A Creative Spirit
The theme for this week's WordPress Photo Challenge is Transition. When you stop to consider how we have evolved and the stress of living in a high-pressured, money-grabbing, politically correct and power crazy world where tolerance and excuses breed intolerance, have we really progressed? Dog eat dog and all that...
This week's Weekly Photo Challenge is 'Wall' This is the noticeboard on my study wall. For the last year I have been staring at this piggin' mess with the good intention of removing all the redundant pieces of paper, cards and 'whatnots' I keep, 'just in case'. I now have SO much rubbish I can no longer see... Continue Reading →
I am absolutely convinced that gardening in my patch of Portugal is beyond a challenge, or labour of love. Case in point: I'd no sooner tidied the patch and planted up all the vegetable plugs I'd bought from the market when I noticed brown spots on the leaves. Sigh ... There is NEVER a dull moment!... Continue Reading →
There is a popular phrase: Third time lucky. And as this is my third attempt to grow vegetables in my ill-fated raised vegetable bed due, to problems with hedge roots, let's hope it's true and I am lucky! Just to backtrack to my previous post, Gardening IS a Labour of Love!, there were various options.... Continue Reading →
This week's theme for the Weekly Photo Challengeis Wall. Armed with my camera - or should I say new iPad - I've been on a mission all week to find a sign that I could relate to. Now, as a self-confessed foodie this sign grabbed my attention. Not because it was bright and garish and... Continue Reading →
Growing fruit and vegetables was my labour of love and a hobby which gave me a great sense of fulfillment. Although my efforts in the vegetable garden were never destined to make us self-sufficient, the pleasure of eating something I'd grown from seed or plug was rewarding. Like a sentry I stood guard against the... Continue Reading →
Or should that read Outsize clothes for Oversized people? I'm sorry if this is not politically correct but I'm fat. I also come from an age where we did not cloak the truth in jargon as in: "I'm bodily challenged". The harsh reality is that I'm a porker a porklet of grand proportions and I've... Continue Reading →
The Algarve, is not only blessed with over sixty blue flag beaches, numerous golf courses, vibrant nightlife, glorious weather but also a host of other activities visitors to the area may not always be aware of. When booking hotels and flights for your trip to the Algarve, there are several helpful websites, such as First... Continue Reading →
Remembrance Day, or Poppy Day is a memorial day which has been observed in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of the First World War. It is the day when we remember the soldiers who have given their life in the line of duty. I wrote this poem as tribute to our brave soldiers... Lest... Continue Reading →
The theme for this week's WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is 'Signs'. That's lucky, because I have the perfect picture! I spotted this sign outside the toilets in a restaurant in Ferragudo, Algarve. It made me chuckle so of course I just had to take a photograph! Are women always 'right' or do men just let... Continue Reading →
Knowing I'm a bit of a toilet inspector a good friend shared this 'toilet humour'. When I read it I nearly peed my pants with laughter! Enjoy! When you have to visit a public toilet, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you... Continue Reading →
Steven Hawley's novelette, Cattle Market, struck a chord with me as I reflected on the plight of my own mother and the difficult decision we made to place her in a care home. Before we moved her to a more 'suitable' facility I witnessed with my own eyes how the Matron, or whatever she was... Continue Reading →
A couple of years ago I bought a peach tree. I planted the baby tree in a large pot, talked to it daily and it thrived. This year it flowered and the flowers, to my delight, turned to peaches. After months of waiting for the peaches to grow and then ripen, I decided today was... Continue Reading →
As I'm in "D" crisis after piling on the pounds, a good friend recommended: I Eat Less and Move More... However, in my case it has proved to be: Move More and Eat More. I understand the principle: the more you move the more calories you burn, but you try explaining that to my growling... Continue Reading →
Today we were invited to a popular seafood restaurant in the Alentejo to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was not a set price lunch so we went with a 'kay sa ra' attitude. What will be will be... I was not organising the lunch so splitting the bill was not my problem for once. When... Continue Reading →
Today's WordPress prompt: Instant Celebrity caught my attention. If you could be a famous person for a day, who would you be? Why? I love writing poetry but more importantly poetry that appeals to the masses. No hidden meanings or cryptic clues, just straight forward verse covering everyday subject matter. So if I could be... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, I was pegging out the washing when I heard a persistent clicking noise coming from the general direction of my vegetable area. "Tick...tick tick... tick... tick tick... tick.." (You get my drift) The ticking, sounded almost like Morse code. Intrigued and thinking it could be a bird in distress, I went to investigate. The... Continue Reading →
One of my many 'container' gardening successes is growing cucumbers in pots. Rather than plant seeds and wait weeks for them to germinate I buy the seedling plugs from local markets. The only downside is that there are no "fancy" varieties to choose from, or perhaps I should view that as an upside because the... Continue Reading →
What is the point of graffiti? Why spray-paint buildings with pointless words and random letters? Yes, I understand and admire street art but graffiti. Come on... if you guys want to decorate buildings why not make a proper job of it and give some pleasure? This picture I admire and is pleasure to behold. The... Continue Reading →
If you're harvesting nêspera fruit (otherwise known as Loquat or medlar fruit) about now you may want to try this simple nêspera jam recipe. And I mean it's simple... as in "easie peasie" simple! This April our little nêspera tree rewarded us with a bumper harvest of fruit, so rather than make yet another batch... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 