Wasp Sting

The second day of pain hit home as I was pruning some vines for someone and a lazy wasp came to visit me. I swung a left hook and missed it and the wasp took offence and came back and stung my right forearm. It was back in the house for some antiseptic cream to rub on. It is still sore now some 8 hours after it had happened.

Cabinet Door Strikes

Another painful one today as I was making breakfast in the kitchen. I had taken a cup out of the wall cabinet and moved onto working on making the toast. As I turned around the cabinet door hit my head, it had swung open again and got me!

Mess On The Door Mat

We had left a rubber mat outside the farmhouse front door to wipe out feet on before we enter the house for the first time this year after winter. We had forgot why we didn't leave this there when we are away. A polecat that roams around uses it as a toilet. When we arrived this morning the same thing had happened and it was clean up time and the mat in the washing machine.

Pay Per Post Article For Nothing

I have just spend 30 minutes writing up a Pay Per Post Advertisement and when to register the post for payment only to find that the request for the post had disappeared! This is the first time this has happened and at t time where I just didn't want to waste my time as I had to be on the farm planting more crops this afternoon - Bad timing as well.

Laptop Control Key Fails to Function

Working on the laptop today as normal when I found that my left sided control key didn't work. The laptop is only one year old and still under guarantee, but the is an inherent problem as I bought it in the UK and now live in Bulgaria. I would have to spend wads in postage to get it repaired under the guarantee. Oh wll I'll just have to use the right hand control key from now on.

No Sleep Due to Barking

I had decided to take an hour out after lunch to has a little snooze as I didn't get much sleep last night due to a dog barking all hours. As I lay down the same dog decided that he wasn't going to allow me to get any kip this lunchtime either. After thirty minutes of constant barking I gave up and hope it would give me some peace tonight.

Sugar Waterfall

In a grocer shop this lunchtime for our daily bread but we needed sugar as well. the store had laid out a new stock and the plastic wrapping hadn't been taken off yet. As I began to rip the outer plastic off my finger accidentally pieced one of the bags of sugar and a waterfall of sugar began to pour out all over the floor. As this continued to fall I decided to walk away and get my sugar in another shop.

Rain Again Delays Potato Planting

Two days without rain and the farm land is dry enough to work on as we make out way to the market for seeds and planting stock. After an hour or so we arrive back home for lunch and planned to visit the farm to start planting. The clouds gathered and rain came down again by the time we were ready to go. Another two or three days delay in planting.

Early Stretch and Muscle Strained

I was asked to switch the power on for the boiler as some hot water was needed later in the day. The boiler is in a little corridor alleyway behind the washing machine and you have to reach over the washing machine to turn the switch. Being early in the morning my body wasn't warmed up and I twisted a muscle in my back with the stretch. Not as serious as my previous back injury but I know there are two or three days of pain to put up with.

Apples Galore

Image via Wikipedia

I went shopping for apples this lunchtime and returned home with 3 kg. Moments later Baba walked in she had has also been shopping this morning and brought back and 2 kg of apples as well. We now have 5 kg of apples and looks like we are on an apple diet for the next few days.

Tablet or Ladybird

I had to take a tablet today for an insect bite that got me overnight. the table it was a red, round and shiny as it just slipped out of my index finger and thumbed grip. It rolled under the bed/sofa and it had to be lifted up to get it. I thought I had it, but when I brought the object out it wasn't the tablet, but a dead ladybird. I suppose it would have been even worse luck had I swallowed this.

Noisy Aftershave Tin

Trying to find my socks from the cupboard in the dark is quite hard, I am normally up early as Galia has more rest as she is still recovering from a hospital operation. It is very gingerly that I search trying not to make any noise. Of course within that cupboard is some aftershave in a tin, this was knocked over onto the ceramic floor creating the loudest noise that you could imagine with a metal tin and ceramic impact. Why do I bother trying to keep quiet in the first place?

Flimsy Shopping Bag Liner

Emptying the kitchen waste bin this morning it is usually lined with a flimsy supermarket plastic shopping bag. As the handles were taken up and pulled upwards the bottom split and the contents spilled into the plastic bin. The whole mess had to be bundled into another plastic bag and taken out and the waste bin cleaned out and dried before another liner put in.

All Cisterns Stop

Bad luck just keeps on coming as I rose from bed at 6:50 this morning. Hardly any sleep last night deep in thought for most of it, I knew that today the tiredness would bring on more bad luck, it always does. I didn't have to wait long as the bathroom was visited. The toilet cistern refused to fill up after being flushed so it was out with the tool kit just after 7:00 in the morning trying to fix it. I found that there was nothing wrong with it after having opened the who system up, it just needed an initial firmer push on flushing. What a waste of time and I am now even more tired than before.

Rain For 5 Days

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The plan was for me to get started on the allotment that had been given to me. All the land been ploughed ready to get started and it had been sunny for quite a few days making the ground workable. the alarm was set for an early start, but I was only to find that is was pouring with rain. Looking at the forecast the next five days it is forecast rain every day!

Yoghurt

Image via Wikipedia

It was a day working in the fields of the farmhouse as the sowing of garlic and onions continued on a warm and sunny day. What possibly could go wrong on a day like this? Well it was a hungry Mart who went in for a snack after a few hours. A yoghurt was beckoning me from the fridge ans as I picked it up and about to open it, it slipped out of my hand, the plastic carton split and a floor was spread with yoghurt! Instead of eating it I was mopping git up.

No Change - Big Wait

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I was off to the village farmhouse for some sowing of some more onions and garlic and stopped off at the market bazaar for supplies. Having parked the car right outside the bazaar, I entered the market and looked for the best valued onions and garlic. Once ordered I had to pay only to find that I only had one 50 Lev banknote and the cost came to just over 2 Lev. It was early and no change for this amount was available. It was nearly 30 minutes I had to wait until a customer came along with some change.

Missed Football Due To Computer Problems

Arsenal playing football live on TV this afternoon, I watched the first half then took a break thinking that a simple task on the computer should only take around ten minutes and I would be well in time for the second half. No chance, everything just went pear shaped online. The downloads took ages, the program crashed twice and by the time I had sorted it out (without finishing the task I might add), the second half had already started and I missed a good ten minutes of it. Just to prove this was bad luck, after the match I finally competed the task with no problems ands it only took a few minutes.

Waiting With Just One Loaf Of Bread

Another Friday the Thirteenth for the second month running and the bad luck still continues as normal as I waited to be served for buying a loaf of bread. Standing behind an old lady who was fiddling with payment other customers joined the waiting, but not on a queue. They stood on the other side of the old lady. When she finally moved the other folk got served first and they had lots of shopping to go through. I only had one loaf of bread and had to wait for three people all of whom had more shopping then me. Why was I being ignored by the assistant is a mystery. Perhaps becuase I look English.

One Leva Shop Fails To Deliver

I was sure that I could buy a framed picture stand up of Jesus to take to the hospital for Galia as she was to spend a few nights there and I wanted this to keep her company. The One Lev Shop sells everything really cheap and I pinned my hopes on the biggest One Lev Shop in Yambol. I got there and found out that they only sold Jesus rugs! I went empty handed to the hospital having gambled my assumption on that one shop. No time to go to others and this will have to wait for another day.

Wrong Queue in Chemist

It was off to the chemist for some prescribed drugs, we go to the cheapest one, but then so does everyone else. It was packed out with people queuing, we chose the shortest queue, naturally. 20 minutes later we were still standing in the queue while the other four queues all moved faster than ours. If we had chosen any other queue than the one we decided upon, we would have been waiting half the time.

Boiler Repairs Again And A Mess

This is bad news, the boiler broke down yet again. This was even after it had been repaired recently. We had to get a workman out who spent 4 hours draining the system, cleaning it out and replacing the old element with a new one. We don't know how much it is going to cost, he has gone home to work it out on his computer and will be back witha price tomorrow - More bad luck tomorow by the looks of it. It won't be cheap and he has left a complete mess where he has worked, typical Bulgarian trademark.

Microwave Turntable Doesn't Turn

I was a very baisc form of bad luck this mornign as my banaitsa when into the mocrowave to warm them up. After a 1 minute bust at full blast I took them out to find that the middle of the banitsa was piping hot and both ends were cold. I didnt' understand why until I put my cup of water fro the coffee in the microwave. The turntable didn't turn, it had broken down. Looks like another microwave we have to purchase. The guarantee was for one year, we have had this one for only 18 months!

Wasted Journey

Today we thought it s good idea to drive to the reservoir to see some new apartments that had been built for tourists. As we drove up and then back down the hill and through a little stream we had a problem. The car couldn't get up the bank on the other side, it kept slipping back down into the stream. Our only alternative was to drive back home. A complete waste of time.

Still Damp Field For Onions Sets

Yet another weekend in the Skalitsa Farmhouse, yet another weekend of rain and damp field. The new onions sets had been bought as the last lot had rotted and still no opportunity to plant them out. It has now been six weeks since wanting to get them in the ground.

No Radio Reception

The radio was put in the kitchen today for some music while I was blogging. Somehow the reception was so bad that it couldn't be enjoyed. Whether it is because the wall are about a metre deep and on a lower level that the signal wasn't being picked up or whether this is just down to bad luck again. Such a simple thing to do, put a radio in the kitchen to play music, but it didn't work!

Head Banged On Shop Door Frame

Off to the shops today for just a loaf of bread and I decided to try a different shop for a change as I wanted a little walk for exercise. After about 1 kilometre I arrived at a little shop that sold bread; I entered and banged my head on the door frame that was lower than my height. No warning signs there at all, but then 90% of Bulgarians are shorter than me! It still hurts now and bled for 1 hour.

Spark Plug Change - Rapped Knuckles

New spark plugs for the car today as there has been lots of troble starting it up recently. Spark plugs are easy enough to change and before I even started I knew there was going to be some pain involved and I was right. The twist of the wrench took my knuckles to hit the carburettor and remove a layer of skin! I just don't know why this always happen when changing spark plug.

Muddy Town Clothes

Trying to get back to Yambol and the Lada car just wouldn't start so it was pushing it out onto the road for a bump start downhill. Having just changed into our town clothes we ended up getting all dirty with mud and our footwear caked in the stuff from pushing the car through the muddy road verge. The car did eventually start though form our efforts.

Mildew Onion Sets

A holiday today and tomorrow in Bulgaria so we stay in Skalitsa farmhouse for another couple of days. Having decided to plant some onions sets after being put off with muddy grounds over ther last month I finally get around to doing it only to dicover that all the onions set had gone mildew and rotted! What do you have to do to get onions planted in this world!

Stubbed Toe in The Bathroom

It was another bout of pain as this morning for some reason I didn't have my slippers on to go the toilet. I stubbed my foot on the ceramic tiles that for a step as you enter the bathroom. No blood, just a throbbing toe for the rest of the day and bruising and the pain that comes with that for quite a few days after.