Last weekend we celebrated 10 years together. I don’t know
where the time has gone. It’s lovely to think that half that time has been
spent in Bulgaria working towards our big and crazy dreams. I’m not a
sentimental person but I couldn’t ask for a better partner, co-adventurer and
lumberjack.
Anyway, nothing says celebrate
like getting away from the washing up and cats for a night. So that’s what we
did. We trundled off to Troyan Monastery, went to a pottery museum and stayed
in a little guesthouse in a quiet village. Oh, how we’ve aged. Still, it’s better
than our 8th anniversary, where we celebrated by going to Ikea and buying a new
sink.
If anyone wants a rustic, romantic guesthouse and restaurant
near Troyan/Lovech, I highly recommend Dedovite Kashti in Staro Sefanovo. The room
was very quaint and the food was AMAZING. We had a four-course meal with a
litre of homemade wine and it came to less than £25.
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| Troyan Monastery. |
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| More exciting monastery action. |
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| Dedovite Kashti guesthouse. |
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| Staro Stefanovo village. |
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Nothing but old houses. Did I mention this was way better than
going to Ikea and buying a sink? Well, it was. |
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| Stara Planina mountains in the distance. |
We’ve got friends coming to stay this week so it’s back to
reality with a bump as we try to get the house and garden looking presentable.
Rob finished an important job last week – a big new woodstore holding around 12
sqm of wood – which frees up a ton of space in the garden. We’re now left with
a nice flat, empty area under the mulberry tree, next to the summer kitchen.
Eventually we plan to terrace this space and put hammocks up. For now, there’s
lots of sticks, wood shavings and general rubble to admire. And I’m sure our
guests will love that.
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| Eeeesh. |
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| Ah, that's better. |
Breaking polytunnel news: the tomatoes are now about two
feet tall so they’ve been tied up securely. We usually do individual stakes for
each plant but this year Rob has rigged up an ingenious system using less wood
and more string, which saves time and looks nicer. There’s no sign of any
tomatoes yet, but we usually have cherry toms at the end of June. Not much else
happening in the garden right now, except that we are balls-deep in
strawberries.
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| Grow, grow, grow. |
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| Today's haul. |
The weather is still really changeable, with baking sunshine
one day and torrential rain the next. I’ve no idea what’s in store for our
visitors. There’s not a great deal to do in rural Bulgaria when it’s raining
so, if you don’t hear from me again, I’ve probably been murdered by my friends
in a fit of Scrabble-induced insanity.
