After the floods, I'm now in hot water!

No, I don't mean I'm in trouble, I now have running hot water in the kitchen following installation of a water heater I bought this morning in Sighisoara. Although there was a water heater already in the kitchen, it was not designed for use on a pressurised system. The pump supplying water from my well operates at up to 2 bar (30psi) and consequently the old heater leaked like a sieve when I opened the supply valve to fill it with water! New heater very easy to install and no wiring to do as it was fitted with a plug. At last I can simply turn on a tap to wash my hands or do the washing up. It's a good job I bought it today as I discovered that tomorrow VAT increases from 19% to 24% and the heater would have cost an extra 14 lei.

Last evening I had a visit from across the road neighbours Ioan and his wife Adriana who I said could use my internet connection to send some emails relating to her work as a teacher of Romanian literature. We had a very pleasant evening after which she thanked me profusely and said I was a real English gentleman! This morning I was rewarded with a plate of eggplant prepared with onion and served with sliced tomato (had that for lunch) and this afternoon Ioan brought over another treat, this time with mushrooms, freshly picked in the forest, and cooked with onion, green pepper, milk, bacon and garlic (will have some tonight with a pork snitzel). Adriana can use my internet connection any time she likes!

The high groundwater level is still flooding our cellars and my daily pump-out has just ended but others along the street are still pumping. Hopefully the water level will start dropping soon as there has been no rain today and the sun is shining in a clear blue sky with more of same forecast for next week or so.

Drinking water now available from Penny Market in TEN litre bottles at 3.99 lei (equivalent to 7.5 pence per litre) so I bought three while they were in stock! They were going fast as most trolleys I saw contained at least two bottles. I now have about 50 litres in my storeroom which will last me a couple of weeks.

My well won't run dry!

So much rain over the last five days that ground water level has risen by nearly half a metre and the water in the 3 metre diameter above-ground pool started to overflow after level rose by about 100mm.
Thought I had better check the cellar this morning and sure enough the old lime mortar pit (now known as "Dracula's grave") was full to the brim. When my eyes grew accustomed to the gloom I realised I was standing at the edge of a lake of water covering the rest of the cellar floor which slopes away towards the front of the house. Fortunately I already have a submersible pump and 25 metres of hose so this was quickly deployed to pump out "Dracula's grave". Once that was done, I paddled into the lake which was over 150mm deep at the front end of the cellar and dug out a small sump in the mud floor so the pump could pick up as much of the water as possible. While the pump was doing its job, I lifted the well cover to find the water level was indeed much higher than it was at the beginning of June. I had already plumbed the well shortly after arriving here and found that it was almost 6 metres deep so water depth is now 5 metres! With that much water in the ground should I be feeling seasick?

Update: Tuesday 29th
My neighbours on same side of street are also suffering from the flooded cellar problem. Someone has brought in a small petrol engined pump use of which has been offered to me by Ionel but I explained that I have an electric pump already pumping out the water. I wonder if they understand that it is ground water we are pumping out and the problem will continue with regular pump-out necessary until ground water level drops nearly one metre.

Food and water

Here's a photo for all the chocaholics out there! Romanians love their cakes, which usually seem to come out at every meal I have ever had with friends, so I am subscribing to this tradition. This one is CHOCOLATE sponge with CHOCOLATE cream filling, covered in CHOCOLATE and decorated with white, milk and plain CHOCOLATE - all for around £2! Not very big at 6" square but it's sooo rich I can only manage a small piece each time!
As well as cakes, I am also stocking up on traditional Romanian meat products. In my freezer are some mititei (mici) which are the sausage-shaped Romanian equivalent of hamburgers, made from ground pork and mutton plus herbs and seasoning. Also in the freezer are some pork snitzels and a pack of chicken breast fillets. Meats are mostly quite a bit cheaper here although the chicken breast fillets are about the same price as in the UK.
Also in the freezer are some fillets of a fish I had never heard of but which were very cheap at £1.60 per kilo (frozen weight). When I got home I "Googled" it and was left wondering whether I ought to throw it straight in the bin! It is called Pangasius and if you haven't come across it in Tesco, I will leave you to check it out for yourself! I decided to ignore the "Do not eat this fish" advice as it was over two years old (the advice, not the fish fillets) and I sauteed one fillet last night with no ill effects. Flavour was a bit bland as I only had garlic available to add to the pan but next time it will be cooked with more herbs, lemon juice etc following a recipe I found online.
In the fridge are two types of ham "sausage", one fine the other coarse, and some chicken breast cremewurst plus tomatoes, peppers and cucumber to make salads which are also served with most Romanian meals. And, of course, the remainder of the CHOCOLATE cake!
There is no mains water in the village and the water from my well has not been tested yet although it is now considerably clearer than when I arrived and started the pump for the first time in over a year. I only use well water for washing myself and for washing up after it has been heated. For making tea, cooking and brushing my teeth I buy "table" water in 6 litre bottles which are only 44p each. Using my free well water plus three or four bottles of table water a week therefore costs considerably less than the water rates I used to pay to Thames Water when living in Grove!
Finally on food, anyone who knows their 60's music will probably remember a Manfred Mann song called "Water Melon Man". I found myself humming it this afternoon because we had a real water melon (sales)man in the village selling said melons from the back of a van! No point in me buying one though as they were HUGE and one would last me a fortnight even if I had a slice with every meal!

Wonderful neighbours

As mentioned in my previous post, I met Gheorghe and Ileana yesterday from next door but one. During our "chat" I had learned that Ileana makes jams and preserves and that Gheorghe could supply wood for winter fuel. Imagine my surprise when Ileana came to my house this morning with a large jar of homemade plum jam produced from fruit harvested last season in my orchard - with the previous owner's permission. Then, around 5 o'clock this afternoon, Gheorghe turns up with a tractor and TWO trailer loads of wood which is then stacked under cover in my courtyard by Gheorghe and three young villagers! Cost of the winter fuel - 200 lei (£40) which will be amply covered by the UK winter fuel allowance which I will still receive even though I no longer live in the UK (thank you EU for making that a "directive"). While the unloading was going on, Ileana disappeared and came back with a kilo of mamaliga (polenta) ground at home from their corn crop! I think I'm really becoming part of the village! Must learn more Romanian asap so our "chats" can be longer!

Getting rooms furnished

Three of the rooms have been set up, at least temporarily, so I can live in the house rather than the caravan, although I have to use the shower in the caravan at this stage.

Still waiting for company registration to be completed before I spend large amounts of cash on central heating, hot/cold water system and drains as well as electrical items (washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher) and all the other things needed for the comfort of my guests. I need company number for invoices so my accountant will be able to claim everything as setting up expenses for Casa Cristina.
In the meantime here are some photos of the temporary kitchen, Breakfast/TV room and Family Room as they are at present. There is a further room which will eventually be my private accommodation but there is no photo as it is currently jam packed with the boxes containing all the things I brought with me or had shipped over from Grove.

Had a very useful chat with Ion, English speaking sea captain who is restoring house opposite mine as a holiday home for himself and his wife. I invited him in for a look round and he told me he knows someone in Sighisoara who has a machine to sand the wood floors for me. Then I had a look at his house which is about 20% smaller and has only half the land area. It also needs a lot of restoring/refurbishing inside and out which encouraged me a lot as my house is in much better condition. He then introduced me to another neighbour, Gheorge, who can supply my winter fuel at very good price and also distills tuica (very strong spirit similar to schnapps). Gheorghe's wife arrived on the scene and together we toured their garden plot next to Ion's house where I learned that she is a very good cook and makes jams and preserves. She said to me that if I would like to pick the redcurrants and blackcurrants in their garden (she doesn't have time to do it herself) she will make some jam for me!

On a walkabout, trying to get a mobile signal, I discovered that my next door neighbour Ionel and his son-in-law Dragos have just started keeping bees. They showed me 45 brand new hives in the garden of an empty house near the edge of the village. So within a couple of days I have found where I can get someone to sand the floors, someone to supply wood for winter (plus tuica for inner warmth!), someone who makes jams and may be able to supply cooked meals for guests in the future and someone who can supply honey! Brilliant!

Settling down to life in Romania

Arrived in Roandola on April 26th after driving from Grove across Europe with caravan in tow. Neighbour Ionel and his son-in-law Dragos helped me get caravan into courtyard and then got the hidrofor (well pump) working for me! Unloaded car and caravan contents into house and workshop then organised caravan to be my accommodation for a while. Settled in and found my way around the area (Sighisoara/Dumbraveni/Medias) over the next few days. There is a village shop but has limited stock of fresh produce and only UHT milk. Small supermarket in next village (6kms) has bigger range, including hardware items for kitchen etc and plenty of washing/washing up/cleaning materials. Penny Market in Sighisoara has best range of fresh fruit and veg plus meats, eggs, dairy products etc. Usually go there to stock up if I'm in the city anyway.
Visited UK from May 13th to 27th for the birth of new granddaughter Daisy and enjoyed time with Rob and Ali and Lou, Chris, Noah and Martha.
Once back in Roandola, I had just over two weeks to get house in order ready for Lou, Chris and kids to stay with me for the first part of their summer hols.