'Me Chooks'.....

We were given 4 laying hens by our lovely friends Nina and Jason (aka NinJa) a few weeks ago as they are moving back to the UK. The boss is called Queenie but the others do not have names as yet - to be honest I find it really tricky to tell them apart !
We have never had chickens before but they are pretty easy to look after and have been laying 4/5 eggs evey morning for us - great ! I love them.

They put theselves to bed every night and spend most of their time in a huge run - we do let them free range whe we are in the garden but there is no fence around our garden at the mo and I am worried they could get taken out by a passing tractor or dog... They are great fun to watch, fab pets. We also picked up some young chicks at the fortnightly market in Mortagua recently... Sienna thinks they are fab, and spends lots of time with them.... It took a few days for them to work out that it was not nececcary to stand on each others heads all the time to get to the food and water.. they were not used to having there own space... really sad.

These guys are not destined to be layers and we have been talking about the best way to broach this with Sienna as she is only little... I have come the the conclusion that she should know the truth about where her food comes from and make her own choices.... we are doing this slowly and she now has learnt that the chicken she eats actually comes from............. chickens. Yes, it seems obvious I know - but she had not put two and two together. Anyhow. She is fine with this first stage.... still, we wont rush things.

In the mean time they are all leading happy and healthy lives hangin' out in the garden.

Meet Nolly....

This is Nolly, who was preloved by our friends Luca and Elsie here in Portugal.... a right character. He wrapped both paws round my leg this morning and gave my leg a bit of a chew.. at which point I realised he wanted his breakfast ... I must to show him a Felix advert on You Tube so he can see how other cats go about letting humans know they are feeling a bit 'peckish'. Still it worked. I was a bit put out as I had just rescued him from a dog on the front terrace who was barking ferociously at him .... little git.

He is a bit of a teenager really, stays out most nights, then comes home in the morning looking like a bag of crap with a scratched nose.... starving hungry. He stuffs his face then go's to bed for most of the day..... hmmm those were the days !!!

Nolly was acquired for his mouse hunting skills as when we arrived here the house was full of them , having been empty for months... I am TOTALLY terrified of mice and could not cope with that at all... he is a little star.... especially now he understands that I don't like him to bring them in the house to show me how clever he is. Thanks to this little guy our house is now mouse free.

Thanks Luca and Elsie. x

Some good news..

The South facing wall in our new front room has three windows along it. This is the view from the middle one, looking out over part of the garden, with views of the pine / eucalyptus forest and mountains behind. It is an incredible view and makes me feel so lucky to be here every time I look out at it !

The document that our seller has been waiting for in order to complete the sale on our new home finally arrived last Thursday and we are now hoping to complete on the 17th June.... I wont hold my breath at this point but my fingers and toes are crossed! We have been lucky to have been able to live in the house since April 8th due to a Promissory contract between both parties. I am so excited now that we will be able to start working on the house soon and making it ours....

Espinheira, Penacova.

We went to Espinheira Market this morning for lunch and a wander. The market is huge and is held on the first Sunday of every month... since being introduced to it by our new neighbours it has become a bit of a tradition for us. For lunch, there is a hill with stall upon stall of these BBQ chickens... about 40 on each one. The smell is just divine, it hits you as soon as you get out of the car.. it is easy to find by the smell and the cloud of smoke rising.....

You sit under tarpaulins on benches made out of planks of wood resting on trestles (rustic) ! and eat chicken served with salad, fresh bread and chips, with a beer or coca cola - in the traditional bottles... YUM. The chicken is flicked with a large brush loaded with 'piri piri' potion as it rotates which I am told is a mixture of piri piri, salt, pepper, white wine... and stuff. Great stuff. Good to get there early as it gets packed. They also sell the chicken to take away. Full lunch for the four of us with six drinks costs 22 euro's.

I picked up some plants today too... a strawberry tree plant, two pomegranate trees, a cherry tree and a sharon fruit tree. 25 euros the lot. Bargain. Just wish I could have carried more..... !

Failed Goddess status.....(again)

I am waking up very slowly today.... two coffee's have helped... We had a late night and an early morning - not my favorite combination ! Sienna and I had a really lovely day with Michaella, Luca and Elsie yesterday, playing in the paddling pool and building dens in the sunshine.. and had a lovely lunch.. we then met up with Nina, Jason and Connor (15 yesterday !) and went into the Forum in Coimbra for dinner and bowling... Great fun ! The food hall at Forum is fab and I was relieved not to cook last night as it was too hot ! Lee, Tashan and I are totally crap at bowling... Sienna came 2nd to Jason ! (ok she had the barriers up). She absolutely loved it and did a little victory dance after each shot... or should I say roll.... helped by Tashan. The bowling alley is small but great and really cheap ! 24 euros for 7 of us ! Brilliant.....

This morning I have had a good lesson in failing totally as a domestic goddess it is now 13:30 and I have just had a run of 6 visitors this morning...... knackered... looking like I have been dragged through a bush backwards... both kids lounging around in their pants and a house that looks like the burglars have been round OH THE SHAME....... why does nobody visit me in my organised mode ???? AaRgHHH.

Right - time for lunch and getting a grip before dinner with friends tonight.... lesson learnt. (ish).

Tashan.....

My little man Tashan.. 12 years old and a fantastic 'Kevin and Perry' impressionist !! (Apparently because he is a teenager). Tashan LOVES food and music and is a funny and affectionate Son. I so wish he would do his 'Carlton' (Fresh Prince of Bel Air) moves in front of people...... hilarious !!! Just like his Auntie Vicky.

We are working through the usual hormone stuff at the moment and tend to bicker a fair bit... but hey ho... that should pass in about six years or so with a bit of luck.

Tashan started his new School in Portugal recently and is in week 5. He is beginning to pick up some Portuguese but is understandably finding it really frustrating not being able to communicate with his new mates.... when he gets really stuck he uses Google Translate on a laptop ! We have been using the Michel Thomas method Portuguese course on our ipod's for the last few months. Tashan used the course a lot whilst we were travelling and this has really helped.

The School feel he is a fast learner and are pleased with him. Luckily he is a bright boy, but obviously this is a huge transition for him... The kids at his new School have really welcomed him and he has been happy to go every day... enjoying the attention of being the new English kid on the block !! His English teacher tells me the girls love him too !!

School will finish for the Summer soon - in the middle of June as it gets too hot here, they return to School at the start of September so he will have a long Summer Holiday. This is balanced out by a long School day; starting at 8:45 and ending at 5:05.... with plenty of 'ping pong' breaks in between.. !!

Sienna....

SIENNA..........

My gorgeous little lady with one of our new baby chicks. She is like a mother hen to them and likes to help take care of them. We have six chicks which we bought at the fortnightly Thursday market in Mortagua nearby.

Today she told me "I love you totally full percent Mummy" and landed a juicy kiss on my cheek. I think full percent of love is quite a bit.......!?

those 'make me melt' moments immediately erase the hours she talks non stop and makes me feel like nailing my eyelids to my knees..... she is so lovely.