It is winter time in Sofia, Bulgaria (December 2005).  

Our Christmas and New Year greeting cards as of January 1, 2006. 

Vesela Koleda and chestita Nova godina! Is the Bulgarian match of Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! This poster is common at Christmas and New Year in Bulgaria. It cheered our apartment building entrance in December 2005, too.

We had the first heavy snow in Sofia in early December 2005. This is a view of our bus stop on an early Saturday morning. The snow blanket was about 20 cm (8’’).

The cars in the parking lot had snow caps.

The residents shovel the snow according to a list that they make before the winter season begins. This man enjoyed shoveling the maiden snow around our entrance on a Saturday morning in December.

Our apartment building on a white winter day. I live on the third floor and can enjoy the scenery to the fullest.

Although we had no real Christmas tree at home at Christmas, we had a Christmas skirt. It reminded us of our warm Christmas in Arizona in 2004. We bought the skirt on Christmas Eve’s Day right at the place where our car broke. We will never forget our sad Christmas Eve in Chandler, Arizona – our car was broken and so were our hearts though they were wide-open to friendship and celebration.

This is part of our Christmas decoration. We had it in the corridor of our apartment. Part of it was the Christmas wreath with mistletoe that we bought in Chandler, AZ in December 2004.

A special Christmas gift from my daughter was a bottle of wine – Jindalee Shiraz, product of Australia, 2004. Undoubtedly this bottle became part of my collection of turtles. The tiny turtle next to the bottle is from the Christmas bazaar at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, another gift from Irina. A violet pencil sharpener is what I have had handy at all times since Christmas – Irina’s good idea.

A turtle pillow that I bought at a garage sale in Pennsylvania in June 2005 decorates our living room. We also use it to prop up our back

A small Christmas wreath decorated almost every front door in our entrance. This is our neighbors’ door.

A meal at Christmas time with home-made food: lentil soup, egg plant salad, lukanka sausage, white sheep’s cheese, and red wine.