Almost finished now just the varnish

Most people but not all who move from the UK to another country to live  have dreams of how live should and will be. Well i am no different i have made the move and i have taken the opportunity  to create a home of my dreams.

I have said before " If you can dream it you can do it, just believe " The picture below is my latest project but really one of many i have on the go. As you walk into the lounge ahead of you is the wall space under where the stars are and i came up with a shelf unit.

Shelves i am good at but i want a unique look, not just anything you can get at B&Q or Ikea but something different.

I hope that my projects have given someone else an idea to do something different and unique to them. It's easy to come up with an idea but without the experience it sometimes proves a little difficult but don't give up find a way.

This is before i put 4 coats of varnish, the varnish will also bring out the colour or the Chestnut timber .

This picture is to give an idea of how the unit should look when varnished and fitted into place.

Iraq ????

I have wondered for days how to write this. No country has bothered me as much as when i saw a reader from Iraq. Iraq now is a country torn apart by war and now with IS its still a very dangerous place to be. Diplomats and rich Oil executives live in there own little protected world of work, meetings, parties ect.

So who would be reading my humble writing on my Blog, probably the guys who provide what's called Close Protection. Paid body guards, paid good money to risk there lives just to look afters others. I had a family member who wanted to do such work and i was sad to here what he wanted to do but sometimes it's not up to me to try and change someones mind.

This time i got the pic's i wanted

A year or two ago while having a coffee at the local garage i watched a local bike race go past. I had my camera with me so knowing a side road i tried to get ahead of the pack to take some pictures. No i didn't get in front as they where just to quick but it was worth a try.

Last Friday the bike race was on again but this time i was half way up a long hill where the riders where due to come down. As i turned abend a Police motorbike stopped me and told me to pull over and wait.

The uphill section after you pass Bordeiro is long and for about 4k and is very steep and winding.

 This is a long donwhill section coming down into Arganil. For those who know this is the just before the turn for O Vaso.

This guy even has time to wave little does he know he is on my Blog worldwide.

He may not have a chance of winning but he still fights on and good luck tohim

Don't be afraid to ask

A while ago i told you about an engineering firm who when asked did a job for me there and then and the charge was only 5€. I am never amazed any more at the amazing service i have found in my 4 years living here in Portugal.

Today again i had another experience that confirms that my move was the best thing i did. Close by to me is a shop called Ovaso a mini type B&Q shop. I need a cutting tool for my router so i could carry on making my window moulding. In Ovaso here is one member of staff who speaks good English and is more than happy to help.

All i could find was full boxes of 24 different types of cutters. I ask if they could get one for me after showing the one i wanted to the assistant and he just opened the box and took the one i wanted out and sold it to me. It saved me the trouble of buying a box of 12 assorted just to get the one i wanted. Moral of this tale don't be afraid to ask.

It's silly season time again

Today while having a coffee at our usual bar we watched as the local fire fighters the  Bombeiros who are all volunteers went of to fight another forest fire. I went to visit friends and we sat and watched as the fire fighting planes came overhead to go and fill up with more water and then return to carry on trying to control the fire.

We counted 5 planes in total by reading on the side of the planes there registration number plain to read as they where flying very low.

On my way home i turned a very sharp bend in the road and he road was almost blocked by bystanders wanting to watch the planes coming in to drop the water. From the first picture i couldn't get back to a point where the road was almost blocked. It was a pity that the people stood watching didn't think about those who just wanted to get on with there journey.

The second, third and fourth picture is of the fire behind the trees, sorry but you can only see the smoke. The last picture is taken from my veranda and if you look close you can see one of the planes just above the tree line.  All done by mostly a volunteer force.

The last local fire had over 200 fire fighters, 4 planes, 59 fire engine and an unknown number of helicopters. It has been reported that this fire was stared by a man aged 22 years who is now in Police custody. Todays fire was on one of the hottest days this year reported to be about 40c.

Door frame done now the windows.

The door into the lounge has now been covered in beautiful Chestnut timber.

After the timber was cut to size the hard part was sanding down with fine sandpaper and the a coat of varnish. This was done three times to give a rich finish to the timber. 









It's a long slow process planning, finding the timber from my own stck and getting extra from Chicco for longer bits i don't have.

The beauty of the hinges in Portugal is that you can lift of the windows without unscrewing the hing. It's now down to cutting the  edging and to creating the moulding profile. The part that takes the time is waiting for each coatof varnish to fry before preparing for the next coat

Bathroom done well almost

I am coming to the end of making myself a luxury bathroom. Perhaps luxury is not quite the right word as my bathroom is little more than the size of small cupboard. But it's mine and it is how i wanted it to be a beautiful wet room I still have some minor bits to finish but the enclosed pictures show just how the work given me just what i wanted.

Above is where i used to have a door way into the old bathroom until to took it down and moved the new timber wall out by about 5 inch's. All timber used was from my own stock i found in the cellar when i moved into my house. Laminated glass for safety and covered with a modesty film for privacy.

Four LED lights give the perfect light cover and just look at my shelf no bracket but best of all no wall cabinet full of junk. I opted for a shower like the kind you use for washing your hair but mine has a bracket above the mirror where the shower head is fitted before being put away.

Lastly in front of my Loo are three mirrors to finish what was going to be a blank wall. So apart from the last job that is a new window for the outside wall that has been delayed all is now done.