November 5th.

Another year goes by, Guy Fawkes night has been celibrated. We invited a good mix of ex-pat's and Bulgarian's to help with the festivities.
All went with a bang!
The fireworks were supplied by us and a few friends, food was also supplied by us and friends, curry from Wendy, Chocolate cake from Vessie, Soup from Jill, Cake from Meggie, egg plant from Milka, drinks from almost everyone, including Rakia!
35 people came and watched, ate and drank. The weather stayed dry, calm, just right for the firework's.
On dates like this we hope that everyone get's to try new foods that they may not have had before, it's there all you have to do is try!
Thank you all for helping the evening go well.

Heidi

Firstly I want to say sorry to everyone who has asked me why I have not been updating this site. A few weeks ago we lost our lovely dog Heidi, she was 13.5 years old and a part of our family for more than half of our married life. Anyone who knew her loved her, she was such a great dog. Things we miss, coming home and not hearing her coming down the staris to greet us, Heidi used to come to me around 10.30pm and tell me it was time for bed! She would moan and groan until I gave in, she would not go up to bed until the light's were on, doors opened and I was there as well. She always looked after us, if she smelt fear, she told us. We had an incident a few years ago, when a man came to our house to talk to us, Heidi did not like this man, if we had not held on to her coller than man would be history. If gypsies came to the gate, they would back off when they saw her, even though she was old by this time. She could be trusted with any child of any age. If Sally screamed out, she would be there, ask Kahl......

We really miss her.

Geri our German Shepperd puppy, 7 months old now has a lot to live up to, although she is a funny dog in different ways. When she want's to get up she just touches my nose with her nose, no longer just jumping up with both paws to try and flatten me to the bed.

More later.

Dentist

A couple of days ago I was eating my dinner and had a hard bit in what should have been a soft dinner. I thought it was a piece of filling that had come out, coupled with the fact that when I had a hot or cold drink there was pain in my tooth.
So I plucked up the courage to go and see the dentist.
The night before I went we were in Meggies restaurant and John and Lil our friends were there, Lil said she too had a tooth that required pulling out, but she was too scared to go, so was holding on for as long as she could. I managed to get her to agree to come with me the next day.
Anyway, off we went, Sally went around the corner to Billa a supermarket whilst Lil and I headed off to the dentist.
We had to wait a few minutes while someone else was having treatment, which did not help Lil's nerves. Then it was her turn.........the dentist, Dr. Villie, took a look and said "Ok, it just needs a filling and everything will be fine". Well if Lil was not already sat down, she would have fallen down! She was "made up", total bill was 31 Lev, not even £14, that was with a check up as well!
Then it was my turn, I sat down and told Dr. Villie where the pain had been, she had a good look and said that I had indeed chipped a small piece of tooth off, but it did not require any attention, so she did a check up and everything else was fine. My bill was 6 Lev, £2.70.
I have to say both Lil and I think this must have been our best trip to the dentist ever.

Sally's Bulgarian Cart

Today we see the unvailing of Sally's restored Bulgarian cart.

We call this model a Mark 1, as it has large wooden wheels, the slightly newer ones have car tyres and wheels, but they do not look as nice.

These cart's fetch quite a premium as the locals do not always want to sell them, but Brit's love them. So a cart in good order can cost as much as 300 Lev (£150). We were lucky and got this one much cheaper.

Firstly, it had to be washed down with the jet spray, then taken apart and sanded down with an orbital sander. The colour was an issue, Sally wanted White and Brown, I pointed out the dirt would show more than the paint, so we agreed on Red and Black.

Sally has done this almost all on her own and has done a good job.

It has taken 4 months, but then there was no rush. The flowers do make it look lovely.

Our puppy dog is now 6 months old and is a true Bulgarian dog! She spends most of the day outside and only comes in a few times during the day. This is not how we thought it would be, however she is happy. She even stays out in the garden when we are out. As we leave I tell her to "Guard". I like to think she understands me.

Life is great.

Today is another warm day, the sun is high and the football season has started again. So this afternoon is going to be too hat to be outside, must be OK to watch the footie then!
Life here is as normal, slow, relaxed and freindly. Not so many people around this year as the credit crunch hits Britain. We are seeing some effects over here too, house prices are dropping a little, the smart Bulgarians know they need to reduce the prices, some who are not in any rush to sell are holding out.
There are many other bargins to be had as well, shops here are holding sales, cafe's and restraurants are not so busy as last year.
This credit crunch comes as no big surprise, the boom times could not last forever. If your looking to buy, then NOW is the time to act, do not wait any longer.
I have a very large three bedroomed house with six rooms downstairs and 5340sq metres of land, right on the edge of a lovely village, requiring a samll amount of updating, for 28,000 Euros!!!!!!!!!
How can you go wrong?

Watering time!

In the mornings we have to water the garden, however sometimes you get a little more help than is required.
Check out how Geri our 5 month old German Sheppard puppy assist's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCU2LCsv-Yg

Summertime

The summer is here, and boy do we know it!
A couple of weeks ago we had a lot of thunder and lightening storms, great to look at from the balcony. However we found out that we had a leak in our roof, well it was more like a sieve. We have been here for two winters and no troubles before. Time to call Kahl, he looked at it and took off all the tiles only to find that there were no wooden batons holding the roof tiles in place, so new batons to start with, then he found two places where there was no wood, just tiles keeping the rain at bay!
The roof is now finished, it looks great and hopfully it will last many more years. Kahl and his workers have lovely tans from being up on the roof, maybe I should charge them?
The temperature is now steady at around 33 degress with bright sunshine, so the middle of the day is "indoor" time. Sally is back painting her cart, Geri, the not so small puppy is now a real outdoor dog, chasing anything that comes into her garden including our cat Misty!
Today is market day, we are looking to increase our stock of chickens by another four, this will give us 12 including one cockerell, as we have more people asking us for eggs. It is so nice going out and getting your own fresh eggs. Everyone who comes and stay's with us enjoys doing this "chore".
Must go now, time to work, as it is early and not so hot.

Egg and Bacon night.

We as Brit's take some things for granted, like everyone eats egg and bacon rolls!
Well I have news for you, Bulgarians don't! So when we were down in our local restraurant last week and I mentioned about having one, Meggie and Sasho looked bemused, so I went into the kitchen and made a couple for them to try. They loved it.
I suggested that we had an egg and bacon roll night, they looked at me as if I were mad, "would nanyone come" they asked. So Sally and I made a few phone calls and had 22 people who would come the next evening.
On the night 33 people turned out and we all had a great time, Sasho must be sick at the sight of egg and bacon now. Everyone enjoyed themselves including Meggie and Sasho.
After locking up, Meggie called a friend in Vrliko Tarnovo for a chat, after she had explained her evening, she had to return to the restraunt and make one to take to her friend. She loved it.
Then a few days later we went into the restraunt again only to find Meggie and her two daughters sitting, tucking into an egg and bacon roll each. It's nice to know we can still export something new to Bulgaria.

Geri (puppy) Update

Geri is now 4 months old and has settled in and training us well!

She, I believe, is a true Bulgarian dog, as she likes to spend a lot of time outside in the garden. We used to go out, and come home to a screwed up mat and chewed items in the hallway and even at times some mess! Ugg.

However, for a while now we have been leaving her outside, patrolling the grounds whilst we are away. She likes this, as it does not confine her, we are happy as we do not have the mess to worry about. Not sure how this will work during the winter months though.

Geri has a thing about water, you cannot water the garden with a hose without some "help", she dives right in front of the water and loves getting soaked. So we now have an arrangement with her, I water the plants and she waits until I have finished, then I let her play in the spray.

Both Heidi and Geri sleep indoors at night, in fact these days Hiedi (13 years old) only really goes out to do her "business" and bark at any visitors. She is much happier with Geri outside, as Geri wants to keep kissing her and she does not like it!

Anyway I hope you like the new picture.

Bulgarian Life

Having now relocated several ex-pat's to Bulgaria one thing is becoming more and more obvious. When someone moves here full time they soon find a local Bulgarian who becomes thier true friend and helper (with the language). Sometimes it is the neighbour or a local villager nearby, or as in our case a friend in Veliko Tarnovo.
These people are great to be friends with, we get phone calls to advise us if it is a special day or if there is something going on that we should know about.
Maybe the person does not speak much English, so it's time to sit woth your phrase book and do it the slow way. Whichever way it happens, believe me it happens, I always try to explain how nice the locals are, but it's not until you move in that you really find out.
So never fear that you'll be on your own, soon you will have gift's of fruit, vegatables or flowers arriving. The nicest way to repay these people is to give them something small from England, biscuits, chocolate, cheese, anything they may not have seen before, they will show all of their friends and be proud of whatever it is.
We are now having Bulgarian lessons from Veselina, it is a hard language to learn, but you need to keep at it. Please think of me when your reading this, struggling to learn my new words and phrases!

Sally's Big Day

June 3rd saw Sally reach a milestone........50 years old........I know your not supposed to give a lady's age away, but as I have thrown a surprise party for her, most people know now!
The day started as usual, me making a cup of tea in bed for her, so she can wake up gradually. My parents were here on holiday, so when we were all up Sally opened her birthday cards and pressie's. As we sat discussing the day ahead it was decided that we would go into Veliko Tarnovo for dinner out in a restaurant, Sally chose the place.

The service for dinner was awful, there was Sally, my parents, Shane, Annie, Veselina and myself. The last dinner was served 1.5 hours after ordering and 45 mins after the first dinner was served. I complained to the manager who agreed to pay for the whole meal. Nice man!

After this we came back to Resen and home, several friends arrived during the afternoon to wish Sally well and bring cards. The last left at 6.15pm.

It had already been decided during the day that we would go down to Meggie's cafe for a drink in the evening, we were having an early night as my parents only arrived the day before and were tired from the travelling.

Around 7.30pm we left home and arrived outside the cafe, Sally said "That's Bruce's car, and there's Pete's car". I said well it looks like other people have the same idea about drinking out tonight.

I made sure Sally went in first, she was stunned! There were 40 people inside waiting for her, she turned around and tried to walk out, too late I was there, she was crying and very surprised.

Meggie had done us proud, there was a full table of food and wine, the tables had all been moved around and the cafe had balloons and banners. It looked lovely.

Sally spent all night going around talking, telling people off, especially those who had been to our house that day. Collecting cards and presents and generally having a good time.

The party finished around 1am, we went home and Sally had to open all her gift's before bed. She has never been more surprised. The crazy thing is during the day we were talking about parties and she said that if we had a party here we could not get 35 people who we know to come! So it was a great surprise to her to hear that there were 40 people there.

Sally is well known and liked this much is obvious, she is called mother hen by one couple and several other names by others.

I like to think I did a good job, keeping this quiet for 9 weeks was not easy, making sure everyone who needed to know knew. It would have been nice if our daughter Teri was here, but it was not to be this time.

For more pictures of the day please find me on Facebook.com there are a lot more to see.

So ended another great day in Bulgaria.

A little story

A few weeks ago I was introduced to a lovely couple who had arrived here in Resen to locate a property for a new life. John and Lil "bumped" into a couple of my previous clients in the local restaurant, they phoned me to come down to introduce me.

After talking for a few minutes, John informed me that they were going out viewing with an agent in Veliko Tarnovo the next day. So we agreed to meet the day after to discuss if they had found anything interesting or not.

So we met and the previous day was not sucessful. Veselina and I then started to take notes of the kind of property required, this was a Saturday, John and Lil were going home on the Friday so just 6 days to fulfill thier dream.

Sunday was a finding out day for Vessie and I, so John and Lil relaxed.

There was "no pressure" for me to find them a home, just Lil who had every confidence that I would do the job for them. Also, when I pointed out that I MAY not be able to find them a house with such short notice, Lil says, " You will, or I will be getting back on the plane crying".

We showed a property that was very close to fitting the bill, but it did however have a Bulgarian cart in the garden, soon this became a requirement!

In Hotnitsa there is a house that fittes all the needs, but it was not quite right. The first thing about this new home was that it should be ready to move into........tomorrow!!!!!!!!! The Hotnitsa house was ready but just too small. Then Lil decided it would be nice if the house had a tortoise!

Yes that was added to the list.

Two more properties were shown, but after the first of the two, we needed to go no further. We had found the dream home, being renovated by a Bulgarian builder who listens to British needs. Ready in five weeks.

Oh! says Lil, I'll need a dog.

The list is getting longer. Ok, house found and secured, I was keeping an eye on the development and emailing new pictures every couple of days.

Good news, I found a cart for the garden, even a three legged tortoise (how rare is that!) Then it was just the dog. It had to be a German Sheppard says John, black and tan, dog not bitch, pedigree and understand English.................

I found a breeder in a local village he had three litters and five dogs, so we reserved one. But they were selling fast, I wanted Lil and John to choose the one for them, but I had to do this in the end.

John and Lil moved over full time just ten days ago, the house is complete, cart in the garden, tortoise packing his bags in my garden awaiting his big move. Furniture has arrived along with Tu's (that's the dog's name) cage. Last Wednesday we collected Tu and I think Lil is "made up".

However, I think Lil has gone bonkers, every time we see her or talk on the phone she keeps repeating the word's "I love my house".

I like to think Veselina and I have done our job, and hope they have many happy years ahead of them in thier new home.

This is Lil and Tu the day he came home.............

Trouble with laptop!

Well after what seems like forever I hopefully have my laptop working again. I was able to turn it on, but it decided on it's own when it was time to finish, then turn itself off!
I had to save as much information as possible from my hard drive and reset the thing to factory settings. This meant that I have had to re-install word and works, it appears that other things have also gone, but at least it's working now.
It's not until something like this happens that you realise how much you need your stored info. I had a lot of pictures that I assumes were safe, what I should have done is to store them on line. I know a bit slow aren't I! But they are now stored correctly.
Back to normal.

Tsarevets Fortress

The fortress, John & Tess. Sally & I, what a view!

It has now been 2 years since we first came to Bulgaria. In all that time we have never been tp the fortress! Even though my office window, and my "second office" both overlook it.

John and Tess are staying with us this week and it was decided it was about time, and the weather is just right (around 25 degrees) to go up and take the tour.

The whole site is still undergoing renovations, a lot has been done, but as you can see John and I were dragged in to help put a Roman column upright again!

The views from there are fantastic and it should be on everyone's list of places to visit when coming to Veliko Tarnovo. Be warned though, it is on a hill and there is quite a lot of walking.

Health and Safety. This has not arrived here in Bulgaria, so be very careful when visiting this place as there are no safety rails like there is in the UK.

A good day out, followed by a lovely piece of cake in "Sunday's" cafe.

New Addition

It has now been 10 months since we lost our Sasha (dog) Sally has been asking for a puppy for a while and finaly I have given in!

On Friday last week we went to the next village and viewed three litters of German Sheppard puppies. We were able to see the parents and pups together.

These are pedigree dogs and the owner is in the German Sheppard kennel club. He has won several trophies etc in many dog shows. Although the kennels are not quite the same as we are used to in the UK the dogs are so much cheaper. Our bitch was 250 Lev (£120 approx.)

Her name is Geri and she is settling in well with Heidi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP6k0XQTRrc&layer_token=3f9d289dae75db62

You can now see the dog's playing, or Hiedi putting Geri in her place by clicking the You Tube link.

New Addition

It has been 10 months since we lost our smaller dog Sasha, so it was now time to bring in a new puppy. I heard through our local pet shop that there is a breeder of German Sheppard dogs in the next village. We went yesterday to view them.

Yes, we came home with a little bundle of fluff!

The breeder has won several cups and has all the certificates etc. He is part of the German Sheppard kennel club. There were three litters there, the pup we chose is 42 days old and is lovely. Both her parents were there for us to see.

Now it's just a small matter of training her to our ways! Let's hope she does not train us in her ways instead.

Just having my first sleepless night, she does love to play, then flop's over fast asleep, that's in between weeing everywhere.

Kahl Working In The Chicken Barn

There is a rumour going around that Kahl does not work. lol
So I have set a trap, I invited him to put up a stud wall in our chicken barn, some say his "robotic" (worker) does all the work and Kahl just collects the cash!
See the video and decide for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCDVuAhD17g&layer_token=ab3f4d387b15c800

New Bulgarians.

Today has been another interesting day here in Bulgaria. I was introduced to John and Lil last Thursday, they were looking for a property to start a new life.
I have to thank the Bulgarian estate agents again! This lovely couple were going out to view properties with an un named agent. After a disastrous day seeing 9 houses and not seeing anything suitable because the agents did not listen to thier requirements!
I was asked to find properties to view, we saw 4 properties. I was informed that I would find the right one or Lilian would be getting on the plane home crying, but not before killing me!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway the good news is that I am still alive and they have a great new home. This will be ready for them to move into around the first week in May.
I am relieved, I can now relax. Thank god!!!!!
Thanks John and Lil for making this week a nice interesting one.

Resen in February 2009

This picture shows our walnut tree in our driveway.

I left Resen on the 19th February to fly over to England to drive back a car I purchased in January. At Sofia airport there was about an inch of snow which delayed the flight by around 45 mins.

Luton was dry but chilly, no other problems there. I was shopping in Asda Swindon by 6pm that evening. Armed with several shopping lists from friends.

Friday and Saturday were spent still shopping, the car was now going to be very full leaving England!

The drive over was smooth and the roads very clear. Although there was a lot of snow on the road sides. Romania was minus 14.5 when we left there. The snow soon petered out, so the driving was much easier, especially when we hit the dual carriageway!

Just as we crossed into Bulgaria from Romania, the weather changed, we could see snow everywhere, and it had been there a while. Still the roads were clear, this was a surprise to me.

Back at home the house and garden was covered in about a foot or so of snow.

Sally had been very helpful along with Shane they cleared the inside of the gates and made it easy to get the car in.

Tomorrow, Friday, the car is going to get it's Bulgarian plates etc. This should cost somewhere in the region of 700 Lev, including the insurance, tax, MOT, and plates, but it will take all day to do. But it will make the car legal which is very important for me.

New Idea

I am going to share my idea for my blog with you. In doing this it will motivate me to get on with it!
So in future when you check out the properties I have listed for sale you will be able to................................................................
Oh! Just remembered, there are estate agents checking my blogsite for ideas!
So you will all have to wait and see MY idea!

At this point I would also like to make it known how nice it is to have new client's, who then go on to become good friends.
Old client's coming in March, now they are new friends. Here's looking forward to a great summer with plenty of BBQ's.........................who's got the sauce?

England trip!

Well, we are back from 10 days back in the UK!
We hear a lot about how bad things are over there, but nothing prepared us for what we found!
Every where has a sale, people losing thier jobs, others laid off etc etc etc.
Am I glad we live here in Bulgaria where life is so much easier and relaxed. Not having a mortgage is everyones dream. Bulgaria still offers this possibility.
If your considering moving here my advice is, rent out your property and get here as fast as you can. Then you have security in the UK when the property values go up again, but also a comfort blanket if you decide that Bulgaria is not the place to be, you can go home, nothing lost.
What was a big surprise was that it was much colder there than here at home. Resen was getting 20 degrees with sun and cloudless skies. While in Swindon it was around zero and snow, ice and rain.
Bulgaria may well be 50 years behind the UK, but there is no credit crunch here. Come and see.

Weather

January the 20th!
14 degrees and bright sunshine!
How is the weather where you are?
We have snow on the ground, not much left now, bright clear skies.
Spring is coming. Then Summer and BBQ's with friends.
Oh what a life.
Wish you were here?
Then make the move and come on over, the living is cheap, food and beer at least half UK prices.
Do not let Bulgaria pass you by, invest now while there is still time.
I know many people will say to me later "why did we not move earlier?"
Well must go, time to collect the fresh eggs from the chickens, wash the car and have a beer in the local bar. 75p an pint, I'll have 2!!!!!!!

Christmas and New Year

Well, xmas and the new year have come and gone!
It was easier this year, last year we missed our daughter and family, but the second one is easier. Although we still missed everyone, we were able to talk to them on the phone.
Christmas day we were due to have a friend for the day, but she had to cancel xmas morning, so we had to manage all the food ourselves, what pig's!
Boxing day, Kahl and Pat came for dinner, it was nice to be able to spend time with friends. The next day we went to another friends house, Bruce and Shirley made us welcome along with some other friends and fed us.
The Sunday Sally was in agony with tooth ache so we stayed in, then she went to the dentist to start treatment for an abscess! Very painful......
New years eve, we had a few friends around our house and let in the new year. Sally made a buffet and I served drinks.
Now it is time to start thinking about our trip back to Swindon at the end of the month. Booking event ticket's, hotel rooms and sorting out a car.
Keep watching this site for updates.