WEDDING (not mine!!!!!) ..........

15th August
Happy Birthday Kathryn X
Brett was back at work today and I played 'catch up' after having a day off yesterday.

16th August
First thing this morning (well 8.00) I had to lock the cat in the shed, with no food or drink, as she was off to the vet this afternoon to be spayed - she wasn't happy!
So 1.45 Brett came home from work, I'd already fed and watered sheep, watered pigs again, walked dogs etc. He put generator away (as it had a broken wheel and is too heavy for me to lift), checked the animals, and then off we went (the cat's appointment was for 3.00); halfway to the village he screeched to a halt ...... "we've forgotten the cat"!!!!! Oh dear we could so easily have got to the vet's without her!
We were given an hour to do our shopping (I forgot masses), then it was back to the vet to pick up the cat. She was rather subdued (understandably) but started meowing as we neared home ..... "Are you sure that's our cat? It doesn't sound like her" Brett says "well it's our (actually Pam's) cat carrier" was my reply - we hadn't actually checked the cat, so we stopped the car and looked ...... off course it was our cat!
Poor Jasmine can't walk, she's locked in the dog's shed with food, water and a litter tray, but she keep falling over - it's horrible to watch, hopefully she'll be better tomorrow.

17th August
Happy Birthday Henry, have a fabulous day! XXXXX
The cat is so much better, she was up on the wall of the shed, purring, meowing and complaining about being locked in. She can go out in a couple of days, she's got to take medicine twice a day for the next eight days.
I don't like this Brett working lark (1) obviously I miss him (2) it's boring here on my own (3) it's exhausting doing all his chores as well as mine! And then he comes home tired and falls asleep after dinner.

18th August
Zoe, Tim and their children came to lunch today. And poor old Brett went to work ...
Oh dear Gary came up this afternoon very distressed (it was his birthday) and he'd come home to find one of his dogs dead - he's convinced it was (1) killed by a big white dog that's been hanging around lately (probably one of Looby's beaus!). (2) shot or poisoned by any one of the humans that he (G) has upset recently. (3) stung by a scorpion/snake. I was upset for him but couldn't confirm any of his theories.

19th August
What a shitty start to the day.
Brett was up and out early (to start work at 6.30).
I was forced out of bed at 6.45 by the dogs; they were being driven mad by a dog outside crying and whining pitifully. It was between us and Andrew - I spent ages trying to locate it but it shut up as soon as I went down to our boundary so it was impossible to pinpoint (I could have let the dogs show me but they would have run off and Looby is on heat - it could even be a tethered dog reacting to her smell!). But it was worrying after Gary's dog yesterday.
While I watered the garden this morning I shut the dogs in the goose field (as Lobby can now crawl under the Portuguese gate across the track); I had to go and rescue Looby .......
She had her head under the gate, trying to crawl under it, so her bottom was stuck up in the air and there were four geese pecking at her!!!! I should have had a camera, so funny (obviously) not for Looby! Lily was running backwards and forwards behind the geese, not knowing how to help.
So when Brett came home I told him about the distressed dog, he reckons it's 'Kate Moss' a stray (left behind one weekend by hunters) that C&D have taken in - what a relief.

20th August
Andrew has gone back to the uk, he said we could have any tomatoes left on his vines as they would be dead by the time he came home ...... I had great fun picking his veg whilst Brett spoke to his neighbour (she's lonely!). I'll make the tomatoes into ketchup (Andrew gave me his recipe) or paste.
I played in the studio, I want to make another green man panel .......
We have ducklings!!! The ducks are sitting tight atm, so we can't see how many but it looks like a good few (there were 12 eggs in each nest). I put Mr Muscovey away in the turkey shed so there shouldn't be any overnight accidents.

21st August
Bloody dogs got me up at 6.30; I think they're used to the early start with Brett working.
Gary gave me an update on his dogs; another one has died - the vet think's it could be poisoning, but needed 100€ for samples to be sent off and analysed (so that's not going to happen).
We took the day off and went to Meimao barragem. Where we usually go (away from the Madding Crowd) doesn't have any shade so we decided to drive further around to the opposite bank ...... about 40 minutes later, driving along dusty, potholed, narrow tracks (with a steep drop to the water) we were less than halfway round (it's huge), we arrived at a tarmac road and a village. At this point we gave up and drove back along the tarmac road to our usual spot!

This evening Looby went off, she's been threatening all week.

22nd August
Up at 6.15 after practically no sleep; Looby is still missing, we're getting really worried now, she's never been gone for this long before (2 - 3 hours max). Of course I'm imagining the most scary scenarios (down a well, in a trap, poisoned, run over, shot, attacked by the big white dog ......).
9.00 a.m. she finally showed up (missing for 13 hours) apart from being absolutely shattered she appears to be fine, so relieved.
The ducklings came out today, so cute!

Thomas & Diane came to pick up my (newish, green) food mixer (it has a meat grinder and sausage stuffer on it), as they've had their pigs slaughtered. Thomas walked towards the decking, opened the pizza oven door and immediately got stung, just below his eye, by a wasp (they're nesting in the oven).
40+ on the decking (the heat is back).
I'm feeling so happy this afternoon and all I can put it down to is Looby being back (I was so worried), she's now on a long lead!

23rd August
I slept really well until Brett left for work and the dogs started whining!
7.30: Looby is now on a long rope tied to the decking; pacing backwards and forwards, whilst squeaking. The big white dog, who isn't intimidated by me (or buckets of water) is pacing the other side of the decking. The cat keeps coming in the kitchen, I chase her out (but not off the decking, because of big white dog). And Lily is eating Looby's breakfast (she's already eaten her own!). Chaos!!!
9.00 Animals all let out/fed/watered/checked etc. but I am slightly worried as the BWD (big white dog) was in the field with the sheep! He doesn't appear threatening to them, the field is too big for me to chase him out (anyway he ignores me!) and he can just jump the fences (he is BIG).
The I found him sleeping in the shade around the back of the house, he just ambled off when I shouted at him ..... Pam came round for coffee, she says BWD is her neighbour's dog and Brinka's son - they are sheep dogs (they guard the flocks) which explains why he's good with sheep.
So today was as hot as it's been all summer and I make a batch of tomato ketchup

and then brinjal pickle!!! Sweaty Betty ........
Ooooh, I didn't need to see that!!!! I had Looby attached to the decking on a long lead, she was under it the last time I checked, then I looked out of the window, she had a huge grin on her face whilst being humped by BWD! Brett is now worried that she wasn't properly spayed and could be pregnant!

24th August
Last night we went to the festa in Aldeia de Bispo; Chicken in the Woods were playing, so Brett had today off (he's working Saturday instead) - have to say I'm getting fed up with him being at work, it was only supposed to be 2 or 3 weeks it's going to be at least double that!
Experimenting in the studio, I want to do some sandblasting, got a few ideas.

25th August
03.00 I was outside with Looby (on a lead); no she didn't need the toilet, she just wanted to go outside (bitch!). Then as soon as Brett left she started again (I can feel myself getting stressed).
BWD was hanging around all morning; I carry a stick and stones everytime I go out (he is not intimidated by me, I've shouted myself hoarse), I also have to keep both dogs on leads, as Lily is convinced she can 'have him' - I know for a fact that he's wounded two dogs badly (Pig/Paddy and Betty, and probably Kate Moss), so I don’t want her getting too close to him and I'm slightly concerned for my own safety. He can jump over all our fences and gates, there's no way I can keep him out.
We had real rain this afternoon, it was lovely .....

26th August
More rain and storms overnight. Brett went to work, arrived back at 7.00; Bap was still asleep - he'd obviously been awake all night trying to keep water out of his house.
It was lovely and cool this morning, but 36 by this afternoon.
Took the day off and went into CB to look at generators (I think Brett wanted to get away from the village in case he was asked to go back and work a short day!).
Great, now Looby's suitors are, standing outside the decking, howling! She has two BWD and Paddy/Pig (from now to be known as SBD - short black dog).

27th August
And now Alfie has become an admirer!
I answered a post on FB, somebody wanting a Kombucha scooby. I managed to get rid of a large piece of scooby and, of course, some kefir grains. A nice young couple in the process of buying land in Mata de Rainha or Santa Margarida (my memory is rubbish!).
Thank goodness, we've more or less got our Looby back; she's more interested in us than going off ....

28th August
We harvested our pumpkins this morning, we have over 50!

Butternut and Crown Prince

The yellow ridged and warty green are from locally sourced seeds.

Etampes (large, flat, orange), the left most are supposed to be Turks Turban 

but I think they've crossed with something else!

Looby has now started to bleed! She might be off to the vet tomorrow. ....
This afternoon we went to a BBQ at Paul's house (Brett's cycling buddy). And tomorrow Brett is back at work.

29th August
I don’t want to tempt fate but, ever since Brett turned off the drinks fridge (it came from our holiday cottage in Wales) our solar has been better.
Looby seemed fine today, no bleeding, no male visitors; so does she need to see a vet? This is so difficult, Looby hates the car (both our dogs do!), she will throw up a couple of times on the way to CB (I have to sit next to her with a plastic bag to catch it!) and then we have to explain to a vet, in Portuguese, what is wrong with our dog. She's absolutely fine in herself, eating well, full of energy. We don't want her to have an exploratory operation, to see if there's a piece of ovary tissue inside her, if it's not necessary, especially as operations/anesthetic = risk.

30th August
Bored with Brett working now, especially as the dogs get me up at 6.30 every morning! Though I am kept busy with all the chores! And I washed (by hand) all my silk dresses ready to pack for my trip back to the UK next week (for Rebecca's wedding) ....... but I don’t have any shoes, no idea what I'll wear on my feet; here I wear the most disgusting, tatty sandals (everyone does, so I'm not out of place), I have boots (but only hand luggage, so probably no room for them and it's too hot to wear them), something else for me to stress about!
Today I saw our cat hunt, catch and eat a lizard/gecko.
So Brett took the dogs for their evening walk whilst I went to bed; I'm awoken by Brett saying that Looby has hurt her foot and can I come and help him look at it.
Looby was in distress; she was hopping around the kitchen on three legs, yelping, whining, howling with pain (she's such a brave dog, not!). We couldn't see any injury and concluded she'd been stung (no idea by what, scorpion, centipede, wasp, bee .....). Brett went to bed (he has to be up at 5.30). I looked up (google) 'dog's been stung' ...... Answer: "if worried take to Vet", what to worry about (1) swollen tongue - check, no swollen tongue, (2) elevated breathing - check, she sounded like a steam train and her breathing was very rapid ..... Answer "take to a vet", Shit no vet is open at midnight, I don’t have an emergency vet's number and most importantly I can't speak Portuguese! However in the back of my mind ..... dogs can be given antihistamine and I do have done somewhere, 'googled' to confirm this is safe, and dosage, meanwhile Looby still whimpering and hopping (trying to climb on my lap). Antihistamine given in some cheese, 1/2 hour later breathing back to normal, Looby sleeping peacefully and I can go back to bed!

31st August
Happy Birthday Mieke!
Oh pooh, Stephanie won't be going to the wedding, poor old Malcolm is ill; I was really looking forward to seeing her (and, of course, Rebecca will be disappointed too).
Looby seemed absolutely fine this morning, it was as if last night didn't happen.
This evening we're going round to M&M's to celebrate Mieke's birthday (plus Lola & Vince). I'm taking a homemade peach (actually nectarine) puree and sparkling wine so I can make Peach Bellini cocktails.

1st September
We had a lovely evening; sitting under the stars eating a typical Belgian buffet and drinking very effervescent Bellinis! Unfortunately we had to leave early so that Brett would get a few hours sleep.
4 weeks of Brett working and me being alone all day, now I'm talking to myself!
I've started getting all my clothes together (for my uk trip) I'm not sure it's all going to fit in my hand luggage (I refused to pay an extra £51 for one case!).
The duckling have accepted both mothers, they wander around in a big family group.

2nd September
Brett's last day at work for a couple of weeks - hooray!
The pool, which was green and soupy a few weeks ago is now sparkle clear - which is good as it's very hot again.

3rd September
P&M came to dinner this evening, we sat outside on the decking and I was eaten alive, so itchy .....

4th September
Happy Birthday Sarah xxx
I had a horrid night, my bites were so itchy I just couldn't sleep.
Hot, hot, hot (41C in the shade) and getting hotter this week!
We packed a picnic and went to the river beach at Benqueranca; it was lovely and shady there, not many people and blissfully cold water with masses of little fish swimming in it.
We met our new neighbour to be, Margo; she's having problems with the completion date, she thinks it's tomorrow (Monday), Gary thinks it's Tuesday - they're all staying down at Gary's (including Margo's sister, her daughter & boyfriend and a couple of friends). Plus they have no internet or working mobiles - so we're expecting a call from their solicitor tomorrow to sort it out!
Had a brainwave today and dyed a air of stripy leggings (black and grey) green - very happy with results.

Bites swollen to 2+" across, incredibly itchy, 'googled' for a remedy ...... now I'm taking antihistamine! Am also covered in Deet.

5th September
The antihistamine worked and I was able to sleep.
OMG it's hot, I'm dripping (and it's only 11.00) .........
42C, in the shade, at 3.00 p.m. ...... and tomorrow is forecast to be hotter! I can't cope! Brett however was out in the sun digging holes for the foundation for his posts for his 'pole barn'.

6th September
44.4 C (IN THE SHADE!!!!!!!!), a thoroughly uncomfortable day - I fly to the UK tomorrow, it's hard to pack as I can't get my head round the fact that it might be cold! Plus, as I refused to pay £51 extra for a luggage allowance, I only have 'hand luggage' so I don't have much room.

7th September
Up at 6.00!!!! And off at 7.15 (Mark picked me up). Pam's train ticket cost her 14.70€, however mine only cost 7.50€ ...... because I'm old!!!!
We had time to spare when we got to Lisbon, so we shoved ours bags into storage and went shopping. I bought a pair of shoes that had been reduced to 9.99, when I paid there was another 40% off - I only paid 5.95€, a real bargain. So after a leisurely morning and brunch we made our way to the airport. Went through customs troublfree (neither of us was searched, though I always feel that I look shifty!) and into 'duty free' where Pam picked up a bottle of perfume, the top came off (it really wasn't her fault), the bottle smashed to the floor showering Pam's feet with scent ....... (you had to be there!). Then onto the plane where we hadn't managed to get seats together.
Helen was waiting for me as I came out of arrivals, holding a sign with "Sandra" written on it in case I didn't recognise her!

8th September
Woke up to RAIN ........
Tried to phone Brett this morning ...... not enough credit, I checked the phone on Tuesday £16+, now 62p - I've made two short calls and a couple of texts!!!! Sent Brett a text, down to 42p???? Why? when texts are supposed to be 1p each and calls 4p/min ........
And Helen's internet is down, so I'm out of communication - don’t like it!
Ok, sorted out phone ....... In Portugal I can use the phone (my English phone) to contact Brett (on Portuguese phone) at 4p/min for a call and 1p for a text, in England it costs me £1/min to call (A WHOLE POUND PER MINUTE, THAT'S 25 X THE PORTUGUESE RATE!!!!!!) and 20p per text (20 X PORTUGUESE RATE!). So I now have a £7 'bundle' that I can use to call Brett which will last for 40 mins.
I've bought glass supplies ....... We went to Creative Glass in Bristol and I bought a load of glass (mainly blues and greens), lead, solder, paint, fiber paper , them my mind went blank (I should have made a list!), I spent £417.17 (including £48 postage) which I thought was very restrained.
Then we went bra shopping, I was even measured! I bought 5 bras from M&S, boring but necessary.
Got home (Helen's), my milk kefir grains had arrived, took Bailey (dog) for a walk along the bay, too knackered to eat out so bought some interesting nibbles and had a relaxing evening in.

9th September
Rebecca & Paul's WEDDING DAY!
It was a fabulous wedding; three different events/venues:
3.00 Wedding Ceremony: Rebecca's dress was stunning; it was silk and exactly the same colour as mine. Paul looked very dashing in a brown suit. The registrar was a lovely lady who made the proceedings appear very personal.
4.00ish: back to R&P's house for champagne and nibbles (I was starving as I'd not had lunch). Everyone milling around and chatting.
6.30 taxis to the restaurant; where we ate drunk and got merry! I spoke to masses of people who I will never remember, but it was all jolly fun.
Then taxis to hotel at just after midnight; paid for my really expensive (single occupancy) room, only to be told it didn't include breakfast ....... Brett didn't appreciate my late night call moaning about it!!!!!!

10th September
Leisurely (expensive) breakfast, followed by what should have been a nice walk along the shore with Sarah and Joyce, but somehow we ended up in a Pottery!
Then off to the cricket club to decorate the marquee for the evening party. I wired up jars, which we filled with flowers and hung overhead, on twine, along the length of the marquee (I did have a niggling worry that the twine might break and guests get hit by falling jars, but it was fine). Lily was in charge (set dressing is a big part of her day job) and the space looked beautiful once we'd finished: jars and jars of fresh flowers, fairy lights, floating candles, giant paper flowers, candlelit pathway to a fire pit, bunting, blankets, etc.
William (& Gillian) and Henry (& Kathryn) came, plus Melanie (and her friend Sarah), unfortunately no Stephanie, and Lesley and Jacob ..... it was a magical evening.

11th September
Happy Birthday Gill xxx
I went back with Will & Gill in their camper van to their home in Devon. We made a bolognese sauce, salad etc then we all (me, W&G, Alexandra, Lawrence, Sandy and Agnes) traveled (camper and car) to Dartmoor for a birthday dinner - great fun.

12th September
Unfortunately the kids went to school and W&G had to work today, so I was left to my own devices, during the day - shame as I wanted to spend time with Will. However I had great fun once Alexandra and Lawrence came home from school; we painted a landscape for dinosaurs (constructed by Will) and made Bouncy Eyeballs and a Crystal Tree (from kits).

GRAND OPENING OF MY STUDIO .....,

26th July
Hottest day so far this year 42.4C in the shade.
Hooray Brett found one of my 'lost' panels - Resurrection.

Poor old Lily is dribbling again, she was exactly the same last year, we took her to two vets (which she hated) they were useless then it cleared up on its own; we think it's the hot weather (she's drinking more) combined with spay incontinence (which is very common). Obviously we'll take her to the vet if she shows signs of illness but atm she's happy, lively, her appetite is good, she's just a bit leaky (poor thing).

27th July
Brett moved into the workshop so now I can organize my space better (I think I need more shelves!!!). Now I have to come up with a method to display my glasswork (without obliterating all the light).

28th July
I was up early, cooking and cleaning as Kevin & Wendy came to lunch and to pick up the kittens (sad to see them go, but at least they went together and we managed to keep them alive).
Apart from an octopus salad, all the food was from the quinta: courgette fritatta, sunblushed tomato salad, mixed salad, griddled aubergine, two types of goats cheese, pickles and relishes, goat milk ice cream, water kefir ......
43C on the deck this afternoon, it's HOT .......

29th July
Hooray, we had a lovely day off; we went to the river beach at Meimoa, with P&M. The river has been dammed, so the water is about 5' deep; it's really cool and refreshing. We had a four course lunch, at the really cheap restaurant; 7€ each, at that price it's not worth cooking! Feeling happy!

30th July
A bit cooler today; it only got to 35C!
Pam came round this morning, I managed to get rid of some kefir grains!
I made Baba Ganoush (Aubergine dip) with a few of the aubergines and put some more tomatoes out to dry in the sun (I can't believe I wasted all that money on a dehydrator, which I can't use because solar doesn't work well in sunny weather!).
This evening we are meeting M&M for dinner, then going to the festa (arts, crafts and local produce) in Penamacor, hopefully this year we will get to hear some music (the bands start really, really late).

31st July
Another late night (bed 2.30) but it was a brilliant evening.
We had dinner at O Jardim, which was ok, it was absolutely heaving and service was poor (understandably). We didn't get out until 10.00 and missed Chicken in the woods playing! However we walked to the very top of Penamacor where the big stage was and, at midnight, saw a brilliant Portuguese band 'Quinta do Bill', kind if Celtic folk meets rock, very talented musicians who all played several different instuments.
We had a lazyish day today, both of us organising our respective spaces. Then, this afternoon, we were invited to join C&D and Bap, at Bar do Clube, for a couple of hours ....... 4 hours later we arrived home, ready for an early night!

1st August
Brett made me two tall tables, for glass cutting/assembly, for the studio.  I sanded them down and painted them, I might apply stencils if I get round to it! He made himself a work bench too.
The turkeys are really suffering with the heat, so bad that one had to be processed today (18lbs)!

I sent out invites for my Grand Opening of the studio (Friday at 3.00),

so for the next few days I'll be making nibbles ......
Today I made chicken liver pate (for my 'party).

2nd August
My goodness it's hot, apparently we've just had the second hottest July since records began.
Brett made me a table for the sandblaster, I painted it purple.
The other two turkeys had to go today, shame because we really liked having them (18lbs and 16lbs).
I picked another 11 cucumbers - I've been picking 4 or 5 daily, these are ones that were hiding in the sweet potatoes! Brett decided he would like cucumber juice, so I made him a jugful - fortunately the pigs like them.
I went in the pool four times today and never felt cool, I went in for the fifth time at 9.40 p.m. (after Brett had topped it up from the well) and then stood in front of the air conditioning - felt cool for the first time today.

3rd August
Went into CB (mainly to book the cat in at the vet's for sterilisation, 16th August).  We went to check on Mark's place while we were in the area - you need a new gate Mark!!!! The shepherd has had his sheep in, so the grass is down a bit. The mulberries were ripening, but quite sour, and there's no plums ..... the olives look good though.
Made more food for 'party' - tapenade (last year's olives) for the vegetarians who can't eat liver pate .... It's the same color!

4th August
I made more Baba Ganoush (this is the Turkish version which has yoghurt in place of tahini - so probably isn't called Baba Ganoush!) as we have loads of aubergines, I'm drying a tray or two of tomatoes daily

and I'm trying out loads of cucumber recipes - today's recipes were a sweet and sour cucumber salad and cucumber and onions in sour cream (I have to wait until tomorrow to try that as the cream takes a few hours to sour using my homemade buttermilk).
Brett spent the day in the storage shed trying to organise all the unpacked boxes (I'm hoping he'll come across some of my lost glass pieces).

5th August
PARTY TIME!!!
Obviously I spent the day cleaning and preparing for the Grand Opening ......
2.45 p.m. everything is ready (but it can't go outside or it will get hot and melt!). I'm dressed up in my party frock, wearing lipstick and wishing I could go in the pool.
We had 11 visitors: Pam, Lola, Lola's friend, Karina & Alex, Thomas & Diane, Kevin & Wendy, Marc & Mieke, plus us .........

we drank 11 bottles of wine and ate most of the food I had prepared! It was a good afternoon.

6th August
A lazy relaxing day today.
And this evening we went to our annual village festa .....  it's on for four days (F/S/S&M) and is absolutely pathetic! It's literally a bar selling tepid drinks, a kiosk selling raffle tickets for crap prizes (which people are clinging to their chests, as they gleefully leave the stall, after 'winning' one) and an awful (euro-pop) band on the back of a lorry. The place was heaving with bodies though and I have no idea why we stayed until nearly 2.00; we did spend most of the time at Bar do Club (until we got chucked out!) with C&D, Bap, P&M and their guests (Trace & Carol).

7th August
Brett is working (on Bap's roof) for the next couple of weeks, starting at 6.00 a.m. (to avoid the heat); so we took today off and went to the barragem at Meimao.

We ate lunch here

It was so hot I had to cover up!

It was lovely, the water was so cool.
This evening we went to the festa for a couple of hours, as Baptiste was playing (guitar) with the village group that plays traditional music.

8th August
Happy 8th anniversary Will & Gill xxxxxxxx
Big disappointment today - the generator isn't big enough for my kiln (which is 4kw) so we have to fork out 1000€ for a bigger generator.
Lots of fires over the weekend and lots all around Central Portugal today - our valley is full of smoke, very scary.
And it's hot, 42.5C (in the shade) .........

9th August
Poor old Brett was up at 5.30 for his early start at work - it was still dark.
Weird sky this morning, probably all the smoke from the fires that are still raging.
I was up at 7.30; my plan was to get all the chores done and, perhaps, the washing, then spend the rest of my day in the studio playing with glass paint ....... but that didn't go exactly to plan; I had just about finished all the necessary chores by 1.00 - letting out and feeding muscovys and geese, feeding dogs, watering sheep (1 bucket), feeding sheep, checking Georgia wasn't dead (she stayed sleeping when I fed the rest of the flock/herd), walking over to sheds to feed cat, washing solar panels, starting generator, watering pigs (which involved spraying them with water, letting them drink from the hose, filling their trough, filling their wallow),

Pig in wallow!

watering sheep again (3 buckets), cleaning out and filling water barrels, watering plants on decking, washing up, making water kefir, making yoghurt, preparing last night's bucket of tomatoes for drying, sweeping floor, washing floor, more washing up ........ shattered! And the washing was not done.
Brett came home tired and dirty, so I kindly offered to water the vegetable garden (on my own) in the morning; it takes over an hour - moving the hose from channel to channel, picking a wheelbarrowful of weeds for the pigs and picking all the ripe vegetables.
Portugal is on fire (and for once I'm not exaggerating) there's a site on the internet (fogos.pt) which I am addicted to, it has a map of Portugal with pins showing all the current fires; there are so many fires in the north and to the west that you can't read the names of some of the towns, atm there are relatively few pins in our area, thank goodness.

10th August
I was watering the vegetables by 8.00, back home by 9.20. The fire situation is still dire and today there's a strong wind which could spread the blazes.
The wind has made it a lot cooler though, which makes life much more comfortable.
I rushed through all my chores and was in the studio by 11.00. I cut a whole load of glass, I was a bit rusty at first but got better. And I did some painting. It felt good to be working again.
Brett got home at 2.45, I hadn't even had my lunch!
There was a big fire near Idanha today, started around 10.00, by noon it had been upgraded to a 'significant occurrence' (93 humans, 31 ground vehicles, 2 planes), it was 'concluded' by the time we went to bed.

11th August
Another day in my studio, I'm getting into my stride now and have produced a couple of pieces I'm happy with - though they still have to be fired!
Yay, I'm getting visitors tomorrow; Jo & Gordon are making a flying visit to Portugal (Brett will be at work).

12th August
Wow this was on Facebook this morning, it is really scary ....... (translated from Portuguese by Google Translate, so it reads a bit strange):

August 11, 2016 - 17:06
Images captured by a NASA satellite show the size of the many fires that burn in the North and in Madeira. The many fires that burn in northern Portugal caused a massive column of smoke hundreds of kilometers stretching over the Atlantic Ocean.
The image captured by a satellite of the US space agency NASA has released this Thursday.
A huge cloud of smoke and ash comes from the dozens of active fires in northern Portugal .
The fires consumed thousands of hectares of bush and forest, caused enormous damage and threatened several places , leaving people in shock .
The NASA satellite also captured images of Madeira. Despite the cloudy sky in the archipelago area , you can see a big cloud caused by the fires that began in the afternoon on Monday and that caused three dead , thousands homeless and destroyed about 200 homes.
At 17:00 on Thursday , more than 2,700 men fought 258 fires in Portugal, of which 12 are more significant.
The most complicated situations registavam up in the municipalities of Anadia , Águeda and Arouca, in Aveiro district. Nearly 700 operational focus on these three outbreaks, but only in Arouca have the help of two heavy aircraft.
The Aveiro district there is still a significant fire in the Castelo de Paiva county.
In Viana do Castelo district , there are nearly 600 firefighters mobilized in three fires in the municipalities of Caminha, Cerveira Valdevez and arches .
In the District of Braga , note for fires in Vieira do Minho councils and Famalicão . In the district of Porto, plowing a fire with two fronts in Paredes municipality that mobilizes 80 operational .
In the northern regions , there are fires in the municipalities of Resende and Montalegre .

I made gazpacho for lunch (I sneaked in two cucumbers and some kombucha), the rest of lunch was already in the fridge (octopus salad, tapanade, sundried tomatoes in olive oil, goat cheese etc) plus a green salad (with more cucumber!). It was great to see Jo & Gordon and they had good news - they won't be selling up here, once they've sold in Spain they will be moving here full time.
Brett is working tomorrow too (the excuse being they didn't work Monday, but I can see this job developing into 6 days a week).

August 13th
And still Portugal burns .........
I went to water the vegetable garden at 07.30 and the mountains were in view, when I came back, an hour later, I could barely see two fields away, the valley was full of smoke - depending on who you listen to it had drifted down from fires up north/west from Spanish wildfires/east from the fires on the coast etc.
I managed to get the washing done at last (at the expense of working in the studio!).
Bloody ants found the tomatoes I was sun drying, so I'll have to put them somewhere else tomorrow.
This evening we're off to P&M's, they're hosting (1) a drumming workshop (not going to that) (2) cooking for 50 people (not going to that) (3) Chicken in the Woods playing on their decking - going to that!

14th August
Not too late last night, home just after midnight.
Poor old Lobby is 'on heat' for some reason she keeps trying to sit on my lap! Lily gets very jealous ......
It was Brett's one day off so we packed a picnic and went to the river beach at Benqueranca.

PLEASE TELL ME AUGUST WON'T BE HOTTER THAN JULY!!!!!

2nd July
After a lovely relaxing day at Idanha a Nova baragem we came home, ate Halloumi and mixed salads (it's good this cheese making lark), followed by home grown strawberries and goat's milk ice cream; then watched 'Eye in the Sky' a good film but quite scary realising today's technology!

3rd July
Hottest day so far 40+ in the shade ......
I spent the day over a hot stove making a goat milk style cheddar cheese. I thought it would be quick but I had to make two batches (2 gallons of milk) as all the recipes said it wasn't worth making less as there would be more rind than cheese.

Brett prepared the floor in the studio/workshop ready for tiling.

This afternoon I was so hot I went in the pool to cool down - we have a plague of biting beetles in it! I skimmed it, then spent the rest of the afternoon removing beetles from my underwear!

4th July
I got up early and took the cheese out of the press, rubbed it with salt, left it to dry; it needs to mature for 4 - 12 weeks, in a cool place, I'll have to use the fridge - it certainly looks the part, can't wait to try it.

We went into CB to buy tiles; if I had an unlimited budget these wouldn't have been my first choice, but they were cheap (only 4.99 sq. m. so the floor in my studio came to less than 100€), they're a kind of beige quarry tile ......

5th July
E muito calor .......
There is the most magnificent hydrangea display, I have ever seen, in our village; unfortunately it was not at its peak when I managed to photograph it (but it still looks pretty amazing).

While I had my camera (actually my tablet) to hand I thought I'd take some vegetable shots too; I couldn't actually see the screen (the sun was too bright), so it was a matter of 'point and shoot'. The tablet kept switching itself off, with a message saying "the device has detected unusually high temperatures and will switch off for your and the device's safety" (or words to that effect).

Lettuce

Strawberries

Carrots 

Winter Squash (Etampes)

Etampes

Aubergines

Cucumbers

Sweet Potatoes

Brett hit a big snag re tiling the studio today - the adhesive can only be used in temperatures between 5 - 30C!!!! So he's monitoring the heat (on the decking it's nearly 40 which doesn't bode well).
He left it until gone 6.00 but it was still 39C on the deck and 32C in the studio, fingers crossed!
We were forecast rain; lots of rumbles all around us, but pathetic precipitation.

6th July
We had a spectacular storm in the night; it started at 4.00 a.m. and continued for several hours, at one point it was right overhead (flash, crash, flash, crash, .......) and torrential rain. Much cooler today (about 34C). Brett laid all the whole tiles - it's looking good (and I love my windows!).

Turns out we were lucky with our storm; just 10-20 kilometers away they had 20 minutes of 1cm hailstones (which settles 1" deep on top of plants), potentially ruining all the vegetables in their gardens .........
This evening we were back down the bar (Wales v Portugal), it was heaving with Portuguese supporters.
Diane, Baptiste and Richie (Chicken of the Woods) entertained us after the match (yes, they'd brought guitars with them). Two rounds of free drinks tonight!

7th July
Happy Birthday Lesley xxx
Thomas & Diane brought us a couple of female muscovy ducks for Mr Muscovy; fingers crossed we can manage to keep these ones.
I'm resting my kefir grains; after weeks of multiplying like mad they've suddenly gone dormant. It could be that they are feeding quicker, due to the heat, and they have got out of balance. So they have been well rinsed and are now in the fridge in a sugar solution with added sea salt; the cooler temperature will force them to rest (according to the article I read on the internet).
All the tiles are down, grouting tomorrow evening (to avoid heat), wait 24 hours, then I'm in .......
Tomorrow I'm off to CB with Pam (the sales are on!).

8th July
Happy Birthday Lauren xxx
Pam and I had a good day at the sales; I bought a few half price items (for me!). Poor old Leon, who came in with us, didn't have such a good day; he came off his bike (a raised slab on the cycle path), he's covered in scrapes and grazes and his bike is in a sorry state too.
Mr Muscovy refused to leave his shed today as he two new lady friends were still locked in - he's a very happy duck.
Too hot to grout today!

9th July
Happy Birthday Rebecca. Xxxxx
Another 'today will be the hottest day of the year so far', 40+ in the shade. It's so difficult to work in these temperatures; I was supposed to be making cheese but I've postponed until tomorrow (I'm going to make another cheddar).
Thank goodness for the new pool I've been in several times today.
Still too hot to grout.

10th July
We went into CB to buy me storage, shelves and table tops for the studio (happy face!).
This evening we went to the bar to watch the football final (Portugal v France), Portugal won!!!!
Paul & Martine joined us (they had been teaching a drumming workshop at P&M's), they ended up doing a session at the bar. We were given lots of free drinks and didn't get home until 2.00 a.m.

11th July
Feeling rough!
Brett grouted the studio floor (very happy dancing).
Diane and I spent the afternoon relaxing by the side of Lola's pool drinking white sangria's (so decadent).
When I got home a Brett had put together my shelves and made me a table.

12th July
Today I moved into my studio; I carted all my craft stuff from the mezzanine above the kitchen (up and down the stairs so many times) across to the studio and now I'm shattered! And most of the new shelves are full, and I haven't even started on my glass making equipment, so I've got to get more .....

13th July
Diane & Thomas picked up the goat kids today (Bill and Mini-me), so Georgia and Hazel won't need to be put in the shed tonight. Georgia is quite obviously pregnant, Hazel probably is too, so we're going to reduce the milking* and let them dry up, to help support their pregnancy - which is a bit of a shame as I'm enjoying having our own cheese.
I spent some time in my studio ......
* There are various methods for drying up goats: (1) Just stop milking; but there could be the chance of mastitis, say the people that don't use this method. (2) Reduce the frequency of milking from twice daily, to once daily, to every other day etc. (3) Gradually reduce the amount taken each milking (this is the method we will employ).


14th July
Today we took only 500ml from Georgia and 250ml from Hazel - seems like a waste when they had so much more to give!
We went into CB and bought tiles for the workshop.
Played in the studio .....

15th July
So we took 500ml from a very full Georgia, went to take 250ml from Hazel, she gushed so fast we got 500ml from her too! Brett has decided we need to just stop milking (cold turkey) as, by milking them, we're just stimulating them to produce more milk - I get it but .... I hate to think how uncomfortable they will be!
I moved and unpacked eleven boxes from the shed three of the boxes had been nested in (mice) and were full of droppings, stinky piss and chewed up bits of paper (my books, prints, drawings etc). I was very pragmatic and just threw lots of stuff away (it still rankles though!!!!) and I have the smell of mouse piss up my nose!
Unfortunately some of my belongings have deteriorated in storage including my Badger brushes - all the bristles are falling out (slightly upset as they are expensive).

16th July
Shifted another 5 boxes and apart from glass and books I think that's it; I've got an awful lot of tidying and organising to do.
Last time I dyed my hair was a week or so before I diagnosed myself with cranial shingles; it was suggested at the time that I could have had an allergic reaction to hair dye, so I've been frightened to colour my hair since - it looks BAD! So today, with trepidation, I applied a natural vegetable hair dye (I was worried to read that it still contains Hydrogen Peroxide) so I'm now waiting to see if I have any reaction. I got Brett to cut 4-5" off the length too; he refuses to give me a 'pixie' cut, shaved sides or any of the other shorter styles I've suggested (because it's so hot)!
I took photos, which got immediately deleted as my face was too crooked ("Ooooh Sandra it doesn't show/ you can't tell", liars!!!!!!), even my sunglasses were lopsided.

17th July
It's so hot ...... 07.00 I was in the pool!
Andrew called round this morning to admire our pumpkin patch!
Brett did a mass if strimming, how can he work in this heat?
I made fudge, to take with us tonight; we're dining at Thomas & Diane's. And 'bread and butter pickle'; as we have so many cucumbers coming (I picked five this morning). All this was interspersed with jumping into the lukewarm (!) pool (with the annoying biting beetles - our neighbour's been baling his hay).
Our dinner date wasn't until 9.00.
3.00 a.m. the solar was reading 50% ........

18th July
OMG we didn't get to bed until gone 3.00 a.m. We had a lovely evening at Thomas & Diane's; A&K were there and a new couple, Andrea & Mark.
Hot, Hot, Hot ......
Despite all the sunshine our batteries are not charging well, I asked advice on a couple of off-grid sites and it appears that heat affects both panels and batteries, so I have been trying to cool the panels down with buckets of water! I had lots of advice that wasn't practical like "keep your batteries between 7-9C", how? Oh easy, insert 'earth pipes' or site them in a cellar ("Brett, can you dig me a cellar please"!).
I made my last cheese for a while, Chevre - the curds will be setting overnight. Hazel and Georgia look fit to burst, but they seem happy enough (staying with the flock, eating etc), I hate it I want to milk them, to make the comfortable!
I picked ELEVEN cucumbers this evening.

The batteries were 80% tonight ......

19th July
The curds weren't set this morning, they can take up to 24 hours.
Too hot to work so we went to Meimao baragem for the day,

we met Pete & Dawn there, chatted for ages, they have lemons, they leave to go back to UK on Thursday, they're bringing me lemons on Wednesday (happy days!).
We drove around the baragem to the less used side, it was rocky, in and out of the water, the getting in/out was not nice.
This evening the curds were set so I put them to drain in the oven overnight. I used some of the whey to make a fermented cucumber relish.

Bread and butter pickle (left), fermented cucumber (right)

20th July
The curds were a lovely consistency; I made two, garlic flavour, logs of fresh cheese and a small wheel that I will leave in the fridge to mature.
Yay, Pete & Dawn brought us a big bag of lemons.
I made buttermilk and yoghurt today.
We went to the village to fetch water, dump rubbish etc and met Baptiste with another new arrival (been here two weeks) - a lady called Rose.
I picked TEN cucumbers this evening ......
One of the Muscovy's started sitting on 19 eggs (they've been laying in the same nest - Me Muscovy's bed!).

21st July
Happy Birthday Saskia XXX
21 eggs in the nest this morning, so I made another nest and put 6 eggs in it (to encourage the non sitting duck to lay there).
Went into CB to buy wood for .... more tables for me and a workbench for Brett.
We had our first ever turkey egg; it was just laid on the ground out in the open, no hint of a nest! It's very pretty, all speckled.

Brett has started feeding my cucumbers to the pigs ......
Ok both ducks are sitting now (one took on 'my' nest), so I split the eggs between both nests, 11 each.

22nd July
These sitting ducks aren't like UK ducks, they get off their nest for food and drink (maybe because it's warmer here the eggs don't need so much heating?).
It's supposed to be cooler today, less than 35C.
I made lemon curd, Brett made hay racks for the sheep/goats.
C&D came round to see if Brett wanted some work (Baptiste's roof) - I'm a bit worried as it's a very high house (Chris reckons they need a 7m scaffold tower!).

23rd July
Ok I'm baffled now, both ducks are sitting but one is obviously still laying as there are 11 eggs in one nest and 12 in the other (I've marked the eggs now, so I can remove any freshly laid ones). Mr Muscovy, bless him, is standing (sitting actually) guard!

Brett started tiling the workshop; once that's done I'll have more room in the studio, atm it's full of tools.
I checked the duck's nests for extra eggs and what did I find nestled down in the middle of the duck eggs? A turkey's egg!!!
Another late night; Chicken in the Woods (Di, Baptiste,  Richie, Martine and Paul) was playing at Bar do Clube, in the village. There was a fantastic turn out from expats and villagers which meant there was a brilliant atmosphere, everyone had a good time. We got home about 2.30, we're becoming 'dirty stop outs'!

24th July
Happy Birthday Claire xxx
Feeling a little tired today!
I processed all the picked aubergines (there's masses more coming); 'Griddled Aubergines in Olive Oil' and 'Brinjal Pickle'.

Brinjal Pickle (left), Griddled Aubergines (right)

Brett had to break up a fight between a turkey and a muscovy (the muscovy was winning!), maybe the turkey was wanting to lay an egg in the Muscovy's nest?

25th July
Lobby has started being very verbal (she copies Lily); they had me up at 6.45 this morning .......
It's going to be hot today!
Oh dear, I had to break up a fight between a turkey and a muscovy!
Brett finished tiling the workshop; tomorrow he will grout.
Picked loads of tomatoes this evening - I will dry some tomorrow (unfortunately not in my super expensive (well the postage was!) dehydrator as the solar is not up to it).

26th July
Omg J&J had a fire on their quinta this morning, the bombeiros (fire engine plus helicopter) put it out; they said it was started by an electrical fault in their water pump.
I made ice cream, prepared tomatoes for drying and generally tidied up. Brett grouted.
41.6C (in the shade) at 2.00 p.m. - it was even hotter out in the open, we were both very moist!
42.4C this afternoon ...........
Still 40+C after 6.00, getting in the pool is like getting into a warm bath .......
Debbie & David have found some of my 'lost' glass pieces in the workshop in Wales but I'm still baffled as the where my glass blocks are and a couple if panels.

More VISITORS .....

22nd June
Ooooh I did a stupid thing yesterday evening; I wanted to post my blog (which I write as a QuickMemo), so I 'selected all the text' then pressed ...... 'cut' instead of 'copy'! There's no 'undo' (well there wasn't for that action the 'back arrow' was off), I panicked, all my blog lost, I 'googled' for help to no avail, I looked in 'settings' for a restore ..... tablets are not like proper computers! I couldn't find any remedy; all this time I kept the (now) blank memo open, and suddenly it reappeared, no idea how, I did nothing but I was relieved, I copied it pretty dam quick!
We went into CB and bought a pool; it's round, 12' diameter and 4' deep (so similar size, maybe a little bigger, to the tank). Of course now the ground has to be prepared to set it up - leveled, cleared of stones, layered with sand etc. Well that won't happen tomorrow as the roof is going on!!!!!!!!!!!!
The turkeys were gobbling (probably means they're all males?) and displaying, Lobby was jumping about and barking (I thought at the turkeys) but ..... it was a snake.
I made honeycomb to take to Alex & Karina's this evening.

23rd June
We had an exciting experience at K&A's yesterday, Mishka (their dog) gave birth while we were there. She was in the same room, sitting on a chair, making no noise and smiling through her contractions. She let me handle the puppies (I had to pick one up off the floor), she was so calm. She'd had had four by the time we left (gone midnight). Karina gave me some flower seedlings (zinnia, carnation and one she couldn't remember). The zinnia and carnation have edible flowers.
C&D came round and we put the roof on! Happy, happy, happy - though (despite having six windows) my studio is rather dark; Brett says plastering the walls will lighten it.

24th June
Oh no Brexit??????? I can't actually see it happening, they'll somehow manage to negotiate a better deal ......
Another snake had to be cut out of the strawberry netting.
Brett putting up a wall on the mezzanine (which from now on will be referred to as The Loft!), which will make it into a self contained room.
Me cooking and cleaning!

I always run out of lemon curd just before guests arrive (I have it for breakfast with yoghurt); fail safe recipe to the rescue .......
Haha there's already talk of a second referendum - how democratic is that?
Courgettes have started ........

This morning's harvest ....

OK house is as clean as it gets, studio/workshop is sleepable in - bring on the guests ........
The cat seems to have settled on the goat shed as a kitten home; they're three weeks old tomorrow - the same age the last lot were when they were killed. They are very cute; they're moving about, their eyes are open and they are happy to be held and stroked.

25th June
Happy Birthday Pam! Xxx
This afternoon we went into CB to collect Debbie & David from the train, then had a relaxing evening eating, drinking and catching up. AND admiring all the bits we'd managed to sneak into their luggage including ...... a cheese press and cheese cultures (presents from D&D), lino and lino cutting tools (Amazon), more lino, Tyvek and Lutradur (crafty stuff from Debs), DVD (D&D) etc.

26th June
Just stayed around the quinta (HOT).
Debbie and I made Feta cheese,

while Brett and Dave prepared the ground for the pool,

erected

and filled the

pool from the well near the house; the only one brave enough to go in was Debs

it was freezing.

27th June
We took D&D into Fundao & bought 200 onion plugs from market. D&D bought us a load of different shaped containers to use as cheese molds, then they treated us to lunch.
We all went in the pool this afternoon which had turned red!!!! We think it's iron in the water that has reacted with the Chlorine and oxidized.
The evening was spent at Bar do Club (England v Iceland) with C&D, Richie and Paul - it was a good evening AND we got free drinks again!

28th June
Debbie and I planted the onions whilst Brett and Dave watered and weeded.
After much research on the internet, Brett and Dave made a filter for the pool; fabricated from a 5L water bottle stuffed with the filling from a pillow. The filter turned dark brown and the water coming out of it was clear but .... the pump only pumps out water from the top of the pool and most of the red particles have sunk to the bottom of the pool.

29th June
This morning the pool was crystal clear but, the red particles had only sunk to the bottom, as soon as it was agitated the whole pool turned brown and murky - the homemade filter didn't have much affect.
Dave cut grass in the big field, Brett strimmered and Debbie and I played with crafty stuff; I taught her how to make a dress pattern.

30th June
My goodness this week had gone quickly.
Today we went to Spain. I had hoped to buy material and plant plugs but the market was not good. However we were treated (again) to a lovely lunch at Casa Laura (Valverde).
D&D have been splendid guests, helping with the gardening, taking over animal duties, washing up etc. Tomorrow it's back to the grindstone.

1st July
An early start as D&D's train left CB at 8.21 am. None of the shops were open until 9.00! So we had to hang around, then no-one sold anything to take iron from water (the videos we watched were American).
The cat has a swollen hind foot, and can't stand on her leg (in fact she falls over); we think it's a bite (male cat?), I'm hoping it's not broken (I dosed it with Iodine). Atm the kittens are ok but we are rather worried.
We dug up half the potatoes today; it's back breaking work.
I barricaded the cat (with her kittens) in the dog shed overnight; hopefully this will keep them safe.

2nd July
The cat and kittens were fine .....
We took a picnic

Note: our Feta cheese!

to Idanha

and had a relaxing day by/in the water.