On the whole we have settled in well although we havent unpacked everything yet and still have a few boxes in the barn.
One thing I have mastered is the petchka ( wood burner) as its bloody perishing around-8 Celsius at night. That has been going pretty much full time. Only problem is it sometimes gets too hot and we end up with the petchka on, and the door wide open !! to cool us down.
Bailey has certainly found his spot. I know the basket is too small but its the cats and he has claimed it.
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| Doormat dog |
We have been to popovo our nearest town about 10 miles away . We went on Friday as there is a market friday and we had a look around. We have been stocking up on food in case we get snowed in but according to the weather the worst is over for at least another week. Although the locals say what we have had is nothing compared to what may come.
Our local shop/bar is run by a lovely couple she is called Nuti but i have no idea what her husband is called. It's a game of pointing at things when we go shopping I know a few words and can count to 10 in bulgarian so as long as i dont want a dozen of something were getting by. I did however ask for potatoes the other day and Nuti asked me if I wanted 1. What use is 1 potato so i said in my best bulgarian shesht (6) and promptly got 6 kilos, I didn't have the heart to tell her I only wanted 6 spuds never mind.
Saturday was my birthday and we met up with the other British people who live in our village at nutis bar and had a good night spending all of £2.60 On drinks all night.
Today we have been into Ruse our nearest city which is about an hours drive away. The weather today has been grey and dull and damp. It was a horrible drive in and was quite foggy at one point. We went to my bank to collect my debit card and try to open an account for Julie but we couldn't do that as we don't have a bulgarian phone number. Monica our estate agent opened mine for me in April using her number. So we had to settle for putting my account in my name as Monica had power of attorney for my account and we will have to sort out a bulgarian phone to open one in Julie's name at a later date.
We have also now got the internet at a shocking £10 a month mind you we did get the biggest package.
But best of all I have treated myself to a wheelbarrow, we went to praktiker which is a bit like B &Q in the UK.
I used my best pigeon bulgarian ( read pointed at with my finger) at the wheelbarrow and the guy went off to the storeroom to get me a wheelbarrow he came back with each individual part no box just the parts. Pictures will follow next time when i have attempted assembly im presuming the wheel goes on the bottom .
We also went to technopolis and bought a washing machine which I really enjoyed lugging up the steps to our house by myself while Julie stood by with words of wisdom, I had a few words of my own I can tell you. I will take an exciting photo of it for you when i unpack it.
I will leave you with some obligatory snow pictures.
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| Bailey in the snow |
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| Our street |
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| Snowy beehives |
Till next time take care
Mark and Julie
Well done, Mark and Julie! Somehow you seem to be surviving the Bulgarian winter. Although we bought the house fourteen years ago, this is the first real Bulgarian winter we have experienced. In Sofia, life carries on more or less as normal, but in the countryside the winter can be tough.
ReplyDeleteAlthough we have a couple of woodburners, I would still recommend a pellet stove that is linked to radiators all over the house. The you can be truly warm in your home. We also had a lot of exterior insulation put onto the outside of the house and that made a huge difference.
The next time we are staying at our apartment in VT, we must try to meet you because Ruse is not so far away from VT.
Dear Mark and Julie,
ReplyDeleteIt is good to see that you have your own petchka in action! Yes, they do kick out a lot of heat, but of course the bad news is that the heat does not spread evenly all over the house. This is why we had a pellet boiler installed, together with radiators everywhere. Wood pellets are fairly cheap and easy to store. The boiler is controlled by a mini computer and there is a fan to help you to get the best from the fuel pellets. The whole thing (boiler, pipes, radiator, installation, etc) cost about 4,000 leva and that is money well spent when your whole house is toasty warm. Oh yes, and I almost forgot the insulation. That was another 4,000.