The adventures of Mimi and Pepe.

Sunday
 

Woke up fairly early but had a relaxed start - except for the fact that the toilet needed to be emptied! Then Petes mum text and wanted to skype so we chatted to her for a bit.

 

Then we started working! Firstly we drove up to the dump to get rid of yesterdays rubble. We stopped by at M &D's, as it's on the way, to say hello. We mentioned we were ready to have some labourers to come and dig and they said their boys were free tomorrow, so we arranged that we'd pick them up from Chirpan in the morning. After dumping our stuff we decided to nip into Chirpan anyway to get a bit of food and some money out - the village shop is closed on Mondays so we'd need to feed the workers.

Nice views from driving.

Back at home I carried on with clearing the outbuilding rubble - there was a huge pile of soil which i used to finally fill our water pipe trench. And there were loads more bricks and tiles to be sorted into hardcore and re-useable piles. Pete got the fire started and cut down more trees (I know what you're thinking - how are there more trees to cut down!? The garden is big and was like a bloody jungle!) and burnt more brash piles that we had lying around. He also strimmed alot of the garden as the grass is getting so long so quickly - although I made sure he left some of the pretty wild flowers, even though they are weeds.

What trench?

Once all this was done we set to work clearing the area for the septic tank to be dug. There were alot of tree stumps and a concrete path for the boys to get through but we strimmed the grass and cleared what we could. We need and 2.5 by 2.5 metre hole dug so it's pretty big! We also braved a look in the old out house and found that there was a massive hole underneath it - a sort of septic tank i suppose - although we can't use it as it's right on the corner of the land the law is that you have to be at least 3 metres from any boundary. But if we can get to it the old hole it will be useful to get rid of alot of useless rubble we seem to be accumilating!

 

Clearing...

Cleared.

Checking out the old loo.

 

By now it was about 5 and it had been a very hot day so we sat down and had a couple of beers in the sunshine. We also had a very hot shower (the solar showers are really working well in this weather!) The usual dinner and film in the evening.

 

 

Monday

 

We were both up early this morning - Pete left just after 8 to go and get the labourers and I went down to put out all the tools for them and mark where the corners of the septic tank will be. When they arrived we explained through pointing and hand gestures what we needed them to do and left them to get on with it. As they are paid by the day we had been warned that they may take it pretty easy, but we both went to work in garden near them - keeping our eye out that they were working. Pete was doing more strimming and tree burning, whilst I was moving some of the old stones and bricks that had been left over from Nasc o building the wall. Although we were watching the boys we noticed they weren't really pulling their weight - not anything like when we had them here digging the trench for the water. We knew it was hard going as they had to remove roots and stuff so we thought they might get going once they got deeper.

Pete doing fire!

Lovely strimmed garden.

Loads of rubble to clear...

Cleared (mostly).

Men 'at work'.

 

At about 1 we had some lunch - and made some for the labourers. We were finished before them and to encourage them to get back to work we quickly got back to it as well. Annoyingly they lounged around for a bit longer and then when they eventually started again one of the boys was just sitting smoking and waiting for the wheelbarrow to be full, whilst the other was slowly digging. I know we're not paying them loads but it was very frustrating as we couldn't even tell them off as we don't know how!! In the end Pete bit the bullet and went over. He explained that he would hold the wheelbarrow whilst they both dug. This worked a treat as they were both now working very well. I carried on moving rubble - I'm going to be so muscly soon!

Later on D popped by. He has a transit tipper truck and he offered to drive us to Chirpan to collect some sand as we will need it for concreting later. Just as I was getting ready to go with him (leaving Pete to work with the boys) one of the boys got a phone call - his 5 months year old baby was not very well. He was very distressed and wanted to leave right away - it must have been urgent as he even left his ciggies behind. We decided to call it a day then and take the other guy home too. Pete rushed off with them and me and D followed in the tipper. In Chirpan we met up again with Pete and went to pick up 2 cubic metres of sand and took it home. As D was offering we decided we'd go and collect another 2 cubics - we will definitely use it - so I stayed at home whilst they drove back to Chirpan to get more. I thought I'd start moving some of the rocks outside the house because with the sand there as well we currently had to park the van on the neighbours side. But there were some men working in the field above who all decided to come and watch me, so instead I went in a tidied up the tent!

Start of our septic tank.

Picking up sand in the tipper.

SAND!

 

Once they were back D had to rush off as he had other things to do and me and Pete were feeling too knackered to cook dinner so decided to go out to eat at the hotel nearby. As we have been here nearly one month I took with us our 'accounts' book so we could work out how much we'd spent on shopping etc. We have eaten out a few times in the last month and still have not spent much money - life is cheap here! Although of course we are spending much more on diesel having to drive everywhere. Anyway, good day - the weather here is really getting hot, which is great (and of course one of the reasons we came!) but I think as it gets hotter we will be thankful when we can work in the house as it stays very cool inside.

 

Dinner at the hotel.

Tuesday

A bit of a late start - we're getting lazy I know! - but as the boys couldn't work today we thought we'd get going on moving the stone from the front of the house, there is ALOT. It was a roasting hot day (we're both burnt on our backs now) so we had to stop and rest quite often. At lunch time we walked down to the shop to collect our bread and have a coffe with the shop lady. Back at the tent we were sitting under a walnut tree eating our lunch when suddenly a huge snake appeared slithering along the side of the tent. There are a few poisionous snakes here so we both ran to get out the way. Thankfully it didn't go in the tent, but we definitely needed to strim the long grass around it. After lunch Pete set to strimming that grass straight away - cats are okay but we do not want snakes living with us!

In the village.

Coffee in the shop.

Strimmed - no snakes for us!

 

I carried on with moving the stones - we'd managed to move all the big ones and now was just more rubble! So much rubble everywhere!! Pete eventually came down to help again and we decided to fill a few pots holes on our road with all the small stones. We met our next door neighbour properly and introduced ourselves, she is Baba Villay. She couldn't quite pronounce our names so we are now Mimi and Pepe! Our neighbours across the road were also out working and invited us into their garden to show us around. They had loads of chickens and loads of rabbits (for eating we assume?) and showed us their veg patch and fruit trees. We then invited them to look at our house and garden - we think they liked it!? We have a couple of big trees which are completly dead and the guy said he'd come over tomorrow with a chainsaw which will be amazing as it is much needed.

Lots to clear...

Looking much better.

Neat pile of stones.

Good citizens filling pot holes.

 

As it was such a ridicously hot day we decided to tidy up and head down the road to do some paid work in the garden. We've had a bit of a nightmare trying to get the right bits for a hose and we finally had it all sorted and then the bloody hose got a hole in it! Pete has managed to water at least half of the garden though and we'll have to get something to fix the hose tomorrow. I came with him and sat writing the blog and having a beer - and that's where we are now! We're about to leave and go home - hopefully to have a hot shower and some dinner.

 

Resting after a hard days work.

Update: we came home and skyped Petes dad before a hot shower and dinner. :)

Wednesday

What a good day! We haven't done alot for ourselves but it's been great. We started early as M & D needed to pick something of theirs up from us at about 8.20. We faffed about a bit after that and then decided to drive to Chirpan as we needed some bits and bobs.

 

After a couple of hours shopping we headed home and on the way saw DW at the shop in our village so stopped in for a coffee and a chat. Whilst there M & D texted saying they needed some help planting trees in their garden so we headed to theirs. Our neighbour who was going to lend the chainsaw stopped us on the way and we told him we'd be back in about an hour.

 

Helping plant the hedge at M & Ds.

 

After an hour or so at M & D's helping them plant thier new hedge we drove home, expecting the neighbours to drop by soon. We also found a bag hung on our gate full of cakes and baby onions (for planting!) These were from S & G who'd popped by to see us whilst we were out.  Thanks guys :) Pete was knackered as he had to do alot of digging for the hedge so he chilled out and played banjo whilst I painted all our fruit trees with lime - most of them have alot of insects eating at the trunks, also it looks like a real orchard having them all painted white at the bottom! After doing a few more odd jobs around the garden the neighbours eventually turned up - the whole family came to have a nose! It was great though as we got alot of trees cut down that Pete couldn't do with his little saw. After I'd shown the ladies around the house and tried to chat with them in Bulgarian they took me off to their house over the road where they fed me sausage and beer - perfect! :) Once all the chainsawing was done the men joined us too - we'd given them a few beers and bottle of wine which they shared with us on their patio.

 

YUmmmmy cakes.

 

Liming the trees.

Beautiful orchard.

Neighbours with chainsaw.

 

Later on M & D text again saying could they come over for a beer - they had a thank you present for us. When they arrived we said a big thank you and goodbye to our neighbours (they want to see us again soon) and went home to enjoy a drink in the last of the sun. M & D gave us a box which said 'non-kinkable hose' - because we'd told them our hose had burst. But inside there was no hose - it was a turtle!!! We had heard that they were often crossing the roads here and getting run over and we said we would love one as a pet - and they found one today! We named his Jeffrey (Jezza) and let him roam in the compost bin.

 

JEZZA! :)

M & D stayed for a couple of beers then headed off. We made Jezza a little home in a bucket - we found on Google that he is semi-aquatic so should have some water to swim in so we put in some rocks and a small swimming area. Tomorrow we'll try and make a better enclosure but hopefully he'll be okay for the night (he does sound like he's trying to espace though.)

In the evening we had some dinner and watched a film - for a change!

Thursday

 

We were up early today as we wanted to do some work before the mid day heat. My mum and Dad are coming to visit us tomorrow so we just cleared the place up a bit. Pete set to burning all the trees that had been chainsawed down and I moved even more rubble into slightly neater piles - it is obviously a building site so we couldn't get it looking spotless but the garden looks nice and tidy. I also completely cleaned out the tent (first time since we set it up) so that also took a while. Jezza is still on the run - he actually espaced from his bucket somehow but luckily we caught him! After all work was done Pete made Jezza a little enclosure with shaded area and swimming pool - I'm sure we won't want to leave now, it's lovely. We're now chilling out a bit - it is SO HOT we can't do anymore work, although it is set to storm and we can see the black clouds coming now. Got to go to the dump this afternoon and maybe go down and do some paid work in the garden if it doesn't rain too much.

Beautiful enclosure.

Update: We just had a MOTHER of a storm - with huge hail stones, power cut n all. Our tent leaked at the back so our food stoarge area has a huge puddle and so does our bedroom - also our bed and bedding is all soaked. Also we just looked outside and alot the lime has come off the trees. But worst of all is that Jezza has gone! He must have climbed over the wall during the storm - what a little trooper. Hope he's okay out there in the big wide world. We miss the little fellow already! Anyway, we're playing scrabble and the power is back on - need to sort out the bed situation later.

Wet bed pulled away from walls.

Scrabble by lamp light.

 

Still excited to see my parents tomorrow - the weather is meant to be good again!

 

Dovejdanay for now xxx

 

Nice knowing you Jez xxx