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

 

Swallows Everywhere!

We are now well into July. Work is still coming along but it seems to be at a slower pace. This is mainly because for the last couple of weeks Chris has been working on our staircase. We have also had friends visiting Bulgaria so have managed to have a few days out. I have been busy painting the kitchen ceiling which seems to take an age due to the size of the room and having to paint each section between the beams. So not a lot seems to have happened but we have been busier than ever!

It is really weird here but you can start the day on one job and be totally distracted for the whole day. That is why things are taking so long. We have had a long stream of visitors dropping in now we have finally moved in so endless cups of tea are being made at the moment. We are also having a few problems with swallows as our house seems to be the house of choice for building nests both inside and outside. After waiting for the babies to fly from the nest on our lounge beams, we evicted them and took down the nest thinking that would be the end of the story. Oh no, we are now woken daily by twenty or more swallows swooping over the garden, picking up mud mixed with cement left by the builders and taking it onto our balcony to build multiple nests. The fact that they are using concrete means they will probably be there for ever. They then sit and chirp on the balcony telling us to get up. Alternatively, they swoop into the bedroom, swing from the lights, continuing on through the rest of the house. They really are quite acrobatic and don't give a stuff that the cats are crouching in wait for any that might swoop too low. Its quite common to get dive bombed whilst making a cup of tea in the morning!

When we arrived here we always planned to have Sundays off and explore or relax. Well that idea lasted for about two weeks and we have been flat out since then. However, last Sunday we did take a trip to Dryanovo outside pool for a swim. Being Sunday, it was packed out with families, the pool bar was blaring out euro beats and you had to dodge the dive bombing kids. We did get a lovely swim in though, we just wont go on a Sunday again.

Here are few photos of a bit more work on the house and our trip to the Danube with our friends.

 The view from the top of the mountain overlooking our village. Slaveykovo is 300meters above sea level and the mountains are 600meters above sea level.

 The wild flowers up there are stunning.

 

Our first long overdue evening of sitting out with a bottle of wine and a roast dinner in the oven. What more can you ask for?

 

 A day trip out to Ruse and the Danube. The river bank on the other side is Romania. You can canoe across but the mosquitoes might eat you on the way. They are vicious even in the day time.

 

 Posing quickly for the camera before swatting a few more mossies.

 

Chris in his element investigating the steam trains. Due to the museums location by the Danube it was just a quick look before the mossies got the better of us again.

 

Stone plodgers being laid.

 

The inglenook fireplace starting to take shape with the wood store on the side

 

 We have had the digger in for two days clearing all the rubble in the garden. It looks much better but has turned the ground into a dust bowl for the moment.

 

 We also got up at 5am to knock down more of the bottom house in order for the digger to take the old bricks away. Its now been raised to one level which is built into the hillside.

 

The view outside our kitchen window. This couple are picking and sorting the sliva (baby plums) probably for making rakia. At the moment, sliva are ripening everywhere. We are just waiting for ours to finish ripening but might make plum crumble from ours!

We have moved in at last!

The last two weeks has seen torrential rain and mighty thunderstorms which is unheard of for Bulgaria for this time of year. Even in June we have been lighting the wood burner in the evening. The garden surrounding our house turned into a quagmire which made it really sticky to walk on and dragged yet more mud into the house.

However, in the last couple of weeks we finally got the bathroom fitted out. In the last two days the kitchen has also been fitted. Yet in true Bulgarian style, the oven and cooker are still waiting for power and we still have no plug for the fridge. In fact, we don't actually have any electrics at all, but are hoping it will be resolved very soon. 

We are adamant that we are moving in this weekend so are pushing Daniel the electrician (who disappears for days on end) to get us connected.

This is only a quick post as we have been really up against it this week trying to wood stain and paint the ceiling before the kitchen went in and Chris has been busy making doors for the kitchen.  Its been our most tiring and traumatic week yet trying to get everything ready and battling with the builders willing them to come and finish the job before the kitchen fitters arrive. Of course there were problems but we are learning to accept that things are not always going to be how you planned or envisaged them and getting things 95% how you want them it pretty good going.

Anyway, here are a few pictures to show how progress is going.

 

 

 

 The kitchen ceiling being painted

 

The kitchen door to the utility room made by Chris

 

 The kitchen window going in and the floor tiled

 

 All ready for the cupboards to arrive

 

 After day one of kichen cupboard assembly

 

 After day two

 

Fridge and dining room table now in

 

 

 Bath installed

 

 Shower installed

 

View from the bath

 

 Wall surrounding patio being built

 

 View from kitchen doors

 

 Kitchen doors installed and new wall built

 

 Patio area outside lounge and downstairs bedroom

 

 View from downstairs bedroom

 

Waiting for the stone plodgers to be put on top

 

 

We have now lost our stone masons for a few weeks as they have gone to work on another house. Hopefully they will be back soon to work on our summer kitchen.

 

 

One Month On...

We have been living in Bulgaria for a month now and are thankfully still loving it. The countryside and wildlife are stunning and is still providing loads of surprises. The latest surprise are the fireflies which come out in the evening. They provide their own mini firework display as they criss cross through the night air. Even though the weather has got a lot hotter now so far the biting insects have not been too bad. The mossies seem to appear only during dusk and are always worse if they think it is going to rain. However, in the last two days, after a huge thunderstorm we have suffered torrential rain. The rivers are gushing with water and even the little stream at the bottom of the garden is a gushing torrent and has washed away the road cutting some people off in the village. Due to the rain we have suffered a small leak of water in the kitchen on the floor. We think it is seeping through the walls but hope that when the guttering is put up will stop the water pooling on the ground. It's probably a good thing we noticed it now as we are now aware of it and can keep an eye on the problem, putting in drainage if necessary.

The Yantra River brimming with water on its way to the Danube

The way of life here also takes a little getting used to. Nearly everyone except the big shops take payment in cash only and we are forever at the bank withdrawing money at the moment. Some transactions seem positively clandestine. Last week we had to pay for a load of timber Chris ordered from the local carpenter but firstly we had to get the money in cash from the bank, then drive to the workshop which is all locked up and honk the horn to get the carpenter Angel to come out and let us in. Then hand over the cash which is counted out and then with a nod we are told it will be with us 2pm the following day. We drive away, with no receipt, nothing!

Work on the house seems to be going in fits and starts. We have been a bit frustrated at the pace of some of the work. The stone masons are great and are flying along with their work, completing a large amount of work on the house and now starting work on the outside area. The plumbers / electricians / decorators are pretty atrocious. Their time keeping leaves a lot to be desired, not turning up from one day to the next and leave a lot of mess about which does not help with the dust problem. As we are trying to get the bathroom and kitchen fitted as soon as possible so we can actually move in it has been frustrating to say the least. Still, today 6 of them turned up early for once and are beavering away again so fingers crossed they will be with us for a few days at least!

 The lounge, bedroom and ensuite bathroom floors finally concreted

 

 Original stone features in the lounge

 

 New beams and pillars in the lounge to hold the ceiling up

 

 Chris sorting the kitchen out. Our day starts at eight in the morning. The labourers don't roll up until after ten and leave at four!

 

 The upstairs landing fireplace kept as a feature and replastered

 

 Finally the upstairs bathroom starts to go in

 

On Sunday we went out and celebrated our first month here. We were recommended a Chinese restaurant in Gabrovo which was a nice change from the local fare. It was different to a UK Chinese as it used local seasonal produce on its menu which made it interesting but considering when in China they do the same, it was perhaps more authentic than a UK Chinese. Eating out here is a real treat. It doesn't seem to matter how up market a place is, the prices are always reasonable. The trick is, just eat where the locals eat. A meal out last week in our nearest town Dryanovo, cost £7.00 for both of us including drinks!

Tonight we are eating freshly picked chanterelle mushrooms cooked in garlic, provided by one of the local gypsies who picked them in the woods and sells them for what he can get. In Bulgaria they have a spring mushroom season and an autumn one. Considering they are having a wet spring mushrooms (if you know where to look) must be booming.