Bulgaria 07/05
And here I sit…..recuperating….and already I’m bored out of my wits. Finished reading the Gunslinger, a very large tome, and there’s only so much sleep a person can have, surely ?? And just how much yoghurt, bananas, scrambled eggs and soft white bread can a person eat ??
And who is it out there who keeps ringing and ringing and ringing and doesn’t seem to comprehend that ‘no voice’ means just that. Please don’t think I’m rude, but I won’t be picking up the phone. No point really…unless you want to hear a bit of heavy breathing…that I can do 🙂
I did spend a few hours in the garden yesterday, getting a few weeds out and getting my sweet peas in. I have loads of stuff that should have gone in the ground in April, so I’m rushing to try and get them in now. We seem to be having a late start to summer anyway and this part of Bulgaria seems to have a long growing season, so I’m shoving things in the ground and keeping my fingers crossed.
And….I Round Upped (?) part of the backyard….had to, the place is almost completely overgrown again, and I think I might have got away with it. Didn’t see any neighbours checking me out. Mind you, Christina came home to her place later in the afternoon and caught me finishing up in the garden…..and Yes, I did get a bollocking from her. I had a packet of sugar snap peas and some ordinary peas in my hand as I was going to get them planted as well. She seized them from me and told me ‘Ponedelnik, Ponedelnik!!’ (Monday) so apparently, under threat of another bollocking, I’m not allowed to spend today in the garden getting the peas in.
Yesterday was St Georges Day here, a very important day in Bulgaria (also Bulgarian Army Day) and the day when a lot of those cute wee lambies meet their Waterloo. Ivan called in and invited me to a day of eating lamb and drinking Rakia at his mothers and Christina and Volcho asked me over their place as well. I had to say no to both…Dang !! You have no idea how hard that was… I do love a day out, a good feed and a small bucket of something from grapes (or barley, or malt, or plums, whatever).
I may not have been able to join the locals to enjoy some of that lamb but I have, however, got me a wee one organised for my freezer. Michael, the guy that runs the local café, has got one sorted for me and is going to deliver it to me on May 11th. I ordered this before I went to hospital and as my birthday is on Friday, I thought I could get it on Thursday, cut up and in the freezer, leaving a wee bit out for my birthday dinner the next day. Now that I’ll be going back to Stara Zagora on my actual birthday, and given how sore my throat is, I don’t think I’ll be ready to eat lamb….might just postpone my birthday until, say, September. I should be back to form by then.
Though I’m trying not to dwell on next Friday, it’s never very far from my mind and I can only hope that Dr Drinkoff gives me the best birthday present ever, the all clear, and not the worst one I could ever imagine.
To brighter things…..Just a wee aside while on the lamb topic…read this
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=616262006
Other things…..in a previous diary I promised a wee baby horse and a social evening with my builder’s family.
Ivan has become more than my builder, he and his family have become my friends, and on Easter Saturday I was invited to his mothers house. Ivan is a Miladinovtsi boy, born and bred, and his mum, Maria, lives just up the road from me. I really didn’t know what to expect but a sure sign of the evening ahead was when Ivan’s wife, Kremena, placed a rather large glass of Rakiai front of me. Hmmm, well, that certainly got me fired up. Then Shropska Salad, a large plate of fresh, young, delicious Bulgarian lamb and slabs of bread found their way to me…….coupled with a most unusual wine that Ivan was plying me with, I had a fantastic evening. I met his brother, his in-laws, nieces and nephews, his children and his mum.
This was pre-operation and Dr Drinkoff had told me to go home and rest until D Day. I’m not sure my night out with Ivan’s family would have been on his list of ways to rest before an operation, but I had a damned fine night. 🙂
His niece studies at the Stara Zagora University and with her brother in tow came to visit me in hospital, which was very sweet of her, considering she’d only met me once. And after all the work that Kremena put into getting me the fabulous Dr Drinkoff and admission into the Stara Zagora hospital, I feel very welcomed in every way by this family.
And in between all this kindness the family have shown me, Ivan has kept the building works moving along nicely. While I was in hospital he got the heating guys in to install a decent Kamina and central heating in part of the house. I didn’t think I could afford this, but the price came in at just a little over what the Kamina on my floor set me back, so I told them to go ahead and came back to my very own Spaghetti Junction
[photopress:spag_junc___kamina.JPG,full,pp_empty][photopress:Spaghetti_Junction2.JPG,full,pp_empty][photopress:Spaghetti_Junction1.JPG,full,pp_empty]
The price was so good in fact, that I got them to extend up to my floor, so at least two floors in the house will be heated. And they’ve made it so that during winter hot water on the ground floor and my floor will be heated by the Kamina, so I get to save a wee bit on electricity.
And this winter, I will be warm !!!
And then there’s more on Spring……
Everywhere you look just now there’s new somehing….new growth, new blossoms, new baby animals and the other day this is what I found parked outside my house
[photopress:spring_foal4.JPG,full,pp_empty]
Enough to soften even this hard old heart.
Time for me to go and rustle up some lunch. Hmmm, what will I have today…yoghurt, scrambled eggs, banana or yoghurt, scrambled eggs, banana…decisions, decisions 🙂
Until next time
Dovishdane
mercer
Got bugger all painting done, but why do today what you can put off until tomorrow.
Sue,
You’re becoming more Bulgarian every day. Glad to see that you are improving. By ra way ( a good Scottish saying ) as you don’t recognise your own voice, if you are lonely you can talk to yourself and think that you have company :-). It shows how widely your Blog is read and nice to see “strangers” bearing gifts, hope someday to call at your door or if you are ever in the Sofia area hope to meet you. Our place is nearly habitable so coming over for the month of July then more regularly, to see how we do, before deciding if a more pemanent move should be made or have a twin base and enjoy both.
Keep up the good work and look after yourself.
Keep hold of Ivan’s phone No as ‘H’ ( the other half ) is keen on his dogs and would love one.
Aw Ra Best,
Peter.
Hi Peter,
I’d love to meet you and yours, so if you find yourself lost in the wilds of Bulgaria and spy a spooky, gothic looking abode, do call in.
And nae bother about holding onto Ivans phone number…..I intend to keep that until hell freezes over, as I’ve no doubt there will always be building jobs that I want him back for. But are you positive you want a small horse in your house ????
Hi Sue,
Thanks for the offer, think Gothic, think Adams Family.
The worry is not about having a small horse about the house, the worry would be about having more than one.
Yes a good builder is worth more than tongue can tell, especially one that doesn’t blatantly rip you off at every turn.
Took me a while but I finally got someone, not Bulgarian prices, but not too bad especially for the Sofia area.