House & renovations
49. Progress update – November 2011
Rob has been lime plastering downstairs for what feels like forever - I’m amazed at his patience in what is a really dirty and time-consuming job. The bathroom is all plastered now and the beams have been painted. It’s beautiful and rustic, a bit like washing in a...
45. Progress update
This is a bit of a mammoth post but I’m aware I haven’t spoken about the house much lately. So, here’s a tour of the house in its current state and a report on our progress... Upstairs we’ve got three bedrooms. One will eventually be my study but it needs tons of...
42. A brief update on our adventures
Gosh, it’s been a while since I was last in touch. Sorry. Three weeks ago we drove from the UK out to Bulgaria with a car full of stuff, breezing through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece and finally Bulgaria. We stopped along the way – one night in...
41. And we’re off…
Our car is not this small. But almost. In a few days we’re loading up our tiny car and driving to Bulgaria! We’ve packed some essentials to take with us: two boxes of kitchen gear; two suitcases of clothes; computer; bedding and towels; some books (Bulgarian...
39. A quote from the builders
Some basic plumbing going in. We got Natchko and his sidekick in to quote for the renovations. We asked them to quote for absolutely everything with a view to prioritising key jobs once we got the quote. Boy did they quote for everything: taking all plaster...
38. Bob The Builder (can he fix it?)
In our ‘kitchen’ (I use the term loosely) was this weird little wall built around the sink area. We were going to get the builder to remove it but, well, we got a little carried away and decided to knock it down ourselves. We had a few tools left in the house,...
35. Camping out at our house
For all you naysayers who thought I’d only make it a night or two without my creature comforts: I am delighted to inform you we did the full 8 nights at our house. In your face, naysayers! That’s right, 8 days and nights peeing in a bucket, washing in a bucket...
34. Making a list, and checking it twice
Very excited to be heading off to Bulgaria next week. We’ll be there for 10 nights, mostly staying at our house, and I can’t wait to see it again. Currently, the temperature is about the same as the UK, maybe a couple of degrees cooler. But I’m...
33. Comparing notes!
Our basic 'kitchen'. Last weekend we met up with some friends who also have a house in Bulgaria. With us still being in the UK, working and saving, sometimes the Bulgarian dream seems a long way off. So it was lovely to swap photos and stories with...
31. Booked a trip to Bulgaria
We’re heading back to BG for 10 days in mid-May. The plan is to clear out some of the furniture/junk that we don’t want and make some room for work to start. We also want to spend some time with Max and the builder to discuss plans and get a proper...
29. Don’t fear the taxman
Picture the scene: it’s 8.30 on a Friday morning. I have just arrived at work and am checking my emails. I have a friendly email from Costa offering me a free coffee – hurrah, what a lovely start to the day. But what’s this next email? Our Bulgarian tax...
27. January: The month in a nutshell
I know, I know. I didn’t write anything for the whole of January. Bad blogger! I blame January sloth, pure and simple. It is a month where I can barely muster the energy to go to work. There just isn’t anything left in the brain tank when I get home....