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Hi everyone,
From a Christmas card Siminoc, we had a blanket of snow when we woke this morning and it has been snowing steadily all day.
Monday and we woke to a severe frost but the sun soon thawed the frost, we had a beautiful day with a clear blue sky. I was hoping to have another of Sian's frog days, but nothing much went right this morning. I needed to make feed this morning, there was a queue when we arrived, and while we were waiting the electric went off. Now, do we wait or do we go. We decided that we would go and do the other jobs and come back. Into Max for the asbestos pipes for the fire, but they don't have any, we will have to try somewhere else. Next stop the electric office to get the latest 'factor' (bill), we have to take the last bill and the new reading, they give us the new factor; but we can't find the office in Basarabi. I try to buy the labels I want to put on the Christmas cards, but the shop has run out. We give up and decide to go to Medgidia. What a morning! Right, start again this afternoon in Medgidia, this time I find the labels, but Lew still can't find the pipes. We went to the electric office, but I wish I hadn't, 5 million old lei (£100), ugh! Back to the mill, the electric was back on but there was a huge queue, while we were waiting I wrote the labels for the Christmas cards; if you write on the back of a photograph it marks the front - hence the labels. Lew gave up with the idea of asbestos pipes for the fire and decided to go to 'Metal Mickey' for metal pipes. On our way back home for coffee, I dropped into Mirella's for some lollies I had promised Sian. While Lew puts the pipes on the back of the fire, I stick the labels on the Christmas cards, but, Lew has a problem one of the pipes is too big it will need to be crimped. Off we go again, back to Metal Mickey to have the pipe crimped and to the post office to post the Christmas cards and lollies. Lew put the new pipe on, the old fire was now working a treat in the animal house, it will keep the temperature above freezing during the night. I needed to do one of my 'frog' jobs so I rang the accountant when we arrived home, but she can't help she has no English. Lew started on knocking down the wall between the awning and Sian's room, ready for the fire. A myriad of my jobs leapt to the next day; that meant more 'frogs' not less.
Tuesday and I am worried about one of Spots little piglets, it doesn't seem to be doing as well as the other one; and Spot didn't eat her breakfast. Zapada's little piglets are eating her food from the trough so I gave them a dish of their own but, Zapada has buried it and I can't find it anywhere. Lew spent the day knocking out the wall, there is dust everywhere. You can se the size of the whole. I spent most of the day moving Sian's room around so that the workman have room to move on Thursday. This evening during feeding I thought we had lost the baby rabbits, all I could see was a pile of straw but mum had covered them because it had become colder; as I moved the straw I felt the heat come out. I became more concerned about Spot's little pig this evening and decided that action was needed. I took her out of the sty and brought her into the caravan, I suspect she hasn't been feeding properly and we start hourly feeds and by midnight she is looking better and we feel two hourly feeds will see her through the night. We set the alarm for two o'clock, four o'clock and six o'clock. Lew took on the feeds during the night and said she seemed to be fine. We missed the six o'clock feed and when we woke up we felt a bit guilty because she had died sometime after the last feed. Perhaps I should have carried on hourly feeding.
Wednesday we woke up to freezing fog, it makes everything look very pretty, the fog forms a thick layer of a type of ice on the branches of trees and fences. But before I could get the camera out the sun had burnt the fog off and melted the ice. When I opened the rabbits this morning I found two of the babies out of the nest, they are chubby little things, but I popped them back in the nest quick. One was pure white and the other was black and white. Lew spent the day making the concrete plinth for the fire to sit on, the fire had to go in at finished floor level. I spent the rest of the day, after feeding, moving straw bales. Chip came up this evening and spent a couple of hours helping out.
Thursday and it was an early start for a winter morning, the alarm went off at six. Our fire builder and his mate arrived to start work at seven o'clock. It started snowing at eight o'clock, it did settle but by lunch it had cleared. We had porridge for breakfast, which our builders enjoyed. Porridge oats is not produced in Romania and I buy the porridge that is imported from Germany, it costs me about 50p for a pound of oats, this of course is out of the price range of many Romanian people; I buy it because we need to have a good breakfast working outside as we do a great deal of the day. Neither Lew or I are much help to other people if we are taken ill because we do not eat properly for the strenuous, outside work we are doing. For lunch I made the sausage and potato soup that is popular with our friends here. Good thing I made a double quantity, Laura and Chip arrived when I was dishing out, it is Romanian tradition to feed workmen and anyone else that happens to be about (and I should say something that has happened in our house for many years, well it happens with teenagers in the house). You can see the pictures as the fire is being built. Chip and I went to the mill, again. Harry cut his paw badly today, it needed bandaging, not easy with a dog. By four o'clock the fire was finished and had its first set lit. You can see the pictures as the fire is being built.
Friday, the forecast was for three to six inches of snow overnight, but we woke up to nothing. The snow started just after feeding. The hosepipe which supplies the water to the animal house is frozen, this means carrying about 50 litres of water up to the house morning and evening. The green tank won't fit in the animal house at the moment we have too much other stuff in there. Feeding seemed to take forever today, carrying the water up to the house and heating the water to give warm feed and warm water for drinking. Lew and Chip went to get the chimney pipes for the new fire but the temperature was too cold to go on the roof and fix them today.
Saturday and we woke to a gale, the plastic was blowing off the straw stack and every time Lew and I put it back the wind would blow it off. Today I wanted to have 300 kilos of feed made but we didn't have Chip's help because he had to go to school. I cooked the soya for the protein mix. I weighed the maize that was off the cob added the wheat and oats. Then collected maize on the cob with more wheat and oats. Just as we were about to leave Chip arrived but it was too late to gather more feed now, but Chip came with us too do the lifting for us. When we got back Lew went onto the roof to fix the chimney, then he tried a test run with the fire. We were told that there would be a few leaks of smoke with the fire because of the clay drying; we just need a spot of clay to fill the hole. Chip and I brought down more straw and piled it around the building.
Sunday, we had planned to go to the market this morning but the weather had other ideas. We woke to six inches of snow and it hasn't stopped snowing all day. The chickens and ducks looked out of the door and decided to stay inside. Lew lit the new fire and it warmed Sian's room a treat, the awning was warmer but we have a few holes to seal before it will be really warm. The next job is to buy the logs that will keep the fire in during the night, during the day we will burn the maize cobs and stalks and sunflower stalks, the same as our Romanian neighbours. Today I was glad we had more straw in the animal house; the pigs were given a bale each to make sure they keep warm. The rabbits were given extra straw for their bedding. Madi and Cristi have arrived back from Spain and they came to call today. They bought us a bottle of Spanish Vermouth, which we will keep for Christmas.
What's been happening in the village this week? The festive ritual of killing the pig for Christmas has been the main occupation for the village this week. The men have to start the work but the ladies finish it by dealing with all the meat and making the sausages. The sausages are made in the old fashioned way using the intestines of the pig as the casing for the sausage. Most of the pork meat is minced for use in Samali, the traditional Romanian celebration dish which we call cabbage rolls; most Romanian people do not have joints of meat as we do in England.
Well I think that is all the news from Siminoc this week ...
So I'll say cheerio for now ...
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