Tuesday 30th October

Almost November, yet here in Gostilitsa the temperatures are up in the mid twenties and shorts and vest tops are still the go to items of clothing. I know it won't last forever but it's gorgeous while it does.

The veggie garden is still flourishing, and although some of the plants are coming to the end of their season I'm still picking peppers, courgettes, aubergines and the odd tomato. The winter veggies are all doing well and I'm especially happy to see some of the swedes are nice and fat as it's the first time I've grown them. The warm weather means the butterflies are still very active though, so I've been keeping the various cabbages tucked away under netting to try and protect them. I bought some flexible plastic water pipe tubing a few weeks ago and also managed to find some huge pieces of net curtain in a second hand shop which together make a pretty decent enclosure, even if it does look like a wagon heading off into the wild west!

You might notice the huge heap of autumn leaves in between the raised beds. Each year the streets get covered in fallen leaves, and people tend to sweep them into little dry heaps and then set fire to them to keep the roads clear. I bring all of mine into the garden and heap them in various places to use as weed free pathways. After a few years they all rot down into some nice mulch which then gets added to the raised beds.

I had to laugh when I removed the okra plants from the raised bed now that they've more or less finished producing pods:

Amazingly they didn't break the little seed pots at all, so I've managed to clip the roots away and salvage them for next year's plants. I did the okra this way because when I first transplanted some into the raised bed they were instantly demolished by slugs/snails, yet for some reason when I planted the whole pot into the bed the same beasties didn't manage to climb over the rim at all. I'm not sure if I'll do okra next year as I wasn't mad keen on them (apart from their pretty star like shape when sliced) but if I do, I might use the pot idea again but put them in the ground so their roots can spread even further.

Before I forget, here's a quick picture of the completed rebuilt fence I was telling you about last time:

Give the guy his due, he came back as soon as I'd bought the roll of wire for holding the mesh taut, and worked through until it was all finished. It's surprisingly sturdy, and hopefully the added drainage pipes will mean the wall will stay firm for a good many years to come. (I know the mesh is ugly, but I can't bring myself to block out my old neighbour. Come the day she's no longer here then I shall cover the mesh in a tidier looking screen of some kind).

When I started this blog I didn't want to sugar-coat the experience of living in Bulgaria, and while I tend to focus on the positives it goes without saying that just because it's nice and sunny outside doesn't necessarily mean I leap out of bed singing and dancing each day. I've always been a bit prone to bouts of depression and self-doubt (as are many) and over a lifetime have developed tried and tested ways of stopping a developing downer in its tracks. Usually things such as spending more time on the things I enjoy - for me these are quiet cosy things like watching a good film, doing puzzles, going for a walk, pottering in the garden, eating tasty food - as well as reminding myself that the sad feelings never last forever. At the same time I have to try and make an effort not to isolate myself, though this can be the hardest challenge of all. I don't function well in a lot of social settings at the best of times (the ability to chatter, or even be able to pick the moment when there will be a pause so I can comment are mind-blowing Everest like skills to me requiring full on effort), and the bigger and noisier the setting the more I want to be a little tortoise and hide in my shell. So, add this to the weight of fighting off weepy sorrow and I can find myself returning home from some gatherings feeling quite the failure. Crikey - I didn't mean to waffle on so, and don't worry, as unpleasant as these moods may be (and the reason I mentioned it in the first place is that this particular downer seems to be sticking around for longer than usual) I do know that they will eventually move on, so I'm not sitting here Googling for a Bulgarian equivalent of the Samaritans! No, I think I just wanted to mention it as people can sometimes feel guilty for feeling bad - look at all the good things you have: your own home, money, lovely weather - what on earth have you got to complain about? It doesn't work like that; the setting may change but who we are deep inside doesn't. Be kind to yourself!

Enough of the therapy session! It's almost Halloween, and on Saturday I attended a village party in Kereka where I take dance lessons. The main reason I went was that our dance group were performing during the evening, but having said that, it was a very entertaining evening and I enjoyed it a lot (you can gather from the previous paragraph that it wasn't all intense and shouty!). Here's a photo of our dance group at one of the practices, but if you click it hopefully it will take you to a Facebook video posted by someone else who was at the event.

That's me at back in the pink trousers staring at my neighbour's feet. In the video I'm at the front of stage in a black waistcoat (pirate outfit!)

And in time for tomorrow night, here's my pumpkin, all ready for its candle and position on the wall outside.