Then there was light

Today was time to replace the window at the front of the house.This is the fourth window i have fitted and it is as difficult doing this one as the first window i fitted.

This is the old window small and they didn't let much light through and only single glazed so no good for any kind of insulation. 

Now this is a double glazed window and as you can see it offers so much more light. Pity i have a bit of repair work to finish of but at least now it's done i only have to paint it.

At last

I had a vision of what I wanted in my new master bedroom and designed units for my clothes that gave me a look of a walk in dressing room. I have now managed to get the last wall plaster boarded and i fitted the first two units in place.In the center i will be having some sockets and that's why there is a piece of plaster board still to be put in place.

This looks every bit how i had thought it would when i first came up with the idea. The two units next to this will not have shelves but i can have my shirts and jackets hanging and a shoe rack in one of the two units.

Don't make do with what you can get in the likes of the superstores create your own Look i have.

Pillar and lights done

Yesterday was a hard day, i had a wooden pillar over 2½ metres long that i had to cut to fit into the floor to sit on a wall below. This took sum planning and a cup of tea. Once cut i only had bits of trimming to do to finish and get it secured into place.

The pillar on the left is the one i had to fit today and then it was time to finish the plasterboard to the ceiling and cut the holes for the lights.










Before i put the plasterboard up i marked the ceiling where the extra cable was for the lights so i wouldn't have any trouble finding it after i cut the holes. This was all really quite easy and the lights all came on the problem is it was difficult to take a picture with all lights in it.

The ceiling and lights are started today

Today i made a start with the ceiling and the lights. I am not having a light switch i am having a movement detector so when the downstairs door opens the lights come on. The time will be set to about 5 minutes plenty of time to switch the bedside table lights on.

There are going to be 4 Led lights rated at 4W each and they are only a total of 16W but after testing the 4 lights are great just enough for the room.

The wires are where the first light goes one metre from the window. 

Wall units in place, well almost

Before the wall goes up i have to work out where to put my clothes units. they measure in total 4 metres and i need to leave a gap between each unit. I also have a TV to fix to the wall so it's a little bit of moving things around to get the units and TV in the right place.

The unit below is near to the front wall of the house.

Below is the unit near to the window, my other two units will have no shelves in as i need to hang my shirts ect.

My window seat

Well i went to Chicco to collect my new window seat he had made for me. I took it upstairs but the light conditions with the new window was no good the light was to bright.

I took this picture to show the colour after it's been varnished. The door frame is varnished Chestnut and looks Stunning but it will take about five coats of varnish to get this look.

Here is the window seat finished and in position. It won't have it's final fitting until the plasterboard has been finished and painted but it does look good.









How much would this cost to be made in the UK if you could find somewhere to get it made. Also all i had was a big piece of cardboard cut to show what i wanted and Chicco worked from that. The cost was only 45€ now it would cost many hundreds in the UK but i am lucky to be living where i am.

For those new to Portugal or any other country if you have an idea go for it and if you can't do it yourself then get someone to do it for you. How unique is this window seat and i have another idea to do in my master be

If i do inspire you please let me know

As you can see i have done a bit more on the opposite gable end wall  but next to the window is my log burner chimney. I need to have the chimney removed so i can cut the ceiling plasterboard downstairs in the lounge.

You can see i used some offcuts but when it's all done you won't notice as it will be all hidden.

This blue insulation is i am told the same as 8 inches or 200mm of Rockwool and when it's all done this bedroom should be warm and draft free.

The plasterboard arrived so i finished this bit of the gable end. The chimney needs to be removed before i can finish the stud work.


















I was going to carry on to the right of what you can see but i had a fall and hurt my bad knee so it's a day or two of for me.

That is where the bed goes

I have posted more this week than i normally do but i am creating a room in my house that was before only a loft. I will have a lot of storage space the way i have designed my room and i will come back with a photo.

The most important thing is all the roof is insulated and all of the plasterboard is insulated as well.This should all make the room nice and cosy.

The piece of wood on the right is being replaced by a piece of hardwood similar to chestnut but not quite the same but close enough for me.










I hope by my posting pictures and writing about creating my master bedroom i inspire others to take a chance and do something they otherwise would have just  got somebody in to do t

Another hard day finished

This week i have been getting the new master bedroom done and it's been a hard week up to now. After yesterday when i had put the battens up on the wall i insulated between them Today i had the enormous job of cutting all the sheets of plasterboard. Each sheet had different cuts and each cut was a different angle.

Six hours hard work and i had time to do part of one of the main walls but more about that later when it's done








The sad part was that after looking closely i found that parts of the floor is not in as good a condition as i had first thought. Now i need a Plan B for what to do with the floor.

After a hard week it's time to relax

After a hard week it's time to relax a little after the last few days work. I am trying to get my master bedroom completed finished before i go to Liverpool in May to see my Mum for her 91st birthday.

It wasn't cold tonight but i just wanted to sit an look at the fire with a nice cup of tea. I use the fire to light an  incense stick to give of a nice aroma to the lounge.









For a few hours of relaxing comfort after today.

Now the gable wall is getting attention

It's been a hard day today and one I am glad to see the back of. I started by fixing battens to the gable end wall. Once done it was down to insulating and I started by using all the off cuts I had after insulating the roof.

It's looks an easy job and for an expert to tradesman it wouldn't have taken long to do but I am retired and not a tradesman so it takes me a bit longer to do. 

Floor to ceiling newel post

As a feature I am having two newel posts at the top of my stairs in my bedroom. Today I picked up my second newel post and now it has to be rubbed down and vanished.

The piece you see that's white is before it's been treated and varnished and when done it should look like the pillar on the right

Come back soon and see it finished.

A cardboard cutout

I said i wanted a window seat and a window seat i will have. I cut out a template to take over to my joiner Chicco to make for me. This seat is a little bit to complicated for me as where the legs go and the type of joints i couldn't make.

I took this picture at night so if you want to see the view you will have to come back again to see the view.












The seat part will be deeper than it looks on the photo and of course it will be made out of my favourite Chestnut to match the rest of the window frame.

Remember if you can dream it you can do it just find a way.

Plasterboard and I moved every sheet

Today I had eight sheets of plasterboard from my lounge up the stairs to the loft. Every sheet all on my own, each sheet has insulation on the back and they where heavy.  The delivery was great he always gives me a lift inside the house but I couldn't ask him to help me upstairs. Three sheets are for the gable end wall at the side of the new window the other five are for the walls of the new bedroom.

Two sheets left and they are all upstairs each sheet is 2.5 meters long and 1.2 meters wide and up a narrow staircase.

Bread And problems with it.

I have a problem with my bread. My bread is to big for the plastic container I keep my bread in. I now have to cut the top of you can see from the picture just how much I have to cut of so the lid will fit.

This loaf is a sultana loaf, the last one I made was sultana and walnut. Using almonds don't seem to work they do nothing to make the bread taste better.










What a problem to have much better than going down to the shops for a loaf full of additives mine has. Flour, salt, sugar, yeast and water how healthy is that.

Lighting and my table

I have a difficult job ahead this week, i have to lay in the cables for the ceiling lights. Today i set out the lights for at the bottom of the stairs and where my table is.

I set my table to give me a good idea of how the table would look under the new lighting. there is still so much to do before i leave in May to return to Liverpool for a short while.

Window

Work in the loft is coming on nicely by Monday this window opening will be finished and i should have an amazing view of the valley.

 

 This has all been cut out with a hammer and chisel as to use a power cutting disk would create to much dust.

This picture doesn't show the height from the floor but i am considering if i  can make a window seat even though the seat would be near to the stairs.

I have been known to do a good hard days work. Today i started early to get my window in. Cutting through the final part of the outside wall was harder thank i expected but i used my power cutter. Great idea until you are blinded by the amount of dust. Tomorrow i will finish the last of the facing of around the window frame. Next i will measure up for the window seat i want to finish done. For now because i have to take the glass out i have secured the glass with strips of wood.

Back to Liverpool

Well i have just booked another flight over to Liverpool. My Mum is going to be 91 years of age in May and i must show up for that. It will be nice to catch up with family while i am there.

Sadly i must leave before my Grand daughters 13th birthday but it can't be helped. I am going to buy a Portuguese van while i am in Liverpool and drive it back home.Sadly the IPO or as you may know MOT runs out and i need to get back before it does.

My mate Dave will be back from his over winter in Spain so it will be good to see him. Best of all will be to see all the work my son has done in his house. I have seen pictures and it will be so much better to see just what he has done.

No bedside tables for me

Well i do let my imagination get the better of me but what the hell i want something unique not the same as you find in every bedroom. I don't have any brown stain to match my units i have just had built so that's on my next shopping trip and then a few coats of clear varnish. The downside is when fitted that's where my bed will have to stay as to move the bed means i would have to take these down and that's a job to big I would like to do. Because of where the clothing units will be fitted it means I can't change the way the room will look so the placing of the bed is critical it's got to be positioned right the first time.

This is how it will look from the side of my bed with my hand made light on top.








I




There was a program years ago on TV about a joiner and some of the projects he would show you how to make. Some of his tips came in handy while i was making the circles i had to make to make these two units for at the side of my bed.

This is a top, my table light will sit just nicely in the middle. 

I will make this place warm you just watch me do it

Now the weather is changing and it's time to get more work done. With the timber I had in stock I was able to get a good park of the ceiling started.

The piece of timber with clamps on is a straight edge that I am using so I can get the ceiling perfect. I must admit boing this on my own with three metre long tubers is very tiring but there is always a way to get thing done it only takes a bit of thinking about.

Just where would you put this.

For this wheel you would need a giant Hamster. I went to see a friend on Monday and this is what I found a giant Hamster wheel so if you see a giant Hamster then let me know.

Let there be light

I am waiting for a number of materials for my new bedroom but not wanting to waste time while i wait. I had a nice piece of Chestnut laying around and decided that i could make a pair of bedside lights. Well the picture below shows the light units before a lot of sanding and varnishing that has to be done. It won't be long and this will be finished maybe before the materials i am waiting on arrive.

Once varnished the grain looks even better. The ideal would be to make them come on by movement and not have to have a light switch.

Cupboard units delivered.

Last week i ordered a new window for the master bedroom along with my cupboard units. My cupboard units won't have any doors on because i want them open. I have ordered four units from my friend Chicco and the first two i now have and the wardrobe ones are being made for next week. Two units will go either side of my bed and two will be in the opposite wall. I am still waiting on materials for outstanding jobs so it's crack on with my bedroom.

If you can picture this you can see the look i am after.















Once the window arrives i will have lots more light so i carry on with the building of my bedroom. I have a dream of fitting in a shower but how i fit it into the slope of the roof i don't know.

House falls down in Vale Boa?

I had a call today by a good friend asking if my house was OK. I asked why and he said that he heard that a house in Vale Boa had fallen down. I said i had heard something the day before and had a look as the ruin next door to me is in a very bad condition.

After going out for a walk to have a look around i found in a little alley way part of a roof had fallen down. From what i had been told it was a major fall and one of the locals wanted to report it to the local Camara " council " the pictures below show just how bad this fall was, the rubble would fill a couple of wheel barrows.

Some major fall i don't think.

This picture was taken from my veranda and you can see the roof has fallen in on it's self now another dead property never to be used again.

This is the ruin next to my house that has fallen in on it's self a long time ago. The owners want 10,000€ for this pile of stone. I want it just to remove a couple of trees in my way but not at 10,000€.

The Yoyo

Most of the people i know watch the Euro rate daily mostly they like me are on pensions and want the best exchange rate when they transfer there money.

Most like me wait to transfer our pension when the rate gives the best amount of Euros for the Pound

Somebody today said they had been listening to the BBC new and it had been reported that the Euro was to have a name change. the new name was to be the Yoyo due to the rate going up and down all of the time. No the date is not 1st April.

Sunshile came softly through my window today. So Donovan said

Well the Dams are  reported to be full and the weather for the week ahead is Sun Sun and more Sun. The warm Sum today reminded me of the Donovan song Sunshine superman and the first line goes " Sunshine came softly a-through my a-window today "

So lets hope for a year as good or better than last year, next week forecast Sun and 21c.

A strange one about Facebook

I went onto Facebook to see how an old friend was getting on today. What i found was i couldn't get onto there Facebook page and upon investigation i found i was blocked. I tried to contact my friend who by email told me they hadn't blocked me and there Ipad was being repaired. I know the system and for someone to be blocked you have to go into Facebook to block someone there is no other way.

If there had been a problem i would have expected to have been told but to be lied to i am not bothered now. For a friend to try and kid me that they didn't block me is a shame and i hope they don't now get in touch and say OH sorry it was a mistake.

Seems I was wrong my friend didn't block me from Facebook but someone in the family had because that's the way it works you have to go into the setting to do it.

Now my table gets some treatment

For a while I have had a lot of jobs to finish and my table was one. I had ordered a load of timber all cut to various sizes and today I felt like starting on my table and the picture shows how it looks after the first coat of varnish. As my table will be in daily use it needs plenty of the hard varnish I have to build up a great finish so it's lots of hard work from me.

As the seats are round i have given the job to Chicco to make new seats for me but it's me who will have to varnish them afterwards.

Good news today

A little while ago while in Liverpool i heard that an old school mate Steve had a traffic accident and injuries to his spine. It's good to hear today that Steve has feeling in his legs again Martin called me today to give me the good news so when i go over for my Mum's 91st year birthday i can go and see how steve is getting on.

On Facetime Steve is always quiet and withdrawn but i will speak to him tomorrow now i have some good news and hope he is more like the old Steve.

5€ and very good value

Ever wondered why when you need to visit the doctor in the UK you can't get an appointment? When you do get your appointment time the surgery is never full as you would expect from the difficulty in getting your appointment in the first place.

All the no hoppers, those who don't know how to do a days works and those who make appointments for something as simple as a little cut. How it would all change if you had to pay when you turned up to see your doctor say as little as £5. You would get the time wasters saying £5 the cost of 10 fags.

Today i needed to see my doctor as i have a throat infection. All i had to do was turn up pay my 5€ and wait to see the triage nurse for weight, height, blood pressure and temperature to be checked. After that it was a short wait in the waiting room and in to see the doctor. Simple and in less than half an hour i seen by the doctor, out and i was was in the Chemist to get my prescription, the prescription i have to pay part and the UK  pay the rest my part cost 1.97€ now that's better than the UK.

Door frame finishing touches done

It's been a little while and my door frame has now been finished in the lounge. It may mean nothing but I get an idea in my head and with this idea I had to laminate three pieces of timber together to get the look that i wanted. Then I needed a piece of dowel and all this from Chestnut, I used off cuts for the curved parts and I rounded a long thin piece of another piece of Chestnut and then sand then all down into a dowel shape and what you see. Plenty of varnish and it's all complete it looks every bit as good as I thought it would. It's function well none it's just a something to fill a gap between the doors.

Driving into town for a cuppa I saw snow on the hills

This morning driving into town for a cuppa and a chat with friends I saw in the distance snow on the hills behind town. Apart. From when I drove back from going to see Paul this is the first time I have seen snow locally.

More timber work in preparation.

I have so many projects on the go but now I am going back to clear the boards so to speak. I want to get on with my master bedroom but first lots of little jobs need to be completed to let me carry on with my main job for the coming few months.

 

Here I have  the kitchen door frame laid out for varnishing and then fitting into place for another job complete.

Driving back home

While driving back from a friends I saw in the distance hills in the direction of a place called Coja. You will see the top of the hills covered in what looks like snow, I suspect that it was really a mornings heavy frost.

Beautiful sunshine yet the hills in the distance look snow covered.

Diving back to the UK

At Christmas i drove over to see family and friends. I had advertised on a number of Forums that i was driving over and i  had room in my car should anybody want something delivered on my route up from New Haven to Liverpool. This time i am also using my Blog so if anybody wants something delivered then just get in touch. I will be going either the 6th May or the 11th May. This trip is to see my Mum who will be 91 years of age on the 13th. Of May. I also intend to get myself a tumbler and bring back my Scooter ready for those sunny days.

Now I am back to normal

The first thing i did when i got home was to prepare to make a loaf but as it takes 4 hours to bake it wasn't ready till 8.30 pm and by the time it cools it won't be ready till morning ready for breakfast. I found by putting a tea towel over the bread the crust goes soft. One thing i don't like is crusty bread.

My bread has 450g flour
1 and a half tea spoons of sugar
1 and a quarter tea spoons of salt
25 g of olive oil
4 g of yeast
320 g of water

Not a nasty E number or additive just healthy bread, OK so it's white and not brown or wholemeal i enjoy it.

A very taxing problem

While i was in Liverpool for Christmas a letter arrived for me at home from the Inland Revenue asking for money. The sum involved i must say was very worrying but all it took was a visit to them when i arrived back last week. Sitting with the tax lady i must admit that i was a little worried until the larger figures where found to be tax i had paid but something the accountant should have done meant that the tax was not allocated to my account. Silly mistake by someone you pay to do his job.

The date he put down for me leaving my business was also wrong but that was soon sorted out. When everything was done the tax lady had a look on her face that had me worried until she smiled. I have good news she said we owe you over £900 and i should receive a letter confirming her finding and i should get a cheque with the letter.

Result

Time to keep somones spirits up

While in Liverpool i was due to see Steve who i went to school with and another school pal Martin. I got the sad news that Steve had been involved in a traffic accident. I arrived home today to an email from Steve's wife. She explained how bad his injuries where and that Steve was feeling really down when he was normally very outgoing. Steve seems to have spinal injuries and his recovery may be long  and painful so she says.

Steve it seems had been excited at seeing me after over 52 years since we left Roscoe Garsfield secondary school.Pity i didn't get the email before i left as i would have gone to the hospital to see him. How do i offer support when i am over 1400 miles away, Steve has got his Iphone with him so where do you start trying to keep someones spirits up.

So Steve when you read this i am over to Liverpool around the first week in May and i am driving over and we will meet up so work hard an get out of hospital

After the wind where did it go

On Monday in Liverpool the weather was as bad as it could get torrential rain and high winds. Flying back home the next morning i was worried the flight would have a lot of turbulence due to the high winds from the day before and the forecast was for more rain and wind. To my great surprise was that the wind was not to bad and after taking off the flight was as smooth as any of the other flights i have had in the past.

The flight even arrived 10 minutes early but when it came in the sky looked overcast till we landed. When we landed it was just a fine drizzle and it never let up even when i arrived home. This has been the first time i have flown into Porto or Lisbon to rain and i hope it will be the last time i see rain when i arrived into Portugal

Cheap flights, Where

Adverts galore on to say cheap flights yes but when. I have to meet my UK Spice supplier sometime by the end of March but where are these cheap flights. So when you see the adverts on tv saying loads of tickets going cheap ask yourself cheap but for who?

I'll still keep looking but it's my own fault I should have seen my supplier early in January but I had to go back to Portugal early.

When I got up this morning I found a message from one of my readers who found flights for and thanks Steve for taking the time to look for me.

When I checked the flight details I found one had gone up from 29.99 to 105.99 shocked at this I took a picture with my IPad. It's so annoying that someone took the time to help me but that's life.

Something really weird going on

To trace a friend I used Genesreunited.com and as my months subscription is up soon I decided to do a little digging. I started with my eldest daughter. Her mothers name on the record Is Sobinska it should read Sobieska OK a simple mistake. The records all name the mothers maiden name why I don't know as we where married.

I then looked at my eldest son born  towards the end of 1979 and no record maybe because his birth wasn't recorded till the beginning  of the next year but his birth year was 1979 I should no being his Dad. Also the records show two with the same name but one in 1980 and  the other in 1981. Again both with the same mothers maiden name, born 1979 records show 1980 and 1981????

I also did a check on my other two children and at least the records are correct for them.

Now come on Births, Deaths and Marriages what's going on, to much Vinho at lunch time

What a bargain phone this is.

Arriving in Liverpool I found I had left my phone behind. My phone is a cheap Samsung phone because most people I know call me on my IPad with Skype, FaceTime and Messenger. So a good phone is a waste and I would never make use of a much better phone when I can use my IPad. I make very few calls because I have a landline and most people who know me call after 9 pm because it's free to call at that time. FaceTime, Skype and Messenger gives a far better service but you need to be in wifi range and that's no problem most of time.

But in Liverpool I do need a phone if only to see what time it is. So I looked for a deal for a cheap phone to use while I am here. I found a bargain in the Carphonewarehouse, the phone I got is in the picture below phone cost Free plus £10.0 credit and the best bit Free delivery now if that's not a bargain then what is. For a phone to have in case I get a call it's a good price.

Now I need to get the number from my last Uk phone transferred to this one so I don't have to remember a new number. I still remember my first mobile phone number that's why if I can get the code I can have my old number back.

Do they want business?

In England competition in business is important and replying to enquireries by phone or email is key to keeping businesses ahead of the competition. Sadly the concept of keeping ahead of others is unknown to businesses in
Portugal. I took my laptop in for a repair. I used Google Tradator that is surposed to be the best translator and composed a message. To make sure the translation was correct I copied and pasted it back to see it came out correct. I sent this email the day before I had to fly back to the UK I still haven't had a reply, I have sent another email and this still has not been replied to.  Do these companies not want repeat business?

Next time I have a problem I will find another company. While in Liverpool I have a friend who is a computer engineer who provides amazing service, he called to my daughters today at 9am to repair my granddaughter's computer ok he knows me but that's service.

A Litre bottle of Hennessy cognac

Yesterday morning I got a nice surprise A Litre bottle of Hennessy cognac was left for me. My eldest son had called before I got up and left me a litre bottle of cognac oh how I do love a glass of cognac. Unfortunately my daughter doesn't have any cognac glasses so it was just a tumbler, I did feel strange I have never had a glass of cognac in anything other than a cognac glass. 

At home I have three bottles of cognac open at the moment a bottle of Hine, Martell and Remy Martin. This bottle I can't take back on the plane with me so this bottle has to stay here but next time I visit I will have a drink waiting for me.

It's operation day

Well it's operation day today for my daughter and to be honest I don't know what to expect when o go to pick her up some time later as I think she will be out later today. She needs to rest and do exercises she has been told to do, my granddaughter and I will have to make sure she does them. Well 6pm and my daughter was home in a little pain but home and now my work begins in helping her.

After being discharged my daughter should have had some dressings to take home but she was so eager to get out and home she left without them. OK but it was me who had to go out today to get dressings from the chemist, the outside temperature was 5c and it was windy all the way. I will be glad to get home at least today it's 14c that's a lot better than 5c.

I mentioned about Steve my school friend well I hope Corrina is well enough in a few days so I can go out with Steve and Martin. Steve is playing in a club in Liverpool so it should be a good night. Much as like many I hated school but getting free was good but 50 years seems a long time  to do a catch up.

First flight delay

Last night I travelled down to Lisboa by train and the journey was perfect no problems and on time. It's a different matter at the airport the flight I want is going to be over 2 hours late. In over about fifty return flights over the years this is the first delay I have had and if it's only two hours well what can you say for the first flight delay.

Well we finally got underway and the pilot explained that as he approached the Spanish border he had to land as a passenger was taken ill and needed emergency hospital treatment. The pilot managed to pull 25 minutes of the Delayed time and it was a good flight so despite the delay i got back ok.

Guitarman Steve

Since i wrote about wanting to make contact with an old friend i have had a message from  someone i went to school with. It seems that an old school pal had been reading my Blog and contacted me.

The thing i remember most about him was our time in the woodwork class. In our last year like some of the others in my class i made a coffee table as my project. If i remember correctly it wouldn't have won any awards but it wasn't bad. But Steve made an electric Guitar and he came from being rubbish at woodwork to one of the best in our last year at school.

Towards the end of our project we all looked on with envy at what he had made, he painted his guitar red and it looked as good as any you would see in the shops. The last week of term he was allowed to have someone come in to fine tune his creation and test play it. None of us in class new anything of his skills at  playing guitar until the day before we left school for the last time. He played a Jimi Hendrix track but without the vocals, boy he was good.

He went on to be part of some of the local popular groups in Liverpool at the time that had become quite famous. Like me he was a Stones, Dylan and Jimi Hendrix fan.

It's been nice via email to catch up with him over the last few days. When i go back to Liverpool we plan to meet up apart from Steve the only other ex class mate i can remember was Joe Royal who went on to manage Everton FC amongst other things in his Football career.

It was nice to have been in contact now with two people from my past the past may be the past and i look forward to what the future brings but it's nice to have memories.  I have just heard from Steve and he sees a lot of another class friend. This friend was the class bully until one day he picked on the

wrong person. Martin soon stopped being a bully and became a quite a good friend. I had forgotten him until I got a message this morning. From being three kids in the last year of school to how will we look now, who knows but time will tell and it's now 50 years since I left school.

After Steve got in touch and I coincided with time I was back in Liverpool I got a call he is in hospital after a traffic accident and unlikely to be out before I fly back to Portugal. Never mind when I come back in March I may get to see him play then

The end for us.

In August i posted about at my age getting a girlfriend. The problem being that we where 1,500 miles apart and speaking on Facetime and Messenger just wasn't enough. As soon as i arrived at Christmas that It was plain to see that the distance was a problem. Although Cathy doesn't work she looks after her grandchildren and there was little time for us.

It was either one of us changed our living habit or we split and sadly that's what happened. Time will show if we can somehow carry on as just friends, i have no desire to start flying back to the UK every chance i get because i do two markets a months with my Spices.

Cathy is up at 6am for a shower, get dressed and to her daughters to look after the children. Then she gets a few hours off before it's back to the school and it's time to feed the grandchildren. Then home and bed for 9pm to get some sleep before it all happens again.

It's sad that things couldn't work out but hopefully we remain friends.

Another trip back to Liverpool

When a mother lives two doors away from only daughter you would expect that when the daughter needs help mother would be there for her. My daughter needs
a serious knee operation and after the consultation with the surgeon her mother didn't even ask what was wrong. When my daughter told her she will be unable to walk for a while mother isn't even bothered in offering to help her daughter not what you would expect from a mother.

So Dad has to come to the rescue, I fly into Liverpool the day before the surgery and i stay for 10 days it's as much time as i can stay away. I will have to miss one important market and i have spent a lot of time putting messages up for people to find out i am not going to be at Miranda do Corvo market.

The bonus i will get is to see my Mum who is now 90 years of age and i am looking forward to seeing her. Facetime is OK but it's nothing like seeing her in person.

My Mum is lucky she has six children and most at some point visit and three stay for varying lengths of time. We are all so lucky that we have a sister who spends so much of her time looking after Mum because she lives local. I feel so guilty living so far away and not being there to help her. In May i am coming back to Liverpool because last year for two weeks Mum had nobody to care for her my sister booked a much needed holiday but unknown to her the other two who stay also booked a holiday. I told then that this year at this time i would be there for two weeks to do whatever may be needed of me. I myself am so pleased that Mum has someone close who looks after her.

It seems that I was only told of those away on holiday and I didn't know about my other sisters who in fact did there bit at a difficult time while half the family away. To those who in fact did help I am sorry for missing out this information.

Pity my Ex doesn't act like a normal mother and show she cares for her children and maybe she would get the love from her three children that my Mother gets from hers.

A friend is coming back to his house

This week i have to go and pick a friend up from the local station. He lives in the middle of a little valley where there is no track to drive down to the house. Everything has to be carried on the first trip when he comes back to stay. When he opens his house he has a wheel barrow that he carries things on food, water, gas bottles in fact everything.

Last time he was here nearly two years ago i helped him get 250 fruit trees for his land. When i last saw his place hardly any of the trees had died so he will be happy because all his hard work was not in vain.

This time he will have hot water instead of using his kettle i have a water heater for him so he only needs to turn on the tap.

Another Blog reader come to stay

A long time ago i met a couple in the local Lidl who had come to live in the area i am living in. This couple had been reading my Blog for a few years and decided to come over here to have a look and they decided to stay. Well it's happened again.

Saturday night in a local restaurant was Curry night. I supply the spices and when the chief came to collect his order he told me of a couple staying in a cottage owned by friends of mine.  It seems that this couple had been reading my Blog and hey they are looking to move here.

The Curry night went well and i look forward to the next one. I would really look forward to a Fish and Chip night but we can't all have what we want but lets live in hope.

Wow it's hot

Sitting here I was getting a little hot so I put my aircon on to see the temperature in my lounge, the display showed that it was 36c. See the picture below. I only use the aircon of a morning if it's feels a little chilly when I get up. I insulated the floor from below with 200mm of insulation when I first moved in  4 years ago. The lounge walls I insulated from the inside with insulated plasterboard. Shutters cover the windows at night but the ceiling is next to get done.

Ideally I would take up the floor in the loft but it's already a room up there so without doing damage to the floor the only option is to insulate the ceiling and put in a false ceiling. To use excess heat I will have a vent to the room above so as to heat what will become my master bedroom. Also the log burner chimney goes up and straight through the ceiling and straight through the loft to close to the ridge beam at the top of the roof. The chimney is made of steel and gives of some heat and the vent should make the master bedroom should be nice and toasty. If it gets to hot then I will install aircon. When I moved here I had this already planned this so I have a new and unopened aircon unit down in my cellar. That's all for now

Did I really look so bad

Facebook every so often comes up with a picture from my past. This one is from the day my beautiful granddaughter was born. It's not  the picture of her that concerns me it's how bad I looked long hair and a beard. I didn't ever think I looked so bad, at least now I keep my beard trimmed and my hair cut to almost nothing. I can say as the years have gone by I am getting to look so much better than I did then.

I finally got a message delivered

For what seems a lifetime i have searched for someone from my past. This someone was special she was the first girl i ever loved. We met a couple of year later but due to bad luck or call it what you will i lost the address. I would go to the new address she had in another town every Wednesday and Sunday and wait for a few hours in the hope of seeing her but i could only remember the estate name. Sadly my luck was out to rub salt into the wounds when her favourite group where playing on the radio i would stop and think of what might have been and remember her fondly.

Years later on Radio Merseyside i won two tickets to see Donovan at the Liverpool empire guess what the tickets where next to the seats that we had to see The Stones and the Walker brothers.

I tried to find her using a private detective but had no luck. All this to explain why we never met, the reason why is personal so i won't mention it. I asked the A Team on Radio Merseyside for help. Adverts on a local newspaper in her new town nothing helped till now.

I recently found a company on line who do searches and i started that yesterday. In the meantime i subscribed to Genesreunited and had a dabble to see how i would get on. I could remember most of the information but i got her Mums name wrong and her sister but not her dad or her brother.

I sent a message to who i thought was her brother when in fact it was her husband. Well Jean has been in touch and i sent a message telling her why we never met and i now feel good after about 44/ 45 years i can rest knowing i have righted a mistake after all these years but it was something that only bothered me.

I was able to send a message to my long lost friend and explain why i never found her again. It's nice after all these years to put this to sleep so to speak i now don't feel guilty for losing the address.

 

That was close

Today when Keith and i drove into town for a cuppa we came across a tree that had been blown down in the storm the night before.

Keith's can be seen be seen just managing to get under the downed tree. Good job that the tree  had already fallen and did not fall on my car or Keith's car










Once the local council are informed someone will be along to remove the tree or someone passing who has a chainsaw in there car. It is understood that anybody removing a tree like this can keep the timber that they have removed from the roadway.

Pretty lights wired up and switched on

I recently used Chestnut to encase my bedroom door frames and the panel between the doors. Today i completed the shelf above the doors and wired in the lighting, the lights are 12v LED's. In the centre of the picture is a feature i have just added and the glue has not dried yet so the clamps are still in place. 

My little church pew

Much as i enjoy doing almost all of my own work there is one job that had to go to an expert.  My church pew had only one end to it and that's why i brought it while in Liverpool December 2014. The fact it had no panel on one end suited me just fine but i changed my mind as i wanted to put it somewhere else in the house and against the wall was not where i had in mind.

I took my church pew to my friend Chicco the timber guy i use.I asked if he could make a new end panel for the left side of the pew.







What i didn't expect was how good a job he would do. What he  has done to me is remarkable it is an exact copy of the right hand side Chicco really is a unique carpenter.

The long wet drive home

It's never easy leaving Liverpool to return home to Portugal. I had to leave a little early because of the trouble getting a favourable ferry booking at a time to best suit me. But worst of all is leaving loved ones behind and I fly back at the end of January to help my daughter after an knee operation.

I left on Sunday morning early to get the ferry to Dieppe and then on through France and Spain to get me back to Portugal. 

When I left Liverpool it was raining and it didn't stop by the time I got to Newhaven rain rain and more rain. When I got of the ferry in France guess it was still raining all the way to Rouen when I stopped for a drink and a bit to eat. As I got out of my car the rain had stopped wow that was a surprise and welcome. When I went back to my car the rain had started again but it was worse than before I stopped. This time the rain was bad and driving was getting difficult with all the other drivers driving like mad men. As I arrived and passed the border with Spain it was still raining and it rained all the way home to my little house.

This is how it looks  behind a lorry that hasn't been fitted with water suppression  equipment and that's the view i had in front of me

Now this is how driving should be like. This lorry has all the right equipment fitted. If every lorry had this then life for people like me who enjoy driving would be easy.
This equipment is actually compulsory to have it fitted. I know i fitted it in a previous job many years ago.

 I love driving and this drive was the worst drive I have ever had it was so bad I drove almost none stop till I got home. From Dieppe I drove a little over 1,100 miles from 3 pm Sunday afternoon and I returned home at 9pm the next night. Not bad going when the weather is good thank fully I stopped for sleep but I left early as I couldn't get the amount of sleep I needed. Maybe I was eager to get back to my house but it's no good trying to sleep when you can't.

Message to self

I have driven through France quite a lot of times but this time I noticed that France is closed on a Sunday normally it's during the week when i drive through but this time it was a Sunday.

I was driving through France on Sunday afternoon and I like to eat lots of fruit. I looked and looked but I couldn't find a shop open, even the supermarkets where closed. 

I have to go back again sometime in the year to pick up a motor scooter and get a trailer so I will very carefully Poland not to be driving on a Sunday and I won't make that mistake again. How do the French get by without going out to the shops on a Sunday, or do they really have something better to do.

Dad's birthday on new years dad

As the bells for the new year rang i went out in the garden on my own. I wanted a few moments to reflect. It was now the 1st January 2016 OK a new year but to me and my family it is my Dad's birthday saldy we lost him some years ago but i know that most of our family like me will be thinking of him.

I had a call just after midnight from one of my sons to wish me happy new year, also he mentioned that it was my Dad's birthday. That small remark started of the new year for me and i now look forward to the coming year.

While i was outside i watch fireworks in every direction, it wasn't the fireworks i was watching it was the clear night sky with not a cloud in site. I could even see my favourite stars the Orions Belt.

New Year is fast approaching

This is my last post of the year I have had a great year and I have been lucky to get so much done. New year is fast approaching and it's time too look back with pride at what I have done. The year has had its highs and also a few low points but as I reflect back I can say I am proud of what I've done this year. On a personal point the year is tinged with a little sadness but sometimes good come from bad and the coming year may see only good.

So I will finish by wishing all my Reades a very  Happy New 2016

Christmas is cancelled till February

Christmas this year has been cancelled this year.

Last year I had arranged with my son that I would have Christmas dinner with him and his fiancée and her family and also New Year. Well this year I have a lady in my life and I would like to spend Christmas with her but it just won't work. I am needed in so many places by so many people how do I divide myself between everybody. This is what's planned and at the end why.

Christmas Day I will have dinner with my son and at night I go to my ladies daughters home for the evening now that doesn't sound to bad but. Between dinner and night I have a job taking just because I don't drink and drive my granddaughter and daughter have asked if I would take the over to the other side of the river Mersey for the evening.

I have been asked by my granddaughter if I would drop her off on Boxing Day for a sleep over at her friends. Then my daughter asks me if I would drop her of to her friends Oh to be so wanted. As a parent I can't say no because if they can't turn to me who can my family turn to. There mother well let's say that's another story but come the 11th February 2016 my lady and I will have a Christmas to remember. 

Christmas dinner will be a Turkey dinner and with all the trimmings followed by Poached pears for desert poached in red wine and a very expensive Cognac. To finish will be my famous alcoholic Christmas cake covered in flaming Cognac. I am even taking Christmas crackers back for our dinner

But for now I wish all who read my ramblings over the last year a Wonderful Christmas and an Amazing New a Year to you all.

More rain and more rain

'Early this year around mid January I drove back from the UK in the rain and more rain. Well Monday night I got of the ferry at Portsmouth to rain and that was the start of the journey back to Liverpool. First I had a customs stop just a brief " is this your vehicle sir " you have seen it on TV programs answer Yes, did you pack everything yourself but I didn't mind as I think they had a couple of new trainees and after a few minutes I was on my way in the rain. 

All went well till I came to the junction where you go on the M6 toll or the normal M6 but some bright spark decided to close of the exit to the normal M6. This gave a choice of M42 or the M6 toll road and pay for them closing of the road ahead. So I carried on along the M6 toll and when it came time to pay it was only £3.80 so it wasn't to bad.

As I carried on I became aware of a car at the side of me and the passenger looking at me. Next they where behind me then in front, the car was a late model BMW. Their happened blue lights it was an unmarked police car and he had a sign saying to follow him and this I did. When we came to a stop the passenger came over and politely ask if this was my car. I replied "yes mate a scouser in a Portuguese registered car I sad" he could tell I was being light hearted. I said sorry but yes it is my car he then asked a series of questions. First how long have you been here I replied since 9.15 tonight I have just got of the ferry at Portsmouth. Next question am I here to work, I replied if you mean looking after my granddaughter fir two weekends then yes if that is work. 

The police officer then went on to say that now they have powers to tackle all the foreign drivers on the UK roads with tax etc. I offered my Portuguese driving licence in case he had reason to verify my reason for being here, he went to the police car and suppose that he checked DVLA that my UK licence had been surrendered for a Portuguese licence. Why can't the Portuguese Police do the same, where I liver there are many who just injure the rules but that's another story.

Anyway I got on my way still in the rain when I read signs saying Jun 18 to JUN 19 on the M6 was closed. Not what you want at 3am on Monday morning in the rain. I was lucky that there where so many Lorry's going North that I just followed then from Jun 18 cross country to Jun 19 and back on route again. Now I was back on my way north and to Liverpool if you think that's the end of the story wait for the last bit.

The one thing I miss is fresh cream cakes and each time I come back before I get to where I am I going I go and get a couple of fresh cream cakes and sit in my car and eat them and after  a long drive it does feel good. Well this is what happened Next I went into Asda and got myself a couple of cream cakes I then had to get a couple of litres of oil and that was it go to the car but. As it was early morning all the staff where filling the shelves and there was nobody to man the cash outs. A pet hate of mine is the automatic cash tills that you have to do every think yourself. I asked for an assistant but none could be found and I was advised to go to the automatic tills. Automatic Tils do not create jobs they take jobs away so I will not go to the automatic tills so I put my good down and walked out. So I drove to another Asda some miles away and again the same thing happened when I asked for the duty manager that was a waste of time. Speaking to the duty manager would like talking to a brick wall so again I walked out and I gave up on my fresh cream cakes.

Later on the day that arrived in Liverpool I went back to another Asda to buy my fresh cream cakes I was served by a nice lady and It was great to be served by a human. I have looked forward to this moment for such a long time and after all that happened my fresh cream cakes tasted so good.

On a big adventure and what do i do

Well it's that time of year when Christmas is coming. Last Christmas i was invited back to share Christmas and new year again with more family members. But this year has posed a problem as i now have a lady in my life who lives in Liverpool. How do i share myself with Christmas dinner at one house New years Eve party at another and with the lady in my life. Along with all this is seeing my Mum and Looking after my granddaughter for two full weekends so her Mum can have a break.

I am lucky to have found someone who is very understanding. Remember the old story of King Solomon who had to decide which of the two women was the mother of a baby.  Well i find that how do i share my time and keep all parties happy.

Maybe i will tell you after the New Year how things turned out.
 

Fire but no good for me now

A friend recently had an accident in his car with a wild pig. He needed shock absorbers and a couple of wheel rims to replace those that had been damaged. There is a scrap yard not to far away but unlike one that i remember in Liverpool. All the parts are in fact stored on shelves and the main assistant is a girl in her 20's and she certainly knew her job and where everything was.

While my friend was being served i saw a very rusty round log burner the type you see in cowboy films. This is the type of log burner i wanted but i was unable to find when i came to buy mine. I to a chance and for a few Euros te fire was mine but how to you get rid of all the rust.

In Liverpool i knew of a firm who does sand blasting and as i am driving to Liverpool next week that was what i was going to do until. After leaving the scrap yard we then went to see the guy tasked with repairing the damaged car. After inspecting the parts i showed him my find from the scrap yard and i asked if sand blasting was a service that is found her in Central Portugal. I had never heard of sand blasting since i first came here in 2007 to now. I was told that the  people who supply Granite are the people to ask so of i went this morning.

The owners son speak quite good English and as soon as i told him what i wanted all he said was OK let me see. I told him i was leaving on Sunday to go to Liverpool and i would not be back till January.  To my surprise he said to come back later in the day and i found that the log burner was done and looking quite beautiful. The cost for the work was only 20 Euro and to me that was about half what i would pay in the UK.

For the cost of a tin of a spray paint made to be used on fires so i soon got to work on the painting. The pictures below show what a beautiful fire it has turned out to be, pity i already have one.

This really is a beautiful top much better than my modern log burner.

  
This is just what i wanted a long time ago pity i can't use it now so it will have to be sold.

One last job almost complete before christmas.

For weeks now i have been resting my knee since i got back from a trip to Liverpool, but being idle has really annoyed me as i have lots of jobs i want to complete.

I picked up some timber from my friend Chicco so i could complete the surround round the doors into both bedrooms. Between the two doors there was a piece of wall about 10 inch's wide that even with my skills i couldn't plaster to save my life. As you can see i decided to use timber and although the enclosed picture shows everything in place i now have the job of rubbing the timber down till it's got a nice smooth finish. Then a few coats of clear varnish to preserve the look of the wood.

The picture shows that everything has been cut and clamped into position. The door frames have now been shaped to take the sharp corners away. The moldings have been jointed and now once the varnishing has been done that's another job completed.






I do think that the timber between the doors looks better than if i had tried to plaster the wall between the doors. To complete the job i have planed a narrow shelf to fit across the top of the doors.

Now that's what I call warm

It took a long time before I installed my log burner fire. It's nice when I have a log burner Light it makes for lounge Nice and warm I also have my bedroom door open and the bedroom becomes nice and warm as well. I've just taken a photograph of my air-conditioning unit as it shows for me the temperature of the room. I've just taken a photograph of my air-conditioning units and the temperature is 33° that's warm and comfortable.