STILL EXCITED ABOUT THE TRACTOR!!!!

5^th June

Brett was back working on Clare & Andy’s floor today; they had a good day yesterday and he arrived home two hours earlier than anticipated J.

I, stupidly, fell over whilst leading the goats from their shed to the field; I’m blaming it on my dizzy ears, however, I was impressed with myself as I managed to keep a hold of their leads! The dogs were sweet; they came running over to me, I’m convinced with concern on their faces, and started licking me.
I’ve been trying to do an hour’s weeding in the mornings (before 9.00 and the heat of the day) and the squash patch is starting to look better; it helps that the plants are just beginning to take off (Andrew has fruit on his and mine are only just flowering), I’m wondering if it’s the mulching that’s helped?

The sheep’s eyes are much improved and the horrible grass seems to have shed all its seeds. We have one black sheep with a dull patch in one eye; but even that is better than last week when it was white and she was blind, so I’m hoping it will continue to heal. It will definitely not happen to them next year as (1) we are aware of the dangers now and (2) we have our tractor to cut the grass before it goes to seed.

Will & Gill are looking at camper vans; I’m so excited, if they get one, they’ll be able to come and visit us (YIPPEE!!!!!).

This evening all the Pedrogao crowd were invited to Baptiste’s (he bought a mansion next to the church in the village); we sat outside, under a lemon tree, on rickety old chairs and benches, at tables laden with food and drink, looking just like the stereotypical Mediterranean gathering they have on films and in adverts!

6^th June N/I

My goodness it was hot today (the hottest day so far); I didn’t want to do much and having a bit of a hangover and inflamed Eustachian tubes didn’t help. I did manage a bit of weeding before breakfast.

Looby went off; we thought she’d gone off to the river as she was hot, but she came home dry, panting and even hotter. So I threw a bucket of water on her - she thought she was being punished!

Will & Gill have bought a camper van and they’re coming to visit October half term – I am so very happy and excited JJJ. Bugger the summer, roll on autumn ...

I made stuffed vine leaves (our own leaves no less); stuffed with rice, onion (ours), garlic (ours), and mint (ours) ... I wonder if I can grow rice? I was very pleased with them; they were very tasty and they look super impressive too!

We were supposed to go to a film show (Pride) on P&M’s decking tonight but, as my hearing is rubbish atm, we decided to give it a miss. Also, as it doesn’t get dark until well after 9.00 it was going to be another late night.

There’s a lot of social events going on at the moment so it’s necessary to ‘pick and choose’; tomorrow we’re having lunch with Marc & Mieke (I’ve made chocolate mousse, I was going to make honeycomb but I’ve run out of golden syrup and I can’t get it here) but we could also have gone to a concert played in a mine in one of the local Geo-parks (P&M and a crowd are going to that).

Our new hens have started laying.

7^th June N/I

I was up and out well before 7.00 – it was actually rather chilly!!! Our billy goat was a bit frisky this morning ....

I offered to be the designated driver when we went out for lunch; is a good excuse not to drink, I don’t enjoy drinking alcohol mid day (and it’s easier for me to see when it’s not dark); but as Brett didn’t want to drink either he drove anyway.

We had a lovely afternoon sitting out under a huge fig tree and we were given cherries to take home (M&M have eighteen huge trees, I’m very jealous).

M&M have a new puppy; she’s an Alentejo sheep dog (a BIG breed) she’s only 3 months old and her feet are as big as my hands! She’s absolutely gorgeous

On our way to M&M’s we saw a whirlwind right next to the road and on our way back it rained!!!! We were so excited, but it did nothing to wet the ground so we still had to water!

We think that our vegetables aren’t as lush as they should be and that this is down to lack of watering; we’re making a concerted effort to give them more and any subsequent plantings this year we will put in troughs, which we can flood (it’s how the Portuguese do it).
Then this evening we were treated to an electrical storm ...

8^th June N/I

CB again!!!!! This is getting boring; but we thought this was the last trip for a while .... we bought the grass cutting and scarifying attachments for the tractor, so tomorrow we could start mowing ...

We managed to pick up a few emails, on the free wifi in town, on our mobile – but couldn’t answer anyone!

We got home, unloaded the attachments, Brett attached the grass cutter and ... the ‘power take off’ connection is too long!!!!! So we have to go back tomorrow and exchange it, what a pisser L!

9^th June

A small harvest ...

Please note the two tomatillos at the front!!

It's starting to be that time of year, when we can eat from the garden and Brett gets bored with beans and courgettes every day!

So we came home with the same PTO connection; the man apologised for not telling us we had to cut it to length! Brett had to cut 35cms off each end; sawing through a plastic pipe and angle grinding through metal tubes –how were we to know that? But now it works and we’ve just got to learn how to use it – because it seems awfully slow atm and cutting our grass is going to take weeks if not months!

This evenings meal: chicken breasts pan fried in olive oil, with tomatillo (and tomato) salsa, new potatoes and a medley of climbing beans  - everything grown/raised on quinta except the tomatoes (which we will have by next week).

So tomorrow the grass cutting starts in earnest!

'Darling Buds of May'!

10^th June

Bloody brilliant; the battery on the tractor is ‘dead’; we were supposed to be given a new one! We tried jump-starting the tractor with the truck, but it wouldn’t; now we’re trying to charge the battery – Brett says it could take 36 hours, that’s if it takes a charge at all!

So no grass mowing today; I carried on weeding the vegetable garden – unfortunately the weeds are growing faster than I pull them up!!!

OMG Brett strimmered around the paddock below the house this afternoon; he called me 'come down here I want you to see our neighbour's garden' - you can't see much of it from the house because of the hedgerow between us. It is lush, weed free and HUGE; it's absolutely immaculate and the plants looks so healthy - it's inspirational. He says I have to aspire to that next year! It has to be down to their watering; we need to talk to them to find out what they are doing different to us, they are using furrows to plant their vegetables in and I think flooding the furrows every other day – we’re using hosepipes and sprinklers.
Not good photos, but at last I have pictures of a bee eater showing the magnificent colouring ...

11^th June

RAIN!!!!! Real proper rain, so we didn’t have to water tonight J. And the temperature dropped dramatically to 22°; I spent the day in leggings and a jumper.

After much playing around Brett got the tractor started and spent a while working out what gears, speed, revs etc are needed to get the optimum grass cutting from the topper; it’s quite complicated, the revs have to be high so that the PTO moves fast enough (but our rev counter doesn’t work!), but you don’t want the tractor moving fast so it has to be in a crawler gear ....... anyway, he worked it out (with some research on the internet) and cut the whole of the paddock below the house. Now all he’s got to do is teach me how to use it!

We 'love' out tractor!

I potted on herbs and plants for around the house/decking – I’m determined it’s going to look nice; unfortunately all my large ceramic pots were left in Wales so all I have atm is plastic ugly ones.

We’ve had poo on the decking every morning for a couple of months; traced it up to a hole in the house wall – Brett thought it could be mouse (too small for rat, phew!), I hoped it was gecko, turns out it’s BATS and there’s baby bats in the house wall ... so Now I’m not in the least bit worried by it.
We have very demanding Muscovy ducks;

"Is it dinner time yet?"

'Little Miss' actually comes in the house to tell me it's her dinner time!

The floor is filthy because of muddy feet (it's been raining); you can see our rain catching barrels lined up outside on the decking

12^th June

Well Brett taught me to work the tractor and topper (it took all of 5 minutes!) and this morning I worked for about two hours (with a 10 minute coffee break, to let the tractor engine cool down), and cut all the grass in Lavender paddock (about ¾ - 1 acre, I left the ¾ - 1 acre of lavender); it was actually very relaxing once I got my confidence and I feel as if I’ve done something useful. I didn’t realise what dirty work it is I was covered in dust and itchy all over, and sneezing nonstop.

Brett played with the tractor this afternoon; he tried out the scarifier, it needs a longer attachment but it will work – I don’t like what it does to the land but it creates a good firebreak.

13^th June

Another cooler day, it’s going to heat back up next week.

Since tiling the kitchen floor the living room has become a ‘dumping ground’ and hasn’t been cleaned or tidied! That was all remedied today and it’s now looking as good as it can with unplastered walls, concrete floor and (dusty) shelves full of tools. The hoover was its usual crappy self belching out dust clouds – I HATE it, if I had stairs I would throw it down them, useless bit of kit!
My Bell’s Palsy was playing up today; I had a horrid jaw ache and started worrying that I was going to have a relapse, I went to bed early with pain killers.

14^th June

Woke up without the pain in my jaw and I can shut my eye; big sigh of relief! But feeling very tired and the dizziness has come back – oh woe is me ...

We had real rain today and lots of it; and thunder and lightning – it was just like being back in the UK! And all we could keep thinking was ‘this is great for the garden’!

We had a relaxing day watching videos in our newly cleaned living room.

Andrew came round and gave us some of his garden produce – carrots, parsnips and beetroot

AND a bottle of his delicious (with chips) beetroot ketchup.

15^th June

When I let the Muscovies out this morning I saw two eggs in their shed, on further investigation I found a nest, twelve eggs in total

there’s no way we’re going to allow one of them to sit for another 35 days (they’ve both done 70 days already this year), so I took them out. We’re overrun with eggs atm;

we have goose, duck, chicken and the young hens are laying well too ... lucky pigs and dogs!

Our first ripe tomatoes (from the polytunnel) – we had ‘Greek’ salad for lunch,

all our own produce (tomatoes, cucumber, onion, basil and olive oil) except the cheese (maybe one day), that was from Lidl!

We dug up our potatoes using the tractor with the scarifier attachment; it worked a treat and was so much easier than digging by hand.

16^th June

We spent the day in the vegetable garden; Brett on the tractor and rotorvator, me with a fork (weeding). At last the garden is starting to look more kempt; it helps that the plants are beginning to take off (unfortunately weeding is like the Forth of Firth bridge!).

While we were in the garden we were called by a couple (Portuguese) walking around the quinta next door; they were looking for the Roman fonte (it’s across the stream just behind our goose shed, not on our land). We invited them over to our quinta (they had quite a walk around as it’s impossible to cross the stream at that point) and showed them the fonte (battling our way through brambles and bracken to get to it) – I think they were quite disappointed when they saw it!

Every day or so we pick up a bucket full of oranges (windfalls) and squeeze about 3L of orange juice (how much would that cost in Tesco?); it’s delicious, once chilled. And everyday we harvest a few vegetables.

17^th June

Back in the garden for me; weeding and mulching ...

Brett in the big field strimmering around the perimeter in preparation for taking in the tractor to cut the grass (we’re fighting about who’s going to be driving the tractor!).

Tonight I made a cake in a frying pan (recipe courtesy of Karina, thank you); it seems to be quite a good consistency, we’ll see tomorrow when I fill it and we try it.

18^th June

I filled and covered the cake with chocolate ganache

I honestly think if I didn’t know better I would have thought it was cooked in an oven; the texture/consistency is perfect. Glenn and Mark came to lunch and took some cake home with them (unfortunately they don’t have fridge so I think the ganache might have suffered).

I had a horrible BP jaw ache attack (I went to bed for a couple of hours), so didn’t go to the sheds to see Mark & Glenn off, which is a shame as I apparently missed a very impressive whirlwind.

This evening I cut grass, while Brett shifted stones from the field (we think it’s years of scarifying, it brings the stones to the surface – like pigs do!).

19^th June

Still feeling crap (achy jaw, covered in swollen, itchy, mosquito bites (three on my face) and tired) and sorry for myself.
I couldn't resist picking a few tomatoes and yard long beans for lunch ... 

AND there was a swallowtail butterfly in the polytunnel.

Brett had to strimmer a large area of the field as it is covered in stones and you can’t see them easily until the grass is cut.
I took it easy today ...

20^th June

Happy Birthday Mel!!!! XXX

I’ve had the above tagged onto the end of my blog for weeks – so I don’t miss the BIG day (like last year)! Hope you have a fab party XXXX.

TRACTOR!!!!!

26^th May N/I

Rebecca emailed yesterday to ask if she and Paul could visit for her birthday ..... ‘YES, YES, YES’!!!!! So we have visitors in July. Then Helen messaged to say she would definitely book her ticket this week, for her birthday in September.

This morning one of the guinea fowl is hopping around on one leg; they’re flighty birds, impossible to catch, so I can’t inspect it to see what it’s done.

Round two of the insurance saga: Typical that there was no internet this morning when we wanted to go on Google Translate! It wasn’t too bad; we did come away with a cover note (she’s going to text us a quote for fully comp as the third party quote was 140€ less than we paid for 3^rd party last year), (we went with the third party; fully comp quote was still expensive).
Then we went to Financas (Penamacor) and paid for our road tax (52€ for the year!); it was much quicker than doing it in CB as there was no queue.

I strung up a fabulous plait of our homegrown garlic (I made the method up); and then when I picked it up it fell in half!!!!

We weeded in the vegetable garden this afternoon; it was horrible – too hot, the ground was hard and dusty, too hot, ants, too hot ....

27^th May

I was up and weeding by 7.20 this morning; it was much nicer doing it before it got too hot!

The guinea fowl are now in the freezer along with the last two meat birds; not a nice morning’s work but necessary if we want free range meat.

Our insurance documents arrived in Penamacor (very efficient) so we are now legal apart from MOT which we will do tomorrow.

33° in the shade today ... it’s hot.

28^th May

Hoorah, the car passed it’s MOT and we don’t have to worry again for another year.

Brett was outside this morning when I heard him shouting “get the camera and put the dogs in”, he had found a BIG snake, well over a metre long. He took photos; not very good as it was very agile and very fast, at one point it went up a tree.

We identified it (after taking the photos) as a Horseshoe Whip Snake .... ‘a very aggressive snake, which bites repeatedly if trapped’!

This afternoon I went into the living room and there was a snake coiled next to the stove, I startled it and it went into the tiny gap between the stone hearth and the wall; it took us ages to coax it into the box – it was a Water Viperine and harmless.

Then, this evening when we were doing the sheep, I tripped over another BIG snake (a good metre long)! Brett (he says ‘bravely’, but he’d already identified it) picked it up, by its tail, and put it on the track to take photos.

Looby went berserk!!! She was jumping up and down in front of it, drumming her feet on the ground, barking and growling – the snake was rearing up and hissing at her. Lily kept her distance!!! However it was another harmless snake, a Ladder Snake, we see a lot of them around here.

It was 35° degrees in the shade today. Andrew says his well is drying up fast and he’s worried he’ll have run out of water by July. Mr Louis told us that our wells have never run dry while he owned them – but it was a very dry winter.

I made lemon sorbet .......

29^th May

Another scorcher!!!!

Today we scoured the dealers in Fundao for a tractor; then went to visit Vince & Lola to see if he could advice us on what we actually want as we are confused ..... 20hp v 35hp, 2x4 v 4x4, make of vehicle, accessories etc etc.

30^th May

I hate to say this but ... ‘Hoorah’ our last language class until September!!!!!! I am struggling, really I shouldn’t be in the intermediate class, but Brett is too good for the beginner’s.

Jo & Gordon’s goat herding neighbour gave them a large goat cheese this morning and they kindly gave us some – it’s absolutely delicious.

We were invited, along with Marc & Mieke, to dinner with Alex & Karina – wild boar (which they bought at 5€/kilo from the local hunting lodge), it was delicious, followed by goat milk (there’s a theme here!) ice cream (milk from Georgia’s mum), fabulous ... now I want to milk goats! We sat outside, under a full moon (and a spluttering candle) for light and talked the night away; when Brett asked what I thought the time was I guessed at 11ish – it was 1.00 a.m.

31^st May
Karina reckons mulching is the answer to weed control and water retention; so this morning Brett and I used bales of straw to mulch around our squash and tomato plants (we only managed about a third of the plants, we’ll do more tomorrow).

Marc & Mieke brought us a tray of cherries and a big bag of lemons yesterday (lovely people);

I’ve made a couple of Kilner jars of cherry liqueur (cherries, sugar and aguadente).

1^st June

We had a lovely relaxing lunch at O Quartel, with Jo & Gordon – the menu de dia was only 7€ a head (five courses plus drinks) and we sat outside on the balcony with fabulous panoramic views.

We made an appointment for Brett to go to the dentist; he has been suffering for the last few weeks.
I picked our first cucumbers today; we've been picking courgettes for a while.

2^nd June

Happy Birthday Jean!

Another day spent trawling around the tractor dealers; so boring now! But we do have one coming out tomorrow to demonstrate a tractor (and Vince is kindly coming to look it over for us).

I haven’t bought Brett a birthday present (I have no idea what to get him, in the UK most of my presents were returned to the shops I had bought them from – don’t fancy doing that here!) so, as far as I’m concerned the tractor will be his present! I have made him a cheesecake though (it is his favourite).

3^rd June

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRETT!!!!

He might not have had a present but he did have birthday bunting!!!

Vince (and Lola) came to see the tractor demo and to give us some much needed advice - we bought it ......

Poor old Brett had to go to the dentist; he had three fillings and three hours later the biggest one was gone, so he has to go back again!

This afternoon we went, with C&D to check that the preparation was complete at Clare & Andy’s for the concrete to be laid. On the way home we had to pop into Bar do Clube for a ‘quick one’ which turned into four!!!

Mark (and Glenn) has arrived at long last (it’s 18 months since we last saw him); he stopped off on his way home and stayed for dinner/overnight.

4^th June

Brett and Chris have two days work at Clare & Andy’s; laying a concrete floor in 36+° heat! So he was up and out early.
I had so many chores I was going to do but I felt like crap; my ears are muffled (it feels like I have my head in a bucket), my tinnitus is extremely loud and I’m feeling so dizzy – it started last week, I thought it was getting better but it’s worse today (soddin’ Bell’s Palsy and inflamed Eustachian tubes). But I did manage to sweep and wash the floor and do a load of washing!

Well that’s a first – I’ve driven a tractor! It’s very bouncy and I kept imagining it would roll over (but Brett says it won’t!), I’m sure I’ll get used to it, I’ve got to as I need to be able to cut the grass.

NEW TOYS ....

19^th May

After being nagged, texted, emailed etc I, at last, updated the blog! I noticed that on 16^th May my page views spiked to 202 views .... why/how/who – I don’t have that many friends and family who read my blog! So what was that all about?

Naughty goat (Georgia) can climb trees ...

Brett and Max boraxed the decking and animal sheds this morning, it protects the wood from insects; unfortunately it ‘walks’ into the house and makes our tiles look messy!

The new sheep & goat corral and shelter

As we had no food in the house (I blame Max!) I made lunch from scratch - flatbreads (dough courtesy of my beautiful new machine!) and dip (from some ropey old carrots) ... it was surprisingly good!

This afternoon was very windy; Brett was strimmering the track, I was weeding the vegetable garden (and Max was ‘revising’ in the house). A helicopter went over; we took no particular notice; then it came over again this time with a ‘bucket’ of water ... there was a WILDFIRE at the Dutch people’s quinta – next but one to our quinta!
The helicopter went back and forward dumping big ‘buckets’ of water and two fire trucks turned up; Brett and Max went down to see ‘if they could help’ (or as I call it ‘for a nose’!) – leaving me behind on our quinta with no form of transport should the wind turn and send the fire my way ... it was scary. Fortunately the Bombeiros (firemen) are brilliant and they soon had it under control. Chinese whispers suggest that it was the Dutchman’s fault (probably a cigarette) and that he will be billed for the Bombeiros and GNR.

We are now seriously looking into getting a tractor, sooner rather than later, as our grass needs cutting; it’s long and dry, and a potential fire risk.

20^th May

We’re still waiting for news of our freezer; it’s been nearly two weeks since we paid for it.

Andy and Clare want Brett and Chris to make them a concrete floor in their straw bale house, so we (me, Brett & Max) went over to have a look at what the job would entail. Their walls are much more ‘lumpy bumpy’ than Chris & Di’s!

This afternoon Brett and Max dug holes for gate posts and I continued weeding the vegetable garden (it’s a thankless task!); it’s starting to look more kempt.

We watched a really awful film tonight, ‘Friends with Benefits’, I went to bed halfway through.

21^st May

Still unloading boxes and running out of space to put things!!! But I don’t want to get rid of anything – I did enough of that when I was packing it away!

Bloody hell another wildfire today; this one was much bigger than the one two days ago and nearer to P&M than us – but two this early in the year doesn’t bode well. We went off in the truck to have a look, but the GNR were stopping cars and there wasn’t much to see (and it was very smoky) – the helicopter dropping water, a couple of fire trucks and firemen milling around. We went back via Chris & Di’s (Chris had climbed to the top of the quarry to watch the fire) and ended up inviting them for pizza; which we’re getting good at now.

22^nd May

Another sheep with grass seeds in her eyes; with the black sheep (which I think look like llamas!)

Look at the length of the neck and small head ...

it’s hard to see their eyes; it was only when she got separated from the rest of the flock (because she was bleating a lot) that we noticed. Another reason we need the tractor, to ‘top’ the grass.

By the end of the day we had a third sheep down! We do remove the grass and swill out the eyes with saline (and we’re inspecting their eyes continuously). The first sheep (white ram) is much improved; his eye is open all the time, if a little pink.

Lily also does her best to help by licking the sheep's faces; they actually line up for it!

'me next ...'

We got a text to say we can pick up our freezer!!!!

Max treated us to dinner (thank you Max) at the usual place in Penamacor; I only drank water, as I was the designated driver.

23^rd May Happy Birthday Mother (she would have been 88!).

The black sheep are still suffering; one is practically blind, we’re hoping it’s only temporary. They are managing to keep up with the rest of the flock OK and they’re eating fine; it’s just their poor eyes.

We took Max into CB to catch the train to Lisbon (bye Max, it was lovely to see you and you’re welcome to come back next year). And we picked up our freezer!!!

This evening we had a social, at the bar, with Chris, Di, Andrew and Baptiste – we didn’t get home until 1.30 a.m.!!!!!

24^th May

We feed (just a handful of pellets to bring them in) and inspect our sheep twice daily;

our flock

it used to be an enjoyable task, but this problem with their eyes has taken all the joy out of it, however this morning we noted an improvement and are feeling optimistic that they will make a full, if slow, recovery.
There was another nearby wildfire today - it's getting a bit worrying!!!

This afternoon we had a lazy few hours at a Flower festa in the next village;

listening to drumming bands, relaxing in the sunshine and eating really weird ice cream – I think it was made with milk (probably ½ fat!) rather than cream, it looked like a ‘Mr Whippy’ but didn’t taste like one!

I came home and made some mango sorbet (made up recipe), because I now have plenty of room in my freezer for the bowl to the ice cream maker; it’s delicious (if I do say so myself) and much ‘creamier’ than the festa ice cream (even though it has no cream in it, just mango puree, egg whites, sugar and lemon juice).

25^th May

The sheep continue to improve.
Oh dear we had one of those frustrating days when you wish you hadn’t bothered!!!! We tried to buy our car insurance and rather than go into CB we went to somewhere, we had been recommended, in Penamacor. Of course she spoke really, really fast and we hadn’t brought the correct documents and it was all very frustrating and we have to go back tomorrow ....

I calmed myself down this afternoon using my new machine to make lemon curd and mayonnaise (our eggs, olive oil and neighbour’s lemons);

Brett washed the car (he likes doing that!).

I'M BEING NAGGED TO UPDATE!!!!!

7^th April

Pauline and Mike came back from their trip to the Serra de Estrelas with trees for us (almonds and cherries) and then treated us to dinner at O Quartel which was lovely (especially as we had an upsetting day with Looby running off).

8^th April

Pauline & Mike left this morning, it was wonderful to see them.

This afternoon it rained so we lit the stove and relaxed AND ..... ordered a twin tub washing machine from Amazon (Spain) the delivery was only 7 euros. No more hand washing!!!!!!

The goats weren’t happy as we put them in the shed at lunchtime but the rain was rather heavy.

9^th April

The weather was still inclement so the poor old goats had to stay in their shed again; we picked them lots of herbage (olive, grape vine, cabbage etc) to keep them occupied and Brett made a half gate for the shed so they have fresh air and light.

This evening we took the dogs to the vet in Penamacor (he doesn’t open until 8.30 p.m. ish) for their yearly vaccinations. The dogs are not used to the car (because every time either one goes in it they are sick - so we don’t take them in it!) and they both shook all the way there (Lilli with her bum on the seat and her head under my knee). Then they harmonised and ‘sang’ as we sat in the waiting room – it was very embarrassing. Then they got into the surgery and were as good as gold and didn’t appear to notice their two injections apiece or the fingers up her bum (Lilli!!!). Then they shook all the way home – but neither of them was sick. Unfortunately we have a return trip in three weeks for the booster injection.

Tomorrow Brett is working for Annika.

10^th April

Heavy rain = goats had to stay in/me getting wet picking herbage/no solar.

Brett only worked the morning at Annika’s.

11^th April

Yay, sunshine; in fact bloody hot (I was working in the polytunnel). We still haven’t got our rotorvator back and everything needs to go out, I managed to put out some stuff (after clearing the weeds by hand) and pot other plants on.

Brett started to make a field shelter for the sheep and goats.

12^th April

I carried on working in the garden (by hand!).

13^th April

WE’VE GOT THE ROTORVATOR BACK!!!!!!! The guy in the shop had lost our telephone number so hadn’t been able to call us.
We decided that we would check oil levels before we started using the machine; so we got out the instruction manual, which has been translated from Chinese into Portuguese. Everything was fine until we came to checking the gearbox oil level; it said check the dipstick – there is no dipstick!!!! And nowhere does it say how much oil should be in there, it just says make sure it’s level is between the limits on dipstick but THERE IS NO DIPSTICK (and nowhere where a dipstick could go). We ‘googled’ it, emailed/texted people who might know, went to visit P&M to look at their rotorvator – it HAS a dipstick! All to no avail – we both got totally frustrated and bad tempered.

14^th April

We asked Mark to come round to advise us on our oil level; he and Brett went over the whole machine with a ‘fine tooth comb’ – there is no dipstick! Mark was as puzzled as us.

We went to visit Claire and Phil, we thought they had a rotorvator like ours – they don’t, theirs has a dipstick!
We texted Mark (and Glenn), he’s mechanically savvy so he should know – he said “have you got a manual – will give required oil grade and capacity” ... yes we have and it doesn’t!!!!

Finally we drained the oil from the gear box – 2½L (1L was the one we put in yesterday) so now we’re assuming/hoping that the machine was serviced and has the correct volume of oil (1.5L).

15^th April

Brett rotorvated a huge area of garden, for me to fill over the next couple of days, while he’s working at Annika’s. I weeded the polytunnel.

Claire and Phil came to visit for a few hours this afternoon.

16^th April

Brett’s working for Annika for the next couple of days.

I worked in the garden – planting out potatoes, tomatoes, squash etc. I’m still trying to construct a squash tunnel structure – today’s effort was very frustrating and unsuccessful!!!!

17^th April

Same as yesterday.

18^th April

Our washing machine was supposed to have arrived by today – it hasn’t!

I went around to Andrew’s quinta and admired his garden, it’s looking fantastic. And he gave me a bag of his broad beans (mine are not very bountiful yet).
Chris & Di invited us for dinner, but, as it was chilly and showery, they brought it all to us – which was lovely we had the pleasure of being cooked for (Di even did the washing up!) but we didn’t have to go out.

19^th April

Marc & Mieke came for Sunday lunch, which we ate outside on the decking.

20^th April

Brett’s working for the next three days.

I constructed a wigwam, for the cucumbers, which I embellished with ‘dream catchers’ – it took me nearly three hours, but it does look rather splendid.

Still no sign of our washing machine L.

21^st April

Our goose eggs were supposed to hatch yesterday – no sign so far; we’ll have to candle the eggs, if we can get her off the nest.

WHERE’S OUR WASHING MACHINE??????? I’m starting to get worried, especially as we have paid for two (Alex & Karina wanted one too).

Billy (goat) is ill; we think he’s eaten too much lush grass so I kept the goats in today – they were not happy!

22^nd April

Hoorah Brett wasn’t needed at work today J.
Billy still wasn’t right, so the goats had another day in the shed.

23^rd April

We bought the tiles for our kitchen floor today; of course they didn’t have the ones we went in for, but these ones are nice and very, very cheap; the whole 30m² floor (including grout, adhesive etc) came to 240€ (that’s £173) .. it’s going to look so good!

24^th April

We spent the day taking everything (except the dresser, glazed cupboard and larder cupboard) out of the kitchen; the room looks very big (it’s 20’ x 16’). Brett buzzed off all the high points of the floor with his angle grinder – creating a dust storm, in the middle of which we had visitors, Ollie & Anna another English couple that have moved to the village; we counted up and there are at least twenty expats in the village that we know of.

25^th April

Tiling the kitchen floor DAY 1 A.M.: Brett measured, re measured, so that the first tiles laid were in exactly the right place but by the time he had laid fifteen tiles they had floated on the adhesive and were over ½” off course (and would no longer overlap the door step enough), so they all had to come up! P.M.: He screwed a straight edge to the floor, and started again, by the end of the day twenty tiles were in place (and looking good).
We went to P&M’s for dinner and a movie; which was lovely at the end of a stressful, busy day.

26^th April

Tiling DAY 2: And Brett had a really good day and laid forty eight tiles. Then he found a high spot, which he worked at with the angle grinder, and made a dust storm!

27^th April

Another 26 tiles laid today and that’s as many full tiles as can be laid, until the large furniture is moved. We cut all the tiles that needed cutting (corners, around pillars etc) and my glass cutting skills came into their own when we had to cut tiles that weren’t symmetrical. These tiles are so strong that to break them I had to stand on one side while Brett stood on the other and then practically jump up and down.

Tomorrow we will grout what’s been done so far and the next day move the furniture into the middle of the room and tile around the edges (we have nearly a1/3 of the tiles left, so quite a bit of tiling still to do).

28^th April

Wow the grout makes the floor look so good; it makes it more solid somehow.

Our washing machine hasn’t been delivered yet; I’ve emailed the company that’s selling it and they’re all apologies, but it’s nearly two weeks late – I had to wash by hand today, and there was masses as I’d been saving it up!

29^th April

Yay, the washing machine couriers have been in touch – apparently they came to deliver it, couldn’t find us, nobody (not even the Police) knew where we lived, so they went away again!!! But they now have our phone number and will ring once they are close.

Even though the floor isn’t finished we’ve put all the furniture back in place and it looks great. Brett needs a stint of walking on two legs and we have visitors; tomorrow (Jo) and the next day (Max). We gave the place a good cleaning too and both of us keep sweeping and mopping the floor (we just can’t help ourselves).

30^th April

So the washing machine is coming on Monday!!!
Jo came to lunch, then we followed her back to her quinta – it’s lovely, quite remote, lots of work (but then they all are), lots of potential.

We took the dogs back to the vet’s for their follow up injections; we checked it was open as we passed and continued up the road to the bank to get some money, drove back and it was shut!!!!!! It’s a funny system he opens up after his day’s work anytime between 8.- 9 p.m. and presumably as soon as he has no customers he shuts up shop. We arrived dead on 9.00 as the animals don’t go away now until after 8.30. So we’ll have to come back tomorrow.

1^st May

And today is a Public Holiday in Portugal; so of course today we had to go into CB (to pick Max up from the train station) and we couldn’t go to the vet, fortunately most of the shops we needed to go to were open.

2^nd May

We moved all the heavy furniture out of the kitchen, ready for tile laying tomorrow, it took all morning – first we had to unload, then move, then reload ... thank goodness for Max!

We took Max to the Monsanto Festa. As there is no parking in Monsanto the festa visitors had to park in the village at the bottom of the hill and catch a bus up to Monsanto (Max wanted to walk, but I refused! – it’s a bloody steep climb, and I’m lazy).

We waited in a queue for the bus; a bus came down the hill past us, to turn round, then came back and picked up most of the people in front of us. The next bus came down the hill, past us, to turn around) came back and it was full of people from further down the hill!!!! After 40 minutes of queuing we finally caught a bus! The festa was lively and fun, we would have stayed on into the evening but we had to get back to the animals.

3^rd May

Rain, rain and more rain.

Brett tiled while I cut tiles to size and by the evening the tiling was complete!

Our dinner tonight was all from the quinta.

4^th May

It continued to rain.

Our washing machine arrived!!!! And I christened it –it’s fabulous and the spinner practically dries the clothes for you (which was good as I couldn’t hang them on the line).

'Old'!!!

'New'!

Brett grouted the tiles ..... and the floor is done; tomorrow we can bring back the furniture and ‘dress’ the space.

So tonight we took the dogs back to the vet; we made sure we were there before he shut, so we arrived about 8.45. While we waited he saw to three ‘patients’ (two of which he operated on) and we got in to see him at about 10.45 – by then we had lost the will to live, we were sooooo bored! Then when Looby had her ‘worm’ injection she cried like a baby for nearly two minutes – the vet said that it was usual with that injection and that Lili would cry too ... she didn’t, she’s very stoic!
We had our dinner at 11.45 p.m.!!!!!

5^th May

We love our twin tub!

We started putting back the furniture, then Lola and Vince came to visit us; they wanted to see our decking (Lola hadn’t been to our quinta before).
It took most of the day to organise the kitchen; it looks bloody brilliant.

6^th May

With Max’s help we ‘processed’ four frangos (meat chickens) they are quite a size now – we have one that weighed in at nearly 10lbs.

When Alex & Karina came to pick up their washing machine they begged us to come and fetch our third goat (they have her mother and she wasn’t old enough to wean); apparently she’s been getting into their orchard and eating all their trees. So today we went and got her; we thought rather than put her straight into the field (where we probably wouldn’t be able to get her out to put her to bed) we’d take her to the shed and bring the other goats in early .... Hazel (tiny little female goat) spent the afternoon head butting the newby and Billy just tries to mount her! We left them to it, hoping that they would sort themselves out ..... around 7.00 we heard a goat bleating, and it sounded quite close – she had escaped from the shed!

We had pizza tonight; it was our best attempt yet, the pizzas were cooked perfectly.

7^th May

The Guinea fowl are bullies; now there are no cockerels they are ‘top dogs’ and they chase, and terrorise, the hens.

We put the goats out with the sheep; the new goat seemed quite content; however when we put them in the shed tonight she escaped again! Max has named her, Georgia – I think it’s after a girl he has the ‘hots’ for!
Today we brought in our brown cupboard and glazed brown cupboard; they have never been together, but we’re having the glazed cupboard over the brown cupboard – I think it works nicely.

8^th May

We went into CB and bought (paid for) a freezer, it's got to be delivered now; I think this was instigated by the Guinea fowl! We also spent a lot of time looking at tractors

Max cooked dinner, chicken curry; which, as well as being delicious, gave me a night off.

Alex told Brett of a place near to his quinta to go boar spotting; he said he guaranteed that we would see one, and we did!!! Just the one, but it was very exciting as it’s the first wild boar we have ever seen (in the wild).

9^th May

I had a shattering day, unpacking, washing and finding a home for seven of our boxes of possessions – they all went on the dresser and in the glazed cupboards (so all kitchen stuff, glass and ceramics); it was exciting find bits that I had forgotten about and there’s loads more to come.

Then I had to cook food for our day out tomorrow, our language class trip; we’re having a boat ride, going to an olive oil museum and seeing some ancient rock carvings (I’m really looking forward to the rock carvings).

10^th May

Today was our language class trip; we were going to do a river cruise, visit an olive press museum and see some ancient rock carving – I was mostly excited about the rock carvings. As there were so many of us we were divided into two groups – we did the river trip in the morning and the other group did the museum but for some reason not the rock carvings. We saw Egyptian Griffon Vultures and terrapins on the boat trip.

Then our group had a picnic for FIVE hours (the other group had the picnic and went on the boat trip)!!!! Our bus had a flat tyre (so we missed out on the olive museum) and nobody bothered to fix it until it was time to go home, then, on the way home, the DRIVER stopped at a village bar for beer – he had five bottled before he was forced to drive us home – I wasn’t happy!

11^th May (37 degrees)

We had a trip to Fundao market and bought black pol hens.

We emptied pool and cleaned the pool, ready for filling tomorrow as it’s getting hot this week.
I did a batch of washing; we’re completely up to date – we love the twin tub!

Swept and washed the floor several times! And spent the rest of the day unpacking boxes of kitchen stuff from the farm.

This evening we went boar watching again, this time with Alex – we didn’t see anything. On our way home a branch had fallen off a cork oak tree, blocking the track – Brett, Max and Alex leapt out of the car to move it, I said ‘you won’t move that’, they ignored me .... they couldn’t move it! So we had to back up (a very narrow track in the pitch black) and drive miles out of our way to get back to drop Alex off, and all the time Brett was worried because he’d put beers in the freezer!

12^th May N/I

The internet has been a bit slow this month and today it stopped altogether.

I swept & washed the floor ... several times (we’re addicted, even Max!), it does look good when it’s just been done (for about five minutes). The dogs make it very dusty (dust drops off their coats from outside) and hairy (Looby is the culprit, she has a thick undercoat).

Hoorah, Chris & Di returned bringing with them my new mixer; it was lovely to have them back too. I have to say the colour, of the mixer, is not what I expected, it’s a much brighter green than I had visualised (in fact had I known the colour I would have gone for cream) but it works like a dream; it made a perfect six egg (yolk) mayonnaise in a couple of minutes, so I am very pleased with it.

13^th May

More unpacking of boxes

Brett & Max finished the sheep shed and corral.

14^th May

Cleaning floor, dressing kitchen in preparation for P&M coming to Pizza night tonight! I made the pizza mix in my new mixer – it worked a treat!
The pizzas were cooked to perfection (best yet!).

15^th May

HOT

We dosed and trimmed feet of sheep and goats in their new enclosure.
There's some lovely moths hanging around the lights at night.

Tiger moth.

16^th May

HOT

I painted a set of shelves (actually I think it’s a tray, but I’ll use it as shelves) with a folk art design.

17^th May

HOT

We went out to lunch at Wendy and Kevin’s with P&M and Martin & Anne.

One of our rams had a weeping eye which he couldn’t open; it turned out to be a big grass seed! The seeds here are horrible, they burrow through clothing into skin!

18^th May

STILL HOT
Still waiting for call to say freezer is ready to be collected!

Brett & Max made a ramp down to the lower pasture, so that we can take our new tractor (which we haven’t bought yet!) down there in order to cut grass and rotorvate the land.