Lots of Work Completed.

Well it has been a while, mainly due to me.
It is hard trying to be positive so posting blogs is just not on the cards. I realise they are becoming far too negative and really not a good read. My problem is I am real, so flipping real and a chatter box, so I never know when to shut up and can't lie (HATE Lier's) so it is a conundrum. What you get in my blog is reality, not a little corner of my reality but the whole flipping lot. If you ask me "how are you?" I will either say oh you know or I will say SHIT!  If I say to you I am fine, good, great brilliant, that's cause I am, right now I am..... mainly shit.
There is a reason for this. The total disregard being shown to me is just too painful to cope with and I need some pharmaceutical help to get over the deep sadness I feel. I will get to the DR's as soon as I get some money, get some better tablets and hopefully move on.

So what an amazing couple of guys I had stay with me! Wow so much achieved in a short time. I wish I could feel proper Joy because the difference to my home deserves it.  Trey came for 3 weeks and did so much I can never express how thankful I am to him. He worked so hard and has such a great work ethic, even though he was not being paid!
The garden was the biggest issue, so when he first arrived this was the most immediate job to get the chicken run nice for Harrie, who showed her appreciation by laying every day!   Then the vegetable area. Then when  rain stopped play he would come inside & find something else to do. Jacki came to stay for 10 days he is an Israeli and was such a lovely guy! Opened my eyes to how I just assumed certain things about Israel, put it in the 3rd world category which is just not true. The images we see on TV lead us to believe a certain way. I knew nothing of his country & know nothing of the troubles or the reasons which have manifested along the way. He refuses to fight in the war or be apart of it. We did not discuss the rights & wrongs of the dispute and I respected his quietness on the issues. He is a very respectful quiet guy, who took a long time to open up.  What a great cook though. He baked the most amazing bread and a great cake both his grandmothers recipe, how lovely that he learn't from her! Jacki worked really well and also did a lot in the garden, now unfortunately it is all over grown yet again after all the storms & the sun and heat.

  A lot of things depended on having to ask to borrow tools so waiting on Nigel was a nightmare and some things just did not get done or finished due again to the lack of respect and just ignoring me, in a very friendly way off course.  He did lend us the tile cutter but unfortunately I could not afford the primer so it did not get done, next time if I can get the stuff,  hopefully.

Anyway it was a brilliant 3 weeks here even if there were things we couldn't get done (sooooo frustrating)  The dogs kept getting out and running amok so all the wire fencing that could be mustered, plus some new that I had purchased, was fitted along both perimeters and up to date they can no longer get out!!!!  This was a big job as all the area needed clearing from front to back, tree's needed thinning out so the fence could be fitted to them as natural posts. Then all the branches weeds etc had to be cleared away for a future bonfire. Such a release of stress I can't tell you, I have Gypsy's next door one side and they are a threat to my girls, who are intent on protecting their home and me. My girls barking at them gets twisted into they attacked them, this is NOT true so it was imperative to make them safe for themselves and the public. The guys doing this has made them my hero's!  Trey also rooted through all the old wood and beams from the animal houses that were taken down and fashioned a side gate and wall for me. This stops the dogs running round to the front of the house and being threatening through the fence. It also keeps the front of the house clean and tidy, I am well happy with just these two things!. The dogs still bark when people are near the house but they cannot be seen so people are not so nervous, they know there is no way they can get in without being mauled though which is the girls job ;-)  I must re-iterate  this is not a dangerous area or country and I in no way feel worried about my safety, even without dogs, but with Gypsy's around nothing is safe from them, if it is movable they will have it away, so the dogs let them know not to come onto my property full stop!

As I said we have had some terrible weather, very unusual for this time of year, in fact very unusual at all more like monsoons!  So my front stone wall fell down! Thankfully Trey was here to save yet another day. Unfortunately I did not get a photo of it in complete collapse but only when half re-built. He took the old mud stamped it down with water to re use it between the stones. Such hard work, am I happy to have him help? Hell yeah!!!!!

The second animal house was taken down by Jacki, giving me a lovely large covered summer area. I will get it finished next year hopefully. It was thick, probably 6" or more, with old compacted pooh. No idea what animal perhaps a donkey as it was not pellet pooh. Whatever it is good stuff for the garden and Jacki spread it around over time with the rain and snow it will make for good fertilised ground for next years crops.  So just need to put in a concrete floor and pave outside of it, a bit of old engine oil for the beams and off we jolly well go!

The main thing, other than the fencing, that has been a stress for me was not having a sink and taps in the bathroom. Cleaning teeth under the shower is annoying after 6 months, mind you I was very thankful for having that shower!
I had all the things I needed. Sink, taps, sink top, battens, all fittings etc and still no one had managed to do it. in all that time.  When Trey arrived the old stone and tile sink was still not out. He had no power tool to do this, the concrete was sold hard never meant to be removed, thick rebar ran through it giving the sink strength and the water pipes were set into the concrete which was reinforced with stones.  He did in a day what the other guy took a week to do! As I say, my hero.  he then set about fitting everything and in less than two days I had a working bathroom that just needs the lipstick of tiles and finishing touches. Well I was made up! He also laid a stone path to the washing line which in the weather we are having has saved me from the mud, sorted moved and stacked wood ready for re use or chopping for firewood.

I managed to buy the kitchen units and after an abortion of a trip, due to my money not being in the bank and no communication informing me of this, with the help of a friend got them to the house for Trey to put together.  Being Bulgaria it was obviously not going to be simple so after a day of putting units together it appeared we were short all the fittings to two units, grrrrr.
I have to say the guy in the shop, who at first would not accept responsibility so there was a bit of too'ing and fro'ing  because I needed those fittings by the next day or two due to Trey and Jacki leaving on the Monday, this was the Friday! Bless him he did some checking and found a small box they had not given us which had the rest of the fittings in, his guys came and delivered to me the next day and trey was able to finish the kitchen :-)  It was not until he fitted then in that it became apparent that two extra small worktops had not arrived :-(  Now I will have a problem here, will let you know what happens but I may just buy then again as I am out of fight.

So many other things were done but I just can't list them all but I am a very lucky, happy Jo. I now have a working bathroom, a kitchen that although not finished is a pleasure to cook in a light switch in the living room that is not going to electrocute me, safe dogs, I did have a nice area to sit in.
I am so very grateful to these two guys!

Bulgaria Floods, Help & a Poorly Boy

What was I saying in the last post! This weather has just been phenomenally bad with floodings and loss of life. Varna, Dobrich, Sozopol, Pomorie, along with lots of other areas including some area's in the Veliko Turnovo region have flooded where the rivers have burst their banks. There have been mud slides, flash floods, water spouts and tidal waves.
Such a terrible loss of life in Varna, including lives of children, due to being swept away in the flash floods and tidal wave.
Everyone is so sad for the families who have lost their loved ones but it will not end there as people have lost their winter food which is growing on their land and will go hungry, food prices will rise due to the loss of major crops, especially wheat the staple in the Bulgarian diet. The outlook is bad and so very sad.
The weather should be on the turn but right now it is still raining and storms are still here, adding to the devastation.

I am very fortunate in my village. We do get storms but 99% of them pass us by. I do not know why this is as we are at the highest point in the hills but I can watch them go by to the surrounding villages. We obviously have something here that protects us?
We have had some rain but not too much and mainly in the night. No storms now for over 2 weeks where these other areas have had them every day. I feel so sorry for them. Varna, Bourgas Pomorski, coastal areas are tourist destinations too with people having a nightmare instead of a relaxing holiday.

Here we have had temps of 35c in the shade for most of the time. The last couple of days have been a bit cooler with rain in the evening making my garden really muddy but if you saw the result of the wet and hot weather it is a good thing to have damp ground, getting those weeds out is of utmost importance!

A very sad occurrence happened a week ago.  There has been a young boy popping in and out of my garden, I thought he was one of next doors pups that had come through. He a hunting dog I think, Plamen does like his hunting and fishing!  My girls used to bark at him and herd him out of the garden but he would be very serene and not be bothered or threatening to them or me.
Last Saturday I went into the garden & there he was collapsed outside my kitchen window. He could not lift his head but managed to wag his tail whenever he saw me. He whimpered and I saw he had some injuries but I didn't want to move him to see where they went without a vet, as I did not want to cause him more suffering. It was so upsetting, poor boy.
I couldn't find any help due to people being too ill to come, not answering phone or responding to my FB plea and Plamen made out he was not his dog (I am sure he was). He could not eat & was just bone but I did manage to encourage him to drink by whetting my fingers & putting them to his mouth. Eventually he lapped a little then more and more. I could hear the water hitting an empty tummy he sounded so hollow!

I put chairs over him and then carpets over the chairs so he has some shade from the sun which was boiling hot and would give him cuddles and stroke him. He wagged his tail and looked into my eyes pleadingly for help. I am not exaggerating when I say it was the most traumatic event.
I came inside to check on FB and when I went back out to him, he had gone.  I looked around for him and could not find him in the overgrown garden but hoped that the water and shade had helped to make him stronger and vowed to feed and water him every time I saw him.

On the Monday I went into Gorna with a friend who very kindly took me in, so grateful for good people, to stock up on shopping and to pick up my latest helper, Trey (from Helpx), and forgot all about the poor boy.
Wednesday morning as I went into the garden a terrible smell greeted me I was devastated as I recognised the smell as that as something which had died. Thank God Trey was with me. He found his body,  proceeded to dig a hole and bury him for me. I was distraught at knowing he had died. It felt like all the loss I had had over the last 18 months and now another death!

Wow what a negative blog, I will try better next time x

Storms Rain Swamp and Rainforest

Well forget what I said about the summer is here, it is, BUT, we have had a week of storms with driving rain. It's like a monsoon season and has been described as such.  All very worrying if you are a climate watcher. I am the one worried for the ice age happening now. I could probably cope with anything else but not that. Now I am not going to think about it because according to what I read on FB,  LOL the rapture is about to happen, so see ya later's  hahaha.

Anyway back to reality it is wet, wet, wet! The house is dirty, dirty, dirty, with three dogs and especially the pup who runs in and jumps all over my white sofa. The washing is immense with nowhere to dry it.
I have a young Lemon tree which is being drowned, I keep emptying the pot but in the morning it is drowning again. We have had amazingly hot weather too, like yesterday it was over 80c in the shadiest part of my property, under the grape vine so it was completely cool there, then by 6pm we had driving rain & storms on and off all night. So much rain.

I checked the potatoes yesterday & they are completely infested with Colorado beetle, it would take a week to remove them all and then I would have to start again, such a shame.  Tomatoes as being swallowed up by triffids and the garden looks like a rainforest the weeds are so high, the dill look like tree's!
I also lit the fire on two days last week it was that chilly in here, in JUNE!!!!

Well I am not going to wish the month away that's for sure, lots to do when my next lot of helpers arrive in a week or so, even if it is wet, I just hope they are made of stern stuff.

I am going to bite the bullet and buy a small kitchen, they are certainly cheap enough, it will put me on a really tight budget for the month but I need working space & storage space. As I type this I am already re-thinking it, I just need to DO IT! Anything is better than nothing and it can be changed later when I have finished all the important things.

I went exploring like an intrepid, well explorer, yesterday with my friend. I have a Mehana (bar/cafe) and the old original house, all part of my property. The Mehana is my next juicy project, which can be started as soon as I have the kitchen in. It will be used for the Secret Garden charity events to raise money for those in need here in Bulgaria. I will also hold art and craft workshops there, quiz evenings, Tapas nights, the list of what can be done is endless really. I want people to be able to sell their crafts and get known.
For the Secret Garden I need to do some paving outside so people can enjoy the view and build a toilet in the mud room between my house and the garden (anti room). So lots to think about and plan.

The House, well that is another story! It is a fabulous house, empty for 25 years and running to ruin. I would love to bring it back to it's full beauty again. It is a big house with lots of lovely room and believe it or not central heating! These people must have had money.  It is a derelict house & will need lots of lovely workawayer's/HelpX, to help restore it, as well as some professional help with the roof, plumbing windows Oh so so much, but it would be a labour of love, that's for sure. It is something I will look into but I have to make sure it is structurally sound as there are cracks from the earth quake in the 80's, so it is a plan in my head only right now, but ohhhhhh what a plan. These are the things that keep me going and stop me from giving up altogether.

Yes as you will guess from that last statement, not in a good place, in fact feeling worse. I will have to look into getting some other tablets or upping my dosage on these. I am reluctant to do this as I worry, but I need to stop feeling so helpless, lost and sad. I hate crying all the time it feels destructive. I sort of know it is healing but it doesn't feel that way, it feels destructive.  I want to move on but I just don't seem able to. I want to fall out of love with the person who has rejected me in such a shocking way, but I don't seem able to. Any good advice just doesn't seem to work on my reality.  Time and as my friend says "baby steps".

I am  going to a car boot today the weather is overcast with some sun, but I am wearing boots as the ground is sodden and if it is on the grass it will be sinksville!!!

Pictures to follow when I have worked out how to from my phone as the laptop has broken :-( just another problem on the heap i'm trying not to dwell on