Trinity Rocks Farm Music Fest Sept 2011

Well finaly I have got around to this blog, my appologies!
We went to the music festival with friends, at first we were a bit like where's the music & oh dear. But after the initial "not what I thought it would be" reaction, it was a really great day, to be repeated!
Over drinks we watched the children from a local special needs orphanage. They were swimming in the river, playing in boats, on lilo's, rope swings & had kidnapped John & Lena's dog Charlotte.  It was truly wonderful to see them having such a fantastic time & they were all so happy, lovely!!!!
The setting at Trinity rocks farm camp site is one of real beauty & it feels sooooo relaxed & peaceful. Cliff the owner has not ruined it with loads of modern rubbish so all the trees give you natural shade & cool areas, which we savoured, as while we sat under the gazebo to eat Kufte, chips & roasted peppers & drank our cold drinks, we were melting in the heat. All we did was walk a few steps to cross an unseen line into the cooler shade of the trees. There are bench seats to sit on or tables & seats right next to the river. I can't get across the feeling of being there but it was lovely, we all felt the same (yes big men too).  I can't wait till the music fest next year, we are going  to camp overnight so we can enjoy the music in the evening with a few drinks = danceathon ;-))))) We have a group forming with already about 14 of us it should be a really great weekend, a good mix of relaxation & energy :-))))
My step son, Nigel's youngest is downs (down syndrome), we miss him terribly & there was a young man there who was the spit. We enjoyed watching his antics listen to him sing happy birthday while splashing in the Yantra, exactly the same way as Sean sings it ;-) & seeing him enjoy his day with all the others. They all loved it & wanted us to take photo's, know our names & literally kidnapped Charlotte for the day. She was wonderful for them, a true lady. Bu;lgarian's are all frightened of dogs so to see them with her & experiencing the love of a dog was lovely.
Nigel & I went back on the second day, in the evening to experience the music part of it. It's not as you would expect say if you went to Download or Glastonbury but there is /are live band 's mainly it is dec based dance music, which was good but not everyone's cup of tea I know. The great thing was though that the dance area is apart from the main relaxation & bar area so you can sit chat & wiggle about in your seat if/when you don't want to be in the main dance area. The age group was across the board & there were children & babies there as well as well behaved dogs. We mixed it up & had a great time. Next year we will go on the first day to spend it with the kids & stay the night so we can enjoy a drink & join in the dancing.
Here are some pics from both days.

You can just see the heads bobbing about in the river :-D

A spot of footie

Having a dance & see the two guys in the air ;-)

Do, do, do come on & do the Conga!

Playing with fire!

Looking forward to Trinity Rocks Fest Sept 2012

 

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Music Fest at Trinity Rocks Farm & Life Goes On As Normal

We still have fantastic weather :-)))) It's sunny, very warm (that's in the 30's) but still have that gorgeous breeze so we can cope. Good job too as I have been baking plum cake & roasting peppers, boy that roaster is flipping hot! Nigel recon's we should use it to heat the downstairs bathroom in the winter! I love my Bulgarian roaster, but I have already been burnt on it. I was trying to unplug it & as I pulled the plug out my arm caught the side. Very painful, still is :-((( Still it does a very good job, very quick & easy. I'm still freezing stuff too, love being able to eat what we have grown all through the year, oh very Barbara. I'm looking forward to pulling the beetroots soon, we have had two that had worked their way out,  so I am looking for recipes for these as I am not that struck on chutney. The chutney is nice, but the flavour of the beetroot seems lost. I still have a rather large jar which I made last year so I think I will stick to having it fresh boiled (mega yum) & try other things. I have found an interesting website just on beetroot recipes & like the look of a dip, so I will definitely be trying that, looking forward to it.

We are off to a music festival this weekend, not far from us, about 30 mins away. See the links below. Its being held on a local campsite over two days. The daytime is free but you need tickets for the evenings. We have decided to go along on both days as they are going to be completely different flavours. I off course will post photo's & details after but thought you may want to check it out so there are two links one for the campsite & one for the festival. You never know we may see you there!

http://planqton.com/projects/trinity/english
http://www.trinityrocks.eu/accommodation.php

Well Helloooo September!

Well September is upon us, too bloody quickly for my liking. Life here in Bulgaria passes by very fast, I seem to wait so long urging in the spring & summer & the next thing the autumn is upon me & I am dreading, as well as looking forward to, the winter! I am a summer person, love the sun & warmth on my bones. Winter here is great if we get the sun too. It can be 3 - 4' snow with bright sunshine & sunglasses can be worn for 12 months of the year, please God that's what we get this year, the sun not the snow! I don't mind the snow here, it's completely different to the UK & seems to me where the idea for glitter must have come from, as it sparkles brighter than the biggest diamond, a real winter wonderland! My problem is not being able to go out for so long, I can & have been stuck indoors for a couple of months at a time, so it all very much depends on what type of winter we have. I don't even mind the -27c temps as our house is toasty hot with the wood burners. Its a hibernation time here & I definitely am up for that but I also would much prefer it if the sun was out, the weather was dry & my vitamin levels did not depreciate too much, SAD perhaps or is that just an excuse for being a miserable cow in winter? Hmmm I'm not sure about the SAD but I am surely a different person when the sun is with me :-)
Right so lets dwell no more on the winter, make the most of what we have & right now we are still enjoying temperatures in the 30's, yesterday it reached a wonderful 33c & the forecaste is for 27 - 32c for a while yet & it is a beautiful heat, meaning we can get around in it light footed as opposed to feeling like we are wading through quick sand!
I love my gadgets, kitchen gadgets that is :-) & I have just acquired a new Bulgarian gadget. Its a roaster for peppers & aubergines :-))))) I am very excited & intend to use it today it saves me getting out my huge George Forman grill & I can get on with the other stuff while it is doing it's own thing. So we are harvesting our peppers, tomatoes, marrows & aubergines every day now, & I am also buying them from the market along with peaches & big black plums.

These were taken a while ago they are a lot larger now & much more prolific.

Yep its that time of year for all the gorgeousness grown on our property but there just is never enough & as its all in abundant season its all soooooo cheap. It would be stupid to not buy extra, canning & freezing it for winter when its all really expensive & lacking flavour. So I am now making plum cakes, muffins, crumbles & sauces, Roasted pepper & aubergine & tomato sauces, ratatouille's, canned tomatoes, tomato & basil breads & sauces for meat all to be preserved for the lean times!

Nigel is replacing the main beams in the barn.

Once he has these in place then he can get on top & remove all the tiles so he can replace the roof supports. It's needed to be done from when we moved here but he just hasn't had the time or it was the wrong season etc. Then the matter was made worse when a locals horse decided to back into one of the beams & broke the stone support it was in!!! The snow is another problem, as it's so heavy on top added to the fact the barn is very old indeed about 70yrs. Lets hope he can get finished before the weather changes for the worst. It's hard work as he is doing it all on his own, no village labor as we are lacking in funds so we will see, these fingers are crossed!
Somehow this week I have twisted or done something to my back, its definitely the muscle right in the center. Wow it bloody hurts too! I did it last week & after a few days all was normal, then it just "went" again, no idea why? So I am on paracetamol & ibuprofen & being very careful & moving very gingerly or resting with lots of cushions! Not fair as I literally have cooking to do NOW but think its someone telling me to get on & read my friends book!!!! My friend Claire has written a couple of books & I have been given the honour of reading them & telling her honestly what I think! Phewwwwww, a big responsibility. I am very proud of her & intend to get on with the reading later today :-) Would be great if I could read in the garden but they are on a memory card & laptops are not very visual in the sun :-)