A very clever baby

I am lucky to have a new granddaughter and with Facetime and Whatsapp i get to see her often. I was surprised when i received a picture of my granddaughter holding an Ipad. She is used to seeing me on her Mum's phone but today she was using my other granddaughers Ipad.

I know she loves Peppa Pig and could that be what she is watching but to me a great picture.

Just a fish tank update

It's been a while since i mentioned about my fish tank. Because i don't want to have any problems with leaks i coated the tank with Four coats of sealer. OK i know a bit over the top but i want it right. I was lucky to find a company who sell the Epoxy Resin to do my final coat and i wanted a blue for the sides.

Today i did the first of two coats of my blue Epoxy Resin. I asked the company if the Resin was fish safe and they answered that they had recently supplied a UK public aquarium so it must be OK. This is the side wall and when finished the tank will be about 5,000lt.

I couldn't get an angle to take in the whole of the back wall. The Epoxy Resin was wet when i took these pictures and it may look blotchy but it's dried out OK.

Summer has come and gone

I have seen many pictures of countryside where as Autumn comes the leaves on the trees turn brown and then die and fall of the trees.

Looking from my veanda i can see my pear tree and in the distance a couple of cherry trees loosing there leaves as winter approaches.











All that you can see as far as you can see is trees that are grown for money, a product. Nothing like you see in other countries where you see the season changes but I'm stuck with green all year round.

Down in the valley there are a few fruit trees where the leaves are also dying till next year.

The Council like everywhere tidy

At this time due to high winds and the drains at the side of the road getting blocked the local Camara ( Council ) send groups of workers out to clear the detritus.

It was easy to take pictures from my house. On the right at the bottom of the wall this a drain that is being cleared. 


















Not just the villages but also all the lanes are cleared.

Here is a worker strimming up the lane from my house. After they have done there job they then clean up after themselves.

Log burner replaced

A long time ago while building my bathroom I built up the floor to the height of the loung floor. My idea was as years go by I didn't want to have to step up by one step from the bathroom to the lounge.

After last years rainy winter and have to walk down the lane to get my firewood I couldn't go through that again. I looked to what life would be like as years go back after all I am not as young as I was so I had to do something.

Friends have a house with two pellet burners installed when there house renovation was complete and ready for when they moved in. I spent time watching how there burner works but what put me off was the noise while it starts. Since these where installed the new generation of pellet burners I was told where very quiet but I was not able to see one in operation and to listen to it.

I went off the a store who had a large selection on show and I saw three in my price bracket but how to decide the one for me. One had a red door and edged in black with grey side another not quite as fancy. But I didn't want a feature I picked a nice black one it just had the look I liked so that was it and of I went to buy it.

Keep with me it's a long story

I needed all the chimney pipes but I would go elsewhere because from my previous log burner I knew that this supplier was expensive. Near me there is a cross between a B&Q type shop but also a garden centre come builders merchant. When I got my pellet burner I made a note of the chimney prices and I was glad. At the place near me I got everything I need for a saving of about a 33% saving. That wasn't all I needed skirting boards but I wanted something special so it was of to Chicco's. But after a short time I found what I wanted but the wood was to thick but that's not a problem for Chicco.

Wonderful hardwood skirting boards. As you can see i have some cables to tidy up. 

 I got my new skirting home but now I needed to round over one side but the biggest part was in this environment damp and windy so of I went to my mate Robin. Robin soon got my skirting varnished because it was important for me to show of not just my burner but also my great skirting.

If only it was that simple

I needed a granite hearth for the burner to stand on. So off I go again this time I went to a granite workshop and it didn't take long to make my choice of type of granite. This was cut and ready for me to collect the next day so the next day I collected it and of I went home but still another problem to fix.

The last problem was I had four double sockets and a computer point that was going to be hidden away in the corner. I removed all four double sockets and fitted two new double sockets to the right of the pellet burner where I can get at them.

Everything now in place

First I had to cut a hole in the wall to have the chimney go from the pellet burner to the outside. With the hole cut the skirting  boards in place, granite put down and levelled, sockets moved. Now it was time to put the pellet burner in place and connect the chimney inside and then the outside. After this was all done I should have stopped for a cup of tea because I did need a break but I just had to get the burner started. So I just carried on, I had been reading the book that came with the burner and found the setup really simple. The longest part was the burners pipe work had to load up for the first time and that done it was simple.

 Well that's the story of my new pellet burner and I must say I am glad I didn't get one when I first saw them a few years ago. Now they almost silent pellet burners are now just a pleasure and mine is not the focal point of the room as a traditional fire would be.

Late out on a rotten night

it was a long time ago my Friend who lived in my village returned home late one windswept rainy night. Like myself my friend drove down a dark silent lane that we both use when we leave the village. This night what my friend didn't see in a open drain at the side of the road was an adult and three young wild Boar. The adult Boar jumped out in front of my friends car and did some really serious damage to his car.

Going forward to last night I came down the same lane at about 10.30 pm it was raining and very windy. About the same as on the night my friend had his accident with a wild Boar. The lane is over a mile long and as soon as I entered the lane I saw a huge wild Boar and slowed down straight away. I only passed the Boar by about a couple of hundred years when I saw another and the another. That was three in about three to four hundred yards but as I came towards the end of the lane I saw another what looked a monster wind Boar.

By the time I came to the exit off the lane I was more than glad to have got through without any problem. Should I come home late at night again I will avoid this little lane.

It's that time of year again

There is nothing better than waking in the morning and just laying in bed before you have to move and start the day. But what can ruin the day or at least to me it's what i dislike most. It all started over about 45 years ago in the winter i was with my first wife.

The one thing my wife hated was to get dressed and put cold clothes onto a warm body. My wife put her clothes into the warm bed so that when she was ready to get dressed she had warm clothes to put on.

This time of year i have a nice electric blanket so i switch it on when i get out of bed and put my clothes in the bed to warm. Imagine getting out of a shower all nice and warm and putting nice warm clothes on Oh it feels so good.

Moral of the story if you don't like putting cold clothes on a warm body then warm them in a nice warm bed before you get dressed.

A shock on a tiny lane

As I leave my village and at the bottom of the lane I turn to go to the main road. As I turn onto the lane that is only as wide as a car but there are a number of parts where the lane is cut back where is possible to pass another car if you are brave. OK I may have exaggerated a bit but it really is narrow but as I drove along to get to the main road I turned a bend. Just around the bend came three 4X4 cars  and as they saw me they pulled over into a narrow ditch but not a deep one.

Ok a bad picture but i didn't get out of my van to take the picture.













Further down the lane I came upon a place that you can see a little stream  but not today. Today a number of 4X4's where driving down from the lane onto the bed of the stream. Along the lane where what looked like ribbons hanging as markers these ribbons where red and white but could be easily seen by those in the 4X4's.

Here is the exit from the stream that only runs after the rains come.













On my return much later I saw where the drivers exited the stream bed and back onto the lane. From the lane they then went up into the forest, well it's somebodies idea of fun.

This is the marker for the turn into the forest. A steep turn between the trees.

What a start to a day

Today like most days I wake and before I open my eyes I lay in the warmth of my bed. Laying in my bed I often think of what I have planned for the day or even what happened the day before. It's nice laying comfortable in my world safe in my own little world.

Today like many others I lay in bed and when I opened my eyes the room was dark. The light is kept out because I have blackout blinds to keep out the light of day. When I opened my eyes I looked at my clock and it said 10.30 wow that was a great nights sleep. I had the day planned and before I get up to start my day I reach for my IPad to check for emails and to check the news.

What comes next was a shock not the news not an email But the time. I suddenly lost an hour it was really only 9.30am Oh it turns out that last night the clocks went back. This hour going back ruined the start of what should have been a great day. All for an hour but who's fault was it mine!!!!!because I should have known.

I had so many offcuts

It can't be helped but working with wood in my house i find i had a vast amount of off cuts. During the time i was cutting them up for firewood for a friend i saw a Youtube video about bread/ cheese boards.

This is my seat i have just made from strips of off cuts i had lying around my workshop.

The one in the middle is an off cut from the seat/ storage seat i have just made in my lounge. Once complete these will be going to my next market at Miranda do Corvo and hopefully i will get to sell some. Because these are for bread/ cheese i have used food grade mineral oil so with a little care they will last a long time.

I have mentioned before about Lichen

Looking at the photo below you can't really see that the tree is damaged. Sadly during the recent Hurricane the tree was badly damaged and part of it was blown down. What i can see is the amount of Lichen fallen branches and it reassures me as to why my health is better than during my working life.

 

 My advice to anybody looking to move to another country is to look for signs

that show like the Lichen that the environment  is going to give you a better quality of life. On this part of the lane there are many trees so the loss of one won't have much impact but it shows use how good this area is. You can't see the Pollution in the UK but here nature shows just how clean places are.

Well teacher what do you think of this?

I remember at school we had woodwork on a Friday last two lessons every week. Room for improvement on my school report was the best i ever got from my teacher wood work i was not good at.

I remember the teacher saying i should have gone to metal work instead.

This is what's called a dry fit because it's all in position but i have the floor to clean and varnish. But it does look good if i may say so myself.  All this to make more storage.

Stupid woman

I am not sexist but sometimes something happens that really is silly and you think stupid woman. I arrived at a market I go to and notice a large area has been cordoned off. During the recent hurricane we had thanks to the USA sending it to us after they finished with it. If it wasn't from them sorry.

Due to the high winds a number of trees fell but at the market the problem was with huge branches. Branches had fallen from the trunk of the tree but had not fallen to the ground and where just hanging ready to fall. I was told by a local that so many trees came down that the where not enough people to remove all the fallen trees so these had to wait.

After you see the pictures you will under stand why I said stupid woman. Where I always pitch up there was more that enough room for anybody else to pitch up and sell whatever they had to sell.








This woman had so much stuff she moved one of the barriers to the cordoned off area to spread her stuff out further. Stupid but once it's done that's where the stupidity came in because the area was cordoned off for reasons of safety not for the the fun of it. However when other people came to set up they just went into the dangerous area underneath huge branches that could fall at any time.

A mistake was made a while ago

It is now quite a while since I started work on my bedroom up now in what was the loft. For light one of the first jobs was to fit a window in the gable end of the room overlooking the valley. I am proud of the job I did in what is my master bedroom but there was one thing that was wrong.

At the time of starting the work I did I left one thing that I didn't do and it could have been a disaster. What I didn't do was to fit the beading round the window, this was left of because I couldn't understand how to fit the beading and the seals.

Last night the area I live was hit by a hurricane with winds of over 100 mph. Instead of the Windows being finished with the correct beading I used wood jammed into Reg corners to secure the glass. Imagine how I felt last night with the house being pounded by very high winds but by 3am the winds finished and I was able to finally got to sleep.

Today I started to to put the beading into my windows along with the bedroom window there was also the bathroom window to seal. It took a while to complete both windows but I am glad to say that my windows are now secure and the job is done and finished.

Here is the window finished and ready for any more high winds.

I drive down a tiny lane everyday

Every day when i go out i travel down a very little lane. The lane is only as wide as a car but has places for passing.The first time i came down the lane since my recent trip to Liverpool i came across a bench seat at the side of the road.

This lane is used by ladies from one village to walk to the next village or just for exercise.

I don't know who put this here for the ladies to perhaps take a break on there walk but i thing it's going to be well used.

The next two pictures show just how narrow the lane is 

Oh it's good to be back

Coming back is always tinged with sadness I don't get to see as much of my Mum as I would like and at 93 years of age time is not on our side. The airport and flight went as expected but leaving the airport the Metro was already in the station at Porto airport. The time I would have to wait to get a ticket I could have missed the Metro to Campanha station. I not wanting to miss the Metro I didn't get a ticket I took a chance but I am glad to say I got away with it.

The train from Campanha left at 8.40 pm and if I had missed the Metro I would not have got the train. The next train would have been at 10.05 pm.  By the time I got of the train it would have been after midnight before I got home instead of 10.46 PM.

Getting home at the time I did gave me the chance to put all my washing in my washing machine so it would be done for when I get up next morning. Next I had to make bread but using the timer I was able to have fresh hot bread when I got up. Next thing I had to do was switch the hot water on and it was hot for when I needed a shower before I went to bed.

All in all it was not a bad day.

Now on a lighter note

I was presented with a new granddaughter on the 8th May and I am having a great time with my new granddaughter. If my IPad allowed me to post pictures I have a couple of Jems to share with my readers but I will have to wait till I get home on the 8th October.

I treated myself to a Kit Kat and forgot to eat it till I got back to my daughters. My new granddaughter was wide awake and I felt guilty eating a Kit Kat and not letting her have any. OK I know she could only lick the Kit Kat but by the time it was taken of her she was covered in chocolate.

The thing I am most pleased about is my granddaughter doesn't have a dummy stuck in her mouth.

Back up Breck Road again

Again I am in Liverpool and saddened by what I see but what I was to see is common all over the UK. I traveled up Breck road from my Mums and it still looks like a Ghost town as does Prescot Road, Tuebrook, West Derby Road and Stanley Road. All these great shopping areas have been Blighted by the onslaught of the Supermarkets.

From personal experience I can best talk about Breck Road, Breck Road now is full of second hand goods shops, charity shops and fast food outlets. From the Dockers club till the shops end about a mile in distance I saw One pub a garage car sales dating from 1965 still doing well. The only shop I remember from my time in late 1964 that is still trading after all this time is a Pet shop.

Although it was good something has lasted all this time, the shop still looks untidy now as it did over 50 years ago. But it did bring a smile to my face to see at least something left after all these years. The banks have gone Roselind a high end dress shop long gone now a sandwich bar.

At one point I had a butchers shop on Stanely road Bootle but the whole block of shops has gone now just grass like parkland is left.

Pilots yes Pilots no

I read on the BBC news that Ryanair Pilots where to have another strike. This time it included Pilots and cabin crew from Portugal where involved as well as other countries. The first report was for 190 flights then it came down to 150 flights but after going to bed the next dat it was 250 flights involved.

My Mum is now 93 and not in the best of health and this news was most worrying to me. I left Thursday night to get the Train and Metro up to Porto ready for my flight at 9.15am the next morning. At 9.15am the flight I was due on was coming in with passengers on to disembark and reload for its next flight up to Liverpool.

I sat watching the information displays and at the first flights taking of at 5am, on the list was Ryanair and of all the flights up to 7.20 half where cancelled. I sat waiting until the Liverpool flight was displayed and then watch half expecting it to change to cancelled and it was not until it said go to gate 12 I knew the flight must be on. Because I had flown so often I was already at gate 12 when it was announced, it was only then I relaxed and knew that I would get back to see my Mum and my new grandchild.

No plans for this job

Since i got myself a large wooden box from my friend nearby i have been busy. It's only now i have a photo to show for all the work i have been doing. I have made a seat for my lounge with storage inside.
It started when i saw video on Youtube where someone made up a work surface in a style called Butcher block. As the title says i used no plans, i started by stripping down a plank of wood into strips and using different shades of wood i made a Butcher block. At this stage i had no idea where this was going to lead until i had an idea to make a seat.  

Where is the seat ready for final assembly and a couple of coats of varnish. The varnish will really bring out the true character of the wood and yes again my favourite Chestnut timber.









The stripes you can see in the seating area is made up from timber that's been exposed to the air. The lighter timber was from the inside of the box, below the seating you can see two different shades.