“When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things – not the great occasions – that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness” Bob Hope
A good tradition for a blog would seem to be a quick glance backwards over the past year and its memories – so I thought it would be nice to look back over the past 12 months and select one photo from each month linked to my favourite blog post of that month. It has been an amazing year for us, full of major changes and surprises, and I am excited to think about what 2012 will hold for us and for this blog.
So here goes – click on the link under the photo to go straight to the blog post I have chosen for each month:
January
It is hard to believe that a year ago this blog did not even exist! I was busy sat at my computer trying to get my head round WordPress and ‘how to make a blog’ Google searches. I had also just handed in my notice from my ‘very important job’ (gulp!), and was scraping ice off my car windscreen every morning before I could even drive to work, in some of the worst winter weather in the West Country that I can ever remember.
February
No more UK dinner parties for us!
Even back in February last year I was already dreaming about pasteis de nata (in the plural!) and coffee in the sunshine – we sold our dining table (and half our furniture on eBay) and started planning The Great Escape. It’s also ironic that even a few months ago the kitchen was an alien land to me – now I am quite happy chopping and preparing food (Dave still does most of the cooking though – one step at a time – don’t want to poison anyone!) Although I do seem to have mastered the art of the pudding … Mmm funny that!
March
Portuguese Vs British builders
A very exciting month – we came out to the house to get some last minute work done before the Big Day – and work started on creating my very own art studio in our ‘cave’ (basement) – lots of natural light, space and storage. Now it is my absolute favourite place to be, and I am loving every minute of being able to follow my heart and passion – and I think I am getting the hang of it now, with my own ‘style’ developing. Oh – and yes – we have only used Portuguese workers on the house if we need anything done – they have all been reliable, punctual, and reasonably priced. And proud of their work.
April
Oh dear – there’s already a cake theme emerging here! Trying to cancel Sky was a very popular post – it obviously resonated with you all out there – delays, bureaucracy, the dreaded automated phone call system and the scripted answers – it seemed to take forever to sort out… and there’s a great Postscript to this one too… I happened to log on to our old Sky e-mail account over Christmas (yes we can still do that – no we are not paying for it any more (I’ve checked!) and yes – I know – how ridiculous is that!) – I had over 1200 e-mails sat there unopened!
Good grief! So I am very sorry to all of our friends that might have sent us a Christmas or birthday message via our old e-mail account – and not very sorry for the hundreds of spam style ‘special offer’ e-mails that are sat there languishing in the dark cold place that is our former e-mail address. I have no idea what to do about it either – please don’t tell me to try to contact Sky (perhaps I could use the old e-mail address?!!) or perish the thought – call them!
May
Saying goodbye … and introducing Agnes
A busy month! Saying goodbye to work, friends and family and heading off into the big wide world! Agnes is now firmly ensconced in my studio; she looks out onto the garden and seems quite happy with life! Although I have to admit she hasn’t had many photos taken lately – so I might have to remedy that soon!
June
Tiles, ice tea and toilet rolls
I have to admit I have no idea why this appears to have been the most popular post of the year – perhaps I should give all my posts a quirky title? The azulejos are such a feature of life here in Portugal, and I am sure it is time for me to re-visit this theme again. We never did find a decent ice tea recipe – we have had several interesting attempts over the summer but nothing you would call a success! And yes – my toilet rolls are all still facing the ‘right’ way!
July
One of my favourite posts of the year – and our favourite place. This was the first time I tried a more ‘in depth’ post – and was the inspiration for the new ‘Spotlight on’ series which has now started (see Spotlight on Silves) We have had many lovely comments about this post, and hope that we have encouraged more people to discover this wonderful traditional fishing village – but not too many people – we don’t want the beach to get too busy!
August
One of the most interesting and colourful tourist events of the Algarve calendar – where the city of Silves is turned into a Medieval amphitheatre; and the cobbled streets are teeming with people, stalls, sword fights and treats. August was an amazingly hot and enjoyable month; with long sunny days and lots of freshly caught fish and salad. Too hot really to do very much at all!
September
I had lots of help from the ex-pat forums for this post – which involved trying to fathom out the real cost of living out here. Now that the IVA has been increased this month and the price of many goods in shops and supermarkets has risen, it might well be time to complete the second part of this post. For now, this article in the Algarve Resident newspaper makes interesting reading Cost of Living Goes Up
October
The 7 day holiday guide to the Algarve
Well to be honest it was really hard trying to choose what to include in this post – a 7 day guide to the Algarve – with a range of places to visit and enjoy. That’s because there are so many other amazing beaches and places of interest that just didn’t make the final version – which I think means that next time I will have to do the ’14 day guide’ instead… now, where shall we start?!
November
Remember, remember the 1st of November
I wanted to make sure that we began to explore some of the history of this vibrant and fascinating country – and the 1755 earthquake was such a devastating event, which changed forever the very landscape of so many of Portugal’s cities and towns – and not just Lisbon. This post was a really interesting one to research, with a fascinating excerpt from an eye-witness survivor of the earthquake.
November was a busy blog month – I added some recipes, much to our friends’ amusement (!) roasted chestnuts, and interviewed the blogger who inspired me to start this blog – Ben from Moving to Portugal
December
Another busy month – we had a fantastic day out in Faro, and we also went to Tavira (so expect a post about that soon!) and posted a slightly controversial post about the A22 tolls which finally came into being this month – and which certainly fuelled a lot of responses from you all! I also covered the 12 days of Christmas Portuguese style, and we celebrated a lovely English/Portuguese Christmas and New year – not our first, I admit, as we have been here every Christmas and New Year since about 2005. No more Tesco shopping queues, Boxing Day sales, or freezing cold winter weather – what’s not to like about the Algarve at Christmas?
So there it is – our first year of the blog – we hope that you have enjoyed reading it as much as we have enjoyed planning and writing it. Thank you to all those who have ‘liked’ posts; commented and shared thoughts and ideas; and signed up to follow us. That means a lot – thank you.
Sharing the love!
And I have the feeling that 2012 is going to be a good blogging year… only one week into the New Year and just as I am about to publish this new post … I receive a message that I have just been nominated for the Liebster blog award by the lovely Jo at RestlessJo
So a postscript thank you as I send this post into blogland – it is a real pleasure to accept the award (my first one!) and a promise to respond and forward this award very soon – so watch this space!
Wow! I had no idea you’d been living in Portugal for less than a year. It’s always an eye-opener to look back at what’s changed over the previous year so thanks for sharing yours with us. Looking forward to more great posts in 2012.
yes I know – weird isn’t it! but we’ve had the house out here for several years, so it already felt like ‘home’ when we arrived – and we had spent so long plotting and planning too!
I always recommend that to people if they are planning such a move – it is a big leap into the unknown and the more you can find out and plan – and get to know an area first – the better!
And I have had such fun with the blog over the last 11 months – so here’s to us all enjoying 2012 and lots more blog posts!
You’re worth it!
Off now to find out about Agnes.
You’ll like Agnes – house trained, polite, great family history and kinda cute!
Lovely post Alyson, looking forward to another year of interesting posts. Going back to read some of the ones I missed…
thanks Sami – it’s fun looking back sometimes – but I am more excited by what’s ahead! had a fab day out in the Monchique yesterday so expect a post about that one soon!