A Creative Spirit
Shame on me. I completely forgot to write my monthly vegetable diary for May and I only took one photograph of the raised vegetable area. In my defence, I was away for several weeks so my garden was left very much to its own devices. Unfortunately this created problems with bugs and of course my... Continue Reading →
Several weeks ago you may recall I published a joke email about the treatment of The Elderly in Nursing Homes v Criminals in Prison. Guess who receives the best treatment! The post resulted in one of my facebook subscribers posting a link on my Facebook wall: The Forgotten Ones: International Card Exchange for the Elderly.... Continue Reading →
Recycling in the home is one of my passions, so before disposing of anything from egg boxes and string to plastic bottles and containers I now ask myself "How can I reuse this item - either in its current form or in an alternative way?" It's amazing how creative one can be! Recycling and conserving... Continue Reading →
On Monday, I met up with Joan a fellow "container" garden enthusiast and a regular visitor to my blog. It was great to not only see all her wonderful pots of fruit, vegetables and flowers, ask numerous questions ranging from types of compost, worm farms to problems with insects, but also discuss our successes and... Continue Reading →
Inspiration for today's post is courtesy of the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge. This week's theme is Today. I had scheduled another post, but could not resist posting the photograph of this handsome bug! While watering my vegetable garden today I was suddenly attacked by this enormous bug. Yes, it was GINORMOUS! Deep in thought and... Continue Reading →
There's certainly never a dull moment when you attempt to grow your own fruit and vegetables, especially on Piglet's plot! One minute they are all fine and the next... Before we returned to France I went to our local plant and hardware shop to buy liquid fertilizer for my fruit and vegetables. After performing various... Continue Reading →
Two years ago today my daughter Piglet in France introduced me to the WordPress blog platform, and Piglet in Portugal was born. She patiently (she is not renowned for her patience when demonstrating techie stuff on the PC to Mother) showed me how to make posts, include links and upload photographs, create pages and a... Continue Reading →
Living so far from my family I really treasure the time we are together. Last month it was our granddaughter's (Little Piglet) first Birthday, and all the Piglet clan gathered in France to celebrate the occasion. Not only were our children altogether, but it was the first time our grandson, who is seven months and... Continue Reading →
Recipe Brigadeiros are traditionally made from condensed milk, sweetened cocoa powder and butter. Cooked to a fudge consistency, rolled into little balls and coated in chocolate granules (sprinklers). Ingredients 1 can of sweetened condensed milk 1oz of butter 3 large tablespoons of cocoa powder Chocolate 100s and 1000s (chocolate granules) for decoration Method Place cocoa... Continue Reading →
April 23rd 2012 - My monthly diary for April continues with my ongoing experiment to grow fruit and vegetables in pots and various containers. This year I planted some orange and red peppers seedlings which I bought from São Teotónio Market in March. At 25cents each they were quite expensive, but still easier and cheaper... Continue Reading →
Today is our little granddaughter's first birthday. We cannot believe it's a year ago since she was born. She is a little ray of sunshine! Related Posts: Proud Grandparents An Emotional Rollercoaster
My diary continues... Despite earlier problems with white cabbage mold Piglet's plot continues to yield a modest crop of lettuce, carrots, leeks, cabbage, spinach and radish. The brocoli and cauliflower have now finished, and it was rather a challenge to eat them all before they ran to seed! I like them but not THAT much!... Continue Reading →
Piglet is going green! No, that's not green with envy of EC's wonderful zucchini and squash. But I do feel I can at least make a small contribution to help reduce global warming by cutting down on my personal carbon emissions. How? By not growing zucchini (courgettes) What...has Piglet gone mad? (probably...) How will not growing... Continue Reading →
Can anyone name this flower? Yes, Fernanda has now identified the flower as "Lírio-das-areias" Weekly Photo Challenge: Two Subjects How can something so beautiful and delicate grow in such barren land? What life-lesson could we learn from this simple flower? Is less more? Please share your thoughts...
A friend sent me a "joke" Grumpies of the World Unite, but far from making me laugh it made me extremely angry because the words hit home and made me pause to reflect. The more I read about care or lack of care and respect for the elderly, the less enthusiastic I am for my... Continue Reading →
The electric tram network (Rede de eléctricos de Lisboa) is an easy way to see historic Lisbon. Tram No. 28 is the most famous as the journey takes you through the steep winding streets of the old town. We were advised by a seasoned tourist to catch a tram at the bottom of the hill... Continue Reading →
A year or so ago we went to a brilliant Italian restaurant in a seaside town near Portimão, in the Algarve. The staff were efficient and friendly, the pasta was perfect, the sauce delicious and the desserts outstanding! Even the decor and ambience were welcoming, so we vowed to return next time we were in... Continue Reading →
I enjoy going to the country markets and one of my favourites is the market at São Teotónio near Odemeira, in the Alentajo. I refer to the term "country" because I'm not so keen on the markets held in the tourist towns of the Algarve. These are usually full of the rip-off-tat such as fake... Continue Reading →
According to English folklore there are many superstitions surrounding hot cross buns. My favorite superstition is accompanied by the rhyme…
“Half for you and half for me,
Between us two shall goodwill be”
Apparently, if you share a hot cross bun while saying the above words it is meant to ensure friendship throughout the coming year.
This is my first attempt at making “Hot Cross Buns” so here’s to sharing them with all my blogging buddies… HaPpY eAsTeR!
Hot Cross Buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday served either hot or toasted. Some believe the cross symbolizes The Crucifixion while others maintain the buns pre-date Christianity. The cross in Saxon times was in honour of the goddess Eostre and symbolized the four quarters of the moon.
Ingredients
For the buns
2 oz caster sugar, plus 1 teaspoon
5fl oz hand-hot water
1 level tablespoon dried yeast
1lb plain flour
1…
View original post 409 more words
The monthly diary of growing my own fruit and veg continues... - What grows well (God grant me the serenity to accept dispite my best efforts SOME vegetables will not grow well in my garden) - What to plant and when. (Next year I must leave space for broad and green beans and NOT fill... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 