ALL NIGHT long this has been going through my mind over and over again, so I didn't sleep well; in an effort to get it out of my head I'm writing it down .....
In days of old
When knights were bold
Lady Godiva caught a cold
By riding through the streets all bare
Whilst only covered by her hair
Not so her husband Leofric
Who carried a fur lined walking stick
Whenever he went out to tea
In medieval Coventry
DENNIS KNIGHT
It's a silly rhyme made up, by my father, when I was a child.
Another dull day with rain showers forecast = another day when it's not worthwhile Brett starting work on the studio! So he strimmered around the house, hopefully he'll do enough so we won't need the ruminants back.
I feel a bit like a witch this morning; I have so much exciting bubbling and brewing going on:
~ Chevre cheese dripping out its whey through butter muslin on the table (though I am a bit worried about it as there were bubbles on top of the curds, maybe it was left too long?
~ Kombucha drink fermenting (making it slightly alcoholic and fizzy), whilst growing a baby scooby
~ Kefir grains multiplying in sweet water, making another type of probiotic drink (and grains to share with friends)
~ A couple of bottles of Kefir water mixed with fruit juices (orange (ours) and mixed summer berries (mini-p's!)) which is on its second fermentation, making a fizzy, slightly alcoholic drink (which actually tastes good!).
30th May
A sunny start to the day ......
Today we put the screening up around the deck; it looks like a cross between a Greek tavern and an African camp - but, once we get the gates on, it'll be animal proof.
31st May
OK I think summer has arrived ...... bright blue sky, full sun, 30C in the shade.
I was a bit 'iffy' about the screening yesterday but looking at it in the morning sun it makes fabulous shadows, which I love;
Fourth attempt at Chevre; everything I have read suggests that too much rennet can result in a rubbery curd - so ONE DROP of rennet mixed with 4 tablespoons of water, I will use ONE tablespoon (i.e. 1/4 drop of rennet) of the mixture, and throw the rest away! Everything else will stay the same.
Brett started early on his blocking, he's hoping to have it finished by the end of the week - then the roof can go on!
The vegetable garden, in and around the plants, is a carpet of lush small weeds; I managed to weed around six tomato plants in four hours!!!! I'm being very thorough, getting every single weed out, plus the roots - it's mind numbingly boring work, but necessary as 50% of the growth is purslane - a clever little plant that can grow from the smallest cutting and rehydrate from a dessicated state! Yes thank you, I know you can eat it, I keep being told this (by, obviously, non gardeners and copious posts on Facebook!) .........
The decking in the evening sun looks good too.
1st June
8.00 The Chevre was no where near set.
Brett blocking, me weeding and doing the washing.
Lunchtime: looked at the 'cheese', the curds were fermenting/bubbling, which could mean alien bacteria (though I've been very hot on hygiene); Brett thinks it could be the heat (which is hotter than the recipe calls for) whatever the reason I'm bloody pissed off, it's getting ridiculous now Chevre is supposed to be a beginner's cheese i.e. easy!!!!
I'm very impressed with Amazon; I ordered Brett's birthday present last Thursday, it was dispatched on Monday (Bank Holiday), today (Wednesday) a van arrive at the house with his parcel - the driver had a random bloke in his cab who he'd stopped in the village to ask where we lived (he got in and showed him the way, we don't know him!).
We watched 'Alice through the Looking Glass' this evening - it was nothing like the book!
2nd June
Happy Birthday Jean, XXX
Brett blocking, me weeding, making cake and birthday cards. We're going to Bar do Clube for a few drinks with friends (17) tomorrow to celebrate Brett's birthday.
3rd June
Happy Birthday Brett💝💝💝💝💝Xxxx
Happy Birthday Nicky x
I gave Brett a Shepherd's Crook for his birthday - I think he likes it, it'll be very handy when he needs to catch specific sheep.
I spent the day cleaning the house and cooking, as Nicky and Rich were supposed to be coming for the night (unfortunately they cancelled as Rich has a bad back). Brett did some blocking (he wanted to).
Then we went to the bar to have drinks with all Brett's friends.
4th June
We're both a little bit delicate after last night's frivolities! It was a good evening - the drink and conversation flowed, we didn't get home until gone midnight.
We left Hazel and Georgia (our milkers) out in the field last night (in case we were in no state to milk this morning!); their kids fed off them all night, so they didn't need milking this morning but Jelisa (one of our new goats) did. We have never milked her before, we don't know if she has even kidded, but we have seen Sharon's kids (the other new goats) feeding from her. She gave a whopping 900ml of milk! It looks a bit watery (which is common in maiden milkers) so we'll feed it to the pigs for the time being. She was absolutely brilliant, just ate her food and her milk flowed out (more like Hazel than Georgia).
We went to Meimao for a picnic with more friends. Very relaxing, met lots of new people - mainly English but a couple of Portuguese. And I might have a commission; Christine's daughter has just bought a place locally, they have two doors with three small transom lights (like fan lights but rectangular)above, that they would like some coloured glass in (first job in the new studio?).
Picked a colander full of strawberries ..........
5th June
The cat has had her kittens - in the brambles underneath the living room window (maybe she's thinking we can protect them?). Only two this time and, as far as I can tell, completely white.
Hubble, bubble ....... I have two batches of yoghurt going; a goat's milk (which is what I ultimately want to make, but apparently it's a bit problematic) and a cow's milk (for comparison, and to ensure my culture is viable), they're sitting in the warmth of the car (I used to use the greenhouse in Wales). And my water kefir is going great guns; the grains have multiplied dramatically (I purchased 2 tablespoons and have just measured what I have now - over 9 heaped tablespoons), so I now have 2 lots of water on the go and have made, a second fermentation version of, lemonade (lots of experimenting).
Back to work today after two days off; Brett blocked this morning and cut grass this afternoon (hopefully for the last time for a few months), I finished weeding the carrots and did a good half a row of onions (it makes my hip flavors ache!).
This evening I dug up some potatoes (I had thought they were blighted, but chatting to Andrew on Friday he said his were the same and the plants were over without flowering); so happy, I dug up two plants and got nearly 2lbs.
6th June
The yoghurt culture (Lidl's Greek Yoghurt) worked well - the cow's milk yoghurt is just right but the goat's milk one is runny and lumpy (as predicted by internet research), I will strain off the whey and make it into cheese - ha, that didn't work everything through the cheese cloth!!! But researching (via internet) tells me I should have killed off the natural bacteria (slightly different to cow's milk) in the goat's milk first, by heating to 180, so I'll try that tomorrow.
Brett has loaned his 'pride & joy' (the tractor) to PaM for a couple of days.
More blocking, more weeding ........ then I dug up a good amount of carrots (sown last autumn), potatoes and beetroot (again last year's, but it hasn't bulbed up, we'll eat the leaves).
7th May
It's getting hotter, tomorrow 35C is forecast .........
The pool has been cleaned out and filled; as we are watering the Portuguese way, flooding channels, we won't be putting chlorine in it this year - hope it doesn't turn green!
Blocking and weeding.
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