Hej
Nu är julen över för denna gång. Kanske är det den sista julen på länge som som vi spenderar i Sverige. All mat och allt överflöd är lite för mycket. Det känns lite som om alla skall ta igen alla dåliga samveten över natten. Kommersen andas snabba cash, eller som en sann filosof säger, jag citerar " kunder och shopping i en skön symbios"

Jag vill med detta inlägg bara ge alla som läser detta en påminnelse att alltid vara sann med sig själv och sina medmänniskor, se alltid till att göra "gott" Kan  du hjälpa en medmänniska till ett bättre liv skall du göra detta, det är enkelt att göra människor glada utan att det kostar dig något, du kommer att få väldigt mycket i gengäld.

Vill att ni alla skall vara öppna och ge mer av er själva, våga GE mer av er själva.

Vet att jag är en sentimental gubbe men kan någon av er som läser detta tänka till och ge är jag glad

När det gäller nyår som snart kommer skulle jag vilja be er alla som kommer att köpa fyrverkerier att inte göra detta utan i ställer skänka pengarna till hemlösa eller andra saker som ligger er nära om hjärtat. Ni gör förutom perosner glada även sen stor insats för alla djur som är livrädda för smällare.

För alla som följer mitt råd vill jag skänka ett stort tack

Stor kram från den gamle
///Lasse

Christmas morning

For us in Sweden Christmas is Christmas Eve, especially if you are a child. That is the evening when Santa comes with his gifts. He doesn´t put them in stockings or anything but hands them out in person. That is also the day when family and friends gather to have a Christmas buffé consisting pickled herring of all kinds, gravlax, smoked salmon, meatballs, different sausages, patés and The Christmas Ham, not turkey.

Christmas buffé

Christmas Ham

I always eat rice porridge with cinnamon and milk and a ham sandwich on Christmas morning. That is my favourite time of Christmas. The house is clean (sort of) and the food for the buffé is done.

I also like Christmas Day because then the hustle and bustle is over and you get to enjoy the peace and quiet. The fridge is full of all sorts of goodies and maybe you got a new book for Christmas to read. Tomorrow I will hang with Pontus, the horse, in the morning. Maybe we will take a walk together if the weather isn´t as bad as today. In that case I will ride indoors.

This evening all my children are coming to eat and talk. Maybe Santa is coming but he might be to busy visiting younger children.

 I am going out in this lousy weather to buy some last minutes things like fresh bread.

Have a wonderful Christmas to all of you and I particularly think of one person who is spending Christmas alone. Take Care.Love You

Åse

early bird

I woke up early this morning 06.45. The alarm clock was set on 7.30 so it wasn´t any use to try to get back to sleep. I might as well go up and get ready to meet ol´ Pontus. I will only meet him twice before going to Portugal for almost two weeks.

I had some nice ham sandwiches and two large mugs of coffee and milk so I can keep warm in the stable. it will be a quite busy day when come home later. After lunch and shower we will do THE BIG GROCERY SHOPPING before Christmas. It is always a stressful moment. There are so many people out doing the exact same thing, shopping.

After that I will probably be worn out completely but i have to do some more things before I can call it quits for the evening. Cooking and preparing for Christmas Eve when all the children will come over for Christmas dinner and presents. That will be nice.

I might catch up with you later if I have the time and strengths.

Åse

Good bye and Christmas buffé

Last day in school, at least for a while. To say good bye to my students was very hard because I love them so much. One of the girls became very angry with me because she got a lower grade this semester. I hurt very much since she is very close. We parted with her not wanted to say good bye.

In the evening we went to a restaurant in Gothenburg. I think it is maybe the third time I have been out when the job has paid. At least since I started to work in schools. We went to Novotel and had a lovely Christmas buffé with mainly seafood and pickled herring, my favourites. The äggost, which is a kind of dessert and a speciality from Bohuslan, is made of eggs, cream and sour cream and heated til it curdles. I just love it.

Today it is winter solstice. So from now on the days are getting longer again, at least after a week or so. I read in the news paper that it is about 10 hours darker now than when it is the lightest, in the summer time that is.
In the beginning you don´t even notice the change bu then in February there is suddenly light again. Now it is so dark.

No day light in Sweden

Only three days to go until Christmas Eve. I am so happy that I get to spend it with my much loved children.

Gotta go

Åse

Paper work ready

The paper work is ready!
Jippie!

We were so thrilled when we read the mail that said;

"This morning we received word that the needed  papers have been signed and entered in the system from both Camara and tax office  and will be made available to Luis the moment I have these received from the Engineer sometime soon. So once Luis has received these I shall coordinate with him a location and time where the deed can be signed January 6^th."

This was three days ago and I had to read the words several times before I could understand.

Hopefully our lawyer got the papers by now so he can make up the contract

The reason it has taken so long time is, if I understand things coreectly, that we wanted the papers to be in order to be able to apply for a licens for Agro Turismo. The previous owners haven´t had any papers for that part. But we want everything to be in order and want to pay our taxes.

When they tried to get the papers in order the Camara noticed some things that weren´t in order about the size of the property and a building that wasn´t on the plan. They had to write everything in and get it approved and stamped in different departments.

Well enough of that. THE PAPERS ARE READY

Åse

Some light in the darkness

Some light is popping up though. We got some positive news from the real estate agent yesterday.

They are starting to fix the newly built patio (ours, not guests) It needs some paint and a big pile of dirt needs to be removed.

A construction company is coming in the end of the week to start building the stairs from the pool area up to upper vineyard where our intentions are to build a wood burning hot tub. We want it so you can sit there under the stars and sip a glass of wine after a long day of exploring the area, wine harvest or whatever.

They are spraying the infested beams this weekend when nobody is in the main building.

So it seems they can have everything ready if the papers will be ready til January 6 when the preliminary date is set for signing the deed.

I am doing the last two days at work this semester which is also nice. Then I will have a good Christmas holiday in Portugal. It is going to be lovely. The weather isn´t so nice nor warm there right now but I don´t care. Sitting by the fire reading books, having dinner with good friends and do some more exploring of the area wil be good as well.

Have a nice day

Åse

Lousy weather

Really lousy weather outside today. The weather combined with the winter season makes it so dark outside. It doesn´t get light during the whole day. You have to have all lights on inside just to be able to see. I am lighting candles, morning and night so you will get that cozy feeling.

Yesterday I took Pontus for a walk. i went down to the stable quite early and made him ready, grooming, fixing his water and food. Then we went out and it was all of a sudden a beautiful quiet morning. We met two joggers but apart from them it was only Pontus and I. After about 15 minutes a light drizzle started and 10 minutes later the wind took off. The rain now came from the side and it wasn´t so amusing anymore. I reached for my riding gloves in my pockets only to find that had brought to left ones. I rode with one on and the other left in my pocket.

Well at home, after a shower and some lunch I decided to take a nap. The evening was quiet and we enjoyed a fabulous dinner made by moi.

No news regarding the farm more than the usual nonsense. The sellers have problems completing things that we agreed upon so there has been a large number of emails going back and forth between us and the real estate agent.

It will be so good to finally complete this deal whenever this is going to happen so we can start doing the things we want to do. Now everything is delayed due to paper work not being ready.

Will let you know whenever things are moving in the right direction.

Ase

post dog

We admit. We´re crazy. We have three dogs. What kind of normal people have three dogs if you don´t run kennel. We do.  The dogs we own are stray dogs, from the street and spayed.

One is old. Going on his 12th year, could be more. Nobody really knows. I came to think what will you do after he is gone. He is the mentor of the pack and my dearest friend.

The thing is that you have to prepare for a life without him. Can you? Is it possible? It is painful to even think about it. I cannot say what life would be without him. It feels he has been with with us forever. What was life before him. I don´t know but it must have been empty and cold because with him in my life it is warm and sunny.

He is getting old. He has cataract on both his eyes. It is not so bad yet but is getting worse. he is a little bit more tired in the morning and he goes to bed earlier at night. Otherwise he is ok. He plays with his brothers and enjoys his walks and he sure loves his food. But, he is getting older. What will I possibly do without him?

I don´t know. Can´t even imagine.

Off the hook

Not many days now until this semester is over. I can´t tell how nice it is going to be not worrying about the students and their results. To be off the hook. Then I will spend my Christmas reading many books and drinking a glass of red, or two.

I am so happy we took the time off Sunday to go for a movie and a dinner. It took our minds off the stress of buying a vineyard in Portugal and also gave us some new energy to continue working towards our goal.

Yesterday was a day marking and grading. Today I have been in the stable, grooming Pontus and after i rode. I still can´t do anything but walk him. Hopefully he will soon be better so we can start trotting. I had to ride in the inside in the ring because it was really icy and slippery outside. It is a shame because I really wanted to be out in the woods today.

This weekend we´re going to buy most of the Christmas gifts. It is always nice when it is done. I really hate shopping, especially when the malls and shops are crowded. For myself I wish for a pair of rubber boots (ha ha), some socks and some money sent to the victims in Philippines. I don´t really need anything.

Now I have to do some grocery shopping. Maybe I write something later because I would like to reach 25000 visitors on my blog, today. That would be something.

Åse

marking and grading

Every day life when you are a teacher. I never stops, especially when you are a Swedish/English teacher. At least it fells that way. The pupils always get a second chance to do a test again. Sometimes they get a third and a fourth chance which means i mark and mark and the pupils will never make it (or sometimes they do).

Now it is that time of year when the teachers are grading their students. That means that they are getting everything from the students that was supposed to be "in" a long time ago.

Sometimes I feel like I want to say to them. "When the train has left, it is gone."

A bit of snow has fallen and keeps coming. I dream of a snow free life but the papers are still not ready but we have a signing date put up. January 6 is now the date we hope the farm will be ours. We are still going over Christmas. Unfortunately we can´t start with the work we had set out to do which will delay us the upcoming season. But what can we do?

We´re waiting and hoping

Åse

Time Out

The last couple of weeks mind twisting, maybe travelling, maybe getting a vineyard and a lot of work had made us confused, angry and a bit sad. All work and no play. It was time for us to get a time out.

The day started with us getting up quite early. I was going to the stable and a session with ol´ Pontus and Lasse was going to walk the dogs, paint and other things around the house. I spent about three hours in the stable and it was snowing a lot. Pontus was in a bad mood since all his mates had gone out to play in the snow and he was stuck in the stable with me. I rode and did all the chores and let Pontus go out into the paddock. He was really happy and showed it by chasing all other horses trying to bite them. After I went home to have lunch and a shower.

We started to discuss if were going to do something else after the disaster with the very boring Christmas Fair on Saturday. There has been so many maybes and musts these last weeks, the whole autumn as a matter of fact. We decided to go and see a movie in Gothenburg and to have a meal out. The movie we agreed upon was "Monica Z" but before that we went to Lai Wa, a Chinese restaurant which is our favourite Chinese.

The food was good, the film was excellent. All in all a very good evening.

Dark, wet and cold Gothenburg

Åse

To face the truth

To face the truth is sometimes hard. This week has been mentally challenging. First the paper work on the farm weren´t ready and we gave up the thought of owning the farm this year. Now we are aiming for January but everything feels so unsure. Maybe we are getting a bit cynical and negative but what else can we be thinking about the holidays. Maybe the Camara doesn´t work between Christmas and New year´s.

Another thing that I have to face is still not official but I will tell about it later when it is. Nothing dangerous though.

Getting dinner ready and inside it is warm and cozy but outside it is oh so cold. It is hard to walk the dogs because the pavements are covered in ice and you risk falling so many times. I really hate when it is so slippery outside. You try to not be so tense because it is easier to fall but it is hard not to.

We had a nice walk in the woods earlier today and the sun was out. Really beautiful weather but cold. The ground in the wood wasn´t slippery so it was nice walking there.

the guys

Afterwards wo thought of doing something fun so we went to a local Christmas Fair. So stupid we felt because the fair was a joke. It had basically nothing nice at all going on. I like when many local producers sell their food but here they had basically nothing. We went home quite depressed because we wanted to do something for a change. Not just stay at home and refurbish the house.

The dinner look nice though

Åse

snow

It has started to snow and my husband is still on his Portuguese lesson. I don´t like when he is out driving in bad weather. I hope he drives carefully and the weather isn´t getting any worse.


I was thinking about that we have been working too much on the house lately. We haven´t had so much fun. Maybe we cab come up with something fun to this weekend. The utility room is soon done and it is getting quite nice. I thought I was going to show you some picture how it is now. There are yet a thing or two to be done.

Oak bench done by my handy husband

Big utility room with hand woven carpet from Kalymnos

You throw the dirty laundry from the second floor through a
hole in a wardrobe straight down in the laundry basket

snow

Take it easy if you are out there on the roads.
Åse

Three white swans

I walked the dogs yesterday evening. It was a beautiful one and ground was about to freeze in some parts.It was very dark but all the christmas lights shone in all gardens and windows. There was also a lot of stars visible. All of a sudden I heard a funny noise from the sky and I and all the dogs looked up. As golden, three white swans flew by. Their bodies reflected all the lights from the ground and the glittered and shimmered. It was truly a beautiful moment.

Tonight Lars is on his last Portuguese lesson and I am home alone with the dogs. I am so tired after the days work so I think I will hit the sack quite early tonight.

A storm is coming in tonight and it is clearly very much colder inside because of the wind. I have lit a lot of candles and it is nice sitting here with all the dogs around me. Still I feel a bit sad. Sad about things that isn´t but should have been.

Maybe tomorrow is a better day.

Åse

Somewhere over the rainbow

Woke up 4.20. My husband was already up and making breakfast. He was going to Stockholm and had to get up at that hour but I went to bed for another hour of sleep.

Now when I am writing this entry it is 6.30 and he is gone and I am going soon. I am taking two of the dogs to doggie kindergarden and one of the dogs is staying home with my son. The dog is ill, or have some kind of tummy problem. It means he has diareea and there was poo all over one of the carpets in the living room. Nice to start your morning routine that way.

It is pit dark outside and it is raining. So I have to take rubber boots, not boats, and take the dog for a walk before I will leave them in doggie kindergarden. W are paying a good deal of money to that place. We are pleased with how they take care of the dogs but it is a lot of money.

Is this the way life is supposed to be? This is what we would like to get away from. Not the poo bit because if you have animals this id what you will get from time to time. I mean getting up so early, pay someone to take care of your animals so you can work. Lasse works such long hours. He went 5.30 and will get home at 10 pm. This rat race!

A new life is waiting for us somewhere over the rainbow.


Åse

buying a house in Portugal?

This is a good link if you are looking for a house in Portugal. It is in Portuguese but then I can practice my Portuguese.

http://www.eliseumateus.com/como-obter-a-licenca-de-habitacao/

Monday morning

Cold morning outside. That i can tell just by looking outside. It is white from frost everywhere, no snow though. the sun is shining so it looks like it is going to be another beautiful day.

Today is going to be a busy day. Beside working, marking a lot of papers before grading, Only three weeks before Christmas holidays so there are many things to do. I am also going to study some Portuguese vacuuming, go to the library and pharmacy. Busy, busy day.

In June we switched cable company and in the deal we were offered telephone and internet service. They, the new company, were going to get in contact with our old telephone company and make the change. WE were going to the cable company and make the switch. That was in June as I said before. First of September the old cable company turned off their service and the new one was going to kick in. Nothing.

Now it is December 2nd and we still have no TV, the old telephone company still provides it services. we have called endless times to "our" new supplier. Nothing. I think I will call them today and get really nasty.

Dreaming of this

Åse

1st Advent

Today it is 1st of December and in Sweden we are celebrating 1st of Advent. The word advent is from the latin word adventus, which means coming. The one that is coming is of course Jesus even if we are not that religious in Sweden any more. The first of Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year.

I think it is a wonderful tradition to light the candles because it is pretty dark in Sweden. We also bake saffron buns and eat ginger bread snaps. Sometimes we drink Glögg, which is a kind of spicy warm wine drink.

saffron buns

ginger bread snaps

glögg

I haven´t baked the ones above. Whenever I try to bake them they look disgusting.

I had a wonderful day out today. The sun was shining and it was quite warm for the time of year. 8 degrees centigrade. It was a bit windy but the ride on Pontus was wonderful.

Then I went out and walked the dogs so I have been out quite much today.

I think I found out what the lawyer tried to tell us in his mail on Friday. All paper work on the vineyard have been approved. The cottage which wasn´t on the title deed was approved by the Camara but it might not be approved as a living accommodation. If the notario wants that as well it will be another wait so keep your fingers crossed that everything will be ready on Wednesday, when it is supposed to be registered

Now I am going to have another bun.

Peace to you all.

Åse

I just don´t get it

First of all I got a good whipping for my blog entry from yesterday. I wrote that I wanted rubber boats and many of my friends liked  it a lot. That is of course wrong. I want rubber boots for Christmas and nothing else. I will not even blush over that mistake. I give it to you all as a early Christmas Gift.

Tomorrow it will be first advent and December 1st. This means that I hopefully have spent my last November in Sweden for many years. I hope I will not regret writing this down in blog. Maybe i will be back in Sweden by this time next year crying and wondering what on earth got in to my mind when I thought I wanted to live in Portugal.

We got an email from our very good lawyer yesterday and he had some good news and some news we didn´t understand.

Maybe someone out there will understand it and explain it to us. The first half we understand, with the good news parts, but the rest. Well here it is.

"The engineer called me yesterday to explain all the details of this project.

The process has been approved by the City Hall: good news. 

The decision of the approval will be signed by next Wednesday: good news.

The sellers will collect the license for construction: good news.

Then I will ask the agents if the notary will accept to sign the deed with the license for construction.

If not, we have to wait for the license if using, which will take 15 days approximately (counting from the collection of the license for construction).

If so, it is possible to sign the deed but we need to confirm and put it in the paper that the sellers will pay for the collection of the license of using.

The engineer did not mention the costs of this license but it can several hundreds of Euros."

Åse

Friday morning

I will not speak about Portugal today if I don´t get any good news.

Woke about 6 am. Normal time to get up if I start at 8. It is so dark outside so it feels like in the middle of the night.  There can´t be many people up by this hour but if you open the door to the balcony you will hear the highway. It is really terrible. Even if I am in the kitchen with windows and doors closed you still hear the noise from cars, trains and tucks.I would like to live where it is quiet.

I would like two things for Christmas.

1)That the TV-channels work again. Since we switched company in June we haven´t had any service since September 1. It is not a big issue because we can watch some things we like on the computer but sometimes I miss that big screen.

2) That we can get the screw we need for the kitchen zink. As it is now we cannot use the water or the sewage system. We can run the dish washer if we put a bucket underneath the drains.

I came up with another thing i would like for Christmas, a pair of rubber boats. The ones I got has a torn in them and takes in water.

Now I have to get ready for work so see you later.

Åse

Last portuguese language course and no Portugal

Yesterday was the last lesson in my Portuguese language course. I can´t really say that I have learnt that much but you cannot expect so much in 10 weeks 90 minutes/week. Lasse is missing his course tonight but his last is next week. I think he is pleased with his.

I found a good book on the net that I am trying to work with at home. I am doing about 2 hours a week. And I think it is paying off a bit since I am learning quite many new words.

It looks like there will be no signing for us this weekend. We know the papers were approved by the Cãmara in Caldas da Rainha. Then they should be registered, sent to our lawyer for inspection. THEN everything is ready for signing. How long time it will take we don´t know.

On the farm there are about 20 olives, some very old and some very young. They haven´t been cut or pruned at all I think, not for a long time so there is very little olives on them.

I saw my friends CAnnelie and Hasse in Tomar when they were harvesting their olives and I got jealous because I know they will have good olive oil the whole year. They will even be able to sell, to ME.

If you want to see when they harvest and read about it.

 http://svenskiportugal.blogspot.se/2013/11/mer-oliver-och-sallskapsdjur.html

Now I have to hit the shower.

Until next time

Åse

Good news and pizza

Yesterday was a real shitty day. First of all we didn´t get the news we wanted eg. that the papers of the farm had been approved by the Camara of Caldas da Rainha. Secondly the pipes in the zink was clogged and wouldn´t clear even if we used a type of Drano. Lasse decided to open up under and everything went fine until he was going to put everything back again. A special brass screw broke and you couldn´t find the same kind anywhere in our town.

Lasse then headed for Gothenburg to get a new one only to find out that for this type of zink there are no spare parts to buy. If the manufacturer doesn´t have it you have to replace the whole zink. He went home and we were really low. We went to bed early.

Good news today. The manufacturer had one of these special brass screws and is sending it to the reteller. AND more importantly we got positive news from Portugal. The papers have been approved and is now being processed. It means as soon as they are ready they will be sent to our lawyer so he can make the contract. So that is what we are waiting for now.

When I got home from work my son had made pizza with extra everything on. That is why I am drooling over the computer right now. The smell is incredible and I am so hungry.

Tonight is a real good night.

Åse

The final countdown?

Is this the day? The day when the Camara finally decides if they are going to approve the papers of the farm.

There have been two problems (so far)

1. One of the rental houses which is the one that is most rented has no building approval. This means it has to be drawn into the title deed, approved by the architect and the Engenheiro. Then approved bu the City Hall and drawn through the system.

2. The land was much bigger in real than the original drawings of the property. This has to be measured, approved by all the above and be drawn into the title deed as well.

Today is the day they are going to decide. And all we can do is wait.

This afternoon or evening or maybe tomorrow even we will know if we have to try to find a plane ticket to Saturday and fly down, transfer the rest of the money and sign.

I can´t tell you have nervous we are.

In meantime there will be a lot of work as usual. Marking papers, oiling the oak bench in the utility room, opening up under zink to see what is blocking the sewage system since the water will not go down. Another day in paradise in other words.

Have a good day to you all

If you haven´t liked our page on facebook, pls do.
Farm Holidays Silver Coast

Åse

Duna is going home and lovely weather

Went up quite early to get Pontus before he was going out. We took a nice walk in the lovely weather. You can only walk him because he still has this limp when he trots. We think it is good to walk him or he will get stiff. He is 21 years so you have to be careful with him. He doesn´t limp when he walks only when he is going faster.

He was in a good mood once we got out because the weather was wonderful. It was a bit cold but the sun was shining and there was no wind.

When I got home we ate and Lasse had done such good work in the utility room. I took a shower and continued cleaning the bathroom, kitchen because it all looked a mess.

Now we´re waiting for daughter and boyfriend to come to pick up their dog, Duna. She has been here for 11 days while they were in the Malidives. Lucky ones.

Tomorrow is D-day or the day. Will they approve in the Camara and stamp our papers of the alteration on the farm. I guess we will not know until Tuesday or something, Monday afternoon if we are lucky.

Keep all fingers crossed now!

Åse

Latest news

We got a new message from the real estate agent. It seems like it is certain that the papers will be approved by the Camara= City Council and the maire on Monday. The the papers will be sent to to the Conservatorio agenand Finances. Tight tight tight with time if we are to find flights from Gothenburg to Lisbon next Saturday. The signing date is set to December 2 but the agent wanted to know if we can change the date to December 9 instead if the time is running out and we cannot find any flights.

We have a ticket December 26 so it seems a bit stupid to fly there December 9 as well but we WANT to finish this deal as soon as possible. Partly because we ant to know that the farm is ours and partly because of many people want to book. I can´t confirm anything before I am certain the place is ours. Still it is a nice problem in a way. I mean that so many people want to book and come and stay with us. :-)

Tonight it is a bit chilly outside and the dinner is in the oven. Roasted chicken, ajvar relish and veggies on the menu tonight. After dinner we are hitting the sauna. I don´t understand why we didn´t repair it before. It is such a relaxation to do.

I hoped to buy my mum a plane ticket to Portugal in February. I would pamper her a lot and drive her to all the places she wants to go. She can read, have a glass of wine and I would make dinner. That would be a lot of fun I think. Hopefully we can arrange this.

Tomorrow morning I am off to the stable to take Pontus out for a nice morning ride. I am really looking forward to that.

Have a good evening!

Åse

Friday evening

Hard work today. My Fridays are horrible. I´ve got the last two lessons of my 8th graders day. They are not very easy to teach anything then. I am absolutely soaked in sweat and exhausted by the time I get home.

Right now I am having a glass of wine and then I will cook dinner. Today pork chops with mushroom sauce is on the menu. For dessert we´re having apple tart with vanilla ice cream. A glass of wine (or two) will probably accompany the meal. By 11 pm I am probably in bed, sleeping like a baby.

Tomorrow we will continue working on the house so we can sell for a good price. The utility room is to be finished first. It is almost done. Lasse is going to build benches from oak and had bought a new zink to put in there.

I will assist him tomorrow and continue sorting junk out. I tried to find a company that could move our stuff to Portugal but haven´t been able to find anyone yet. One person told me that Portuguese moving companies are much cheaper than Swedish ones so I´m continuing exploring that.

I wish the deal is going to be off soon. In the meantime i´m pouring yet another glass of wine and wait....

early morning

November. The worst month of the year in my opinion. It is so dark outside and you haven´t had time to get used to it. When December arrives with all advent lights it is a bit lighter and brighter. People are putting Christmas decorations in their gardens and the streets are not pit black anymore.

The Camara in Caldas da Rainha was supposed to decide about "our" vineyard last Monday but apparently the had tp postpone that decision due to too many issues.  Next Monday they will give it another go. Hopefully they will say ok to all the alterations done in the paper work regarding the farm. Maybe we can go to Portugal November 30 to finish the deal. BUT I think it isn´t likely. Time is running out and it will be difficult finding flights.

On Sunday my daughter and boyfriend will return home after the Maldives. Then their dog Duna will go home. I will sure miss her because she is such a gentle and adorable dog. The walks will be easier though. It is hard work to walk four large dogs. I have had some reports from the Maldives that they´ve had a wonderful time there and maybe I will go there one day. The chances are really high that hose islands will disappear soon due to the climate changes.

I will keep you posted about the vineyard

Åse

waiting

Boring

It is so boring to wait. We are waiting to finish the deal in Portugal but we haven´t heard anything for a couple of days now. Mailed the real estate agent today and asked for any kind of news but no reply yet. It must be hard on the sellers as well. they want to sell and we want to buy. Well enough of that now. In the meantime I am doing some Portuguese studying and doing a lot of reading of the Silver Coast area, from a touristic point of view.

In Sweden it´s getting darker and colder and I hope this is my last November at least for a couple of years. I will not miss this darkness.

Lasse and I were talking about blueberry jam the other day. We will not get that in Portugal. Do they have blueberries in Portugal?  Picking chanterelle mushrooms is something we also will miss.

Can you grow avocados in Portugal? Many questions and so few answers.

We have another dog at home. It is Duna Madeleine and Fredrik´s dog. They are in the Maldives at the moment and they thought we had so few dogs so we could have another one. :-) I cannot walk with the four of them but both Lars and Adam does. I walk them two and two.

If I hear anything I will tell you

Åse

I missed my anniversary

Yes I sure did. I missed my one-year anniversary. One year has passed since I started to write this blog. It was November 5th 2012. Over 23000 viewers. Maybe not much if you compare with the Really popular blogs but much more then I expected.

When I started I didn´t know that we now should be the soon to be new owners of a vineyard in Portugal. Because I started to write to sort things out in my head. Maybe also to get some help from people who had greater knowledge than us.

We wanted to buy something in Greece or Portugal but didn´t know where or when. Now we have decided that is going to be in Portugal. We know where but aren´t sure about when.

So one year: Thanks to all of you who have commented and cheered and wished us the best of luck.

Åse

new date

It has been a change of possible signing date. No the papers are still not ready regarding the farm. The first date set eas November 28 but due to Lasse is having important business meetings then the new date is December 2. Now we are only waiting for the paper work to be finished. It is and has been a long and nervous wait.

Yesterday I, Madeleine and her boyfriend Fredrik tried to sell things at the Swedish Fair ( Svenska Mässan) on a big flea market, On The Flea.

We didn´t sell that much but we are at it today as well so we hope for better luck this time. Madeleine and Fredrik mainly sold shoes and clothes and tried to sell books but books weren´t a hit to sell. I must be so off because the only things I ever buy is just that, books. Doesn´t anyone read anymore? The prices were really low so it wasn´t because of that.

I had brought information about the vineyard and there were quite many interested people who signed up for more information. It is good news.

Now I have to go and try to promote our vineyard. Wish me luck.

second hand

This weekend I will sell second hand items on Svenska Mässan= (Swedish fair in English). I have been trying to go thorough all my closets to find shoes and clothes that I don´t use anymore that I can sell. I didn´t find that much because I don´t buy so much clothes or clothes for that matter. The ones I do own I kind of need.

What I did find, a lot, was books. I now have four big bags of books and audio books. I don´t know if you can sell them but I will sure give it a try. It is good to get rid of some things before showing the house to potential buyers and moving.

I listen to audio books in my car whenever I drive. In that way I can read one at night before going to sleep AND listen to another one in my car. I normally listen to crime novels in the car because they are kind of easier to listen to whenever you get home from work all stressed up.

Tonight I will go riding Pontus again. We are still taking it easy because he is still not well in his hoof but is slowly getting better.

I am so excited for the almostcertainbooking I got. A family wanted an apartment for the whole month of June. Hooray! The there was two other families that also wanted to book but I don´t know exactly when.

Found this really pretty chicken coop. This I would like to have on the farm.

28/11 that will be the day?

We got a mail from the real estate agent yesterday. It said that the legal take over can be November 28. If that is the case we can go down to the vineyard over Christmas being the new owners. What a Christmas gift. Well I will not jump for joy until I am there signing the papers and everything is in order.

Today it is Portuguese language course again. I must do some studying before I go. Luckily I quit my job early today so I will have the time to study this afternoon.

Doggie kindergarten is closed today as well due to the outburst of some kind of stomach infection. My son is at home so the dogs will not be alone.

The sellers wrote a mail they wanted to know what to do with some booking requests. They had a couple that always want the whole month of June. That will 4 weeks. It sounds good to us. Maybe we can pull this off. They also had other families that wanted to come. The families have rented for many years and love it so much and wanted to come back next summer. I will send them my email adress so they can forward all requests to us.

Now I am in a hurry.

Have a lovely day
Åse

No news=good news, right?

We haven´t heard anything about the paperwork on the farm yet. The hard thing is that you imagine all kinds of things that can go wrong. What if the sellers regret the sale. What if the cottage will not be legalized and they have to tear it down. What if...... The mind is spinning at night when I ought to be asleep.

The weekend came and went so quickly. Lasse painted the walls in the utility room. Now only has to paint the radiator, windows,doors and the pipes. The he will tile the floor, build a bench and put in some cupboards. tata done.

We did some gardening as well, raked and cut down some bushes. That garden with all its big trees is a never ending story.We are soon rid of all leaves after I don´t know how many loads.

I went riding on Pontus on Sunday. We only walked for 20 minutes because he still has to take it easy.

The dogs are home today and tomorrow because many dogs had some kind of stomach infection with diarrhea and vomiting. They have to sanitize the whole doggie kindergarden before any dogs can return.

Today I am going to mark some tests, study Portuguese and vaccuum. Of the three the Portuguese studying is the best. I think it is so much fun but we are moving too slowly. I don´t think we learn quickly enough. Well I probably get tired of it in the end but for now it is so much fun.

Keep your fingers crossed that the paperwork will be ready soon.

A vineyard with a view

Åse

Nääs Castle

Once in a while, when we have the time and are in the same end of Sweden, we try to meet, A-L and I. Sometimes we meet in Goteburg because that is most strategically best place for the both of us. A-L lives in Falkenberg but works in Umea so sometimes I can catch her on her way to her job. We meet for lunch or breakfast and try to catch up on everything we have done the last couple of weeks.

This time I tried to convince A-L to meet me in Lerum. We were not going to spend time at my house but I thought that we should go somewhere else for a change. I had Nääs castle in mind and I checked on the net before to see if it was open for lunch. It was.

I met A-L at the train station in Lerum and we drove to Ljungberg`s textile fabric factory outlet. They had some nice fabrics but the prices wow! really expensive. We didn´t buy anything there i might say.

Nääs castle

After we drove to Nääs castle. It was raining outside so the walk in the castle`s park was out of the question. I didn´t have enough money for the parking so I went in to the restaurant to change but they send me to the tourist information. They couldn´t change so I got a parking ticket for free. Really good service. The tourist information was in the same building as a gift shop.

The gift shop had many beautiful items but also clothes. We both found something nice to buy. I bought a knitted poncho and A-L bought a nice pair of jeans and a top to go with them.

Now it was time for lunch. I had the pea soup and pancakes and A-L had salmon. It was ok I guess. we sat and ate and chatted away for a long time

After lunch we had a walk in the park since the rain had stopped. It was a good day to spend with your best friend.

stupid me

Had the afternoon off and it is good because I have my Portuguese language course tonight. I haven´t been studying that much this week because I had planned to study all afternoon. Last time we moved so slowly forward so I thought of quitting the course. I complained, nicely, and she gave me extra work to do. Now I haven.t done all that much so I will feel ashamed tonight.

Well I have some of the papers Lasse has left behind, from his course, so I have to look in his papers instead. Maybe I will pick up something.

I was really thirsty and I normally drink water when I am. This time I had the urge for something sweet which isn´t normal at all. I was lucky that we had some elderberry lemonade in the freezer. Lasse did it last summer. I wonder if you can have one in Portugal because the lemonade you make is wonderful.

Last night I went riding and I have really been missing it. Hopefully Pontus will stay well so we can ride in the woods again. I am sure he miss it too.

Now back to my studying.

Até à próxima (Until we meet again)

Åse

riding again

Today I went riding again. That means that Pontus, the horse i am borrowing is getting better. He has been resting for almost a month now, since he was lame in a hoof. He has been getting anti inflammation medicine so today it was walking gently for 20 minutes.

Also today I have updated my very rusty knowledge in CPR. It was a very good course and many things had changed since I last did it. I am getting a diploma and it is good to have these skills when we are getting the farm.

The big storm that was heading in over Goteborg last night ended up to be smaller than a fart. I had even forgotten a crate in my garden. The crate was standing up against a tree. It was still standing this morning so this storm Simone didn´t make a big mess as predicted.

Tomorrow it is yet another lesson at my Portuguese language course so I have some studying to do tomorrow afternoon.

Now it is time to say goodnight

Åse

A request for a booking and Royal Óbidos Golf Course

Today I got a request for a booking for a week over Easter. It is a couple who would like to come down and play golf. It made me so happy because it felt like a serious request and we will make sure they have a great time. So now we must buy new linen for the beds because we want everything to be fresh and clean.

They couldn´t have picked a better place than ours if they like to play golf since we have 7 golf courses near by. Here is a link I found to the closest ones. golf near Caldas da Rainha
The one with the best rating is Royal Óbidos golf course

Royal Óbidos golf course

Royal Óbidos golf course

This golf course is designed by Seve Ballesteros, a legend. I found a review by a golfer. See below

" Place State:
I've never played those fast greens! Smallest irregularities lead to extreme breaks. On 10 Green had virtually been repeatedly seen our balls in the hole before they came rolled past us...

Course layout:
Ballesteros has delivered a masterpiece here. From this place, opened in 2012, you will certainly hear a lot.

Chill comes in 10 of 18 courses of water into play, mostly just before and after the green. Since these are so extremely fast and hard, it is incredibly difficult to get hold of the ball.

The first 9 are not visible from the clubhouse. After a moderate 1 shows the place already on Tee2, a Par5 with plenty of water, his teeth. The following is a par 3 with a peninsula green. En these two additional holes are second to none.

9 The second view from the club house of not so spectacular, but not later than the second Hole (Tee11)'s back is rock hard and the water will not disappear simply following - better times to pack a few more balls.

Clubhouse / Catering:
Super stylish with a nice terrace including a sensational view of the square and the Encircling the water 18 Green.

Directions:
1 hour north of Lisbon and value every minute! 2 other top courses in the immediate vicinity."

So this golf course is really something and it is close to our farm, maybe 13 km.

Welcome with your booking

ase.rexius@live.se

for pictures on the farm see The vineyard in Portugal.

höstrusk, krattning och stallet

Idag har det varit både ruskväder men solen har tittat fram några stunder. Vi har hunnit med skogspromenad med hundarna, dammsugning, stallet och Lasse har slipat det han spacklade igår i tvättstugan. Dessutom krattade vi uppfarten och fick bort de flesta löven där.

Middagen står i ugnen och nu skall det strax studeras portugisiska. En ganska lugn och skön söndag med lite allmänpyssel. Man får mer gjort nu när vi inte har någon TV. Jo TV har vi men vi bytte kabelleverantör 1/9 men det har inte fungerat för det skulle till en router som var slut och sedan har det bara inte fungerat. De skall skicka en tekniker men det skulle ta 2 veckor. Lite syrligt.

Jag åkte till stallet för att rykta Pontus. Han är fortfarande halt men det går åt rätt håll så nu kanske han kunde komma igång och ridas denna veckan. Vi får väl se. Han var lite grinig idag. Av vilken orsak vete fåglarna men lite gos snodde jag till mig.

Imorgon kanske det blir IKEA med äldste sonen. Behöver inte så mycket men kommer väl hem med saker som jag inte visste jag behövde.

God natt på er alla.

Åse

making wine and Their Voice Portugal

On Wednesday, when I was in Portugal, a good friend of mine, Annelie, came to visit. Annelie and Hasse live in Tomar and we met after I´ve been reading her blog about moving to Portugal last year Annelie´s blog

They live in Tomar with their four dogs, a donkey and run a small B&B. It is just one apartment but it is lovely.

It was wonderful to see Annelie again. We have only met a few times but get along so well anyway. Annelie took me to a place near by the farm called Their Voice. They help horses and donkeys in terrible conditions. It can be perfectly healthy horses going to slaughter or horses and donkeys near death from starvation, malnutrition or just dehydrated. It is run by a wonderful woman Sharon Clarke who is putting in all her time and energy trying to save as many horses and donkeys possible from terrible suffering and deaths.

To see all these horses and the blind donkey Chloé, made me very sad. Maybe it is because it  is hard to be reminded how cruel people can be.

The rest of the week I learned some more about making wine

the grapes are separated from stems, leaves and are crushed

We didn´t really get the hang of it but you can see how long the grapes stay in the barrels before the pressing. It was something about the colour

you have to press down the fermenting grapes twice a day

happy girl making wine

disgustingly happy

Anders helped out

so did mats

The grapes stay in the barrels for 7-10 days before pressing and put in to steel containers.

It was a wonderful journey and I can´t wait until I go back again

Åse

Óbidos and Foz de Arelho

One day we took some time off from wine making and went to near by Óbidos. It is a extremely pretty little medieval town only 9 km from the farm. Evidence show that there has been a Roman settlement here, then the Visigoths resided here. The Moors started to build a castle and the the fortified walls in the 8th century but they were later remodelled.

the city grew outside the walls as well.

the entrance

narrow streets and alleys

A lot of tourists visit

The view from Óbidos is stunning

narrow

Every year òbidos hosts a Medieval Festival for two weeks in July and August. There is also a very popular Chocolate fair and Christmas Market.

When we had visited Óbidos we went to beautiful Foz do Arelho which is very close to the farm.

almost empty beaches

Anders and I are watching the waves

surfers in the water

a lonely surf board

beautiful Foz

kite surfing

we had time for a beer

Anders is very happy after his beer

Åse

I finally got to harvest

Since Lasse went to Portugal one week before me he got to see all the action. He participated in two harvests, first the white grapes and then the red ones.  And I missed both of them of course.

But they saved some lines for me and Anders so we also got to harvest some. It wasn´t the vindima=harvest with big lunch afterwards but I could at least get the feel of it.

happy

You just have to

Anders is proud of the result

After the harvest you crush the grapes in a special machine. Then the red grapes stay in big barrels for 7-10 days so the wine can get right taste and colour. After that they press the grapes and the juice goes into the tanks. I don´t really know how long ot takes before you can drink it. That´s another lesson.


Åse

feeding of the poor

This Tuesday we started with feeding of the poor. We didn´t actually feed the poor ourselves but it is a tradition in the different villages around our vineyard. I didn´t get the full picture but it goes something like this. Different villages have festas for 3-4 days (I can be mistaken here). They all celebrate different dates which is nice because there will always be a party somewhere around.

The last day of these festas they make a meal and you pay whatever you want or can afford. The people without means don´t have to pay anything.

This time it was the village of Guisado which was going to feed the poor. Guisado is a small village on the other side of the valley from our vineyard. We were going to be there at 1 pm. but when we got there it didn´t seem to have started yet and we felt very akward going in to the village hall. Let´s say we were the only foreigners there. We looked around inside but went quickly out again. Many people looked at us but some didn´t seem to notice us at all. It alla seemed a waste of time since the grills hadn´t been lit yet.

Guisado

Me and Anders waiting for the food

The men are grilling

The wine barrel which we tried to empty

It´s a man´s world

sardines

munching away

the plate

This little lady could sure eat

Content

coffee and port of course

The grill team didn´t mind us taking their picture

Anders was really happy after some wine, a good meal and a port

Mats enjoyed his food

Eventually we went back in again and sat down. All of a sudden there was a terrible rush. Everybody moved at the same time, took a glass, a plate, cutlery, salad, bread and wine (where the hell did all that come from?) Men started to bring in plenty of grilled sardines.

There were two different breads, two salads, potatoes, sardines, wine, soft drinks three different desserts, coffee and port. We ended up having a real good time and gave them some money for the meal.

After I had to go home for a siesta.

Åse