Angharad Dowse

That damn bird.
It tweeted for the entire night.
I have never heard such a vocal bird, least of all at night.
We didn't sleep well because of it at got up 9:45.
Johanna had bought us *insert Bulgarian word* from the bakery which is essentially Pastry with feta in it.
As promised the little old lady had brought over sheep milk.
In theory there was nothing wrong with it. It had the same texture as cow milk and tasted similarly enough (it had a stronger kick) but something in my mind was rejecting the thought of drinking juice from a sheep. Illogical but eh.
I did finish my glass like a boss though. Just don't want anymore thanks.
I borrowed a pair of rain pains and we all got to work in the yard de-weeding with the hoes. My hands are much better today but still hurt when I stop.
It was more challenging than yesterday because it required even more concentration. And the dirt had tiles littered underneath so it was harder.
We cleared a Large section of the garden though. Will wandered off and started clearing the grass near our tent to make it easier to get in.
One of the plants bled fluro orange which was weird.
Next up was a supper crappy job.
We got told that there was a path to the out house but it was hidden by inches of dirt.
This took agesss and really hurt both of our backs. I think Will was so put out by the job because it could be done with a high pressure hose and would be 10 times faster but I tried to remind him that that is a privilege and not a norm.
We did manage to clear the path though so I'm feeling pretty proud of our achievement. Looks good but once it rains and cleans it a bit it will look better.
We then had a break and sat around for a bit which felt awesome haha. I was feeling quite cold because my sweat made me wet -.-
We then went over to the little ladies house (Baba Penka) to return the sheep milk and see her animals.
(Baba is Grandma in Bulgarian.) except she wasn't home. We popped up the road to see if Wills boots had been delivered but they hadn't..
so we drove 7km to the next village to get some groceries. The next village is more established.

I've been seeing random coffee machines in the middle of random streets which is bizarre considering the neighborhood.

Some of the scenery on the way was beautiful.
The black cat that Johanna claims isn't hers but lives at her house anyway was less scared of me today. :) I've named it Pedro :)
I then had another nap in the yard while Will watched a movie in the tent.
I tried to nap there but I couldn't stand the heat.
I woke up to Johanna working in the garden. Not sure if she expected help so I felt awkward.
We tried baba Penkas again and this time she was home. She had set the table for dinner for us so I'm so thankful we went over again because I hate thinking of the little old ladies broken heart when her guests don't show up :( even though we didn't know we had been invited to dinner... that got lost in the translation - Johanna isn't fluent in Bulgarian, she can get by though.
Even though it didn't happen and we went, my heart hurts thinking of her sitting at the table alone with a big pile of food that she probably can't afford to give to us..
THANK GOD WE WENT.
She is too cute.
She is missing all her teeth except 2 on the side.
She had a heart attack a few years ago and has recently started talking about her death a lot which is awkward especially when her message gets translated to you.
She is so funny, she looks you straight in the eye and talks and talks even though you have zero idea what she is saying.
Her husband was at the lake with the sheep so we went down to visit.
At first we could only see him sitting on a chair, asleep with no sign of the sheep.
We thought he was going to have his ass handed to him.. hahaha but they were just grazing over a Hill.
There were cows grazing too.
THE SHEEP HAD TAILS. I HAVE NEVER SEEN THAT AND IT LOOKED SO WEIRD.
We walked down to the lake and I felt the water. It was a little too cold to swim in but not Icey.
The lake is artificial and was created in the 60's - there use to be a village there.
It was stunning. I took so many photos.
Lots of cow pats and random shells everywhere.
It's unfortunate but a lot of people don't pick up their rubbish..
A man was fishing too but he shouldn't have been. It's currently illegal because they have to let the supply replenish. You can in June I think.
No one said anything to him though.
I've noticed on every house there are signs that look like missing person posters - today we asked what they were and they are signs in remembrance to the dead and they say along the lines of "this person died 2 years ago, please pray" and they update them as time goes on.
They have been everywhere in Bulgaria but more common in the village. It's Bulgarian tradition to do so.
We walked back to Baba Penkas and looked at her animals. She has rabbits and I was horrified when she picked it up by the ears. It started kicking so I took it off her and held it properly.
They all had the creepy red eyes and their cage was filthy because the son normally cleans it but he is away.
She also has turkeys and chickens and they didn't look well cared for either. I'm hoping the bleeding bits on the rooster was from a fight and not from small scratches that have festered but I doubt it.
She has a cat that she claims to not feed but fed it a lot when we were there. The weirdo ate bread and a tomato.
The cat has 4 kittens which we saw also. I felt so bad for them :( I don't know how there life will turn out but it doesn't look promising and the mum cat didn't show them any interest.
We were served chicken stew which was really salty and Baba kept apologizing but it tasted fine.
I wasn't fussed by the actual chicken part.
I fed the cat a little too.
Baba kicked the cat once to get it away from food but I winced.
I carried the cat to safety haha. It was a bit mangy but purred loudly when I scratched it.
When eating, the trick is to leave your plate full or it gets refilled. She complained I didn't eat anything but refilled my bowl 5 times?!
We then Walked back to the boot store - they had arrived and fitted so we carried them home.
We made comment to Johanna after our walk the other day that people are suspicious of us and run into there homes. She commented that she now she's what we mean. Many people evacuated the area haha.
We played big 2 again. I lost for a while again but then got on a winning streak :D
We also taught Johanna go fish and while Will had a shower me and Johanna played a game similar to speed.
We are now in the tent - I hate it. I'd rather sleep on a flat floor that on a mattress because because of the weight difference it doesn't accommodate for my movements well. It's like being double bounced on a trampoline.

We chatted to Johanna a lot more today. It's becoming easier.
Danny will arrive tomorrow which I'm happy about - more conversation opportunities.

Will finally went potty.
What a big boy. :)

We saw 3 Woodpeckers today which was kinda cool.

That's fucking bird is back... it's 11:14
D:Weiterlesen

At about 3 am we both woke up to the noise of a humongous truck FLYING through the village streets.
Apparently truckers use it from Turkey to Romania to avoids inspections but wow it was loud!
We woke up at 6 to the sound of so many birds chirping. It was peaceful.
We got out of the tent at 9.
I needed to pee all night but I pushed through - I didnt want to go out in the wet.
Breakfast was fancy. Well not overly but I thought so.
It was fresh porridge with cooked cranberry and apple on top with a smashed banana underneath.
For my first porridge experience I quite liked it. Will did not.
The fruit and honey I added made it better.
I also had a tea. I'm liking the tea variety I've had here. I'll definitely be hitting up T2 when home.
There is a rooster and he doesn't shut up but you can also hear dogs barking and sheep.
We got ready, meaning brushed our teeth in the garden, put on our sunscreen (turns out Will bought FOUNDATION with sunscreen in it -HAHAHAHAHAH he looked beautiful <3 hehehe)
and I put on a pair of borrowed gum boots. Our first stop was to the local "hardware store" to see if hey had boots in Wills size. They didn't but they are going to order some in for him and they will be here tomorrow.
We then went to the rose fields. We put on gloves and had a hoe each.
Will was seriously impressive. Even Johanna said she had never seen anyone so quick.
His head nearly exploded.
Thank god he was there though or the 2 rows would have taken me all week.
I was slow at first but did pick up the pace eventually once I got use to the blister feeling on my hand (which I hate) but I was still slow in comparison..
I managed to kill 1.5 rose bushes..
The first one may survive so that's good because I pulled out the whole plant but the root survived but the second time I felt horrible and wanted to go cry in the car.
It's there favourite field because it's the only field with white roses so they are extra special....
The second time I just wasn't concentrating because I was in a rhythm and chopped it in half then pulled out the rose with my hands while Johanna yelled "that's the rose"
Oh god. It was not good.
I knew she was upset/mad but she hid it well and pretended it was ok which I appreciated. I felt horrible. Will just laughed at me.
*** (written by William) ***But after he had finished some of his row he can back and helped me with mine. Will is the best couldn't ask for a better boyfriend plus he's super good looking which is a bonus. All I ever do is sleep must be because I'm a big stupid head. *****

I can't believe I ripped out a rose bush with my bare hands...
Anyway I tried extra hard after that. Johanna went ahead and cleaned around the roses to make it obvious for me..
My blisters felt fine once I stretched them a bit. I just hate the initial felling of tight skin. Neither popped so that's good.
Thanks to Will we finished in under 3 hours woo!

Basically we had to get rid of he ridiculous amount of weeds strangling the roses.
There were so many creepy crawlies in the soil.
Heaps of awesomely camouflaged spiders and millipede type things - and worms. But if I saw a worm I moved it out of harms way of being chopped..
probably why I took longer... hahahah
Johanna took a video of us hoeing which I appreciated :)
We then went back to the house and I had a lie down in the beautiful garden. It's full of insects but they leave you alone and I'm not worried cause there harmless in comparison to the potential garden friends of Australia.
There was lady beetles, butterflies, bees of all sizes, ants and beetle types I didn't recognize.
Johanna put down a picnic rug for me to lie in the sun on.
After a small while Johanna made us lunch. We had shopska salad and Will had a ham and cheese sandwich. Despite what he may think, he is the fussy one.
Afterwards we went for a quick walk around the village - or rather around the block.
People were so suspicious. One lady took her baby inside and left the pram on the street. She had this look of alarm. Lol.
As I've mentioned, I love villages.
Will then had a siesta but I found the tent too hot so I had a shower in the dodgy tub then discovered I was out of clothes so I did 3 loads of washing. Apparently the washing machine will be functional in 3-4 days can't wait.
It was difficult to do in the garden because the floor was muddy so the scrubba got muddy but I managed. I hung them on the line and they should dry quickly because it's very hot.
I then had a sleep on the picnic rug. Wonderful.
I then successfully used the outhouse woo!
Me and Will were having a comp who would go first - #winner
I emailed dad, Helen and Jess to say we would have no internet - I tapped into the wifi on Johanna's phone.
Dinner time - it was spag bowl yessss!
Sooo good.
We then played cards - big 2.
About 15 rounds and I didn't win once which was bullshit.
During our game of cards one of Danny's distant relatives came for a visit - apparently she just lets herself in 3 times a day. lol
She was so small. Will was sitting in a chair and was still taller than her. Might try get a photo next to her too. Hehe
She came to offer cucumbers but Johanna planted some in the garden today so she went for a look. She is going to bring us some sheep milk for tomorrow. Didn't even realise that was thing.
Hopefully we get to go to her house cause she has some animals I can play with. :D

Time for another scheduled sleep.
It's a sleep in tomorrow - we can get up at 9 :D..

Wills toenails are ridiculous- he cut them today for the 5th time since we left.
I am yet to cut mine.
Outrageous.

It's 10:46pm and there are birds chirping so loudly. What retards it's dark out.Weiterlesen