A full House and a knife

Busy busy busy
The last couple of weeks have been really hectic but also filled with fun events.
I have kept my promise to go riding at least once a week on Quinta do Pinheiro Manso. Yesterday I even brought one of our guests that´s staying on the farm at the moment. She really enjoyed herself and we rode in the eucalyptus woods around the quinta. We had wonderful weather a nice galops on their beautiful horses.She wanted to come with me next week as well.

Three of our apartments are filled with happy and hopefully content guests which makes life so much easier for us since happy guests give us so much new energy. Even though it has been a lot of work lately and we are a bit tired. When the guests arrive and are in a vacation mood we nourish from them and we are filled with the same holiday spirit.

Last Saturday Lars was going to put up a new radiator in one of our apartments and Lars cut himself a bit. It wasn´t too deep but there was a lot of blood. Of course he didn´t want to go to the ER and put the cut thumb in alcohol. During the night he was awake most of it and decided to go to the hospital in the morning. But there was no infecton or anything he just got a big bandage and was told to be still for a day or two. He is better now but still has to keep the bandage on for a while.

We worked hard to finish the last apartment´s veranda and we are happy with the outcome. We think it looks nice and cozy and we hope our guests will enjoy sitting here and read or drink a glass of wine.

Tomorrow we will go to Óbidos and to their annual chocolate festival. It is the first time for us because we didn´t have time to go last year and we are really looking forward to it. It has been on from Thursday-Sunday the last two weeksand this weekend it is the last one so we better hurry or we will miss it this year as well.Óbidos Chocolate Festival

Tomorrow two guests from Austria and Germany are leaving us. They have been here, together with their dog Joey, on the farm for a month now and it will be empty without them. On Sunday two guests that were here last season as well, are returning which feels good for us. They were so satisfied with their stay here so they wanted to come back.

Well will keep you posted how the Chocolate festival was.

Take care

Worried husband

In the last blog my wife was worried about me because I have become more and more Portuguese in my way of thinking and the way I live. I can´t really agree but there might be some truth in her way of expression it. You have to take into concideration where you live and adapt don´t you think? So I have probably become more Portuguese in my way of living.

It´s now my time to be a little bit worried about my lovely wife and her "new" Portuguese life. As you know we now have three big dogs (they are lovely) and one rooster named after me!!!! (I don´t understand why) and 9 chickens. Ase has a wish that we would have the nicest chicken coop in Portugal and it´s up to me to build it, but it has to be the nicest...... No pressure at all.....

I know Ase would like to have a horse, but I also know that horses are not supposed to be living alone so we probably will end up with at least two horses. Do you think these horses will have the nicest stable in Portugal??? I can feel there is something in the air.

To build a chicken coop is one thing but to build a completely new stable is a totally different thing to do and it will take a lot of work, many hours, so at the moment I rest my case and do nothing. I will keep you updated

Regards 

"the old one"

One hungry and dangerous chicken called Gracie

Sr Lars  and his ladies at the veranda

worried wife

We needed a new batteri for the tractor and we also needed to change oil in the car. Something was broken in the motor, don´t ask me what, and that also needed to be fixed.

Adilson, the man who helps us out with constructions and the wine, twice a week, is a very good mechanic. He was going with Lars to the cheapest places to buy "stuff". So off they went, to a place close to Le Clerc in Caldas da Rainha and to two other places in Rio Maior. They needed a pit where they could change the oil but also to buy parts to our old SAAB. It is hard to find around here since you don´t see many SAABs here.

Lars came back, and this is the thing that worries me, very happy, almost in a wild way. Apparantly they had bought the things in Caldas and found a place to change oil. But he also found a compressor and two elecrical bush cutters in a junk yard. The man who own the junk yard wanted to sell them to Lars and Lars started to haggle. The price was for the compressor 50 Euros but the man would give him the bush cutters too in that price. Lars shook his head and sighed and said it was way too expensive (in Portuguese) They finally agreed on 20 Euros and 50 litres of wine because the man was having a party that very evening.

There were no wheels on the compressor so they took a couple from a kick board that was laying around.

But that is not all. He stole a couple of right threaded screws as well.
What is happening to my husband?

/a worried wife

The most honest dentist in the world....

This is a scary blog. To go to the dentist hurts three times, first you got pain at home, then you go to the dentist and have a treatment, it normally hurts like hell and after this you have to pay a lot of money. It hurts both body and soul, so we always try to avaid to go to the dentist but sometimes you have to go anyway

Ase had a problem with one of her teeth so she went to a dentist last week to see what was wrong. The Portuguese dentists are known to be really good and they use modern equipment. Ase went to a dentist in our home town Caldas da Rainha and after x-ray she got the verdict from the dentist One of the teeth (the one that was hurting) has got a fracture all the way down. You have to take it out and make an implant. There was no doubt that there was nothing else to do because she had a lot of pain.

Before the dentist could start with the surgery the infection had to be treated. Ase got a price to have it done and we went home after visiting the farmacy to get all the medicine for the infection. Later that day Ase talked to a friend who suggested that Ase should have a second opinion from her dentist.
Yesterday Ase went to that dentist and got the same diagnose but the price was 2/3 of the first one. Of course Ase accepted. There was just one thing the new dentist didn´t have an x-ray so we had to go to Alcobaca to a clinic to have it done.

All these dentist we are talking about is private and have their own business models. If you are a dentist the best for your business is to have a lot of regular customers that are coming back year after year. In Sweden the dentists always have some advertisement of different tooth pastes and other products that are reducing the need of a dentist.
This dentist was really modern, effective and honest. When I was a child and went to the dentist I got a bookmark or a new toothbrush after the treatment. You always hoped for the book markThis dentist didn´t try to give away things to prevent bad teeth. They were very honset and gave you candy after the treament. This is a perfect business model and they didn´t hide there goal to earn more money. Of course I will go to the same dentist again when I have problem with my teeth.

After the dentist appointment we had a walk in a new area with the dogs and we alse went to a restaurant after saving a lot of money choosing "the first honest"dentist in the world.

A lot of candy afterwards so you will return

Senhor Lars
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Riding in Portugal

My last year in Sweden I was so lucky to be able to start riding again. I borrowed a horse twice/week. The kind owners let me have Pontus as much as I wanted to but he wasn´t the easiest horse to be around. Well he wasn´t that harder either- He just had a few issues with leaving the paddock.

Pontus in Sweden

I am not coming.

Pontus is a so called "Nordsvensk" a North Swedish, if you were to translate it. A Swedish cold blooded breed used in the woods or on farms in the ol´days. So you can imagine the weight on it. Nowadays there is a lighter type as well used in trotting, a kind of horse racing.

It is normally not the kind of horse you compete in dressage with or jumping but there are exceptions of course. For example Turbo.

But otherwise you mainly enjoy this type of horse on trail riding. And that is what I did. To ride Pontus was a bit like going on a tractor, steady and not very quick but you got there, safely.

Last week I had the oppurtunity to go with a friend to Quinta do Pinheiro Manso where she keeps her horse. I didn´t expect to ride even though I hoped and longed for it but to my surprise they asked if I wanted to ride as well. Of course I did until I heard that I was going to ride a lusiarab stallion. Ok he was 19 years old but he was a former now retired bull fighting horse. It sounded very dangerous and kind of wild to my hears. But he was so kind and sweet. The thing was it was such a difference riding Pontus in Sweden. Almost like driving a Volvo 740 to a Mustang.

hard work to drive

a bit lighter more nervous

It went ok even though I had to rethink everything I once knew. My experience in the past with horses are from riding schools or Pontus. This horse was so light and my hands were too tough and hard for him. You could only use light light squeezes almost as light as feathers. But it was so much fun. Next week I am going again.

I on Nijinsky

Ase

Saturday at last

After a really busy week Saturday finally came and a little bit of rest for us. Our first guests arrived this week and there are more guests next week so we had to check all equipment in the apartments. I and Adilson did a lot of plastering yesterday and now my whole body aches.

To have a good start to this wonderful day I prepared breakfast, eggs from our chickens, orange juice from our trees, straberries and yoghurt. And of course a some flowers on the table. Otherwise we normally have oatmeal or toast but in the weekends it is nice to have something extra.

The sun was shining and the temperature was around 18 degrees nine o clock in the morning. From now on we will have our breakfast outside I think.

Nice breakfast

After breakfast we had a long walk with our dogs in the beautiful surroundings of our farm.

Our neighbour Elder and his father-in-law working the fields. They sell their veggies on the market in Caldas da Rainha

Happy

cherries in bloom

view towards the village of Barrantes

Wild cherry tree

So neatly done

The farmers are not working 9-5

Ase and I have had a tough week so we really needed to have a lazy day all by ourselves to do just nothing, and tonight we are going to a dinner to a friend of ours, This lazy afternoon will probably include some gardening, planting and maybe reading in the shade. No musts at all. Isn´t that sweet?

It´s important that we take some days off, like this one.

Have a good Easter to all of you/Lars

Season of 2015 has started

Our first guests have arrived so the season have officially started. These guests are from Germany and Austria and they are also bringing a dog. Yes dogs are welcome on the farm in two of our Casas. We had our first guests, surfers, in January, but the summer season hadn´t started then of course.

We tried to make both humans and the dog feel welcome.

some wine, home made marmelad and treats for the dog

fresh organic oranges from our trees

part of garden

some treats for everybody

Lennon is helping out cleaning the pool

It is always nice when our guests arrive because they bring a lot of positive energy which gives us more energy as well. Nornally we get a lot of positive feed back as well and that is also something that gives us more strenght to make the quinta better and prettier. Everybody love they view over the rolling hills and the valley. They love our vineyard, fruit trees, all flowers and the tranquility.

rose in the garden

grape friuts

more roses

we live up there

Last summer was our first on the farm and we arrived April 13th and had our first guests April 19, which was crazy, looking back. But those guests became good friends so maybe it wasn´t so crazy after all. But it was crazy in a way because we weren´t ready to welcome guests. But we had just arrived at that point and could hardly find our way to the supermarket. We managed and little by little we are making progress. The thing is we don´t see it but friends and returning guests say they can clearly see a difference.

Now we are so looking forward to the summer season because we know more now and have done more on he farm so it look so much better both inside and outside, This will be a good summer.

Ase