A Creative Spirit
It doesn't seem possible that a week ago today we were visiting our family who live in France. Although it rained EVERY day for most of the day, it was great to spend time with the family, especially since I knew it would probably be about six months before we saw them again. At the... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee, I'd tell you it has been a busy week or so. The highlight: we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on the 18th October followed by a trip to see our family in France more on that next week. Mr. Piglet secretly planned a boat trip from Olhao to the Ria... Continue Reading →
While on a boat trip to one of the islands on the Ria Formosa the boat's skipper proudly introduced us to these slimey critters. Sea cucumbers or “Sea rats” as they are aptly nicknamed by some fishers and divers because of how they move and feed—slowly crawling over the seabed, cleaning up waste and debris... Continue Reading →
For this week's Food on Friday topic, I want to experiment using alternatives to refined sugar so I can bake diabetic friendly cakes and cookies. I have a vague idea in theory, but am clueless in practice. I needed to find a sugar replacement. In one cookbook of diabetic recipes, Agave syrup was recommended, but... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee, I'd tell you I had my hair cut and coloured this week, and the hairdresser made a right pig's ear of the cut. I usually have my hair styled in a long bob, so what did she do? Cut my hair almost level with the bottom of my ear lobes!... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee, I'd mention it has been another busy week, which included a chance meeting with a dear friend whom we'd lost touch with. Our misinterpretation of the potentially complicated reason for their silence meant we had not reached out again. However, their apparent silence was not due to a lack of... Continue Reading →
For this week's Food on Friday, I want to discuss managing obesity, successes and weight loss failures, and the latest trend in what I have heard tagged as fat jabs to help you lose weight. I am obese and have been for years. Despite my best efforts to exercise (I have limited mobility), the excess... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee, I'd tell you it's been a long week with hardly a moment to catch my breath! I don't know about you, but for me, some weeks drag as one day slowly melds into the next, and while I set out with good intentions that a quiet week at home should... Continue Reading →
Luckily for me, a close neighbour is an artist and has begun offering lessons. Delighted, I immediately enrolled and started this painting back in March. After showing her some rough sketches, we laid down a textured surface on the canvas using a combination of Gesso and Crackle paste. In the following lesson, after I'd sketched... Continue Reading →
Yes, this is a serious question. I ask because whenever I see something sweet, it triggers an irritating voice in my head, which keeps niggling like the spoilt toddler intent on getting its own way until you lose the will to live and comply just for a quiet life. Recently, the niggling came in the... Continue Reading →
I don't know what I expected, but my expectations were way off target. You know when you have a romantic idea fixed in your mind? Well, mine was that a candlelight concert would be held outside under the stars as I'd seen on my FB feed. Or did I imagine it? Now I don't know... Continue Reading →
At last—it’s September and sanity slowly returns. When we first came here, the Western Algarve was still undiscovered and far removed from the well-worn tourist hotspots further east. Now, summers are chaos. The great migration is ending at last: kids back to school, and the zillions of sunburned, flip-flop–wearing visitors have packed up their inflatable... Continue Reading →
Do you ever put things away in a safe place and then can't remember where you've put them? A few weeks ago, our family came to stay. The grandkids use my studio/office as a bedroom, so I cleared my desk and put everything away, neat and tidy, including all my Portuguese notes and homework. Two... Continue Reading →
I swear, flipping APPs will soon rule our lives, and we won't even be able to do our daily ablutions without consulting and plugging our butt into an APP. Are we sleepwalking into a new era where if you don't have a smartphone, you are screwed? Yes, screwed. Consider the elderly or the technically challenged... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that when the day for my scan appointment at Luisades Private Hospital in Albuferia finally arrived, I swear this was the hottest day ever. Our car, at one point, registered an outside temperature of a mere 47 °C. (116.60°F) ... Of course, I was far too early... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that we've had a fantastic couple of weeks! The vacation I'd planned over the last year to bring the whole family together to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary and joint 70th birthday year at the Alfagar Resort in Portugal proved to be a great success. Phew!! The... Continue Reading →
Do you accept the meds doctors hand out at face value, or do you conduct further research? On Monday, I finally returned to the doctor, after undergoing numerous blood tests and scans, to discuss my results. He doesn't speak English, and unfortunately, my Portuguese is limited, despite having studied it for numerous years. I prepared... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee or a glass or two of wine, I would tell you about my feel-good moments. There were a few moments of frustration, but overall it was a positive week. FEEL GOOD FILM of the WEEK: NONNAS Based on a true story, I thoroughly recommend this feel-good film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDJxJd3FzDY IT proves... Continue Reading →
If we were having a coffee, I would tell you this week temperatures ramped up from the low twenties with a cool ocean breeze to the mid-thirties to still and stifling with no air. Everyone was and still is moaning that it is too hot. Far too hot. In fact, it is too hot for... Continue Reading →
WooHoo! I am doing a happy dance. I have just had a complex conversation (perhaps a slight hyperbole) in Portuguese on the phone with an extremely patient and kind lady from the doctor's office. The purpose of her call was to schedule a follow-up appointment with the doctor to discuss the results from blood work,... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 