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Hi everyone,
Romanian paperwork has been the chief influence of the week. That and the fact that I haven't been very well, nothing serious, I think I pulled a stomach muscle last week lifting the straw bales about, I had knives going through me, lifting feed buckets has been out of the question. This means that Lew and Sian have had to do the feeding and cleaning out this week.
Monday and it rained most of the day so the fact I couldn't get on with jobs wasn't too much of a problem because there is not much you can do in the rain. I gave Sian a hand cooking the two soups; tomato and bean, and sausage and vegetable, for school; then John and Sian took the soup up to Medgidia. The lady who was to help us with the car paperwork rang to say she would meet Lew at quarter to eight tomorrow at the test centre.
Tuesday, Lew and John left at seven in the morning, they had been forecasting snow but everything was clear just cold. Sian fed this morning and I must admit I didn't get up till ten. Sian reported that all was well as we sat drinking coffee. Lew rang to say that they were frozen, they had been waiting two and a half hours in the freezing cold to have the car tested, one of the things you have to do before you can change the documents on the car. They found that one of the numbers on the documents was not the one on the car. They went back to her office with her and she gave them forms to fill out and sent them to the Basarabi Premier's office for two stamps. Another phone call, they should be home by lunch time. Then they arrive just as I had made soup for Sian and I, I always make too much so there was enough for them. But they weren't here to stay, there was another problem, the man we bought the car from had not informed the Premier's office about the change of engine and he had not paid the Premier's Tax for five years and he had an unpaid fine on the car, all this meant he should not have sold the car. Lew left John eating soup while he went to see the man. He said there was no money outstanding, so they went down to the Premier's office together to sort it out. It became evident that he owed three million lei which he didn't have. But, we could not have the stamps needed unless the money was paid; Lew paid and got the stamps to make the documents. So off back to Constanta. They meet the lady again and she says the papers will be ready Friday but we can't drive the car till we have them back. John phones his dad who says we can use his when we need a car. They get home at six o'clock, cold, hungry and thirsty.
Wednesday, Sian and John head down to the feed merchants again today, our pigs are really getting through the food at the moment, well one is feeding and the other is eating for more than one plus they are still growing themselves. Then it is off to Medgidia with mushroom soup and a pate for lunch at the school today. It rained hard most of the day, if it had been snow we would have been up to our eyes in it. Gela called to say the tests on Mel's eyes were finished and she needed to see us, we arranged to meet them at seven thirty. Sian and John had just gone shopping for Little John and Aurica's birthday presents, so they came back early so we could go to Pestera. The optician needed to order the special glass for one of Mel's lenses from Bucharest and they needed the payment of 300,000 lei (£6.00) in advance, the total cost of the glasses will be about 1,000,000 lei (£20). The optician also said that Mel needed the operation on his eye within the next three months, it is thought the cost will be 400 Euros which is about £300, but it is very difficult to get a firm amount out of anyone, probably because they will not be doing the operation and these things are usually done on insurance, the question of cost doesn't usually come into things. We know we have enough in the funds for Mel to have this operation done so when we pick up his glasses we will organise Mel going for his eye operation. This is of course due to you and your generosity, we are just the lucky ones who can tell him he is to have the operation. The tests on his heart condition come as secondary importance to his parents because they still do not know that we are trying to raise funds for this, and for them the amount of money needed for his heart is out of this world. But with us all putting in a little bit this becomes possible. I try not to talk about money issues too much with the diary, but Mel is little a lovely little character who needs our help. Our webmaster tells us about 300 people visited our site on Wednesday a couple of weeks ago, if everyone sent us £10 that would be enough, what can you do with £10 in England today. I know I am out of touch, but I think that's two packets of cigarettes, four pints of beer, I know it won't buy the family fish and chips. But whatever you can afford WILL make a difference. We left the boys to get to bed it is school in the morning. Lew didn't have time to have a game of chess this week. We left Pestera with Gela, she was going into the optician to pay for the glasses (they are open till midnight).
Thursday Lew feeds and organises the animals while Sian and I do the soups, well actually it was sausage stew and chicken soup with sweetcorn and pasta for lunch Thursday and Friday. John's mum is ill again today, she has something wrong with her ears and gets bad earache. Stelica wants to take her to the hospital today, so we won't be able to borrow the car. Sian and John took the soup up to Medgidia on the bus. They then went straight into Constanta to look for the birthday presents again.
Friday, a sad day for us, Spot the mum pig had rolled onto one of the babes and it has suffocated. We thought that we were over that stage but she was the smallest of the piglets. Sian and John take Tigger and Pilchard down to the vet to have their stitches out, so they have both lost their coats now. Tigger went out as soon as she came home and we could see her jumping about in the foundations, she was enjoying being free of her coat. I was feeling better today so I went to get the straw for the pig house and run this evening. The other piglets were running around fine.
Saturday, we had to be ready to leave for Little John and Aurica's birthday at ten o'clock. It was raining when I started to feed this morning but as I was feeding it turned to snow. Well they have been forecasting it for long enough. It hadn't eased when we drove to Ovidiu and we saw the snow ploughs parked up on the side of the road. The snow kept coming and it was decided before we arrived that we would have to leave early. We had traditional cabbage rolls served with bread followed by pieces of chicken served with bread and pickled gerkins, then birthday cake. I find it very difficult to eat so much meat at one sitting with no vegetables, I have been a vegetarian in my time. But a celebration means meat and plenty of it because it is not eaten every day. People also find it strange that I don't drink wine or beer, I can't stand the taste of either, I am not a big fizzy drinks person either but I can usually manage one of those to keep people happy. Aurica does some beautiful crochet work and her neighbour downstairs makes crocheted vases for dried flowers. Sian and I look at each other with a knowing look and arrange to go and see them both next week, we have a project in mind which we will tell you more about when we have things finalised.
Sunday, we woke to snow half way up the windows. But the first thing we had to deal with is no water, the pipes have frozen. I had been lulled into a false sense of security and hadn't filled the emergency water tubs, that meant we had no water at all. It was out to collect snow to melt, so Lew could tip boiling water over the pipe. It took two saucepans of boiling water to thaw the tap to get the water to run through to the building. I had to dig myself through gates and into the animals so that I could feed. But even though the temperature must have been low (-14C) and the wind has sent snow into every little crack in our awning and the animal housing, we have not lost any of the animals. It took nearly three hours to feed and water today and the snow kept coming. The dogs had a great time running around in the snow but I was too cold to go and take photos of them today, I'll wait until it stops snowing. Running around in the snow does wear you out though and Latty is pleased to have her kitten friends to help her warm up when she comes in. The news tells us that the road into Constanta is closed and there will be no bus service tomorrow. Constanta businesses will be working with less staff on Monday nobody will be able to travel into work from outside the city. We are cut off again. Tica tells us the Premier has said his men won't even start to clear the roads until it stops snowing. It is still snowing. The schools will be closed so we don't have to worry that we can't get though to Medgidia with the soup. Sian has been playing in the snow today and jumped into a snow drift that was up to her armpits. The snow is now up over half way against the back gate. The chicken run is now up to the top of the fence and the wheelbarrow can no longer be seen. The icicles are growing well.
What's been happening in the village this week? Well nothing really, a few people have been doing some digging early in the week. But apart from that everything has been quiet.
Well I think that's all the news from a snowed in Siminoc this week ...
So I'll say cheerio for now ...
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