Goodbye.. and Thank you.

Just a quick mini update . The new owners are taking over, we are off on our travels, my health is slowly improving and will take a while longer. I am leaving the blog up for a while at least as I feel there is tons of info on here that people may find useful, well I hope so..
Im going to switch off the comments facility though.
Thank you every much for reading my ramblings and all your lovely comments.
I hope you all find your own dreams..
Pat

Mara's Cottage Rentals and other stuff

Although the house is sold life here will carry on untill almost Christmas, so we are still open for cottage rentals, as much as possible as we still have to live untill the sale goes through!
We still have a huge crop of potatoes to harvest in a few weeks time, we have cabbages to eat now, and I may well plant a few more too, the beans rick planted while I was away are going great guns and we will eat a few green but leave a lot to dry as we plan on squeezing in the maximum food possible to take with us in the motorhome so we can eat well on our own veggies during the winter in Spain, it will keep our costs down too.
We have now around 45 tomato plants ... I had grown some rick planted during the rainy season we had, which we thought were not doing well due to the colder wet spring, so I quickly germinated a lot more... now the new ones are great and the first batch are even bigger... I will sundry as many as I can, plus make as much tomato puree as I think we can carry... and just eat pasta all winter...
We've eaten our fresh peas and had them every day to avoid freezing them, plus we are still having broad beans most days in some way too...
I have three good rows of baby parsnips coming up too, which we will hopefully get to eat some at least, but the rest will stay in the ground for our new owners to finish.
The peppers just didnt make it... and obviously now we wont replant, the aubergines are picking up slowly so we will get some, but as I cant take my freezer there is no point in producing tons anyway.
The corn is pretty meagre too... So I am slowly building up my stocks of dry goods, flour, oats,  dried beans, lentils, pasta rice, sugar, herbal tea, coffee etc stuff we can take with us for winter.

We wont be taking much with us, as when we came here we just brought basic cooking utensils /bedding/ and tools and our precious things, we will be traveling until we find the right area for us so some will be stored with a friend but most of our stuff will be sold off or given away...
Luckily Im not materialistic...
We will have our girls (the dogs) each other and a new life to look forward to.

The house is sold...

So... there we have it, our house is sold as of last night, luckily we got a full price offer, which we of course accepted and our buyer has signed and paid his deposit...
They are a nice couple who plan to come and grow using Permaculture methods...
We are very happy that the people who are buying are in a lot of ways continuing on the dream that we had for the place.
Of course in many ways we are sad to leave, is a wonderful country, with lovely people. But its time for us to move on , new places and different challenges in life...
We will be here untill december, then we will go to Spain for the winter in our motorhome, then tootle on to the Czech Republic & Germany in early spring.

Oooh Lovely new season crops

Yes today we dug the first couple of plant of our new season potatoes, its a tad early, but they looked okay and we just couldn't wait... although we are not huge potato eaters, we love new spuds...
we only dug a couple of plants, just enough for two or three meals for us as a treat..it equates to the half a washing up bowl you see hereabouts... you just cant beat the taste...
We are still picking broad beans, so far I've frozen almost 20kilos, and still another large picking of maybe another ten kilos or so before we finish, we've been eating them fresh almost everyday, luckily we love them...
The baby lettuce is just coming on ready too... we'll start on them this week, mixed with a few dandilion leaves and some borage leaves, makes a delish salad...I may well make some borage leaf fritters too or even some ravioli... yum...
The garden is very behind this year, a combination of me not being here, and the terrible weather we had during the whole of April and early May, so much rain, some plants drowned and some just didn't flourish, the corn is pretty poor, as are the peppers... I'm going to give the peppers a nice feed of comfrey liquid and hope for the best, the corn I will weed, and then go round and pop in more seed in the very large gaps...
Meanwhile the aubergines are starting to pick up a bit, still very behind but signs of life there now...
The few squash are going well but I've more germinating in the greenhouse, again they will be a late crop this year.
The cabbage is looking great, as always! Both red and green are hearting up nicely, the beans Rick planted have come on great guns, and I plan to plant another block of French beans next week..
The toms are doing very well and I will pick a few meals worth of peas next week ...
I still haven't managed to plant the damn Basil yet...

Ive been managing to get two or three hours in most days, then have to have a sleep in the afternoon.... but at least Im gradually getting stuff done, Im almost caught up with the weeding around the cottage and guest area and around the house , as we have had a few house viewings this last week or so, nothing has come of them but there were some very positive people and comments which was nice..

I'm just about to cut up and freeze the last of last years huge pumpkins, and a few butternut squashes.. nice to get ahead for soup for next winter...

I'm busy planning and adding to my store cupboard for winter too.
While I was in the UK I managed to stock up on Pearl Barley, stew mix(a nice mix of grains and lentils etc) Suet for dumplings, dried fruit which I find expensive here, plus some shampoos and stuff...
I've been buying extra Pasta the last few weeks and now am moving onto Rice ... Im determined to have a huge store cupboard this winter so we don't have to worry about anything...

Next week  we visit the house of a friend who is away in England for a few weeks and will harvest some of his Cherries... I plan a few jars of jam... Mmmmm my fave jam!
Our Peach trees are looking good too... hopefully plenty of them for bottling and jam this year too..

Another couple of weeks will see the wild Fennel ready for picking, I plan to make around 20 litres of Liquer this year... It just vanishes...

So much to get organised... my herbs are sprouting and we've already been enjoying herb butters, plenty of chive butter for the new spuds... Ive picked catnip, yarrow,  Mullien and lemon balm for drying and later there will be tons of lavender...the sage wont be long either...
Oh well I rambled on for long enough ...

Free Accommodation in Portugal for the summer..

We are looking for someone, either a single bloke or a couple, to live here for the summer or longer if it works for all concerned.
We offer the caravan accommodation, including free electricity & water, plus a share of veggies from the garden in season. The caravan has a shower and portaloo, a heater for when needed, sleeps two, (14ft) and is basic but comfortable. Possible use of small area of land for own cultivation.
All we ask is 3 hours help a day on our land and with wood collection. You must be able to drive and love dogs!
email me ASAP... patricia@livingthedreamportugal.com to discuss...

House For Sale Update

Yes the house is still for sale, we've had a few people come and look but no takers yet, we are just continuing on as before but looking for ways to cut our workload to make life more manageble for me and my health, poor Rick cannot do it all alone. He is also only doing week long training clinics abroad this year, so he can be home with me more , but it means the chance of his job away has fallen by the wayside sadly.
So, if you are thinking of a new life in the sun... give us a call or drop me an email...
Check out our webpage about this place please...
www.buyoursmallholdinginportugal.weebly.com  

Home at last!

I'm finally home, and so very pleased to be here. Im still not completely well but hopefully this time will continue to improve . I have to take it easy still, but am looking forward to working the land and enjoying the summer .
The tangerine tree in the garden is in flower and coupled with the warm weather was a beautiful fragrant welcome home for me, I love Portugal in the Spring and early summer, its so beautiful with all the wild flowers and citrus fruit trees in blossom, the air is scented and absolutely heavenly.
Also as the temps in North Wales never went above 14º the whole time I was there, the lovely 28º I came home to was very welcome ...
The heavy rain that troubled Portugal while I was gone has caused havoc in the veggie garden though, all our aubergines, peppers and most of the squashes have just drowned and completely rotted away.
We will have to replant as fast as we can and hope this warm weather will bring them on fast!
The cabbage, both red and green are doing fine, as are the couple of rows of beets Rick managed to get in, he worked like a trojan and planted all our spuds singlehandedly and they are looking great, and the beans are popping up everywhere. The sweetcorn is just coming up in places, so we hope not all has rotted away...
We have had to make the decision to only plant bare basics this year, as we will struggle to cope with the work of caring for it all.
I will plant some late parsnips next week, plus some basil, summer wouldnt be summer without the gorgeous scent of fresh cut basil in the house... tomato salad just isnt worth eating without it..
The ton of broad bean seed we planted in the autumn has paid off, we have just started picking a mountain of them... and I really do mean a mountain.. the pics below should show just how many, we filled the red laundry basket first, then had to use the plastic fruit tray, and still had six rows to pick that we couldnt fit in...
I spent yesterday podding& freezing them.

Obviously we are eating them fresh everyday too....

Home & Away

Just a quick note  to say I am in Wales at my daughters, Ive been here two weeks now, I just wasnt getting much better at home, the medicine and doctors bills were crippling us, so I decided to come and stay untill I am better. I am getting there slowly,but it will be a while before I can go home.
We have had a few viewings on then house, but nothing exciting yet...
Poor Rick is trying to cope with all the planting and work single handedly at the moment..

Life carries on...

So for the meantime,  as we dont expect the house to sell overnight, we have to carry on with normal life. That means starting to get ready for planting. Ive already managed to plant a few peas, Im growing them up the old tomato trellis this season, and the tomatoes which have been in the same place three years running are getting a change of scene.
Yesterday, I cleaned out the little wood and plastic housy that Rick made me which serves very well as a greenhouse , and as we-ve been collecting yogurt pots all winter, Ive planted up tons of seeds, the usual for us, courgettes, Uchi Kuri squash, big pumpkins, little pumpkins, spaggetti pumpkins, Butternut squash, and tons of tomotoes. Ive also started off my Petunias and sweetpeas that I use in tubs to pretty up the cottage area, plus some Portuguese flowers I dont know the name of, stunning colours, of Cerise and yellow and sometimes a mix of both. They open in shade so are good for all sorts of odd corners.
Gareth has gone... and we miss him loads, he has gone to friends of ours in Austria for the summer, a great placement for him and Im sure he will be well looked after, but he was here so long he felt like family.
The broad beans down on the orchard area are in flower, sadly they are a little stunted due to lack of water, we-ve had no real good rain now since last spring, the odd day here and there but nothing to make a difference. The orchard generally is very wet during winter as it has a winter run off spring that flows from the wall. It hasnt flowed all winter. And we have no way of getting water down there easily. So we just have to take what beans we get and be glad for them.
The main house garden area will look better this summer too, over winter I just stuck in some odd cuttings around the lovely stone walls the lads built, and have noticed recently two of the climbing roses have taken plus a couple of Yuccas, and a few other bits and pieces. I just have to get my self into gear to tidy it and weed a little.
 Im gradually trying to do more around the place I am feeling a little better the last three days. I can feel a definate improvement, but apparently its going to be a long job...
I have added the link  of the house sale site to our friends list , It would be lovely if we sold it via here. I so want this place to go to someone who understands what we-ve been doing here and why...

Very Tough Choices.House for Sale.

Well its been a lot time since I updated this blog, and Ive put it off for quite a while for one reason and another.
The last few weeks have been especially difficult, I been pretty ill for almost two months now and just the day to day struggle has been enough to make me not bother with this.
The good news is after various different hospital emergency rooms and visits, I finally got an appointment for an endoscope exam. Not the most fun way to spend an afternoon I might add. But at least a decent diagnosis and some more effective medication. I have  severe duodenal ulcers, quite unpleasant and very painful.
All this has meant that the amount of work done here by me has dwindled to almost nothing, just about managing to put a meal on the table for the hardworking men around here. Gareth is still with us but will be moving on at the weekend to Austria, we will miss him like mad, he has become so much part of the family. We had a fleeting visit from a young French Canadian called Dan, he stayed about ten days and helped Gareth with weeding and wood collecting. Rick of course plods on and as ever works incredably hard , but is feeling the strain alot too now. He also is getting busy with his Softball work, he will be going to Tempo Prague at the end of the month for an unknown amount of time. He already turned down a season long coaching job in Germany as we didnt know how well I would be to be here alone for so long. It looks as if  in future years he may well be away for months at a time during coaching season and thats not something we had planned for when we came here. But very exciting for him and his career.
So...
We have put the house up for sale. Yep, the whole lot, house, guest cottage pool, caravan  land etc etc...
We both feel it is time to move on and look at new and different challenges in our life. We have absolutely loved our time in Portugal but the Czech Republic beckons to us...
I have created a website especially for the house, it gives as much info as I can manage and lots of pictures.
Hopefully someone special will come along and buy it, its such a special and unique place it deserves someone good to take care of it and finish what we started...
www.buyoursmallholdinginportugal.weebly.com

General Update.

I know its been ages... sorry..
This is the morning view of our valley.... stunning isnt it...

Things are still very hectic, we've lots of guests backwards and forwards, Gareth and Rick have been working extra hard on the house, we've been taking advantage of having Gareth here as he's moving on to Austria in Mid march... we'll hate to see him go but its an good placement and  not to be missed for him.

They have worked very hard and we actually now have a living room upstairs that looks like a real room... I love it! The walls have been all rendered and painted, the floor painted and the double doors varnished. should be a pic here somewhere. Its made it so warm and cosy... we cant afford to panel the roof though so its not quite finished, but still looks amazing to see it so transformed...

We've had quite a few friends around for meals , plus with all the guests and cooking tons for the men , Im spending most of my life at the cooker...

In the next few weeks I plan to make more skin balms and salves for a good stock for summer. I need to make more jam as Gareth loves it and has eaten my whole stock... luckily I have fruit in the freezer to use..

I need to get down the orchard and weed my broad beans... they are coming on wonderfully. We need to clear and get the main veggie patch tilled so the frosts we are having can kill any bugs.. as planting is only a few weeks away now...

I have to clean the little greenhouse I use and get some seeds in pots...

The blokes have to collect TONS of wood, we are getting low, down to only two rows now...

plus set up the new irrigation system our lovely friend Alik brought us out a while a go, its going to be used to help our corn this summer. It was so gorgeous last year we have saved lots of seed and plan a HUGE field of it this year...

I have a French Canadian helper arriving in mid Feb to help with the workload for a few weeks. but will need major help with weeding, planting and wood collection during spring and early summer.

Bloody Caterpillars

Just a quick precautionary post, the prosessionary buggers are on the move very very early this year, its also a terribly bad year, nests are everywhere... its going to be very bad...
please everyone, watch your dogs (and cats) its fatal if you dont act fast..
My other post on here somewhere details effective and often lifesaving treatment everyone can do...