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 Keeping Up With It All!

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itchyfeet
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PostSubject: Keeping Up With It All!   Keeping Up With It All! Icon_minitimeSat Jan 11, 2014 8:33 pm

Well, here we are in 37C and it is sure hot, nevertheless, it is not like Turkey with 47C, only difference is that in Turkey we had air con, but only electric fans here and they are running most of the evening in an effort to stay dry!!

The DIY is behind schedule because of the heat, won't get me out there in this temperature I am afraid, because it is too hot and wasps have built nests and I am dodging wasps that keep coming to say hello. They can bug off, I have enough problems of my own trying to build my wooden barn without them buzzing around me, especially when I am up a ladder. It is really difficult doing anything indoors as well because of the heat, so we will have to wait until September before breaking into a gallop hoping that there is a heat drop for us to get on with things in our new abode.

In the meantime there is an adundance of tomatoes to deal with, Bernard has planted in the region of 40 tomato plants and they are blooming like mad, some of them are larger than cricket balls and will take some eating. This means of course that yours truly will have to start with some Compot, and start bottling tomatoes for the Winter, This calls for a new education in the way that BG's do things and after various bits of advice I now have the very large pan that takes very large jars to boil the things in and to preserve them for the Winter. The villagers spend most of the Summer picking things and bottling for the Winter, this is fine for them of course, but I am to be found either up a ladder or holding a paint brush or a hammer in my hand, but we hope to spend next year enjoying picking fruits and veggies and bottling like mad like them.

They do their compot in the open outside with a metal thingy to put the pot on and burn wood underneath it to keep it boiling for 30 to 40 minutes, we have seen this done several times, but this is a village of course and this is traditional for them to do things this way. So there is villagers bringing pots to the boil all over the place, there is wood burning like crazy all around our property and most tracks in Paskalevets. After the boiling process is finished and they have extracted their jars with a home made gadget the fire is extinguished by pouring the boiled water upon it. This may be old fashioned, but it works and they seem to enjoy carrying on with their tradition and culture that has set their lives different to town folk. Living here is more like "
The Darling Buds of May"
, the only difference is I haven't got that lovely Rolls Royce that David Jason used to drive.

We enjoy our version of Compot as well and join in, in our way, but in our kitchens and not out in the open like them, but to be honest if we wanted to do it their way there is a lot of equipment to buy in order to do things in a proper manner and their knowledge of how to bring everything to a conclusion, but next year we will do ours in the garden whilst allowing the kitchen to remain cool.

Rakia is being made all over BG as I speak, with locals pouring gallons of the stuff into their stills and tomorrow the wood comes out and away they go distilling most the day in an effort to have enough of the elexir to pass through the Winter. This is combined with making their Vino and most of them get on and make wine of anything that grows on the trees here, the villages are covered wit trees and it is not until the Spring that everything becomes clear that all the tress that are planted bear fruit in some way or another, there is an enormous amount of wild life here, particularly bird life and any ornithologistic would enjoy a Summer here, we have seen Golden Eagles, Kestrels, Yellow Oriel and many others during the Summer, this is combined with rather large tortoises wandering along the roads minding their own business and not wanting to be disturbed.

This life in the raw and I keep looking for my own Kathrine Zeeta, if I allow my mind to run amok she does have some likeness to the real one I suppose, but she gets on with things, especially in the soaring heat, I can't do it, the heat zaps me completely, poor soul, good on her!! Can't write any more, got some painting to do!!

So there we are , another scintilating episode of our life here, nestled in the middle of Bulgaria, only 35 mins from the medieval capital Veliko Tarnovo, surrounded by countryside that once existed in the UK and encapsulated in our property that was once a farm.
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oddball
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PostSubject: Re: Keeping Up With It All!   Keeping Up With It All! Icon_minitimeSun Jan 12, 2014 6:35 pm

Fab thanks for sharing s g
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Andy
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PostSubject: Re: Keeping Up With It All!   Keeping Up With It All! Icon_minitimeFri Jan 24, 2014 10:10 pm

Thank you I really enjoyed reading this. Keeping Up With It All! 2706089290
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sallyann
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PostSubject: Re: Keeping Up With It All!   Keeping Up With It All! Icon_minitimeFri Mar 28, 2014 3:11 pm

Thank you for the share and I keep meaning to have a go at my own Compot and you have now inspired me. T
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itchyfeet
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PostSubject: Re: Keeping Up With It All!   Keeping Up With It All! Icon_minitimeFri Mar 28, 2014 4:47 pm

sallyann wrote:
Thank you for the share and I keep meaning to have a go at my own Compot and you have now inspired me. T

Nice to hear from you Sallyann - where have you been hiding. Thanks for the posting, don't forget to do the compot in the garden, it's August when it needs to be done and almost roasting inside the kitchen with the gas burner going.
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sallyann
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PostSubject: Re: Keeping Up With It All!   Keeping Up With It All! Icon_minitimeSat Mar 29, 2014 9:14 am

Thanks for the advice, I have been very busy with all sorts of things but I'm back now with plenty of time. Keeping Up With It All! 1536469901
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krypton
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PostSubject: Re: Keeping Up With It All!   Keeping Up With It All! Icon_minitimeThu Apr 03, 2014 4:20 pm

Any chance of more of your writing they are so lifting.
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