It's a new day and I have returned to my blog - AND I found the lost photos. I guess when I saved the new photos to the draft file, the whole page went. So as usual, lack of understanding led to frustration.
Now here's some info that goes along with the newer photos. Sunday is "Pazaar" day here (yes with a P). People come and set up booths for what they sell - clothes - new and second-hand, shoes, veggies and fruit from the garden (or Turkey - where it's warmer and foods are ripe there that are not yet ripe here), live chickens, second hand hardware, plants, sheets. It is a mini flea-market. But it has purpose. A lot of people who live in villages don't have cars which means they have to travel by bus to the bigger towns to shop (or go with a friend who has a car). A trip on the bus with a fan, mop and large bag of household items is no fun. So these pazaars bring a fresh supply of things to the village every weekend.
Last Sunday I bought sandals, a geranium and pot, and veggies. This week I bought a pair of lightweight pants and blankets. Guess what size pants I wear here in Bulgaria - size 50! The way I've seen most people shop is by holding an item up to see if they think it'll fit. That's what I did - good guess Patricia. Then I bought 4 lightweight blankets - two for the kitchen and two for chairs in my bedroom. I'm trying to eliminate the smell of cigarette smoke - it's almost gone.
In the kitchen photos - I also have an heirloom tomato. It was the first time I saw them in Bulgaria, and yes they are about 3 times as expensive as "normal" tomatoes. I won't buy many but boy did it taste good! It won't be long before garden tomatoes are ripe here and this village is famous for their awesome tomatoes. Yeah - bring 'em on! On the kitchen table are the ingredients for a salad made daily during the summer - cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic (fresh stalks of garlic usually), onion and sirene (sear-ah-nay) which is Bulgarian feta. Then toss with vinegar and oil (sunflower, of course). I'm loving it....fresh, clean and cooling.
Also, you can see the new kitchen seat coverings (blankets) - I'm not extremely excited about the design but they are fresh. My landlord came by this week and cut about 3 inches off the legs of the kitchen table which I'm grateful for. My chin no longer rests next to my plate when I'm sitting down.
I don't think I mentioned this before, but another thing I wanted to make my new home more comfortable was a bottom sheet with elastic borders for my bed. When I moved in there was a new sheet and duvet cover waiting for me, which I thought was a very kind gesture. I don’t know if they commonly use sheets with elastic here – usually it’s just a flat sheet over the mattress, tucked in. That didn’t work for me very well, because they came un-tucked easily and I got all caught up in them every night. Good news – I found sheets in Veliko Turnovo. I bought one and brought it home – yeah, home sweet bed…..almost. As I reached down to lift the corner of the mattress – it didn’t move. Apparently the mattress is bolted to the frame. Hmmm. Well my answer is to tuck in the elastic as far as I can and kind of shove around the corner. Not ideal, but it’s working. I’m so happy!
Another photo shows my laundry system. I’m doing my laundry by hand. Whites first, then colors, then darks. Soap, water and clothes go in a small tub and soak for a while. Then I scrub them, squeeze them out and put them in the larger tub of clean water. Swish them around a bit, squeeze them out and put them in another tub of rinse water. Of course it’s easy to pour the tub of old rinse water right on the bathroom floor and fill it again with the shower head. :>) While they are still quite wet, I hang them on the line on the balcony (what am I going to do in winter when there is 2 feet of snow out there?). Being saturated with water, helps the wrinkles, hang out. Of course, the weight of the water also helps my 100% cotton items stretch into interesting shapes. Then I repeat the process for the colors and darks. Ahhh, the good ol’ days.
Then there are photos of the fields around the village…..sooooo beautiful. The sunflowers are peaking and they are spectacular. Today I was on the bus to one of my other villages and the view was astounding – so many fields with bright, smiling, sunflower faces. I love it!!! Also growing in the local fields are hay, wheat and corn.
I think that’s about it for now. Time to study Bulgarian!
No comments:
Post a Comment