A Creative Spirit
I never thought I'd admit it, but I'm 'fooded' out. Stuffed to <<bursting>>. Move over the laughing Buddha and enter the laughing pig. Except I'm not laughing. I feel fat. February has been a month of celebration, experimenting with new and healthier recipes--which I've shared on my blog--and eating out. Eating out three/four times a... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee, I'd tell you I've had another busy week. There were many highs, and then came a jaw-dropping low. Monday, I returned from my first pain hypnotherapy session on a high. With the right mindset, we can overcome certain pain and situations. Fortunately, I have found a doctor who thinks outside... Continue Reading →
My six for this Saturday includes a random selection as I dodge the showers and mosquitoes. Rain, glorious rain. I never thought as a Brit I'd be praying and then celebrating the heavy downpours we've experienced recently. Designed to retain moisture with slow drainage, my raised vegetable beds are flooded, but that's okay. First Seed... Continue Reading →
It's all about the background and lighting... This is subtle. This is waaay too busy Back to nature, I position the vase in the birdbath using the leaves of the strelitzia as the background. I'm not sure ... Seeing the photographs uploaded to my blog, I'm not sure about the vase, which is actually a... Continue Reading →
A Surprise Visit If I thought keeping certain aspects of Mr Piglet's actual birthday DAY a surprise, nothing prepared me for the WhatsApp message I received from our daughter (who lives in France), asking if it was okay to drop in for a surprise visit for a couple of days. I knew it would be... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee, I'd tell you I've had a hectic week with hardly time to pause for breath. Move Over Roses on Valentine's Day I bet I can count the fingers on one hand for the number of women who received a red bromeliad rather than roses or a bouquet of flowers for... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee, I'd tell you I'd have another busy/interesting week. Games Night On Sunday, friends joined us for a games night, and I cooked a simple supper of spaghetti bolognese. We then downloaded a quiz app called' Knowledge is Power' and a trivial pursuit game onto our TV via our PS4 and... Continue Reading →
Let's talk about food. This week, I focus on oranges. Mr Piglet picked a bowl and a shopping bag full of oranges from our tree—about 12kg. Unfortunately, they are waaaay too sour this year to juice, so I decided to get creative and make ... Iced Oranges I've made them before, and they were seriously... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee, I'd confide this week I had three social engagements, which also involved food therefore adding a further strain on my already bulging waistline. Fortunately, I have only grown about 1kg since the 18th of December (checks mirror for growth of Pinnocio's nose). Considering all the naughties I've consumed over the... Continue Reading →
Let's talk about food and healthy options. Recently, I've noticed an increasing number of cookie and cake recipes on my FB feed that use oats instead of wheat flour. Keen to discover more, as part of my quest to reduce the number of ultra-processed foods in our diet and replace with healthier alternatives, I dived... Continue Reading →
This week, we've enjoyed rain—gallons of it—and, as the old saying goes, it's raining cats and dogs. We desperately need more rain to replenish the depleted reservoirs, so I am not complaining. The only downside is that I need one day's grace to catch up on all the laundry, get all the washing out on... Continue Reading →
No, I mean it. I really must. I rarely throw anything away, and Mr. Piglet is even worse. The last time we cleared out the garage several years ago, I discovered five broken kettles that he'd been keeping 'just in case'. Just in case of what? I muttered. Got the look, especially as I rescue... Continue Reading →
Determined not to miss out on this week's 'In a Vase on Monday', a meme hosted by Rambling in the Garden, I gathered plants in torrential rain. If you guys are not impressed by the arrangement (I'm not), I hope you are impressed by my tenacity, and I am awarded at least an E for... Continue Reading →
It's been a strange week. Monday saw another trip to Faro, this time to see a dermatologist who was amazed I'd travelled so far for an appointment. I am not keen on Faro, or at least the part we needed. It is dirty, busy, noisy, and parking is hell. But if we lived there, I'm... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee I'd confess I had never really considered how our diet could impact health until I was diagnosed with gut issues and needed to drastically review my diet and lifestyle--I made some changes, but apparently not enough. By chance, I listened to an interview with Tim Spector, the co-founder of Zoe.... Continue Reading →
Every Monday, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden invites us to share an arrangement of flowers or 'whatever' in a vase. I grow very few flowers I can cut in my garden as I mainly grow shrubs, succulents and vegetables, so please forgive my creative spirit. I was looking for inspiration when I went to... Continue Reading →
What a week! I am happy because I did manage to tick off a few major tasks from my To-Do List: Book an MRI Scan, restart Portuguese Lessons, take my new car for a drive and buy another mouse to use with my laptop. Appointment Challenge My main goal for this week was to book... Continue Reading →
Stop the World, I Want to Get Off! If we were having coffee in RL, I'd tell you I took a break from blogging during December—not just from blogging but also from watching/reading the news and using social media platforms. I was/am fed up with fake and manufactured news, misinformation, disinformation, wars, lying politicians, sporting... Continue Reading →
It's been a while since we had coffee, so we should probably also make it lunch. Today, I arranged to meet up with fellow blogger 'Anna I', who lives in Alentejo, but sadly, her hubby was ill, and our meeting was postponed. New Restaurants Over the last few weeks, we set a challenge to step... Continue Reading →
Hands up. Who knew the tiny Chia seed packed such a nutritious punch? I didn't. When someone suggested I try them to help with weight loss, I bought a packet, thinking it was a type of tea. I probably made that assumption because chia and chá are similar, and chá is the Portuguese word for... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 