I made it through day 3 of my jump rope journey and challenge I given myself to jump for 30 consecutive days. I’m happier with the format of these posts now, which I will try and keep to 3 minutes or less. It’s amazing how quickly I have improved, which I think is down to the shorter rope. I’m even dreaming about jump rope now!
A video came up in my YouTube feed (now it knows my new obsession) and there’s such a thing as a weighted rope – I had no idea! This is definitely something for the future as I progress and build strength in my shoulders.
I plan to take my rope out and about to keep my posts a bit more interesting. I am sure that watching me jump will get boring very quickly, so I will combine cycling with jump rope and some scenery.
Use code FIFTYSISTER on Dope Ropes websiteUse code FIFTYSISTER on Dope Ropes website
I am using the beaded rope above from DOPE ROPES Use mydiscount code FIFTYSISTER at the checkout.
If you are reading this thinking that you’d like to have a go – then just do it! It’s not easy, but it’s very rewarding. I did feel faint today because I need to reorganise my workout to fit with fasting eating pattern. I only eat breakfast and lunch, so I will need to jump rope when I have the most energy. I get out of breath, but that’s to be expected. I take breaks, but get back up and keep going. My target is to take fewer breaks and to keep momentum once I start so that I get into a rhythm.
Thanks for stopping by today. Have a beautiful day!
I’m on day 2 of my jump rope journey, to see if I can tone up and build core strength through skipping/jump rope. Skipping (as we call it in the UK) was my major pastime at home and in the playground/school yard. Nothing as posh as a proper jump rope, just a length of green rope left over from my father’s water-ski line.
It’s not going to be easy!
I was going to make this video really short, however, I don’t want to make this challenge look easier than it is, because it’s bloody tough! I see young women bouncing all over social media with their jump ropes, like they came out of the womb clutching the jump rope handles, but at 54, it’s pushing me outside of my comfort zone, not to mention trying my patience and giving my heart a much needed work out.
Below are the ropes I am using from Dope Ropes, click here to visit their store use discount code FIFTYSISTER on the Dope Ropes website. Today I tried the beaded rope (the one on the right), which was a completely different experience. Dope Ropes got in touch with me to suggest shortening the rope (I was thrilled they made the effort to contact me) however, I feel I still don’t have the correct length of rope, so I’m reluctant to make the cut. Maybe this is something I should have researched before I started this challenge…?!
Use DISCOUNT code FIFTYSISTER at the checkoutUse DISCOUNT code FIFTYSISTER at the checkout
Will it be a day, a week, or even a year?
I’m committed to this challenge for 30 days, then I will assess whether I want to continue for another 11 months. It will be interesting to see what I can achieve as a woman in my mid fifties, who hasn’t skipped since maybe the age of 12. I’m not trying to lose weight, I’m determined to tone up and increase my level of fitness, which has diminished slightly since moving to Portugal. I am already thinking about how I can keep going in the heat of summer – I may need to move indoors to stay cool. I will worry about that if I make it that far.
Nobody wants a soggy gusset.
I am OK in the pelvic floor strength department at the moment, but that can change at any time…all the fun of ageing! I will order some washable pads (like the ones below) which I will throw in the washing machine along with my exercise kit after each workout. These pads create less waste, save you money and catch any spillage, to save you jumping with a soggy gusset. I use a yoga mat for my jump rope workout to cushion my feet from the impact on the terracotta tiles.
Stay tuned in for my jump rope journey. If I can do it, anyone can.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a beautiful day.
This week there was a major change to the landscaping behind the house, so we needed to bring in the big cats to make the earth move. The land, which is a mix of 50% limestone and 50% top soil will be excavated and moved to the front of the property.
Episode 4 – the big cats making the earth move for us
In my YouTuve video I give you a full 360 degree tour and also explain a couple of compromises I’ve had to deal with. Don’t forget to hit the like button on YouTube if you enjoyed the video, subscribe if you want to keep up to date with my build and hit the bell icon to be notified when I post more content on there.
The first time we’ve viewed the house from this angle.
We had a small digger onsite for a couple of days, but it wasn’t up to the job of moving so much earth once we decided that we could no longer afford the concrete wall we’d planned for the north of the property. In this episode I will give you this week’s update and show you the new landscape features. I am going to visit site again tomorrow to discuss the drop away of land in front of the infinity pool and take a look at what the big cat team have been up to.
Big cats bringing us some hammer time!
Building the road for the concrete trucks to access the east wing.
Most of the stone behind the house is limestone, but we hit a new patch of granite so we needed the huge mechanised hammer to break a new access to the higher land to the north. The hammer costs more money per day- wear and tear on the machinery plus the operator probably needs therapy after spending the day being on the end of the world’s largest and loudest hammer. I will take some video tomorrow if he’s still drilling away so you can see just how impressive this piece of kit is. You can check out my last blog post here and episode 3 on YouTube here
Totally wearing the wrong clothes for this very long unplanned visit!
We hadn’t intended to spend so much time onsite for this visit, it was supposed to be an office meeting plus a drive by of the site. Needless to say after a couple of hours onsite my hair was full of dust and my jeans looked like I’d been playing 5 a side football.
Check back next week for another update. You can send me message via the contact page by clicking here.
Welcome to episode 3 of building our new minimalist home in Algarve.
Our dream is to build a minimalist, industrial style, single story home, nestled in the mountains of Loulé, Algarve, facing the Atlantic coast. A low maintenance home and garden, with free power and water, needing no extra input from mains services once complete. Add to that a kitchen garden and edible plants in the landscaping and we can work towards self-sufficiency in the future. I’m loving every minute of the process and excited to see the build progress each week.
This week we have a bit of a lull in construction whilst we move earth and rock around site in preparation for the east wing which is the ruin we have incorporated into the design. The ruin was a smallholding with goats many years ago, and most recently (we can see it hasn’t been used for at least 20 years), it had been used as a hillside small laundry/washhouse. Today I share; some of the designs which inspired me, a stroll around the land from east to west, our design and the new minimalist lifestyle which we have embraced to let go, free ourselves of possessions and provide us with more freedom.
Subscribe on YouTube to be notified when I post new videos. The team are onsite 6 days per week, pushing to finish the concrete and steel for us as they have lots of other jobs waiting!
Lots of time to think over the past week due to the slight delay with the ruin demolition, so I’ve come up with a change of use for 3 of the bedrooms. I shall explain…
Saturday 5th February, getting ready for the footings for the ruin.
Through the years
We started this build process 5 years ago after selling our large family home in the UK. We had hoped that the whole process would be complete within 2 years, even with delays (wishful thinking!). Well, we certainly didn’t factor in the painfully long length of time that Loulé planning would take to approve both our planning application and the construction licence, plus a pandemic stopped everything in it’s tracks, but here we are 5 years later with the concrete structure taking shape nicely.
Just after we bought the land in 2017, Shaun standing in the pool.
Just the two of us.
Our intention initially was to build a home for our family of three, me, my husband and our son, (who works in the maritime industry and – at the time- was spending long periods away at sea). However, after spending some time in Portugal, our son decided it wasn’t for him, even though he loves the weather, the people and life in general here. What’s missing for him is an abundance of young people… Where are they? Well, they have left to find better paid and more varied work than is available in the south of Portugal. Head north and you will see more young people out and about in the evening – which is surprisingly a rare sight in Algarve.
This is the original design submitted to planning with 5 en-suite bedrooms. Scroll down for the updated use of surplus bedrooms as scribbled/edited by me (very badly!).
Memories of muddy pups and soggy socks
So…. then there was just the two of us to live in the house with the prospect of regular visits from our son. I’m not going to bore you with all the toing and froing but we were selling the project, then we weren’t, then we were….well you get the idea. We moved back to the UK in November 2019 to renovate a small cottage we owned there, and spend some time figuring out what we wanted to do. Lots of rain and mud and more rain, soggy dogs and drenched clothing reminded us why we left in the first place. Then the pandemic hit, lockdowns, travel bans, you know how it was. We were stuck there for a while but decided to make the most of it and renovate our cottage. We finished the renovation and listed the house January 2020 which sold within a week or so. Fast forward a few weeks and we were on our way back to Portugal to finish this project once and for all.
Cacela Velha – one of our favourite beaches.
All in my head
My husband sees this as an investment, he doesn’t have any emotional connection to it at all, he just sees profit. For me, I have invested a lot of time and effort designing the layout of the house and have considered every detail of the build and finished project over and over in my head. I’ve spent hours in my imagination, opening doors, looking at light switches, placing artwork and trying out different options for exterior flooring finishes. I can see it finished and enjoy spending time in this home in my head. I didn’t think this was unusual until I mentioned it to my husband, who informs me this is not normal to be able to walk around a virtual house in my head. Maybe it’s my magical power – does anyone else have this ability?
I finally found a round bath to buy in Portugal – it has potential
Investment vs dream
We designed the house with five en-suite bedrooms to maximise the profit. However, we are just two people, why would we need so many bedrooms? This past week it hit me that we could actually be living in this house by the end of this year. I guess I didn’t think too much about the reality of moving in, as lots of people including my architect and engineer told me it would be sold before we finish it. The reason being, there are lots of people with more money than me who will pay top dollar for a unique and NEW home. There are some people who only buy new. I have already declined a very nice offer, but what would I buy instead? Ultimately of course, everything has a price and I may not be able to decline crazy offers if they come my way, but for now, I am going ahead to finish it for us as our dream home rather than with only re-sale in mind.
I’ve been playing around with the layout and this is my very amateur artist’s impression of the rooms. It was a lot of fun though and it does the job!
All change!
This brings me to the changes I’ve made this week to the function of the rooms. Instead of 5 bedrooms, we will have 2 master bedrooms, an office, a chillout/music lounge and a spa room.
This is a very similar idea for our spa bathroom.
Very ‘la-di-da’ Spa
What do I mean by ‘a spa room’ I hear you ask? The family bathroom on the east side will be designed as home spa bathroom. I’m going to spend a lot of time designing this room which will have a circular tub, next to glass doors opening out onto a small terrace with an outdoor shower. The bedroom next to this will support the use of the pool. I shall explain…. The spa room (which can easily revert back to its original use as a bedroom) will have towels, bath robes, spare swimsuits, toiletries etc and act as a changing room for visitors using our pool. It will also be where I practice yoga and meditate. I will use it for home beauty treatments and my own personal salon – a sort of beauty room. So basically, I have claimed this room for myself, a quiet, tranquil space for me, but with the added use for visitors using the pool.
The far left is the covered stairway next to the en-suite chillout room.
Chillout
At the other end of the house on the west side, we will have a music/chillout room. A place where we can go and lounge on a huge day-bed to escape the summer heat, without worrying about a damp swimsuit or wet hair. Somewhere to listen to music in comfort, surrounded by comfy cushions and throws. This could also double as a spare bed if a tipsy visitor decides to stay over. My husband wanted this as an office, but it’s a waste of a room with an amazing ocean view, just to have a desk and an office chair, so he’s been shuffled eastwards next to the spa room. I don’t need an office as I’m happy to work anywhere, however I’ve made a claim on the space in the basement/garage with panoramic views of the ocean, to use as a studio / workshop for all my art projects and silversmithing.
More big changes this week.
This week we have the transformation of the ruin going ahead, so I will be back with another video before the end of the week. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube(click here) and tap the little bell icon to be notified when I post something new. Thanks for stopping by!
