7:30 and found myself awake to what felt like a lie in but I had a bit of a throbbing head for not going to bed until 2:00 after talking to Jane for another hour or so, I can’t keep doing this.It was very hot in my room last night, in fact all the Galileo glass balls were down which meant it was over 28 degrees, but is was hotter than that, the candles on top of the bookshelf melted, now that’s how good a wood burner can be with clean vents!It was a hot room last nightThis morning a noise started on the roof and I couldn’t make it out, was it that critter? No it was actually raining, I’d forgot what it sounded like when it rained as we’ve had none for at least 2 months, it’s been too cold. It was short lived an hour later the sun came through and a lovely day beckoned.Got the milk from Nasco and met Sacho with a Christmas carrier bag coming down the hill, off to the shop no doubt. I went on back home and had to get the Saturday morning cleaning done before 9:00 when I was meant to go to Sacho’s house! As I was getting a cup of water in the kitchen what did I see coming up the hill? Sancho struggling with a car wheel, he came to me with it put it on the floor and gushes of water started pouring out of it. He explained that he got it from under some snow and all it needs is the valve to be fixed and it will be okay. I looked at it again, the whole tyre was full of water, it weighed a ton and he’d carried it all the way up the hill. We got rid of most of the water and the result, a much lighter wheel. The valve had no inners but the tyre looked okay although it was a 155 and the lada took 165, I didn’t have the heart to tell him. So this is what he meant by sorting my wheel problem out. Well I still have to find a garage to set up the wheel and take a risk of driving without a spare. I’d better make sure I carry my mobile phone this time.Well no sooner than finishing the last paragraph Sacho returned. He had with him his tyre changing tools, two levers a wheel nut spanner. Now I should have known that he just wouldn’t leave me with a dumped tyre to take to Yambol. This man was going to take the tyre off and put it on the ruined rim.Sasho working hard manually, doing it the Bulgarian wayWell we began and just like the door of the stable when I first met this man, he was full of patience and cunning, the time was 9:45 and the amount of physical effort taken to take a tyre off the rim is something bordering on the Olympian scale. Puffing and panting, resting, starting again and finally after some 20 minutes the tyre was off, the inner tube looked okay so these were planned to be put on the rim from the lada. This was a situation I was totally unaccustomed to, ask we talked I explained that no one in the UK changes their own tyres it is all done by garages, he insisted we do it the Bulgarian way and scorned me for considering taking it to Yambol to get fixed!The task was getting more complicated, the lada’s un-repairable tyre was taken off to find inside an inner tube with a gash of six inches, it also had been mended with rubber patches four times, this was indeed an ‘old tyre’ as Sasho commented putting his finger right through the side wall of the tyre! Ne problem with this new found tyre and inner tube according to Sasho though. I spent most of my time looking at the scab that had now formed on the top of his head where he scrapped it on my summer house entrance shelter, as he was continuously leaning over the tyre and inner tube.As we endeavoured to solve this problem there were quite a few pig slaughtering happening today, well, it’s Saturday, it very warm and sunny now and in a couple of week new stocks of pig arrive, no wonder the air is full of squealing pigs. I am now just wearing a short sleeved shirt it is so warm out and the flies are becoming a pain.Back to the wheel, problem after problem came along. We finally fitted the new tyre, (well new to us - dumped by someone else) and I got my bike track pump from the summer house after more effort pumping it up the valve on the inner tube leaked so we took the whole thing out again. Now to me a leaking valve, or anything leaking around the valve part of a inner tube is pointless trying to fix, but the Bulgarian way is not to give up and find a way preventing me going to Yambol and expense more to the point. Out with some wire holding up my grape vine and some insulation tape to secure the leak and a ducking in the outdoor sink where the tap is to look for evidence of leaks. There were none apparent as Sacho got a bravo from me, not because I thought it would work, just because he wouldn’t give up!The whole thing was attempted to be put together but the masked valve would not fit through the hole on the rim as it was now too wide with the insulation tape around it, so out it comes again as we hunt for a big diameter drill to widen the aluminium valve access. We couldn’t find one and I though that was the end of it, not likely, Sasho took a smaller drill and wedged it against the side of the hole widening it with each circular movement, the job was done in no time.The tyre was put back together again and pumped up only to fine that it was still leaking, I knew this was impossible to fix but the Bulgarian’s never give up being self-sufficient and it all comes apart again! Sealed again with fresh tape and me knowing this wouldn’t work back together it went pumped up and the whole wheel was dipped in the sink of water to check for leaks, of course there was at the base of the valve where I suspected. Now I walked in the house to make a fresh cup of tea and reflect on all the effort made, but Sasho continued to fiddle about trying to rack his brains on solving this particular problem. I came back and found the man was a completely severed valve between his thumb and index finger putting it in my view with the words, problem, Yambol? Well you have to give it to him, it was 12:00 and the had spent the whole morning industriously working on this problem, struggling at every stage but getting through but the final outcome was inevitable to me but not to the Bulgarian Sasho. Just like the door falling off the stable, an end result not how he expected! My does he try though, at least I not have the tyre on the lada rim, it just needs a new inner tube, end of story!It is the afternoon now and after a cup of tea I rang Jane, she was still in bed and wanted more rest so I asked her to ring me when she was ready, it was after 10 in the UK. My mind wonders into what I should do this afternoon, still too wet and snowy to work outside on the land, perhaps a bike ride or sort out some fishing equipment, yer, fishing, that’s what I’ll do, get the stuff to take to Yambol and catch my dinner one lunchtime. Is there anywhere around here to fish? Who do I ask? I don’t want to bother Sasho as I know he’ll go out of his way to go with me, I might just take a wonder around on my bike and look this afternoon.Didn’t do anything planned in the previous paragraph, I just enjoyed the day at my house, looking, listening, taking in the warm weather in the wicker chair on the veranda. Of course I did things that needed doing, put Anka out in the sun as the snow has partly cleared for her to eat, went to the dump in my wellies to get rid of waste, and by Jove I needed wellies with the thaw. I took some hay from the store up the road, there is not a lot left and Anka will have to do with outside food in the next few weeks.Jane rang me and I rang back, we need to get her belongings over here as it will be one less worry for here on the road to recovery but I haven’t any money! Sharing with Andriko getting his stuff over will never happen as nothing happens with his intentions of moving over here. I have about £1000 in the bank but that’s all I have in the world, should I donate it towards the cost of a container? Jane has given all her money to her brother John to pay off his debts. Why do I feel that I am responsible for shipping the stuff over? Because I am desperate to have Jane back that’s why.The outside of my front gate is yet again a reservoir and I hope that this will be sorted out soon by David now in charge of the building company, he has promised to be there personally when the action starts.A thought occurred to me about the wheel, I have four wheels from the cart with inner tubes in, why not use one of them? Well this I will attempt to do tomorrow on my own, I have the tools in the boot of the car and now seen how it is done.As the sun went down I enjoyed the event as always, but again on my own! Sacho showed up as he had forgotten his hat and I found his wheel nut spanner in the road, he’d dropped it earlier in the day. He was carrying a container with more food from Rosa; this time it was lovely cake, the feeding me goes on.More lovely foodI also need the car documents from Sue on Monday for the crashed Lancia to be sold, I forgot them yesterday which mean I may well ride my bike there tomorrow, or drive the car if the wheel is fixed.http://bulgarianslivatree.com
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