing them in with gravel. But of course this wasn't the way, it couldn't be so easy could it!? On the first hole of the day we hit bedrock only 20 centimetres down (we were digging down 40-50 centimetres.) The only way we could get through the stone would be with our jigger-jigger and luckily, with the aid of four extension leads, it just reached to where we needed it! It was slow going but we eventually got the last holes done - now all 40 posts were in.

The neighbours came over to watch

All posts in

Job's a goodun!

We then spent an hour or so clearing away all the old concrete posts, which we piled into the van and drove them down to stack by the house. We also got a fire going and started to clear the area of plant debris and just generally tidying up a bit. Once the area was cleared we began to secure the posts in place. We levelled them and then filled the holes with stone and gravel and hammered it all down until the post was sturdy - a dull and time-consuming job. We did this until the sun was nearly down and by then we were feeling tired and ready for dinner and a drink!

Driving in the orchard

We have to come up with some creative ideas for these concrete posts

Half the posts are good and sturdy now

Yummy dinner of Asian pork and stir-fry veg
Sunday 19th

We had our Sunday lie in today and had a lovely slow morning eating brekkie and doing the crossword. We then spent the rest of the morning watching a film by the fire and I finished making another plastic bag bowl, which I have made specifically to tidy up a few loose bits and pieces in the bathroom. It was an extremely windy day today but in the afternoon we went out for a walk to the lake. I had hoped that the surrounding hills would block out the wind but instead it was coming through the valley and we were walking straight into it! Anyway, it was a lovely walk and we were pleased to see that the lake still has water in it this year. We were much less happy to see how much rubbish the local fisherman had left on the waters edge (sadly, a huge problem all over Bulgaria) and we have come up with a plan to put some bins there and encourage keeping it tidy.

Home made bowl from plastic bags
 Walking to the lake...




Monday 20th

On with the fence today - and the sun was shining for us! We spent the morning finishing the gravelling and securing all the posts. Pete then used the chainsaw to cut all the posts to the same height and then it was time to put the wire across. I had naively thought this would be a simple job of quickly rolling out the wire and pinning it to the posts - will I ever learn that nothing is ever so easy!? The wire tangled every few metres and we had to pull it very tight to avoid it sagging and looking awful. You buy the wire by the kilo rather than the length, so annoyingly we were slightly short f what we needed. But still, it took us the rest of the day to use up what we did have anyway. We are actually pleased with how it looks like this, but we do plan to weave sticks through the wire and perhaps grow some kind of vines along it in the future. Once we were done we did a big tidy up and then enjoyed a glass of wine on the balcony whilst watching a glorious sunset. :-)   

Wires across

And there are wires here, although you can barely see them

Packing up as the sun goes down

Beautiful evening