Big Decisions For Our Portugal Home

Today's episode sees big decisions being made.

That's probably the right call.I think it really is.

And even bigger projects being started.Diggers, stone, healthcare, and the color yellow.It's time to make our building site feel more like a home.

Good morning, everybody.And you caught me with my cheese sandwich, my cheese toastie, for breakfast because work has started immediately this morning.There's been no hanging around.There's definitely this feeling that there's a different pace to work on site.Everybody's just so motivated and so busy, busy all the time.I think the reason is we just want to get it done.

So here we go, we're at the top of the hill with the gate posts.So the initial plan all along really has been to move the gate posts, the original gate posts from the farm which sat just down there next to the old stone house up to the top of the new road that we've put in since we've been here.About two and a half three years ago we built this parallel road down into the property down to a circle put an olive tree in the middle of it and then we started to build the house and the reason why we did it in that order was so that we can have a road for all the construction vehicles, all of the construction stuff, to get down to the place where we're building the house.The first thing we did was put this road in and now it kind of seems fitting that almost the last thing that we're doing on the external parts of the project, putting in the gate posts, I'm conflicted at the moment how I want the overall look of the front of the house to be.Are we going to build it out of breeze blocks or just blocks, render the blocks,and paint those blocks the same color as the house a nice golden yellow or do we build them out of stone and keep that stone theme moving through the farm we've got some beautiful stone walls some lovely stone terraces since we've got here a nice stone staircase at the front of the property and of course at least two -thirds of the house is also built out of stone.

Marcus and I were complaining like two old men yesterday, it was just too hot, 36 degrees in the afternoon it was, and that is just too hot when you're trying to get a job done.Okay I'm going to go and have my second cheese toast now, and while all of that up there is happening and Marcus is just squeezing that gate post,into its final position and manipulating it just a little bit to make sure it's upright.We've got Daniel of course fixing the chasing, the conduit chasing inside the house and putting all that together.We've got the electricians and plumbers on site organizing all of that and of course a little bit later we're going to be carrying on building this wall.I would imagine the gate post and this wall will be two projects that will run together synonymously.

Look, there we go.

Building materials, grass, men.And I've tried to clean them in various different ways.And in the coming weeks, you guys are going to see just how dusty things have got around here.Anyway, this is all why I was very, very excited to hear from Wolfbox, who wanted us to have a go with this.This is the Megaflow 200 Power Turbo Fan, and it isincredible.

This is a cordless air duster.And there are endless scenarios where this comes in handy.You should see the state of our car.Dusty boys getting in and out of it, and snacking, it's an absolute state.And all of those tiny nooks and tannies in a car that need to be cleaned but are impossible to get to, this guy solves all the problems.And the next time John gets himself into an absolute state, instead of doing this, We can do this instead.

It's got three different power settings and four different nozzles and with wind speeds up to 72 meters per second you might not even need to get round to that spare battery.Whether it be John using it in the knot tank and finally cleaning off all the dust and sawdust from his tools I will be using this daily to get the table cleared of dust before we sit down for lunch, keeping the house free of dust after a busy day with the digger.So guys this surely must be something that would be useful in everybody's lives and if you'd like to check out the Wolfbox Megaflow 200.I'll pop everything you need to know in the description below this video.I've also got some special discount codes there for you.So make sure you head over and check it out.

And I suppose it's time for us to get back to the business of making dust rather than cleaning it up.

Morning my darling.You bought mics?mics which means at this point in the edit I'm annoyed so I ran out the door with a cheese sandwich in my mouth this morning yeah because Marcus and the gang just got we're like okay let's go no no hanging around no coffee just like let's gothey connect we got three green lights looks nice yeah doesn't it so i've been um talking with marcus yeah about what we should do on either side of the pillars okay um it's been a conversation in my head for the last week Are we going with stone on either side of the pillars or blocks that are rendered and painted the same color as the house, the golden color?I've already made mine mind up.Marcus has already made his mind up.

Are we the same or not?Well, Marcus and I are pretty much aligned with most things, I'd say.

And I'm going to guess that you are going with...

No, no, why don't you just say what you want first?

I want whatever's yellow.My guess is you've gone with block in the painting, haven't you?

Yes.

Nice.I like it.

Yeah.

I think it'll make a really lovely, like, obvious, beautiful entrance as you come down.

Yeah, it will, yeah.Very elegant.And if we paint the gates white rather than green...

I'm not sure about the white gates.I would like wooden gates.

Huh?

Wooden gates.

No, not wooden gates.We're going to use the gates that we've got.

He never lets me have what I want.

Go away.

So these are nodosaurs.So yeah, that's a Gastonia, a gargoylesaur.

that one.really happy with that.

I can't believe we're doing this love, how many times have we put these poor people who spend their time with us through the, we're moving the gate posts, oh no wait we've got distracted, we're moving the gate posts, oh no we've got distracted again.

Yeah.

We must have had about five episodes where we've gone, today's the day we move the gates.

Yeah and then built a wall instead.

And then we built a wall or just something else.

Yeah.

So yeah here we are finally moving the gates.For those of you who first walked through those big green gates with us all those years ago, I have some very good news.Our plan is to recycle them for this new gateway to the farm.They need a bit of extending and a bit of work, but watch this space because the chapter of the green gates is definitely not over yet.

So we're just looking at that second pillar and trying to make sure it's as level as possible with the other ones so that when those gates close, they close equally and flush.It's really tricky though.She helped by quite a lot on that first go.Just literally bringing it forward by about 20 centimetres.

That's kind of genius.That I absolutely love it.That is so good.The digger has got a wheelbarrow cement in his bucket.to see Joao.Very cool.

Nice work.Love it.Future Cristiano Ronaldo right there.Right, if we can get past the digger and Marcus, the boys and I are going to head to Joao's very quickly.We need to pick up a couple of deliveries that came for us while we were away, which we had delivered to Joao so that they wouldn't get lost.Mind the camera there.

And well, I've heard he's got new things living on his farm that we haven't met yet.So we're going to go and say hi.So you guys know Joao's house is literally about 100 metres from us across the fields.his family home and then his farm is like I don't know 50 meters from that so the only reason we're driving is because we've got to pick up some deliveries as I said but it's so nice to have them so close we were the luckiest people in the world the day we bought this farm and ended up with the world's nicest neighbors and I'm so excited to see what Joao's been up to and Leticia because they've been so busy they've got new animals and their harvest this year looks absolutely Absolutely.Look at it, man.It just looks so much better than it did.

Right, let's go turn around, boys.Park up, and they'll be here in a second.

So, boys, are you excited?What do you want to see first?

They've basically come to rob your watermelons.Yeah, we have so many for them.It's good.That's good.Melons, watermelons.

That looks beautiful.What a transformation, Joao.Are you happy with it?Looking good, yeah.

Really, really cool.It looks really beautiful.So we need to start installing it.

Open.Look at the sunflowers.Apples.Yummo.Good work.They're so sweet.

Joao and Leticia popped over last night and brought us a watermelon from their garden.Now, if you know anything about my children, watermelon is probably their favorite thing in the world.And it was the third thing they wanted when they woke up this morning, was to open the watermelon.So we did.It is delicious.I'm incredibly impressed with these two and what they've grown on their land this time.

And I'm excited to see the veggie garden.To say we are proud of the young man who arrived at our gate aged just 16, not speaking any English, who has, together with Leticia, transformed his very own patch of Portugal into an enormous dream would be a huge understatement.It's really only just the beginning for these two, and we know that great things lie ahead for them.I'm not ready.They're not ready yet, boys.Still green, but they're amazing.

Look at this, you guys.Fields of watermelons.Look at all of them.Not now, boys.They're not ready yet, okay?Joao and Leticia will call you when there's one ready, okay?

This is so cool.

Wow.

Are you picking that one, Cruces?Okay.There's a big one in there.Look.What about that one?Yeah.

Look in there.Gosh, Joao, there's loads.Look at all of them.Oh my gosh.Okay.You've got yours.

Nice work.

No, we don't.

No, no, no.We're not robbing these guys of all their watermelons.Okay.

Take all of them.

No.Wow.This view, hey?Spectacular.Wow.Guys, this is incredible.

Well done, you.i'm so impressed guys you can't take all of them okay one eat can we take one one can they take one each well are you sure well done buddy can you say what do you say to joão leticia what do you say well my children are stealing watermelons i'm stealing a tomato how is that nothing tastes like tomatoes in the portuguese summer let me tell you oh my gosh it tastes like sunshine freshness and well -being.Help me mama.I wasn't expecting to leave with such a heavy load but that is our watermelon stock for the week.Very very grateful.Joao and I were talking yesterday about the first year that Joao came and worked with us on our farm which is four and a half years ago now and we did our first veggie garden and it was the best veggie garden

ever had and there's something about this virgin soil you know that has on these abandoned farms where this just hasn't been used and farmed for decades and in some cases and was certainly the case here and was the case at our property as well and when you first plant that first vegetable garden oh my gosh the harvest and the abundance is next level And that is what these guys are enjoying this year.I'm not saying this is going to be the only year that it's like this, because these guys know what they're doing.You know, this is generations of knowledge of how to farm these mountainsides.Joao's dad, in fact, was born in a house just at the end of this field and has been farming these very fields.for his entire life.So it's just the beginning for these guys and we're so, so proud of them for everything they've achieved here.

And if you're not watching their channel yet, I'll pop a link in the description below.You can come and check it out.Can you manage it, swear?Are you sure?I can.You got it?

Yeah.I don't know.You got to ask them.I don't know what they're doing today.They might be a bit busy.YouTubers now, that means you have absolutely no free time.

Right, folks, on that note, let's love and leave this lovely couple of people and head back to the farm to see what's going on.I think the guys have just had their tea break.Yeah, you can.So they should be getting started back again on the not -garage wall and the gateposts.You know what?We have monkeys that steal our vegetables in Zimbabwe, as you know.

And in Portugal, you've got the boys.

Yeah.

Same, same, but different.

Yeah.I prefer those ones.

We're back at the farm and I am absolutely delighted with how this wall is looking, isn't it?So if you guys remember, these are reclaimed stones.What that means is they've come from demolished stone buildings in our local area.It's what we wanted to build our entire house with, but it didn't quite work out like that.So it's amazing to be finding such a beautiful piece for them.And I just, I love the big chunky rocks that we've got here to build this wall out of.

It's already got such a presence and it's already making a huge statement in this area.It's going to be beautiful when it's done.

Traffic jam.

Oh dear.Sorry I was just standing looking at the rocks that we've got here, stones not rocks, and wondering what we're going to do with them.I guess they'll probably be part of this wall that we're going to build to close the the courtyard and I'm really looking forward to that because you can see the wisteria is already starting to want somewhere else to go.

It is, isn't it?So it's going to go over a stone arch here and then onto the main house.

Oh, it'll be beautiful, won't it?

And also, darling, are you not just so happy with how that Not Garage wall is turning out?

Yeah, yeah.

It's so chunky and satisfying.

You know, it's like, I don't know, Marcus and I have done a lot of work together building walls all around the the farm and i'm like i could be getting totally stuck in with that wall at the moment but he's got such a good flow going i don't want to go and get involved so there are a lot of other things that we've got to do the first thing is start fixing the parallelosh i really want this place to start looking fab you know finished almost fitting for a house like that one yeah because we are getting to that space aren't weand that stage in the build where you start to want to start feeling like everything starts to move to the we're nearly there kind of place.Let's get this parallel all stuck back together again it's starting to look a little bit gnarly.

So the guys at the gate posts are waiting for that to sit are they and then they'll do the top one on the other side.

Yeah they are yeah.it's kind of cool how they're working these guys isn't it it's like a bit here a bit there up and down up and down it's just using the making the best use of time isn't it really we are getting banged for our back with that digger's hours aren't we we are a hundred percent so if you think about if you guys well most of you guys a lot of you guys have been with us for a couple of years now you'll know three years ago we put down this paralleloche and here we are today just fixing little bits of it.It's lasted so well.Think about how much has been smashed on top of it.How many huge trucks have come up and down this hill.How many vast amounts of stone have been dropped on it and thudded around and all that kind of stuff.

I think this Paraleloche has done remarkably well, hasn't it?

So the boys and I just went to Joao's.

Okay, how was that?

Yeah, very, very cool.His goats are so cute, love.

They're tiny.

They're like the size of a dog.

Zhuhao's project reminds me of our project when we first started.

Hey, guess what I saw?The plans for his house.

Oh, really?Has he shown them to everybody yet?

I don't know if he has actually.He was sad that you weren't there to show you.

He's a very ambitious young man, Zhuhao.He is, hey?Well, like all of us.

And you take out the busted ones, hey?Well done, Sawyer.Oh, so helpful, buddy.

Try and pile it in one pile so that we can use it.Give it a quick knock.

Hang on then.

Give that a knock.Nice.Daniel's just popped up.

What a legend.

Yeah.

Give John some advice on how to fix it.

Yeah.And just basically said, look, before you put the gravel back into the holes, let's put some cement, some concrete cement in between the stones, just so that we can make it a bit stronger.That looks very good.

Gosh, you guys, things are going great guns down here with the wall.I think Daniel's also put cement into John's parallelosh fix, so it's a good day all around.Have a look, the digger's now backfilling behind the wall all the soil which we need, which is amazing, because it means we will have a brand new flower border to plant along the top of this, which will demarcate the courtyard and this new landscaped terrace.Goodness me, it is so dusty though, eh?Thank goodness we remembered to close all of the doors and the windows in our current house that we're living in.And in the big house, work continues on this air conditioning.

Work continues on the electrics and plumbing.There's a whole lot of piping, a whole lot of noise, bucket load of dust.Like we said, I think it was in the last episode.I'm so glad we were in Zimbabwe when they were doing that because yikes, that was hectic.It must have been so noisy and so dusty.

Well, there you go, folks.It's been a busy day.Most of the wall has gone into place down at the front here.The parallelos has pretty much been fixed on the road on the way down and we've got the gateposts into a place where tomorrow hopefully we're going to be able to finish those off as well.And then of course we've got to decide whether we're going to have that yellow block wall next to the gatepost or whether we're going to go for a stone wall like this kind of a wall at the front of the house as well.Tricky for me at the moment.

I'm justnot often that I'm in a place where I don't really know the answer to what I'm really looking for, but we'll get there.We'll definitely get there.One thing is, I'm delighted with this wall.Doesn't that look brilliant?Who can remember the Nott garage?

Do we miss the Nott garage now?Well, sort of.I miss it anyway, but this is way better and we can create a wonderful space exactly right here.And the creation of that wall is just the beginning of something extra special that's going to be right here.So hopefully in the next week or so, we start to move inside the house and start projects in there.I am super, super looking forward to getting into some interior design because This place is going to look special.