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Videos

Check out all the weekly episodes and ASK videos from our YouTube channel. Browse by category and tag to find the types of videos you want to watch most

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

We love our chickens but they sometimes misbehave (or rather, behave exactly like chickens!). Sesame chicken has had a couple of off-farm excursions recently which means we need to revisit our fencing solution. I guess we can now answer the question "why did the chicken cross the road?" Inadequate fencing. Join us…

Melon Fizz: DELICIOUS Drink or Massive Mistake?

We've had a bumper crop of melons this year – from massive watermelons to slightly smaller Sapo greens to cantaloupes of a couple of varieties. There's still a few fruit ripening in the garden but we have a whole load that need eating or preserving. Join us in the temporary processing kitchen for an…

Hot Mixing Lime and Dubbing Out in the Utility Room

Our limecrete floor is down and has dried out nicely. Now it's time to use a completely different type of lime to start filling in the holes in the stone walls of our Portuguese farmhouse. In this video we'll show you how we've been hot mixing quicklime (or cal viva in Portuguese) and preparing the…

Laying (Yet Another) Limecrete Floor

The end is in sight, we've got two small rooms left that need the limecrete floor treatment. These last two rooms are the FIRST two we dug out over a year ago. Now, after a slight detour of installing guttering, drainage, the beginnings of a rain water and grey water harvesting system and a bunch…

18 Months with OFF GRID Solar – Worth It?

We've been off-grid on solar for a year and a half. Has it worked? Have we had to change our behaviour? Do we use more or less power than we used to? How much do we need to use a backup generator? We'll answer all these questions and discuss some of our future plans…

What Happened to…?

It's time to answer the big question. We've been making videos for the last two years but almost 18 months ago, something happened. This led to us needing to make some big changes, close down something old and start something new. In this video we'll explain the whole story to help clear things up…

Making Summer Cordials

Cordials, concentrates, syrups and squashes - there's many names for these sweet and often fruity additions to good old fashioned tap water. In this video we preserve some of our summer harvests into concentrated sugary treats for quenching our thirst (and brightening up our G&Ts) on hot summer days. We'll show you how to…

Are We Rich? Let’s Talk INCOME Streams

How are we funding our Portugal renovation project? Are we rich? Do we work? Where does our money come from? Did we receive some kind of inheritance or win the lottery? Let's talk finances and how we are able to afford to do this project and live a simple – yet comfortable – life. …

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Yarn Projects (crochet/knitting)

Knitting Needles

I've only just started knitting again and have had to upgrade from my original Symfonie needles (they tend to snap quite easily). I have a set of stainless steel needles from ChiaoGoo and also an ebony set from Lantern Moon.

I like both! The stainless steel was a little hard to get used to but yarn really glides on them. I like the look and feel of the Lantern Moon set too, but unfortunately they don't come in all the sizes I tend to use so I now end up switching between the two sets.

Crochet Hooks

I've tried loads of different single hooks to find the 'perfect' hook. I finally found what I was looking for in the Clover soft touch range. The hook glides well and the thumb rest is really comfortable. Unfortunately they don't seem to be available in a set, so I have a jar full of all the sizes I like to use.

Tunisian Crochet Hooks

My favourites are these from Lantern Moon, they're super comfortable and glide really well, and the best bit is that they swivel. They are also compatible with the KnitPro Symfonie hooks (these seem less sturdy but also glide well).

I also have a set from ChiaoGoo made from bamboo. These are very lightweight but I find that they can snag on some yarns (a nail file often helps to make the hook head better).

Yarn

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