Wild Pirate Fun and Cobbing Heights!

A fun day was had by quite a few folk, including our family, building rafts and going upstream with the tide on the river Mira. My daughter built her raft and she took four kids. It floated well!

The mud walls have risen to roof height. We will put the roof on this week. Then there's the plastering and rendering on the outside. Soon there will be a beautiful bedroom where once it was brambles and fig suckers and morning glory.
 

It's been a not too hot summer but now we are getting scorched by the lower sun reaching in with a fierceness. There are big fires further north of the country.

The girls have started back to school. I have cabbage seedlings in pots. The ground is like rock still but hopefully it will ease soon, maybe some rain?

Back in the Van!

 Yes, well I gave it a go, living in a 'proper house, but it just didn't feel right. If I'm not living in my cob house (and I'm not, for the moment) then the van suits me very well. It's minimal living and comfy and I enjoy the little garden and the cob bathroom. Unfortunately, some wasps have decided to build a nest under the bonnet of the van so I daren't drive anywhere in case I get attacked by them. I've decided to wait until they die off. It's too hot to travel anyway.

It's August and there have been a few very hot days, but most of the time there has been a delightful breeze which has kept us all cool.

I got a pool for all of us to enjoy. When the school holidays are 12 weeks long, we need things to do and water to play in.

We began the new building project. In fact we are well into getting the walls finished. It will be a bedroom for my daughter. The walls are made from the earth from lower down in the garden. We have a volunteer helping us and as a three person team it's going well.

The local saint's day celebrations went on over the weekend. 

So life is sweet and I feel blessed.

End of June 2024

 Well, the brain is still being mangled by internet, but I have to admit I'm an addict and then do something about it.

I moved out of my van into a studio apartment. It's so weird having hard tile floor, running hot water and a flush loo. But I am next door to the family so I can help out and hang out with them, especially as the long summer holidays have begun. 

Also, my daughter and I are going to do a wee building project...

I made a little garden next to the parked van and have sunflowers over 2m tall. They bring me joy. The bees love them too.

This is a lovely place to dive into when the days start warming up.

I went to Wales to visit my elder son. We went to an Iron Age Village and loved the way the roofs had been built, and the thatching. 

 It's a magical country and I hope to explore more of it soon.

I also intend to write here more.

2024

 We have rain. It's raining like it used to way back when I first came to Alentejo.

I am living my minimalist life in the van, with my dear Bonnie and sometimes the cats are allowed to join us.

I fear that the internet is rotting my brain. In the old days I would spend a lot of time writing and thinking. Now, if I have a 'spare' moment I am drawn to the videos and posts of other people's lives. Days go by. I miss having a garden and a house, but am not ready for that yet. 

I will try and squeeze back into blogging.

August Heat in a Peaceful Place

 I managed to avoid some of the heat waves by going to Wales for 9 days of blissful soft rain and 15degreesC, and later, on my return, by taking the van to the coast. 

Hazel Rainforest

The coastal footpath near St David's

Cavaleiro, Alentejo Coast.

A couple of kittens have come to join the family. They love to play in the van, on the shade netting and everywhere else.

That's the news from a peaceful place.

New post from Old blogger

 I know, it's been a long time away from my blog. My excuse was that I couldn't use my laptop due to no electricity, but my darling son, Robert, installed a system donated from my other darling son, Billy. I feel so lucky and blessed to have my kids.

I have done some travelling around Portugal in my van but I am mostly parked in my darling daughter, Laura, 's garden. I decided to build a wee bathroom out of the mud here. It's perfect mud for building. It took a couple of months, just doing it slowly. I love the rain shower. The younger granddaughters decorated the inside using coloured clay.

It's nearly the end of July and we have been lucky with the weather, as it has not been as hot as last year. The van is well insulated so it's really pleasant. I sometimes go and park by the sea for a night or two. I love to hear the waves as I'm lying in bed. I also love to go onto the beach in the night when there's maybe a fisherman and that's all.

I hope to do a bit more exploring in the van in the autumn when it's cooler, as my wee dog, Bonnie, suffers the heat.

Meanwhile, life is good.

I lost the blog plot

 I've been doing lots of thinking and trying to figure out how to make changes without making too much change! 'Tis the nature of the beast... I thrive on change. I love to have a new challenge. 

These last two years have been weird and challenging in some ways. 

I thought it would be fun to buy a van and do it up to go visit other places. I've spent a few months playing around with wood and cork and hessian and made a cosy home on wheels.

I've taken it out to some lovely places nearby to practice sleeping and living in it. I love it. I love the minimalism. I love the outdoors being one step away. I love the changing views. Last weekend I went to a groovy place near Ilha de Pesseguiero, behind the old fort, and spent 24 hours with a big flock of crows!

I am also making the old compost loo room into a shower room. I found a shower base by the rubbish bins and that triggered me into action. I have cobbed it in and now I just need to finish the plumbing.

I think the oldest guinea pig has gone... She was much older than the normal lifespan of a gp, and she had a lovely life. I  miss her.

So now it's the beginning of spring. We hardly had winter. Very little rain, which is worrying. But everything is beginning to burst into bloom. 

Such an exciting time of year. I have prepared a few beds and sewn some rocket and carrots. (Always the optimist). Let's see what happens. With the price of fuel going up so much I may not be travelling far in my van, but this is such a beautiful country I can mooch around locally.