Old ways

As a casual observer and as a complete beginner to living 'foreign' it's quite fun to watch what goes on around.
My current obsession is to predict which bank note the customer in the shop will use to pay for their shopping. Coins are rarely handed over unless asked for. The euro still hasn't taken off yet even after three years, there is still confusion when the customer is asked for any change by the shop assistant and usually shows a huge handful of coins with no idea what to use. 
Whilst not always agreeing with our neighbour's views of how good it was under communist times (not that I can argue either way on this topic!), it is still noticeable how modern bad habits from our Western European neighbours are creeping up and changing things even out in the sticks of where we are.. 

Progress?

Easy to answer, yes.
Slowly but eventually there are signs we will bring some normality to the cottage and some growth to the garden, and not just weeds.
The dogs are content, although another hard winter older. The car is still running, just about.
We have made some good neighboury friends, cautious with us and our motives probably at the beginning, but now we are part of their lives.
Who's for eggs this morning?

Growing

It's been a while, but we are still here!
A hectic few weeks trying to get things to grow, sorting out an overgrown half acre back to some sort of resemblance of a vegetable patch and finally completing the biggest building project outside our house so far, the polytunnel.
So what else has been happening?
A surreal bus trip into town listening to two of our elderly neighbour friends discussing sexual innuendo (apparently) to tune of 'Drive me Crazy' by Shakin Stevens on the radio.
It rained for a day.
Our bathroom has a floor.
Still no plumbing.
Garlic and onions and beans doing fine.