It was the annual jumble sale this weekend. Which involves a few British people staring forlornly at a few Portuguese people who are staring bemusedly at a pile of junk. True to form, I think we accounted for a good percentage of the day's takings, having bought two painting easels, another wicker seated chair and a really cute little box seat - oh and a vegetable rack thing on wheels that I can use to carry my things around the house and workshop. We had a picnic on the way back though, and stocked up on Vinho Verde in the Portuguese supermarket, and when I got home I defrosted in a warm bath - so not too bad a day really.
Sunday we went for a bike ride. We went on one of our favorites, which is towards Usagre, cut across to the Bienvenida track and home. We had a picnic - soup and pasties of course - this time sat on the edge of an olive grove which was rather pleasant. Ian carried the soup and pasties in a backpack. He is refusing my latest idea which is leg warmers with a pasty pocket. I think this is a great idea for several reasons - not least if we warm the pasties before we go they'll keep his legs warm. Needless to say, we have different opinions about this.
What we did learn on our bike ride is that there were quite a few dried up streams - which have now turned into flowing rivers. All were passable, but not without a certain amount of gymnastics...
Manuel has started on the kitchen. He arrived yesterday having been rained off another job. However it's not raining today, so he is back on the other job and coming back here this evening.
There is a lot of building work in general going on at the moment. The next phase in the pavement project appears to be going on with a vengeance. The aim is that wherever in the village someone starts from, they will be able to walk to the cemetery on a pavement with lighting. The pavement is currently being built around the fiesta ground, and around the tennis courts. They also have started building changing rooms for the tennis courts. Tennis is popular with the youngsters, and the tennis courts are well used. The building work at the castle continues too, this is a massive project and it does look good. They are really 'just' making the walls safe, however because they are so big, it is obviously a significant project. The new trading units are coming on too. These are nearly finished and there is a new road to them which makes things take shape. We also noticed that when they did the new road, they also scraped the surface of a lot of the tracks, this evens out the holes and bumps and is a big improvement. There is a track that we cycle up that would have been impassible for cars, however the new scraped surface has evened it all out.
Davy is still limping, but not quite so bad. He is jumping a little more, so that's a step - or jump - in the right direction.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Limping Davy
Having said that everyone was ok after the crash of the kitchen cupboard, we noticed that Davy was limping and unable to jump very high. Davy is normally able to jump onto the fridge where their food is with no problem, however he couldn't make it, or jump onto a table which is lower. So we wonder if he may have fallen off the fridge when the cabinet fell down. We took him to the vet who couldn't find anything, so hopefully it is just a sprain.
Pirata had his first fall yesterday. He just walked off the wall in the patio and fell on his head. He was fine - I think it was much more traumatic for us than for him. He is normally very careful and puts a paw out to feel his way.
Pirata had his first fall yesterday. He just walked off the wall in the patio and fell on his head. He was fine - I think it was much more traumatic for us than for him. He is normally very careful and puts a paw out to feel his way.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Fall of the Kitchen Cabinet
Our kitchen cabinet fell off the wall on Friday. It is a very large cabinet and was quite full. Amazingly all that broke was one egg, and even more amazingly, Ian happened to be stood right by it and managed to catch it, superman-like, as it tumbled off the wall. All the animals were ok, but Pirata was scared and ran into a wall with a bit of a bump. If it had fallen on the floor it could have been a very different story. We'd put the cabinet onto part of the wall that Manuel hadn't redone, so I guess there's a message there. It has been up for a couple of years, but I guess must have been slowly coming away.
On the plus side that made us think about how to lay out the pantry. Manuel hasn't started yet on the kitchen so we've time for a bit of a re-plan. We're now thinking about putting marble work surface and units into the pantry and taking out the units, or at least moving them. I think that will work quite well and won't increase the total cost too much.
The lovely weather that we've had through autumn has now broken and it's cold and wet. Although Monday and Tuesday were both nice and we went for a cycle ride on both days, doing both of our favorite rides. On Tuesday we saw two planes refueling overhead (I had thought one was towing the other, which seemed unusual). This is a picture here - Tues 16th.
Actually, it didn't matter that the weather wasn't so nice this week as we have spent the week working on our new site. It wasn't too bad and after a week we have a site that is ready to launch. We've still a lot of work to do on it, but the basic framework is in place. We did spend much of the week working together in Ian's office and it soon reminded us why we enjoy our own workspace. It took Ian about a nano-second to comment on my 'unreasonably loud typing' where I was much too polite to comment on his consistent sighing, mumbling or listening to music at ear-bending levels. Needless to say, my little peaceful haven otherwise know as my workshop is looking pretty good at the moment.
Our websites are doing quite well at the moment, we had our best day ever earlier this week. However we're very aware that we have to keep pressing forward, if only to stand still. The new site is much more general and hopefully will be a good balance to the others.
We trimmed all the pups yesterday, which means that there is now a heap of shivering dogs under the blanket....
On the plus side that made us think about how to lay out the pantry. Manuel hasn't started yet on the kitchen so we've time for a bit of a re-plan. We're now thinking about putting marble work surface and units into the pantry and taking out the units, or at least moving them. I think that will work quite well and won't increase the total cost too much.
The lovely weather that we've had through autumn has now broken and it's cold and wet. Although Monday and Tuesday were both nice and we went for a cycle ride on both days, doing both of our favorite rides. On Tuesday we saw two planes refueling overhead (I had thought one was towing the other, which seemed unusual). This is a picture here - Tues 16th.
Actually, it didn't matter that the weather wasn't so nice this week as we have spent the week working on our new site. It wasn't too bad and after a week we have a site that is ready to launch. We've still a lot of work to do on it, but the basic framework is in place. We did spend much of the week working together in Ian's office and it soon reminded us why we enjoy our own workspace. It took Ian about a nano-second to comment on my 'unreasonably loud typing' where I was much too polite to comment on his consistent sighing, mumbling or listening to music at ear-bending levels. Needless to say, my little peaceful haven otherwise know as my workshop is looking pretty good at the moment.
Our websites are doing quite well at the moment, we had our best day ever earlier this week. However we're very aware that we have to keep pressing forward, if only to stand still. The new site is much more general and hopefully will be a good balance to the others.
We trimmed all the pups yesterday, which means that there is now a heap of shivering dogs under the blanket....
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Another Picnic
Yesterday we went for another lunch bike ride and picnic. This time we went to what we think is an old quarry. It's actually less that two kilometers away, so we were easily able to be there, back and picnic within the hour. Just as well as my class started early yesterday - to my surprise. They turned up 40 mins early. This was because of the circus arriving. It was a tricky class as they were fit to explode at the thought of the circus, even though the high point, as far as I can see, was a 15 year old pig and a pony.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Pumpkin Soup and Quince Cheese
Ian and I have been busy making pumpkin soup and quince cheese. Ian has been making the soup from a huge pumpkin that one of my class give us and I have been making quince cheese from some quinces we scrumped. The pumpkin soup is delicious and it is now in our freezer which appears to be at least half full with pasties.
The quince cheese that I attempted was slightly less successful. Although, as Ian stared forlornly at the sticky slop, he did say that it would probably taste nice. I tried leaving the quince mess to dry in the kitchen, but eventually gave up and put it into a jar where it now looks like something you might find in a Hammer Horror laboratory. Happily Carlos bought us round some yesterday which his mum had made and was properly set and can be sliced. I thought about sneaking it into the kitchen and telling Ian that mine had eventually set, however honest side got the better of me.
We've had a few days of wind and rain but yesterday was nice so we went for a lunchtime cycle ride. We went to and sat behind the bull ring to eat our pasties and sup our soup. I realized that I had forgotten that I was going to make Ian a pasty bag for his bike. Judging by the tears in his eyes I think we was very touched by the thought that I am going to embark on such a project specially for him.
The quince cheese that I attempted was slightly less successful. Although, as Ian stared forlornly at the sticky slop, he did say that it would probably taste nice. I tried leaving the quince mess to dry in the kitchen, but eventually gave up and put it into a jar where it now looks like something you might find in a Hammer Horror laboratory. Happily Carlos bought us round some yesterday which his mum had made and was properly set and can be sliced. I thought about sneaking it into the kitchen and telling Ian that mine had eventually set, however honest side got the better of me.
We've had a few days of wind and rain but yesterday was nice so we went for a lunchtime cycle ride. We went to and sat behind the bull ring to eat our pasties and sup our soup. I realized that I had forgotten that I was going to make Ian a pasty bag for his bike. Judging by the tears in his eyes I think we was very touched by the thought that I am going to embark on such a project specially for him.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Pirata Settles In
Pirata is settling in well. He is very confident and doesn't get fazed by much. Ian wonders if Pirata can determine light and shade. Certainly he does sometimes seem to 'look' at things. I'm not really sure of how things work, but I think because he wasn't born with eyes doesn't necessarily mean that his retina and other optical doodahs weren't formed.
It is fascinating watching how he finds his way around. He now has the run of the house, but we shut him in my workshop at night. He loves exploring and climbing. He sometimes is a little nervous about jumping down from things, however when he's done it a couple of times he's fine. We try not to help him down from things as this doesn't allow him to learn. I'm not too worried that he's wary about jumping down, better that than his having a disregard for heights. Of course, he broke his leg when he fell out of a window, so I think that may have made him wary - although perhaps not as much as it should have done!
When he's not exploring he's quite likely to be found on Ian's lap or snuggled down by me in my workshop. He's quite a cuddly little cat and enjoys a good purr!
All the others - dogs and cats - seem to take him in their stride. I think they must think he is a little odd as he doesn't react in a predictable way - for instance if he turns and walks into a wall. Because he doesn't have eyes he doesn't give the impression of staring and I also think that this is helping the other not to be afraid of him or react negatively. I have read that animals use staring as part of their way of establishing a pecking order so they would regard a blind animal's staring as being aggressive.
The weather has been glorious for the last month or so, although we did have a big storm last weekend. It's still hot in the afternoon, but cooler in the morning. Since the clocks have changed we've been making the most of the lighter mornings and either going for a cycle ride or walk. The sun rises now at 7.45 (I know because we watched it rise yesterday when we were cycling) and drops again at 6.15 (I know because we watched it set from our sun terrace yesterday).
The banister for the sun terrace was fitted last week and it's really finished it off nicely. It also means that going up and down the stairs feels a lot safer - it feels surprisingly high from the top step!
We've started work on a new website. This is purely commercial and we hope to generate revenue from advertising. It's a little different from our other sites and hopefully we'll have it launched later this month. We're dedicating a week to it later this month which should get it to the launch stage.
Manuel is going to be starting on the kitchen next week. We're already planning what our first meals will be cooked in a proper oven with temperature controls that give us something inbetween complete incineration and slightly warm. Not having to go outside for water is going to be a big step forward too!
It is fascinating watching how he finds his way around. He now has the run of the house, but we shut him in my workshop at night. He loves exploring and climbing. He sometimes is a little nervous about jumping down from things, however when he's done it a couple of times he's fine. We try not to help him down from things as this doesn't allow him to learn. I'm not too worried that he's wary about jumping down, better that than his having a disregard for heights. Of course, he broke his leg when he fell out of a window, so I think that may have made him wary - although perhaps not as much as it should have done!
When he's not exploring he's quite likely to be found on Ian's lap or snuggled down by me in my workshop. He's quite a cuddly little cat and enjoys a good purr!
All the others - dogs and cats - seem to take him in their stride. I think they must think he is a little odd as he doesn't react in a predictable way - for instance if he turns and walks into a wall. Because he doesn't have eyes he doesn't give the impression of staring and I also think that this is helping the other not to be afraid of him or react negatively. I have read that animals use staring as part of their way of establishing a pecking order so they would regard a blind animal's staring as being aggressive.
The weather has been glorious for the last month or so, although we did have a big storm last weekend. It's still hot in the afternoon, but cooler in the morning. Since the clocks have changed we've been making the most of the lighter mornings and either going for a cycle ride or walk. The sun rises now at 7.45 (I know because we watched it rise yesterday when we were cycling) and drops again at 6.15 (I know because we watched it set from our sun terrace yesterday).
The banister for the sun terrace was fitted last week and it's really finished it off nicely. It also means that going up and down the stairs feels a lot safer - it feels surprisingly high from the top step!
We've started work on a new website. This is purely commercial and we hope to generate revenue from advertising. It's a little different from our other sites and hopefully we'll have it launched later this month. We're dedicating a week to it later this month which should get it to the launch stage.
Manuel is going to be starting on the kitchen next week. We're already planning what our first meals will be cooked in a proper oven with temperature controls that give us something inbetween complete incineration and slightly warm. Not having to go outside for water is going to be a big step forward too!
Monday, November 01, 2010
Cat Trees
We went ahead and bought a couple of cat trees. A small one for Pirata and a big one for the rest. Needless to say - the box was much more interesting - you can see Tib's tail as she plays inside the box with Fibs sat on the top.
Babbity Bumble, Miss Moppet and Davy do eventually get the hang of playing on the cat tree - however Ian has to lift them up first!
We also bought a dog bed - much appreciated by the cats. In previous years we've just made a pile of old blankets on the floor for dogs to sit on during the winter, however thought a proper dog's bed might be more practical.
This is Pirata's cat tree. Much appreciated by Bob!
