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Friday 9 March 2012

Oh My Goodness......

Oh my goodness more snow! Thank goodness it was just a light dusting but its very depressing now when we see it falling. All the air expels from the body in a very low groan. We are forecast a bit more but hoping that it won't materialise! The ground is pretty muddy which means a house full of mud, from the dogs. So now we have mud & soot. Yep just can't wait for the spring!

Oh my goodness, Mini is on heat & feeling low. Bless her she is so much better this time. She is still eating really well & enjoying chasing & playing in the garden but mainly sleeping in front of the fire. She has commandeered the dog bed where normally she curls up on the sofa. When Kammi gets in the bed Mini stands over her trying to bully her out, doesn't work so well now as Kam is suddenly a lot more confident.

Oh my goodness, I have put on sooo much weight during winter. I have been needing to diet for the last two years. I have gained a lot quicker, since giving up smoking, & now its become a mountain to climb, but I will do it. I want to feel sexy again but also I need to be healthy again, I am suffering & this is not a good thing when you are past mid life. I don't know about others but I still feel inside like I am 25! My body lets me down in being able to enjoy & I have had enough of feeling ugly & having no clothes that look good anymore. All dieters both men & women will tell you we have to want to do it for ourselves not for partners & people calling us names. One ex friend I had loved to tell me how enormous I was, over & over all day long. even Nigel had to have a word with her, without me knowing, & he is not confrontational unless pushed big time! Said ex friend couldn't wait to tell me & proceed to make it a big thing about how fat I was lol, sad really that people feel it necessary to put others down to make themselves feel better. Good job I handle humiliation well outwardly.
So I am now ready for climbing the mountain of weight loss & fitness. I do eat healthily mainly. I just enjoy lots of coffee with sugar & the occasional cake. The worst is enjoying baking. How will I cope? Everything will be drained of fat & I will be baking my own version of low fat cakes that I can count in my diet. I follow Slimming world, its fantastic if you have a large appetite, which we do & love naughty but nice treats again which we do!
Watch this space, D day is Monday 12th March!!!!

Oh my goodness We had such fun mixing it up with the Bulgarians on Ladies day. What a great night they put on in the pool restaurant. I call it that as I don't know the name & it has a swimming pool in the front that we go to in the summer, this year I will be using it to tone up Woop!!!! The best exercise! Anyway, the place was packed solid. We were very fortunate that they had one table that wasn't booked for the night. We had started at the Venesia in Polski T, but all the tables were booked ahead of time, unheard of!!! So off we went all dejected & what are we going to do? I said I would just cook us dinner but Nigel was very determined so stopped on the off chance. We walked into an empty restaurant, bar one table, but all the rest were laid up. I did not want to go in but was really pleased we did as there was just one table (for 6) that was available. We were very happy. I like this place, the girls are helpful & the food is nice. It is a proper Bulgarian place, the staff do not speak English & the menu is only in Bulgarian with no photo's. We enjoy the challenge of ordering & working out the Cyrillic. We ended up with Shopska salata x 2 (I did try for a Russian salata but they didn't have it), Chicken Kavarma & a pork Kavarma Potatoes & pikolitos with garlic & cheese. Very nice it was too. The only thing we did not enjoy was the dessert which was pancakes filled with choc. We came to understand there was no ice cream to have with it & ended up with jam spread over the top :-( I think we could have both coped with that except it was stone cold which made the whole thing very unpleasant! Mind you this has not put us off going as it would some people as we know it was due to them being so busy. The great thing about Bulgarian restaurants is the atmosphere, they really know how to have a good time. They all get up to dance, it will start with a couple or 4 from one table dancing traditionally holding hands in a circle. Then a couple from another table will join in then another, well you get the idea. In the end the whole restaurant is full of people dancing while holding hands of a stranger, BRILLIANT!
 
Oh my goodness garden fun is on its way. We are trying to organise what to do & where. First we inherited some wine barrels when we bought this house Yipee! So Nige is/has cut them in half & painted the metal bands. We will stain the wood & bring it back to its gorgeousness & then we have to decide where to put them & do we fill with fruit bushes or flowers???? We have a new Peach tree to plant & 2 each of blackberry & Raspberry bushes. I also have wild flower seeds & I just can't make up my mind what to plant in them? We have said Yovo can have 500 m2 land out the back to plant potatoes & we will use the other 500 m2 (not sure on the m2, but you know what I mean) we will have a third of his spuds as the water bill will be ours, I can live with that :-)
Our barrels, just wait till you see the transformation
Oh my goodness, so much work to do. I have been devastated by the work that needs to be done, not just normal clean up here oh nooooo, this is Bulgaria not suburbia! Every year we know we will be faced with 2,000 m2 of weed growth, weeds that grow to over 6' tall, bind weed, chick weed & lots of other invasive weeds. There are weeds that leave stalks which look like bamboo cane. We have an understanding now, it took a while, but every area which is not used for growing veg or flowers is cut down with the brushcutter. This then ends up looking like a grassy area & is a lot cheaper than paving. The pool area is being created this way, the front too until we can afford to pave it. It will need to be paved as our door opens right into the garden & in the summer its a dust pool. In the rain it is a mud bath & the dogs just ruin the flowers so something has to be done once we have the finances, off course! The barns need attention, the stone walls need repairing after the snow & there is a wall which is next doors but acts as part of our boundary which is collapsing. They are away so we have to repair it before we end up open to all & sundry!
A lovely Chicken Korma that I can have as part of my diet woop!
Right I am off to sort out recipes for my diet, Slimming world alla Joanna as I cannot buy half the staples used in UK, which makes it a little more difficult but very interesting. I think its the fresh cooking & coming up with ideas that keeps me on track. I do wish I could buy fat free fruit fromage frai Muller lite yoghurts & 0% Greek yoghurt which I love!!!!! Right off in search of slimming world baking recipes!

Thursday 8 March 2012

The Big Thaw! Ladies Day

Wow a major thaw is now on. .The paths & roads are clear, our street is clear & muddy & in the countryside surrounding us there are just a few pockets of snow. The forrest though still has a floor covering, which makes it very pretty with the tall green of the pine trees & the white cloth beneath. Early hours of this morning, on the way home from friends we had two deer nonchalantly cross the road in front of us, wonderful!!!!
In the garden the garlic is poking through. I find this amazing as the back of our property, where it's planted, has been covered by snow for 3 months. The garden is exploding with groups of Snow Drops, Grape Hyacinths & the first greenery of the Tulip, Daff' & Primula.  Looking out now for the Crocus, which add colour splashes of yellow & purple,as long as the dogs don't trample them :-(

We are adorning ourselves & homes with Martenitsi, the woven red & white decoration for Baba Marta, which is to usher in spring. We wear the Martenitsa bracelets till we see the first Stork come back to nest or the first blossom in the tree's. Then we take of the Martenitsa & tie them to the fruit trees for a good crop to harvest. I love that we all get caught up in seeing the first Stork ;-D

I however, am not quite out of hibernation yet, bit like my tortoise, but hopefully it will be soon. There have been days where the temps have risen, the sun has warmed & the fire is now barley lit. We keep just one small half log burning, & let that almost go out! We have even had the kitchen door open letting the fresh air in, brilliant!
The garden is not too muddy, yet, so the dogs running & playing has not yet covered everything in mud, lets just hope the rain doesn't come!

Nige has been keeping himself busy, chopping wood, building a wardrobe & decorating the bedroom as well as valeting the car sorting out the Sky TV (as progs were moved) & on it goes. Its a never ending list of things to do, most of which just never seem to get done & 90% of which I can't remember as there is always something that needs fixing hence the bedroom taking so long to get done. Good job there is no hurry. Its nice sleeping downstairs in the warm by the wood burner, very cozy & I can go to bed very early & watch TV without feeling guilty :-D
Today is 8 March is a celebration loved by all the women here & even the men get well involved & embrace it. The country has several holidays in March and Women's Day is a holiday publicly observed since 1915, but a public holiday only since 1945. The prices double at flower stalls, and restaurants are packed out in the evening. Its looked apon as mothers day but is a celebration of all women, so no one is left out.
I woke to a lovely surprise from Nigel of two bunches of flowers & a lovely card & choc from our Bulgarian friends. This was really lovely, then a parcel from my daughter in England arrived with a beautiful special mothers day card & lots of little pressies, Slimming world books & 20 Curly wurlys lol my treat when I am dieting.
Curly wurly's are in the fridge :-))))
To say I am well chuffed is an understatement. Tonight I am being taken out for a meal, brill!

So on to the garden, its where everyone's thoughts are at this time of year...............