Jodie's Birthday in Bulgaria
Yesterday I celebrated my first birthday in Bulgaria.
Although I no longer work on Fridays, I decided to go to my office, and bring in some refreshments, as is the local custom. So, on Thursday evening, I baked a cake – for only the second time since I’ve been here. It’s not always easy trying to identify the local products and match them to the products that I’m familiar with. In addition, I don’t have all the necessary kitchen appliances that I’m used to. I decided to make my mother-in-law’s chocolate cake – still the best one that I know – and for this, I used a can of the applesauce that our friends Yossi and Sharon so kindly brought to us from Israel, since there is no applesauce to be found in Bulgaria!
The cake was successful, but I ran into problems when it came to making the icing – the beaters that I have didn’t attach properly to the wand, and there was only one speed, so all of a sudden, I had cocoa flying all over my counter and walls – resulting in my having to finish preparing the icing by hand….But, the end result was still good.
I brought the refreshments to work, where I met up with my fellow co-worker, Tony, who was also celebrating his birthday yesterday. We had already decided in advance as to the division of the goodies, and I think we had a nice spread to share with everyone – the cake was a success.
My friend Monica gave me a rose bush plant – keeping with the tradition of bringing flowers, and also, the Bulgarian love of roses. It’s now brightening up my table at home.
But, I have to mention the very special gift that Tony brought for me – he has a friend who makes models of the old-style Bulgarian homes that you can see in some of the villages, and he brought me a model of one of these homes – it is absolutely beautiful -so much attention to detail – a real memory to always cherish of our time in Bulgaria.
I continued my day by treating myself to a manicure and pedicure, and Ellis and I had a nice dinner out at a local restaurant - Checkpoint Charlie - that we hadn’t been to before - good food, although the service was slow – but we were in no hurry, so we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves!
It was great hearing from all my family and friends, and your good wishes were much appreciated!
Although I no longer work on Fridays, I decided to go to my office, and bring in some refreshments, as is the local custom. So, on Thursday evening, I baked a cake – for only the second time since I’ve been here. It’s not always easy trying to identify the local products and match them to the products that I’m familiar with. In addition, I don’t have all the necessary kitchen appliances that I’m used to. I decided to make my mother-in-law’s chocolate cake – still the best one that I know – and for this, I used a can of the applesauce that our friends Yossi and Sharon so kindly brought to us from Israel, since there is no applesauce to be found in Bulgaria!
The cake was successful, but I ran into problems when it came to making the icing – the beaters that I have didn’t attach properly to the wand, and there was only one speed, so all of a sudden, I had cocoa flying all over my counter and walls – resulting in my having to finish preparing the icing by hand….But, the end result was still good.
I brought the refreshments to work, where I met up with my fellow co-worker, Tony, who was also celebrating his birthday yesterday. We had already decided in advance as to the division of the goodies, and I think we had a nice spread to share with everyone – the cake was a success.
My friend Monica gave me a rose bush plant – keeping with the tradition of bringing flowers, and also, the Bulgarian love of roses. It’s now brightening up my table at home.
But, I have to mention the very special gift that Tony brought for me – he has a friend who makes models of the old-style Bulgarian homes that you can see in some of the villages, and he brought me a model of one of these homes – it is absolutely beautiful -so much attention to detail – a real memory to always cherish of our time in Bulgaria.
I continued my day by treating myself to a manicure and pedicure, and Ellis and I had a nice dinner out at a local restaurant - Checkpoint Charlie - that we hadn’t been to before - good food, although the service was slow – but we were in no hurry, so we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves!
It was great hearing from all my family and friends, and your good wishes were much appreciated!
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