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Month: February 2010

Super spuds!

Super spuds!

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Things are coming along on the house fine – although every time we visit the builders we have to correct something (too late for all three north facing doors which inexplicably are not quite in the right place…) and today we stopped the downstairs loo being the same size as the study. There seems to be a (healthy?) disregard for the plans which lay abandoned on a large wooden barrel along with some beer bottles.

We did a quick tour of the garden to see how things were coping from the recent deluge and it was lovely to see tiny signs of spring growth on all the fruit trees we have planted, they all seem to be working. But the biggest surprise, nay astonishment, came when I looked under the potato cloche. I have now planted two groups of Jersey Royals (although they can’t legally be called that now), the first lot less than three weeks ago and the second lot last Friday, and the first lot have sprouted – already! In just over 2 weeks! Now I am sure (Richard not) that some of you would like to see the proof so here they are on Feb 5 and then again Feb 24:

Mmm, I can smell them boiling in a pan of minted water already…

Return of the builders

Return of the builders

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…or rather the demolition team. After a frustrating three week ‘break’ the men arrived back on site sledgehammers at the ready. This time they were working on the lounge – bashing out big holes for the french windows. They must have a lot of trust in the strength of old Portuguese farmhouses as they didn’t bother with props (or any safety gear – at least helmets would have kept the rain off). After a couple of hours bashing, they took their customary break at 10am for a fag, a ham sandwich and a couple of beers. Then back into it.

As you can see from the pictures below (on the second day of bashing), the rain has come back with a vengeance (we’ve also had thunder and hailstorms), so round about the house is a bit of a quagmire. Inside is not much better as the roof tiles still haven’t been put on and water seems to be coming in everywhere.


“Nao problemo” say the boys, “Portuguese Farmhouse very strong”. I hope so.

Meanwhile they have cleared away the rubble from the front of the house so you can see the extension a bit clearer. Downstairs is where the study will go and upstairs the bathroom and utility room.

Transformations

Transformations

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The raised beds are finally finished – they just need green things to start sprouting from them. Here’s one photo we took not long after we arrived in September and another this week after putting some gravel down.

raised beds before and after

And here is the pergola, which is where the pig pen once was.

pergola

Still no sight of the builders. Hopefully they will be starting again next week…

Not happy bunnies

Not happy bunnies

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The euphoria surrounding last week’s concrete pour on the roofs has quickly dissipated. After getting the roof done, the builder said that we had to leave it for four or five days to set. Fair enough. But now a week later he has told us he won’t be back for another week as he has to finish another job! So two weeks of inaction on the house has left us non plussed to say the least.

However, work continues on the garden and the raised beds are perfectly manicured, ready and waiting. In fact, Jackie has planted our first veggies. Jersey Royal potatoes specially flown in from Jersey (actually posted here from her sister). They should be ready in about three months. And the strawberries are also bedded in and raring to go.

raised beds ready and waiting
raised beds ready and waiting

Jackie has also been busy in the kitchen. We rediscovered a huge pile of walnuts the other day which we had picked in November and she made a delicious walnut cake. So delicious in fact that Furface, the local moggie who has adopted us, sneaked in and snaffled up half of it while we weren’t watching.

I’ve also been busy utilising my great strengths – brute force and ignorance. I’ve finally removed all trace of the former pigsty. In its place we’re going to build a little outdoor dining area with a trellis which will be dripping with vines. That (hopefully) will be going up next week, so look out for the pics.

Finally, a good sign that spring must be on its way is that a tiny wren is building a nest on our balcony. Here’s a pic of the wren and a blackcap who came for a butcher’s.

wren and blackcap
wren and blackcap