St George's Day

Baaaaaa...

For Gergiofden (6th May) each family kills a lamb in remembrance of St Gorge slaying the evil dragon.

Quote of the day: "Shall we warm up the brain and the liver for dinner?"

The neighbours gave us part of the brain and the liver to say thank you for helping out with skinning and dismembering the lamb.

That evening after gardening we were short on time so for Raphael's dinner we prepared some mashed brain and liver with a bit of hot water and crushed bread. He absolutely loved it.  As usual the spoon was chasing his mouth as he played with toy after toy on his eating chair. And as usual some of the meal landed on his bib.

The funniest thing is that when we pulled the bib off Rafski's head he had pieces of liver and brain all over his face and hair. It was a scene straight out of Pulp Fiction. We had to wash him and pick out the pieces one by one before putting him to bed.

Body worlds

 R.I.P

After a hard day's work in front of the computer there's nothing like skinning a lamb to help out our neighbours. The lambs were just a few days old when we first moved in. They chose the biggest. And then there were three...

Evening stroll

We took Raphael for an evening stroll in the baby-cross buggy. He passed out to the sound of the humming bees and sheeps bells.

La vache

Anti-social cow

You would think that it is only in big cities where over pampered pets become problematic and fussy. Well not really. Here too there are problems with some animals. This cow for example does not like to eat grass with other cows. But does not like to be on its own without someone taking care of her. She also has horned feet. Maybe the other cows make fun of her.....

But unlike the fussy pussies in big cities here problematic animals get the chop. She has been marked for meat. 

Fresh

"The June grass, amongst which I stood, was taller than I was, and I wept. I had never been so close to grass before. It towered above me and all around me, each blade tattooed with tiger-skins of sunlight. It was knife-edged, dark, and a wicked green, thick as a forest and alive with grasshoppers that chirped and chattered and leapt though the air like monkeys. I was lost and didn't know where to move. A tropic heat oozed up from the ground, rank with sharp odours of roots and nettles. Snow-clouds of elder-blossom banked in the sky, showering upon me the fumes and flakes of their sweet and giddy suffocation. High overhead ran frenzied larks, screaming, as though the sky were tearing apart."

Laurie Lee.

Cider with Rosie

Raphael is so lucky to discover the scents and texture of nature

Our first Stotinki

Varen gurem

Thanks to Raphael we made our first money. It was about time. We sold some his clothes at the local market in Troyan. Designer labels from London: George, Next and Gap.

Mariya slapped the first bills she earned across her chin to bring good luck.

By comparison with our neighbours we made a killing.

Thanks Rafski!

Secret paths

The mountain is riddled with secret paths and roads that have been absorbed by the forest. We've discovered fresh water streams with cascades of water and small jacusi-size pools.

Mountain hide-aways

Plum trees in bloom

In the mountains around Apriltsy there are many hidden meadows with fantastic panoramic views of Mount Botev and Maragidik.

Life

Love

Sometimes you ask yourself the question. But why ask yourself the question?

Morning run

We've started running in the morning. 

We shoot off from the house and take to the mountains. The scent of the apple blossom and the mist around the tree-tops is mesmerizing. We catch a glimpse of deer and we can hear wild boars in the woods....

  

9 months old

Why is this so difficult?

Raphael, aka Rafski the granny killer, has reached his ninth month. He is crawling. He has the rage to walk and can stand up on his own for a few moments. He is big, strong and healthy, hurrah!

He has eaten everything from plugs to cables to flowers, dirt and poo (we weren't sure if it was chicken shit or sheep shit) and probably many more things we didn't see. He's loving the garden, mountain walks and fresh air.

And we feel good seeing him grow up in the grass with naked feet and a cheeky smile.

Afternoon snack

I'm tied up right now...

Trust the mum with a rubber galoche fetish to give us a son with  rubber wire fetish.

Reaping our harvest

 And the first fruits of our harvest were the fresh garlic and spring onions.

Y'a du soleil

And the rain stopped. And the trees blossomed.

Les champions

We reached the source of the river

The map at the bottom of the path said it would take 6 hours to do 12 kilometres. We did it in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Vidima River

We went to find the source of the Vidima river

Lutenitsa

Daddy or Lutenitsa?

A slice of home-made bread with a thick dollop of Lutenitsa and some white Sirene cheese on top. Mmmm! It makes da pikanik tasteee.

A rich tomato paste with small chunks of roasted vegetables.

The empty week

Home growing

And we tilled the ground by hand till the earth was light and fluffy. We planted all manner of vegetables and flowers. And it rained....

And the garlic and onion started coming out. The neighbour gave us some salads. The carrots popped up and we waited.

For one week after Easter we could not plant anything. It was the Empty Week. It rained and rained a bit more.

Yachting

Farewell, mummy...

Rafski makes his adieux before sailing across the living room floor in a plastic tub.

Driving

 Rafski and cars

Rafski loves driving. He is in awe when we take on our lap in the driver's seat to do a u-turn down the road. As soon as we put him in back seat he sleeps so peacefully. Maybe he remembers the campervan journey.

So when we went on a mission to the supermarket he felt so proud to be able to sit in the trolley. We know what he wants for his birthday... We'll just borrow the trolley.

Climbing

I'll get there...

When we started climbing with Mariya at the indoor wall in Mile End we were desperate to make progress and reach the next level of difficulty. But we never had a rage like Rafi's. He is angry and he wants to walk. He'll grab onto anything to pull himself up. He'll use hands, feet and his jaw if it helps. 

Go Rafi, we love the rage!