Tumba in September, 2021

Today's hike was almost a perfect copy of the hike we did last year in late November. We started from the village of Planinitza and walked up and down the hills of Cherna Gora mountain, climbed the highest of its peaks - Tumba, had picnic on the grass with a panoramic view to the numerous mountains of Kraishte and headed back to Planinitza along the same track. The day was very hot, summery hot, but the air smelled of autumn and the grass, the fields and the trees looked properly autumnal already. My favourite season - warm early autumn. I hope we have more of it this year and less of its evil cousin - the wet, rainy and cold autumn we get some years. We'll see :)

:The fields over the village of Planinitza

Hike info:

Destination: peak Tumba (1129 m)

Mountain: Cherna Gora

Total length: 13.5 km

Elevation gain: 230 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 4 hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

:On peak Tumba

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: men's boxers, grey longsleeve

I: Sabrina Slims, Houndstooth Hoodie

Movie Night Pajamas III

I am very much a morning person and my most favourite and cherished part of the day is the time for my cup of coffee, a piece of cake and a book or, more often lately, daily Duolingo exercises. From spring to late autumn I drink my coffee on the small balcony, overlooking the green area behind our building, still in my pajamas. 

This year I found a free pajama pattern - the Movie Night Pajamas by Sew a Little Seams, which checks all the boxes for me. The upper part is practically a T-shirt and the bottoms are leggings - just as I like them. I already sewed one pair for Gaby and one for myself and yesterday I finished my second pair. I've been looking for a suitable knit fabric for the pajamas all summer long and in the end I gave up on the idea that I could have it all - a print I like and fabric texture and quality I want, so I decided to make a compromise with the print. The fabric I bought from a new for me fabric shop downtown is very soft and smooth cotton knit with lycra, simply divine to wear and I think I can live with the busy print.

Pattern: Movie Night Pajamas by Sew a Little Seam

Size: 0-2, shortened

Fabric: cotton knit with lycra

Time to make: 2 days

And because I don't want to lose the recipe of the cake I made last night, here it is:

Products:

• 2 average apples, peeled and grated
• 2 eggs
• 200 g sugar
• 120 g milk
• 60 g vegetable oil
• 200 g flour
• 15 baking powder
• 100 g dry fruits and raisins 
• 50 g walnuts
• cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg or other spices
  

Beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the milk and oil. Sift the flour with the baking powder and gradually add to the wet mixture. Fold in the dry fruits, cut into small pieces, the raisins and nuts and the grated apples. Add the spices, stir and pour into a baking form. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C until a test toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy with coffee or tea!

 

Ruta Pants by Viki Sews

A few days after I finished my wide legged Marlene trousers mid August, I made another pair of elasticated trousers - Ruta by the Russian pattern company Vikisews. These are made out of knit fabric and are more on the sporty side and I've been wearing them quite regularly on my walks in the park or when out shopping groceries. A month passed but the opportunity for a photosession of these trousers just didn't come. So when yesterday husband and I were walking in the local park during probably the last of the Indian summer days this year, it occurred to me that I had to have a few pictures of these, then or never. And here they are, just a couple of casual phone pictures.

The fabric is very pleasant to wear navy blue ITY, drapey and fluid, but still with enough body for trousers. The pattern calls for 1.14 m of fabric for the pants and additional 30 cm lining material for the in-seam pockets, but I managed to squeeze the two more likely to be seen pocket pieces out of the main material and I cut the other two pieces of the pocket bags out of matching navy blue cotton knit, a remnant from another project.

Pattern: Ruta by Vikisews

Size: S 

Height 154 -160 cm

Fabric: ITY 1.12 m

Time to make:  two days

I made the pants without any modifications, only shortened them a couple of centimeters, as they are designed to be floor length, which is ridiculously impractical. The fit is very comfortable and flattering, despite them being only simple elasticated knit pants; now I understand all the hype about this pattern in the Russian vlogging world. Summer here is over and it's time to take out the warmer clothes (it's been raining all day today and the temperatures have dropped by 10 degrees), but next summer I'll definitely be sewing another pair of these.

Pchelina in September, 2021

The second part of our hike on Saturday - from the village of Potzurnentzi to lake Pchelina and back. I've said that a few time on the blog, I know, but I love going to Pchelina. The place is very beautiful, the trail is easy and relaxing, hiking there is pure delight! 

:Lake Pchelina and Rudina Mountain, which we had climbed previously that day, right behind

Hike info:

Destination:Pchelina

Mountain region: Kraishte

Total length: 8 km

Elevation gain: 160 m

Total duration (plus rests): about 3 hours

Average difficulty:  2 / 10 

:The iconic chapel St. Yoan Letny, dating back to XVI century. The lake is actually a dam, which was built on the river Struma on top of a former village, called Pchelintzi. The chapel was operating as the church of the village. Due to the fact, that it was built on a hill, it was preserved after the dam was built.

:We found shelter from the heat in the shadow of the rocks and rested and watched the lake. We observed the gathering of large numbers of ducks, it was truly amazing!

:After a while we went down the path and walked by the lake. It was so nice and serene.

:And back along the trail to the village and the car.

Rudina Mountain 2021

Photos from our hike on Saturday to Rudina mountain. This is a small mountain in the Kraishte region, a beautiful mountainous  area to the west of Sofia, bordering to Serbia. Rudina is only 1172 m high, but its peak is very scenic, with a panoramic view to the entire region. The trail is 4 km long and steep - a good training for more difficult alpine trails.

The day was somewhat surprisingly hot, after the chill first 10 days of September. We climbed the trail fairly quickly, probably for an hour and a half, had a short snack on top and went down to the car in less than an hour. As there was still plenty of time till sunset, we decided to go to lake Pchelina and have another short hike there.

: Chapel St. Nikolay Letni

 :Lake Pchelina in the distance

Hike info:

Destination: Sirishtnishka Rudina (1172 m)

Mountain: Rudina

Total length: 8 km

Elevation gain: 480 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): about 3 hours

Average difficulty:  4 / 10

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Knip Mode Cargo Pants, Teal Longsleeve

I: lingerie, Sabrina Slims, Houndstooth Hoodie, knitted socks

 :I was touched by this bench, which is a private donation to the trail and had a plaque, reading This bench is dedicated to X and the moments, in which we share breathtaking views. By Y

 :The Eye - a mosaic composition at the site of the old quarry

:The village of Sirishtnik