The Stairs are In!.

This week our staircase was finally installed. It has been a long time coming and you cant believe how good it is to walk up and down stairs after the makeshift ladder. The stairs have been handmade by Chris and we had a real tussle trying to get our 18 steps to fit in our lounge without imposing too  much. We also had a head room problem and a couple of other constraints which made the construction a real challenge. Still, they are finally in and I now have the pleasure of wood staining them and decorating them with some artwork.

 

The start of the stairs construction

 

The job of painting begins

 

Whilst the stairs were being built the sunflowers were ripening on the field above the orchard and our railings were finally installed on our upstairs terrace.

 

 

 

Sunflowers ripening in the distance

 

 

We also have our Juliette balcony outside our bathroom now.

 

Down in the garden the crazy rain we have been having has produced a bumper crop of cucumbers and squashes. I seem to be feeding the entire village with them including the goats and chickens. For the very first time I also have melons, peppers and aubergines on the go. It is so easy to grown stuff here and its not moth eaten like the UK either. The only down side to Bulgaria's strange wet summer is that the tomatoes have blight which is hilarious considering we came here to get away from wet summers and the only other time I suffered tomato blight was on a very wet UK summer.

 

A daily crop of veggies

 

 

My first melons

 

 

In our soon to be summer kitchen making Bulgarian Tarrator soup

Even the weeds here look good

 

A week ago we also took a trip to the coast for two nights. It was a welcome break from working on the house and gave us a chance to swim in the sea and relax a bit.

 

 

Varna's wonderful sea gardens. Strolling through the gardens under the coolness of the trees was wonderful. There are all sorts of sideshows going on which also makes it really entertaining.

 

Some weird rock formations outside Varna

 

This picture was taken on a drive into the mountains. When we stopped the car to explore a little stream, this fellow was poking out of the trees. It is typical in the Soviet style you see everywhere. It  made the glade quite magical as we stood there.

Another wonderful Soviet monument celebrating the April uprising in 1876 against the Turks in the mountain town of Apriltsi. This one is adorned by a storks nest. There are many more wonderful pieces of sculpture and I will dedicate a blog to some of the best local to us.

Here are a few more pictures of progress of work. Chris has made the adjoining door to from the kitchen to the lounge.

 

Our patio area finally finished.

 

 

A rainbow over the 'Guardian' mountains