About Me

We moved out to Portugal to live a frugal but better , simpler and peaceful life, our house is a very basic, semi ruin, up in the hills outside Figueiro Dos Vinhos, where we work our land, enjoy life with each other and our dogs, and hope to make the smallest carbon footprint we can,

Friday 31 December 2010

Happy NewYear...

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year... lets all hope for a better year to come...

We have lots of plans, we hope to continue to work on our frugality... I enjoy the challenge and it brings out the meaness in me and makes me feel that Im doing my bit to help the world too...
We hope to continue with having helpers so we can grow more food, plant a nuttery... or what ever you call a large area of nut trees. I want to make sure the Medicinal Herb Garden becomes reality this spring for sure!
Of course Rik has huge plans for working on the house, all dependant on us finding a way of earning more/some income... if things do not pick up for us soon with the holiday cottage bookings, he'll actually have to go away to find some work... which would be disastrous for us... but.. if it has to happen to make it possible for us to stay here, thats what he'll do... We will manage somehow. We are fully committed to staying here somehow or other.
We started clearing the ruin part of the house the other day, we feel we have to live with a positive outlook and at least doing this is moving forward with the house and it doesnt cost us anything but labour, there is room (and footprint) there bigger than what we live in now, effectively more than doubling our house size.
So he will be working on that during the next few weeks and I'll be clearing the area at the other side of the house where I plan a raised seating area connected to the herb garden to be...

The veggie plot is still helping us out with the odd cauli, plus the ever present (thankfully) cabbage, hopefully the grellos will be ready soon for good soup.
My winter planted peas are going great guns... tons coming on well, almost 4 inches high now and no sign of bird or mouse problems...
The broad beans look excellent too, but Im not getting excited, as every year they do... and we rarely get many to actually eat for one reason or another...
I so look forward to the spring and planting for a new season... its such a positive time of the year, I love it... all that anticpation of whats to come... all that lovely new growth and fruitfulness...

Tuesday 28 December 2010

Solstice and Citrus...


I thought I'd pop in today as its a bit damp outside and update this with a few pictures of various things I've rambled about lately.  Firstly, our Solstice Celebration went very well, there was eight of us, and it was quite a multi national thing too... Two welsh... One Channel Islander, one English, One Swiss, two Dutch and One Portuguese.... and seven... DESSERTS!!! I unthinkingly told people when they asked what they could bring.... oh just bring a Dessert.... heheheh I made two myself and it seems everyone else made one as well... YUMMY...
It was a lovely evening, and we so enjoyed the good mix of company...
There should be a pic of the table here somewhere, sadly the ambiance doesnt come out with all the candles and fairy lights ect...


The new terrace wall... while Greg our last helper was with us, Rik was teaching him dry stonewalling, they worked hard at replacing a badly collapsed huge wall... this is the result... we love it!


And... our lovely Tangerine tree is going bonkers this year... when we first came here it was huge, overgrown and fruited badly and what we had were small and dry and quite bitter... Rik 'pruned´it back so hard I thought I would never recover... but it has and is now doing wonderfully... I went and picked up the fallen ones the other day and used some as Solstice decorations studded with cloves they look good and scent the room too... the rest we have been eating and juicing, so sweet and tasty... and free... our first real crop of fruit (apart from lemons) ...and there are hundreds more to ripen and come yet...

Wednesday 22 December 2010

2010 end of year Update...

Ive been trying to marshal my thoughts on 2010.. although its been very hard t get past the horrible bits of losing my dad and our beautiful boy Cola, I dont feel that the whole year has been dreadful. I know Rick has found this last year incredably difficult, and at times so have I. Its been a real emotional rollercoaster... the financial problems we've had (and still have) coupled with me going backwards and forwards abroad and then our losses... its been very tough.
But....
And its a big but... I feel there are also so many positives that have come out of all this. Hheheheh Rick often says Im so optimistic sometimes its annoying... but I feel its often the only way to get through all the hard times...
Some of our positives are... our relationship is still strong and working... and we still love Portugal, our home and way of life just as much as always... we have two beautiful dogs, Beesa the pup brings us a smile and much joy almost every day... Bonnie is now putting on weight again and seems her old happy self now she has someone to play with and some company..
We've had a excellent year veggie wise (after what seemed like a bad start) with tons of food stashed away and now planning and planting lots more than usual for the winter months... plus the wood barn is fuller than usual at this time of the year.
The land is in better condition and under a little more control now due to us aquiring Herman the cultivator, and of course the great efforts of our helpers we've had all summer... deciding to have volunteers at our place was a huge success and has made a real difference to our lives.  It brought different company to our home and we got lots of projects and work done at the same time...
We've done a few improvements on the house but not as uch as we'd have wished due to money or lack of it... but as long as the place is improving even if very slowly, then Im happy...
We are living more frugally than ever, but actually are enjoying the challenge ... most of the time... I am as always looking for ways to cut the electricity bills and any other expenses we have, still our fuel for the car is our biggest... but at least we've reduced down to one vehicle now, which runs on gas (GPL) which is over half the cost of petrol ...
We are recycling more than ever, Im making door draft excluders from all the thin wispy plastic we cant seem to avoid, I wash and reuse any freezer bags I use, carrier bags are not an option for me anymore , I have two reusuable strong bags, and use those all the time. All food waste goes to the dogs, or compost, paper is torn up and composted or burnt and composted. So we've cut our bin waste down to around one bag every three weeks or so... The fridge is off, the washing machine does one 30ยบ wash a week(I hand wash a few odds and ends betweeen if needed) Now we have sperate switches for some lights we can turn off more at a time which has cut our consumption a lot...
So we dont feel we are doing too bad.  We just now need to up our income... or even start earning some... for the new year, or things could start getting tricky later in the Spring.
I have high hopes of the cottage earning us some dosh as I think a lot of people feel they MUST get away this coming year, so as we are very cheap.... well you never know...
Im advertising Rick and all his many talents locally  ... in the hopes that it may pay off with some work for him... Rototilling, land clearance, land maintenance, dry stone walling, terrace repairs... building repairs, painting, alterations... you name it really he does it.... Im blessed he's so clever...

So, there you have it... in some ways an appalling year, but in other not bad... we are still here, still living our dream.... still loving Portugall and each other.... and summer wont be long.....
Hheheeheh how corny does that sound....

Tuesday 21 December 2010

Happy Solstice !!

Happy Solstice everyone...
I hope you all enjoy today, and the longest night passes warm, safe and happy for you all...
We are celebrating the return of the sun (well in theory at least as its pouring with rain) and the lengthening of the days with a nice meal, a warm fire and some good friends for company... and we are really looking forward to it... Ive just popped in to write this and then am off home to cook up a storm...
We decorated the livin/kitchen last night, using pine and other pretty leaves and foliage from the forest, add a few pretty candles and the place looks lovely... no pics Im afraid... it looks its best by candlelight..

The weather is pretty wet, but we are blessed to not have the terrible conditions of snow that many across Europe are suffering, I hope all of you who have those problems keep warm and comfortable till its over...

Happy Solstice...
Pat

Wednesday 15 December 2010

More sunshine..and Solstice preparation

Well its sunny again today and set to last a while longer yet. There was a mild frost for us up in the hills but the town didnt get one. Its breezier though today so not so warm.
Im cleaning up and doing housy stuff as we are preparing for our Winter Solstice, we generally have a Celebration to welcme back the sun and ward off the longest night, this year as money is so tight.... well non existant really, we've just asked a few friends round to eat a meal and have a few glasses of wine with us, most are bringing something whether it be a dessert or a bottle of wine ect so we'll all manage a good evening with very little cost....
We'll have a bonfire and a Yule log and roast a few chestnuts to start us off... then homemade bread, soup, stew potatoes and rice and veggies, with lots of gooey desserts.... a warm fire and good company... what more could anyone want...

Tuesday 14 December 2010

What a wonderful day...

We woke up this morning to a really lovely day, the sun has come out and although its colder its so good to see the sun. We came into town early and luckily had the camera with me and managed to catch this fantastic view from just above the town looking over at the hills shrouded in mist...

I was able to go down the veggie patch this morning and picked a cabbage, now we have had some stunning veg this season but cabbage has been a huge success for us, and this morning I picked a monster... well over 2kilos in weight ... also the caulis are now coming good, completely the wrong time of the year but we are enjoying them just the same.

I spent the morning the other day planting Jerusalem Artichokes, all part of my fresh not freezer plan for next year, I was lucky enough to be given a large pot full (thanks Ruth) and while we have a big bag chopped for soup in the freezer already, I did a few more, and froze some of the lager one for roasting too, the peel went into a pot for the dogs dinners and I planted the small ones... 65 of them!! That should ensure us plenty for next year.... and forever!
Ive weeded the onion seed beds and they seem to be doing okay... all my winter broad beans and peas are up and looking good too... so we seem set for winter.. its getting colder and now we have the new blcked in area at the bottom of the stairs in the kitchen that stops the warm all going up stairs we are really toasty...
Rik will be going into the forest today and tomorrow to top up the log shed, while Im finishing up tidying the veggie patch and making bread ...

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Frugal living...The great dog food scam....

I dont know about you but I've been a pet owner, generally dogs, for most of my adult life, and grew up with a family dog too... so you could call us devoted dog people,  in fact we tend to like dogs better than most people. Our dogs are classed as family, almost our children, and we love them as such.
So, being such devoted dog people, and as most people, we want the very best for our dogs, we give them regular health checks, jabs, and worm pills ect, and want the very best in nutricion for them to keep them strong, heathly and energetic ...
That brings me to the crux of this post.... Dog Food...if you look around at the various types of dog food there are available now, you could feel very confused and alarmed..and guilty. if you take it all at face value that is... Vets surgeries all have those sacks of the hugely expensive 'super healthy' brands that they reccomend... only that one can do the very best for your pet... a sack of that costs more than my food budget for months! Then you can go to the supermarket and see a massive range at varying prices , all offering health, vitality, glossy coat.... etc etc... the general marketing trend is that if you dont buy all this expensive food then you dont love your dog... he or she will not be healthy, will suffer from all kinds of nasty stuff and it will all be your fault.... all set up to play on your guilt at not feeding your loved dog on the 'best'.
What a load of rubbish....
Over a year ago, we started getting a little concerned ourselves at not being able to afford more than a very cheapy type of 'all in one' biscuit for our dogs...  I guess over the years we had been taken in by all the hype that surrounds animal food... so we started adding extra stuff in a little, we have always given our dogs veggies, and titbits like crusts and apple cores etc, now we were actively thinking about what we were giving them as extras. I made sure it was the 'healthy option' bits of fruit, extra veggies, bones etc.. all this on top of their normal food... It made me feel better that I was giving them healthy stuff...
Over the past 6 months we have thought more and more about this... this huge healthy dog food thing has sort of crept up on the public through concentrated ads over the last ten or 15 years...
When you were a child, this kind of food just wasnt there... dogs were mainly fed on what was available, cheap and filled them up.... and always looked healthy to me.... our family dog as a child lived solely from tablescraps and the odd butchers bones... and lived to the ripe old age of 17!!
So, to bring this back to my point... for the last 6 months we have been feeding our dogs in a frugal way... and they are looking splendid... happy healthy, glossy coats, full of energy... and it costs us next to nothing...
What we do is this...
I go to our butchery counter at the local supermarkets, every time Im in town, we ask for dogs stuff... they give us bags of scrap , fat, skin, gristley bits, bones etc... tons of it... mostly free , some times they charge 10cents a bag... which we cut up small, divide up into reasonable portions and freeze.
Then every day I defrost a bag, and roast it, then put it into the 'dog veg pan' which is a big pan I keep handy and instead of putting all my veggie scraps and peelings on the compost heap Im cooking it up for the dogs, it ends up as a thick meaty, veg type stew, I often add a handful of rice, or pasta, to bulk it out as Beesa is so big. This is served up with a sprinkling of the 'all in one' biscuits on top every day for their breakfast. And they love it
Nothing is wasted, all cabbage leaves and stems are cut up small, potato peelings, onion skins... squash peel... it all goes in..
They get bones for added calcium, rice and bread crusts, pasta etc as carbs.. the fat and meat for iron etc the veg and fruit for vits... they even get fish heads for oils now and again...
Its easy to do once you get a system going, and they love it and costs me almost nothing... a 20 kl sack of dog biscuits lasts months...
And you couldnt wish for a healthier looking pair of dogs... I'll never fall into the dog food scam again...

Thursday 2 December 2010

Frugal living...

With economics as they are, our frugal lifestyle is extra important to us at the moment...
As I said in my other post, during the cold weather we tend to eat soup most days.... Lunch in our house comprises soup and homemade bread, and often homemade biscuits or a cake...
Soup at the moment seems to be cabbage and potato most days... a tad boring but its hot, filling and nutricious.. heheheh just the last few days Ive tried to vary it... we have leaf soup.... When I pick a cabbage from the garden, as Rik hates the strong outer leaves, I now leave them on the stalk to keep growing , just cutting the main middle cabbage, the rest I pick as needed and shred for soup.... he doesnt know the difference... also cauli leaves are going in now too... as are dandilion leaves, a little chickweed and the odd plantain leaf too.... all good vitamins...And really tasty...
Last night we had homemade crisps.... (chips to our American readers) ... only instead of using whole potato... I'd saved the scrubbed peelings from the roast potatoes we had at dinner and  deep fried them with salt and herbs.... they were yummy....

Other stuff

As its a bit cold and we've not much to do I thought I'd add a little more, firstly thanks to Blue and Sam for giving us and our winter special a nice plug to hopefully improve business...
One of the things that also got dne while Rik and Gregg were in a productive mood.... and it was raining... was a few minor adjustments to our electrics... now a lot of our stuff is still run from extenson leads ect.. all very temporary, and has been for almost five years now.... So Gregg being a electrician, actually shuddered when he looked closely.... hehehehe He kindly rewired a bit upstairs and put the lounge lights on a different switch to the bathroom, so now I can switch the lounge light on from the top of the stairs, instead of having to grope my way across the room to the bathroom door to switch on a light... wonderful... little things eh...
Also, Rik had made some excellent light fittings from old oil lamps we had, (cost 4 euros each) and Greg wired them up and he's what one looks like. We love em... We've been looking for some lights that 'fit' into our place for ages, but all were either hugly expensive or ... naff...

We think they fit in well... and cost practically nothing.... which is very important to us and our frugal lifestyle...

Busy week.

Well its been a busy few days ... the lovely Greg (our last helper) left on Sunday for pastures new, hes down the Algarve with a German/Portuguese couple for a couple of weeks and then off skiing for Christmas... He was amazing, so much work, so strong amd such a genuine bloke too. He and Rik really hit it off and ganged up on me and teased me mercilessly most days. That was good, generally we have female helpers and Rik often feels outnumbered... so it was my turn for the last few weeks... We miss him a lot...
I cancelled the other couple that should have arrived during the next few days, the money situation, coupled with not great weather and being so near to Solstice and Christmas, plus the upset over my dads death made it the right decision for us we feel. We'll be more upto welcoming people into our home again by spring...
Having said that, we've had plenty of friends popping in to see if we are ok so life hasnt been quiet either...

The weather has been a bit pooh ... plenty of rain, but its settled down to just a few scattered showers now and quite a lot of bright sunshine, not very warm though ... and if you get stuck in the wind... its damn cold!
But its keeping the garden going, we did have a couple of hard frosts last week but the rain has kept them off since, Im picking cauliflowers and cabbages and trying to weed the winter peas and leeks between showers. The carrots are finally finished, they were great and a absolute must for next year now we've had such success. The grelos is very slow, although the packet said 40 days... its been 50 and no sign of being near to eating size yet...
Rik has been repairing walls and trying to make as much water tight as possible, the last lot of rain didnt come in the house at all.... but Im not holding my breath just yet...
Ive been baking, and making soup most days, we eat soup for lunch almost every day now its cold... and I'll be looking out the sewing box and getting to the mending soon as well... cleaning shelves, and cupboards, and generally doing all the indoor housy type things that dont get done during summer...