Cool Room Project - A-Team to the Rescue!

Last summer we found the house downstairs pleasantly cool most of the time, and on the hottest of days the little room sandwiched between the two storerooms maintained a pleasant and pretty much constant temperature of around 22 degrees so it was there that we ended up eating most of our meals. It seemed logical that this room should be sorted out to become a functional dining room or additional sleeping space when needed so that has been one of our priorities lately. The room had originally been used as a kitchen and there were tiles on some parts of the walls and a large ceramic sink that needed to be taken out. I started doing some of the easier bits but taking out the sink by myself seemed pretty daunting. Also, on closer inspection of the floor it was discovered that lurking under the carpeting was an almost totally rotten wooden floor that would definitely need replacing and that kind of job is completely out of my realm of experience. Dithering around for a few days and wondering just what to do next, our good friends Lisa and Ewan came up with a plan: like my own personal guardian angels they organized their very own A-team! First of all Ewan came over and took out the sink, took a professional look at the floor and made up a list of materials needed to tackle the job. On Lisa's next trip to Popovo she brought over all the materials: wooden batons, flooring panels, sand, undercoat, nails... And then just to pull the whole thing off they arranged for Chris (their volunteer), their friend Molly and her mum Liz to come over and do a full day's work. In addition Kathy let us have our volunteer Ben back for the day. What a team! To say that it gave the project a push is an understatement. It was really fun and although the job is still not finished it is definitely at a stage where I can carry on single-handed. Since the guys were busy tackling the flooring the gals got up on the roof of what is to be our summer kitchen. This small outbuilding has suffered some serious rain damage and needs to be pretty much dismantled and rebuilt.... another project which I shall write about in my next post.

Water fun with the kids

At this week's arts and crafts session the kids used sticks, corn stalks, wool and strips of old T-shirts to create Mexican eye and cobweb-like wall decorations. Afterwards they chilled off in the paddling pool and it quickly evolved into one big water fight - enjoyed by all. Since none of them came expecting to get totally soaked we sent them all home wearing various old clothes of Lielle - a motley crew indeed!

Volunteering

It's taken me a while, but I have come to the conclusion that to really push forward with our project here and get things done I need volunteers, in fact that is how I discovered the village in the first place when I volunteered here three years ago. So, just over a week ago I took the plunge and signed up with helpx and workaway as a host and am already feeling the benefits!

With help from our first volunteer Ben we have almost finished the mud-plastering project in the cool room and are even hoping to have laid a new floor there by the end of the week. He also helped us sort out the hayloft which is now being used by Lielle and friends as a den. But the best fun of all was having Ben and a couple of other local volunteers join us for our weekly arts & crafts / sports fun earlier today with our regular small group of local children. They joined in enthusiastically with the "capture the flag" challenge and the kids just loved them.

Siren blasts

Yesterday at midday the sound of birdsong was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a siren blasting. If this had happened in Israel we would probably have been running for the nearest bomb shelter, but here in Voditsa it simply aroused our curiosity, so off we went to Baba Tzonka to find out what it meant. It turns out that June 2nd is Hristo Botev day, commemorating the death of the Bulgarian revolutionary hero of that name. A minute's silence is observed throughout the country as a sign of respect as people stand to honor the memory of those who have given their lives serving the country (not unlike our own Remembrance Day which was observed a few weeks ago). Baba proceeded to sing us one of the patriotic songs associated with the day and strangely enough it was the one that our neighbor Dancho had taught us the night before (we had been talking about army service and he remembered it as one of the songs the soldiers sung on their way to the dining hall) - so we were able to join in, a bit. Later in the day Baba popped over to help me plant some pepper seedlings and sang us yet another patriotic song ... you can check them out in the video clip!

Children's Activity Sessions

One of the things that we are most excited about doing here in the village is organizing various activities for the local children. We get a lot out of it too as it helps us with learning Bulgarian and gives Lielle interaction with other children. At the moment we are doing it once a week, and hopefully once the school summer holiday begins in a few weeks time, we shall be able to extend it to twice a week and also make it available to a larger group of children.

Each Sunday afternoon a friend from the neighboring village of Osikovo drives over in her horse and cart together with 6 children ranging in age from 4 - 12. We spend around 3 hours together, usually starting off indoors with various craft activities, and then after a break for a simple snack, we play some kind of game.

This week, after showing them our new chickens, we headed indoors to do some artwork combining oil pastels with water colors for some interesting effects. After the break we headed down to the nearby spring where we let off steam with a water and sponge relay race which was great fun. Other things we've done in the past are tissue paper flowers, making martenitsi and working with salt dough.

We are always interested in ideas for new activities and welcome anyone who has skills to share or who can provide materials.

Creatures in the Garden

As the meadows and gardens fill with flowers butterflies of all colors are suddenly everywhere. There are many different types of spiders too in the garden - this beautiful green one blends in perfectly with its leafy background.
But the thing that has fascinated me most this past week is watching a couple of swallows who have been busy building their muddy nest in the rafters of our barn. It looks as though they have almost finished so hopefully they will soon be laying their eggs and we shall be able to follow their progress.

Garden Update - End of Week 3

We left this one sorrel plant in the garden just to see what it would grow into - and just look at the size of it - about two and a half meters high - and it was barely up to my knees when we arrived three weeks ago!

Almost every day over the last two weeks has brought morning sun and afternoon showers - a combination that has led to amazing growth in the garden, though as I write this we are in the middle of a hail storm - not quite so good for some of the little seedlings out there :-(

The lilac bush and apple tree have already lost their blossoms but other things are taking their place: the strawberries are in flower and beginning to produce their little fruits, as are the grape vines. The seeds planted a fortnight ago have germinated: radishes are in the lead with the chard in second place and the tomatoes and cucumbers not far behind. The sunflowers are growing taller before our very eyes - about 10 cm a week!

Just behind the house we have another small plot of land and this is the first year that we are working it. Our neighbors kindly planted it with corn, beans and potatoes while we were in Israel in April. It's fun working out there as it adjoins our neighbors' plots and give us chance for a chat and to see how they do things. Each time I'm out there I pick up a few more tips so lots of practical learning going on here.