A Creative Spirit
Over the last few weeks, we've experienced southerly gale-force winds and storms that have wreaked havoc in the garden ... but compared to some, we consider ourselves lucky to have escaped with minimal damage. My Six on Saturday morphed into ... The winds stripped the Bougainvillea of the wonderful display of autumn flowers (bracts) most... Continue Reading →
Let's talk about food! Chestnuts roasting by an open fire ... not quite, but you get my drift. When we were in the UK, we never ate chestnuts... it wasn't a thing. However, in Portugal, we quickly discovered there is even a day dedicated to them: Dia de São Martinho, celebrated on November 11th, which... Continue Reading →
If we were having coffee or sharing a bottle of wine, I'd tell you it's been one of THOSE weeks. CHARITY SHOP: This week, I once again worked in the animal charity shop. The heat in the shop was unbearable, so between unpacking and sorting clothes donations, tidying shelves, sorting hanging rails and serving customers,... 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 →
The weather continued much the same as the week before and the months before that. Cold, rain and windy interspersed with sunny intervals. The geraniums and pelargoniums continue to thrive although the pink and purple one above has now got a virus attacking the leaves. I´ve treated it. Fingers crossed it survives. The crown of... 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 →
Let's talk about food! This morning, I was waiting to be served at the butcher's counter when I spotted half a pig's head awaiting a new home. I admit I am squeamish, and the thought of putting it in the oven to roast or in a large pot to boil, let alone eat it, turned... Continue Reading →
My six gardening pictures for this Saturday feature some of the plants flowering in my garden at the end of October, taken while dodging the showers. YaY! Rain, glorious rain. It seems one or more of my hibiscus plants are always in flower, and today was no exception. Flowering Hibiscus in October Flowering Hibiscus in... Continue Reading →
One of my favourite treats is a Portuguese custard tart, Pastel de nata. But beware—not all Pastéis de Nata are equal, as Mr. Piglet, a pastel de nata connoisseur, will tell you. We avoid ordering from the big supermarket cafes because they offer poor imitations (in our opinion). One of our local bakeries supplies them... Continue Reading →
I've toyed with the idea of picking up the 'I must 'Learn Portuguese' lesson' baton I dropped many years ago for a while. When I try to speak Portuguese in shops and restaurants, my efforts are so hopeless that I am encouraged to communicate in English. For example I recently asked a waitress for 'uma... Continue Reading →
GUTTED! During our family's visit, I neglected our vegetable patch, only to discover that my prized tomato plants had contracted the tomato equivalent of the Bubonic plague—LATE BLIGHT! I am not surprised. Over the last month, we have been enveloped in sea mist at some point most days, so the humidity has been very high.... Continue Reading →
Another Wild Wednesday. This week, I feature the Daphne Gnidium L. - Flax-Leaved Daphne. Photographs taken in the the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina end of July and early August. The evergreen shrub grows between 1.5-2 metres tall. All parts of the shrub are poisonous. The flowers eventually turn to red berries... Continue Reading →
I love the Helichrysum Italicum, or as I sometimes refer to it, the 'curry plant', because of its curry-scented leaves. According to Wikipedia, other common names include Italian strawflower and immortelle. It grows on rocky or sandy ground and can reach up to 60cm high. After picking, the yellow flowers retain their colour and can... Continue Reading →
We returned home from France to damp and humid weather. When I woke up the following day, this is the view I was greeted with. I initially cheered because I thought it was raining. Nope, we were enveloped in a cloud! Sea mist. We often experience this in July and August as we live so... Continue Reading →
For this week's Gardening Six on Saturday (SoS), I have chosen the fruits of my labour. A shout out to Mr. Piglet, who is now the main grafter while I supervise. A nod to our gardening host, Jim, over at Garden Ruminations. 1. Red Onions - June Harvest Finally, the red onions I planted in... Continue Reading →
This morning, I wandered around our garden looking for plants to feature in this week's Six on Saturday and with so many surprises, good and bad, I struggled to make a selection. I shamefully neglected my garden last week while we entertained family over on a week's holiday, and now I am playing catchup. It's... Continue Reading →
My Blog, 'Piglet in Portugal,' was born on May 21st, 2010. YaY! 14 years old. How time flies and how the blogging community has changed over the last 14 years! During this time, I have published 662 posts and acquired 3,309 subscribers I still remember my daughter 'Piglet in France' sitting at my computer and... Continue Reading →
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Rock is situated on the promontory between the beaches of Praia da Sra da Rocha and Praia Nova, Porches in the Municipality of Lagoa. We stumbled across the ancient chapel purely by chance while looking for the Vilarinho Beach restaurant. After lunch, we drove up to the chapel... Continue Reading →
The first part of the week passed slowly, probably due to the weather - strong winds and heavy showers and I didn't feel like going out - not even in my garden, which is rare. I wrote a job list to try and motivate me out of my funk and then just looked at it. Meh... Continue Reading →
Checkouts not manned by staff have apparently neither revolutionised our shopping experience nor cut operating costs as expected. In my opinion, this is proof you can't always replace humans with technology-- and why should we? My number one concern when shops implemented self-service checkouts was that of the human cost. The army of part-time workers, such... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 