In Oz last month I was packing my stuff to be shipped over, yet again...(one day) and it suddenly hit me...I still had a leg in both camps!
OMGosh...I was dumbfounded at that revelation.
No wonder I had hardly any suitable clothes for the climate here in Hungary, no wonder I could not move ahead on anything at all...no wonder I felt like I was wasting precious time, no wonder nothing was really happening.
Sooo, I really had to decide what I was going to do.
Time to make a decision...do I stay in OZ or do I go back to Hungary???
Once I went through the guilt thing about leaving the kids and my sister and family, it was as simple as..."Do I want to live along and happy life, creating, building, being blissfully happy each and every day...or do I want to sub-exist, gasping for breath like a guppy fish out of water for 8 months of the year in the unrelenting humidity and heat?"
The correct answer had no opposition...
So, here I am, and so much has changed for the good since making that decision in late Sept/early Oct 2018.
Dirk passing away whilst I was away, threw the proverbial spanner in the works for Imre and I, but good has come out of it.
I now have to get cracking again on doing work myself! hahaha...
On Monday, this week coming, I am being shown how to be a brickie's labourer, making the cement mix in the cement mixer,shoveling in 5 of sand, however many of cement and enough water to make a firm mix...
Sort of like making a cake.
But the next bit... of passing it up, bucket by bucket to Imre on the 2nd floor of the cottage is going to be a stretch for me as Imre isn't much "taller" than me! hahaha...
Imagine, 2 dwarfs at work on that roof, gotta make you laugh...
All is not lost though, as imagine the great waist exercises I'll experience, not to mention firming up the obligatory bat wing under biceps as a 2ndry bonus!
Have done a lot of work again this week too...
- Spread almost one round bale of hay over lots of cardboard boxes I was able to get from the local supermarket up the road from me...
- Dug out the dahlia bulbs...wow, those things are amazing. I planted a little bulb like a matchbox and now have at least a dozen, twice as big...amazing!
- Then potted a lot of marigolds that have grown since I came back, 5 weeks ago, today...am trying out a hot house idea for winter...
- Potted a dozen tomato plants that decided to grown also, in the lovely warm weather we have been having here...for the hot house too...
- Ordered more straw/hay, but this time, the rectangle bales...to make garden edges...
- Celebrated with friends in town, the granting of another 2 years residency here in Hungary on Thursday...
- Imre completed the 2nd window frame and put up the cross beams on the trusses, then on Monday, he bricks in the 2 end gables then finally the roof can go on...
- Painted the 2 gable windows and fittings...4 coats so far! I can't seem to use the paint here like I'm used to using in OZ...Problemo...anyways they have been sanded, painted, sanded lightly and repainted 4 times now, so they should be ok...but if possible, I'll do another coat as they'll be up top and harder to paint on the exterior, so another coat will be good, hopefully...
- Found really, really cheap bus tickets to Praha in Dec so I'm going there for 4 days with Petr and family and will enjoy the smells and delights of de-lights and de food in Prague over Xmas.
- Then the week later am off to Belgrade for 4 days of eating and talking non stop, with Jelena and will stay at Home Sweet Home...and, of course, go tothe Astoria for our traditional fun day of the 3 egg, mushrooms, lots of other stuff in a massive all day breakie, with champers and all for about $7.00 or so..
- Have booked everything and all up, both trips come to the same as about 2 weeks wages for Imre! Very surprised...but I forgot that in off season, they almost pay you to travel over here!
- Bought a lovely new cold weather jacket/coat and nice hand bag today...first real gear I've bought for here that isn't make do!Next I need a new pair of boots, leggings and a really nice dress jacket for inside when going out...
- And finally, a lot of work on the promo and future website for the guest cottage program.
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| Lovely sunsets this week here...Hahaha, just noticed all the bed-pots on the well. Imre is making one of those roof things that go over the well during the Xmas/cold weather time, as nails and screws are ok to use, but no cementing...the water freezes...no digging trenches, the ground is frozen...no painting the cottage, the paint freezes! hahaha, Lots of inside jobs coming up again soon! |
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| Nice fresh carrots at the markets today...they are monsters too. Over a foot long... |
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| Local apples...some monster ones in this batch too...Quinces on the right! |
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| Eniko, helping to celebrate the approval of my resident visa to Hungary for another 2 years! |
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| Maria, Enikos' Mum, came home at lunch time and joined us for fun...no drinkies for her, she had to work. She is an English teacher at school. |
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| Cut a bit of wood and roughly draped and tied the material over it, in the pattern I want and took this photo for the sewing lady. Had to close the shutters to get the curtains to show up as it was too bright with the shutters open...Then there will be a full width sheer drape under the pelmet, which will tieback gracefully on each side...hopefully it can work OK! |
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| Sunny, pretty room now. Almost done... |
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| Sunrise on Saturday through the side kitchen window where the shower used to be. It is getting colder at night now...This is the condensation on the window at 7.30 am...a dribbling nuisance, but quite pretty really. |
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| Sun sets just before 4pm...while Imre is still working. |
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| Painting underway...again! 3rd coat here...4th coat today! |
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| Talk about manifestation! I was thinking the night before this was delivered, that I want a really nice old hook thing EXACTLY like this, for the bathroom...and guess what? Imre turns up next morning, out of the blue, not his work day...with this! Amazing. Exactly exactly, as I wanted...even to the tiddly bits on the screw on brackets...Some serious sanding ahead...but a good job for a long winters night. |
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| Well ladies and gentlemen...have you ever seen this before? Baked pumpkin, cold. No wrapping...hahaha, OZ officials would go ballistic! That's why I love it here. They leave you alone to have a go at supporting yourself, in as many ways as the oldies are able... |
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| Some more pumpkins in the markets today. I Need a car!!! |
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| 75 cents a kilo...Now that's a "punkin"!!! |
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| That little tray of diced meat on the left, is "lamb". It does the city for a week. They don't like lamb very much here. That is the whole sheep, cut up into cubes, bones and all. The other meat is steak. That's it for the week too. They do have more out back, but as you can see, not much call for it. |
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| Then this long counter is full of pork and weird looking sausage things... |
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| Check out the line up! |
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| When I got home from the markets at 10.30 am ...(about the 4th time I've ever been)...a lovely neighbour had dropped these onto the verandah for me. A jar of grape jam, some homemade tomato soup/sauce and a jar of preserved yellow cherry plums...I think, and a bag of fresh, home grown walnuts ! |
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| Look at the bulbs on those dahlias! I planted 2 little bulbs in July, and they both came out white, and bloomed until the last one died off last week. Amazing. Mine are the 2 greener ones. Another lovely neighbour brought me over the other one...a most beautiful, huge red dahlia. So they have to be stored in the cellar over winter, along with gladdi bulbs and other things. |
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| Also had to finish off sifting the sand for Imre to use as rubble and muck has fallen into the sand pile over the year. Dirk was half way through it before I left, so another job from the list, underway. |
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| Tomato plants potted for winter experiment in a type of glass house environment. (Inside on the window sills! |
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| Cat sits and sniffs at the door for hours when I'm outside, waiting to come in for a minute or so. I call her "Gyspy Feet Wolf", as she wolf's her food down in one gulp and wanders the neighborhood, looking for softies to feed her! Funny cat. Then another one popped in today for some lunch too. I was sitting on the swing seat, in the mid-day sunshine, having nice lunch of pork shoulder chops, all the fat cut off, can you believe they came like that?, with home made apple sauce and avo, spinach and my baby tomatoes, quickly heated and reduced, with a drizzle of balsamic, and this other bigger, fatter cat wandered in for a chat! |
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| This is for my son Paulie...He had a huge, flowing allysium at his place in OZ...and I admired it so much. When I came back, mine, which was one tiny plant, decided to grow and tumble over the brick edging too! |
It has been a great time since being back...apart from Dirk, which was sad. Still trying to find out whatt happened to him.
I went and saw his solicitor on Thursday and he didn't even know he had died, so now he's on the search around for info.
All things are sorting out and it's on with the show.
Hoping the roof can be done over the next 2 weeks before winter really sets in...
Imre can then put on the front door and kitchen window and hopefully, work inside the cottage over winter with the big gas heater to keep everything pliable and warm...ish!
Bye all and take care, be safe.
Cheers and love to all,
M
xxxxx
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