Things Get HOT & HEAVY on Our Tiny Stone Cabin Renovation đĄ
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 1. 06. 2024
- Building work on our stone cabin renovation got hot & heavy this week, as we set about the next step in transforming this tiny house!đ„”đȘ
Weâve waited patiently for a month as our DIY hand poured concrete window sills cured & now we have the slightly daunting task of lifting & installing the weighty slabs safely into the window openings of our little cottage.
Because weâre building our stone house alone with limited man/woman power, we always try to work smarter not harder (emphasis on the word âtryâ đ), so we knew we needed to prep thoroughly & figure out a way to move the sills in stages to not risk breaking anything - the sills or our bodies! Will we live to tell the tale??âŠSPOILER - We did! đ
LIKE THIS VIDEO if you enjoyed it and SUBSCRIBE to follow our journey as we document our life here in Portugal and the many DIY projects that we'll be tackling including renovating a tiny stone home, setting up systems to grow some of our own food and finally restoring the 100+ year old farm house.
Also say hi in the comments! We'd love to hear from you đ
Ricky and Victoria x
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We're Ricky & Victoria đ We're slowly bringing an abandoned off grid Portuguese farm back to life & transforming it into a beautiful homestead for us & our two rescue dogs Teddy & Poppy.
We both agree that weâre not experts in anything that we do here, however we donât let that stop us from giving it a try. We live our life by trying. We live our life by doing. We live our LIFE BY LIVING.
#stonehouse #renovation #homesteadlife
I am 76. When you are my age you will look back on your lives with much satisfaction at what you have accomplished. Well done. Love watching you.
Thank you Gretchen! Looking forward to the days when we can step back & fully appreciate it all đ
I love to see all your videos and all improvements on the farm, but it was lovely to see your baking. I think the professional bakers add 1 tablet of vitamin C when they are baking wholemeal bread so it doesn't get so dense.
The house is getting beautiful.
Happy birthday, Poppy.
I really appreciate seeing most of the expat women involved in carpentry, painting etc good on you - I am following about six I think.đđđ
Happy birthday Poppy!!!!!!
The sills look beautiful! I Loved watching Victoria bake gluten free bread! The garden lookâs like it is producing beautifully! Happy B-day PoppyđđđBlessingâs
Iam 79 in July and this my guilty pleasure, I did retire in Spain in 2003 but came back 2008. Then my husband died in 2011 and this what we would have done had we been younger. Just really love your life story. â€ïž you have made my day watching you now.â€â€â€â€ take care both live the dream.
The mark of a great dog owner is the care and TRAINING of the dogs. Good training not only makes a dog healthier and happier but can literally save their lives! Your dogs are healthy, happy and blessed to have a mum and dad like you two!đđ¶đ
Thanks Marsha †They both definitely have their moments where they like to test us đ but on the whole theyâre good as gold đ
Poppy is three, wow, I can remember when she came into your lives, sad, bedraggled, alone. Now she is beautiful, happy and a great companion for Ted and yourselves. The tiny house is looking fantastic. What a productive three years it has been.
Poppy has turned out to be a lovely dog, she is so lucky to have found a home with you guys.
Those sills look pretty good, well done.
Oh, absolutely đŻ... I was thinking the exact same thing!!! Poppy is such a lucky girl, as are they too!!!
â€â€â€â€â€
And the window sills are perfection.... Well done đđđ
Sheâs a keeper!đ
Poppy is so awesome. Itâs hard to believe that she literally just came to you guys đ
The sills look beautiful and I actually like the marks on the one. As soon as you put the bread outside to proof, Victoria, I wanted to grab it and take it back inside. Nothing ventured, though, nothing gained, and you guys have gained so much with this whole adventure. We're the ones who get to sit in our houses and enjoy it. THANK you.
You have such a lovely calming energy about you both
Victoria, if your bread comes out too âheavyâ try cutting slices extremely thinly - usually turns out really well with something âwetâ like cottage/cream cheese, tomato & other salad type things. Love your channel. Hugs from Johannesburg SA
I just started watching your videos and I have to say that Iâve binge watched for a week now and Iâm caught up. I follow many channels like yours where people from the UK have moved to Portugal and are renovating old stone homes. The Newbys channel is great and now your channel is at the top of my list. Your editing, music, explaining the process has been a pleasure to watch. Your skill set with the build and working the land are amazing too. Victoria adds so much charm and beauty along with being up for trying anything to help out. I admire you both. My husband was born in Pico. His family came to the US when he was 9 yrs old. Heâs 62 and would love to go back to live in Pico. After following many channels like yours, Iâm tempted, but shouldâve made that decision when we were younger. So nice to see you and Victoria living your best life.
Wow, see the before picture of the cottage and the after speaks volumes!!! You did such a GREAT jobs!! Love watching your channel, so funny!
Thanks Cheryl! We hadnât realised quite how different itâs starting to look now until we pulled up the old footage!
I absolutely love your little abode, which is all I would need! Simple living, happy life. What a beautiful job you have done.
I love your dogs and I love how Poppy is so happy with her beautiful family .
The before and after says it all! From derelict to snug, cozy little home. Sills look great and match the rendering nicely. How nice to have fresh and totally organic produce! And, of course,happy birthday to Poppy and love to all of youâ€. Have a great week and take care of yourselves in that heat!
We hadnât seen a picture of the original building for a long time & both kind of forgot how sad it was! Itâs good to look back from time to time & appreciate the progress. Have a great week Esme â€
Iâm a celiac too and when I made gluten free bread I was told to use a bread machine that cooks the loaf upwards not side ways but if you can find a recipe that cooks in the oven that would be great I have a book called The Gluten Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg for basic cooking keeping it simple its a great book.
You two make my day with your videos my husband and I work great together like you guys
6:27 just use a flat stone and water, like a grinding mill. The aggregate dust that youâre creating will sand it down.
I have been celiac since 1996. The main things with our bread is the dough needs to be quite wet and of course their is no kneading. I find that small pans work best because in a large one you have to have the exterior get too dry trying to get the middle done. To make a piece of toast in the morning I just mix up one heaping tablespoon of almond flour, one scant tablespoon of ground flax meal, 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 small egg and a some olive oil. I pour it in a little skillet and brown it on both sides. I also make a delicious bread out of cooked beans that uses no flour.
My mate used to install super heavy stonework. He used to prepare a level pad of cement and use a bag of ice in the middle. He would wriggle the stone in plane and let the ice melt! Genius idea or what!
The window sills are a thing of beauty. Pauline, Australia
Amazing Before/After of the building. What a lot of work. Good on them.
Thanks Pauline! đ Weâre chuffed with how they turned out
I'm in a similar situation renovating an old farmhouse in Italy restoring a pigsty to live in before we tackle the main house. Watching you two on a Sunday always helps me stay motivated. Hope you keep on making/posting episodes, you're great at it!
Oooo good luck with your renovation! We hear you though - it can be hard to get motivated sometimes!
Victoria has the loveliest healthiest looking nails of any DYIer or gardener Iâve ever seen! Itâs great to see you both taking good care of your hands.
Fabulous result on the tiny house - you should be very proud of your progress.
Easiest no-kneed GF bread recipe that I use is:
3 cups GF flour (if yours doesn't contain xantham gum, add half to 1 teaspoon). I sometimes do 2 cups GF flour to 1 cup oats that I run through a blender to make a coarse, and dense, and very rustic bread.
1 or 2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon active quick rise yeast
1-1/2 cups of room temperature water
Mix all the dry ingredients, then add the water and mix well (don't overmix or you will damage the yeast). Leave to prove for at east 4 hours - I mix in the evening and leave to prove overnight.
Preheat a Dutch oven to 450F, transfer dough into parchment paper, then into the Dutch oven for 30 minutes with the lid on, and 15 - 20 minutes with the lid off. Lift bread in parchment paper out of the Dutch oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
The difference in the before/after picture is dramatic. Well done! Congratulations on hitting 90K subscribers! And Happy Birthday, Poppy!!
Sills look good. Leave the seam mark. Adds a bit of imperfect character. Glad the garden is coming along.
The sills match the render under the roof. It is a pop of brightness it needed. So clean compared to the before picture. Hard to believe Poppy has been with you 3 yrs. Enjoy all your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Itâs hard to capture the true colour of the render on film as itâs either in shade or really bright sun, but itâs actually grey where as the sills are a very pale beige. I know time has flown with Poppy! Sheâs been with us 2 years already!(vet guessed she was around 1 when we found her) â€
@@LifebyLiving ...regards to color: the lighting at the beginning of this video makes Ricky 10-years younger. And Victoria is always beautiful with her joyous face. U both are a youthful couple, as well as a joy to enjoy.
@@LifebyLiving Iâd say she found you!!
Ahh!!! Thanks for my Sunday fix guys. Looking better every week now, so looking forward to next weekend now. Happy Birthday Poppy.
Who knew what window sills could do for a cottage!? It just keeps getting better and better! Happy Birthday Poppy đ„ł
I'm pissing myself here laughing at Ricky movement pushing the sills, the laughs makes the job goes smooth and be enjoyable to do.What a team you two make...Happy days.
My goodness you both worked so hard on this little cottage and transformed it into a doll house, I love both of you and your precious puppies. â€â€â€â€
Sills look great and the dogs look very happy. đđđ
Thank you so much for my much anticipated Sunday evening treat. I am watching your subscription numbers marching up to 100 thousand. I encourage everyone to subscribe and get you there quickly. Love what you do. Lilian Australia
Thank you Lilian â€
Seems like a year ago that Poppy came along. What a great day that was.
Thanks for sharing this week with us.
I know! Time is flying by!
happy birthday poppy. love how you two have a laugh when your working. job gets done just the same. your place is beautiful.
Yappy 3rd Pawsday Poppy. I'm coeliac too Victoria and I make bread in my bread maker and that's always hit and miss lol. Well done on your veggies and flowers growing. The sills look great Ricky, you've both done a marvellous job. Exciting seeing it all come together xx
Trying to bake anything gluten free is always such a gamble!đ
Love how you edit your videos; great transitions and music! đ„°
Agree đŻ%. They just get better and betterâ€
Awww thank you both đđŒ
You guys are hilarious đ sills look awesome đ happy birthday Poppy đ
Hello you two. Happy Birthday to Poppy.
I love how patient they when you opened the gate, door and gave them their cake - lovely animals
The sills look very good. It's funny, they were sat there, lumps of concrete, then they sprang into life once in place.
Take care in the heat. I look forward to the next video đ
Well done! The sills look amazing! We have watched you both since the beginning and love your videos. Your interaction with each other is so warming to see, you obviously have such a lovely relationship, full of love, laughter, hard work and shenanigans. We love your dogs too.
Thank you for sharing your world with us.
Rose & Michael
The house is really starting to shine! It is important to reflect on how far you've come. Great job and looking forward to see many more. I love to see women being "trusted" with tools! Only one way to learn. and it's the same way for all of us. Perfection is an illusion.
Episode suggestion. A LIVE to celebrate 100,000 subbies. It wonât be long.
You can get automatic green house vent openers so as soon it gets hot they will open then shut when it cools down
I have a husband with celiac's. I've made bread with a bread machine and in a bread pan in the oven. Either way works. The hardest part is getting a bread that holds together without being gummy. I finally found gluten free on a shoestring. Bread, buns, pizza crust recipes that turn out. Even I eat them!
You guys are doing an awesome job. My partner & I are doing a similar project - in the Mondego Valley (Guarda region). had a bit of a mental and physical meltdown from this heat and living off grid without much shade - so we took our cats and rented an AL close by for the weekend to rest and rethink what we can do to get through this summer while still making progress on the stone house. Thanks for inspiring us with your videos and giving us the feeling we are not alone!
We feel for you both Melissa. The sun/heat here is brutal when youâre not used itâŠ& weâre definitely not used to it!đ
brilliant achievement with the sills, when the mortar joint are completed the building will look stunning externally....very well done a labour of love!!!
and i'm sure Victoria is very pleased that Ricky thinks things thru.
Your house is looking amazing on the outside what a transformation
Fantastic
You guys just crack me up ! The cottage is really alive again. And you did it đđđđ
Greetings from South Africa đżđŠ
The gluten free bread, I bought a bread machine. No faffing about , just dump the ingredients in, and come back when it beeps đ And it tastes soooo much better than the shop bought gluten free bread
Congratulations, Ricky and Victoria on finishing another amazing project. Iâm so impressed with your ingenuity, tenacity, and commitment to creating a wonderful home for yourselves. Thank you for sharing your many adventures with us. â€
Thanks for sharing your journey with us! The before and after comparison - what a difference your hard work and TLC has made! Your garden is lovely, Poppy such a lucky fur baby and that field of yellow flowers! Just beauty everywhere! Have a blessed week, and keep trying with that bread, Victoria!
That was fun victoria and rickey. It's looking beautiful. Looking forward to next.
Your chemistry is just amazing! I just can't start my Mondays in a better way than watching your videos. So proud you chose my country to rebuild your live and dreams! Parabéns!
Hi Guys love what you are doing! Oh to be young and healthy.
Very impressed with all the hard work you both have done.
My Niece is a paramedic, I gave her a hand with their back garden, she has learnt to build retaining walls, laying slabing, rendering, steps etc etc.... keep up the good work.
Iain x ( retired builder ) Scotland.
Thanks Iain. Appreciate being called young too! Definitely donât feel it nowadays!đ
Not too shabby indeed...đ
HB Poppy can't believe it's been 3 yrs.
Donât worry Maria you havenât lost a year of your life đâŠsheâs only been with us 2 years (the vet guessed she was around 1 year old when we found her)
@@LifebyLiving ... "u haven't lost a year of your life." L O L .
So much work on the cabin and it looks fantastic. Great line Ricky, it starting to look loved....that says it all. You two are so fun to watch.
Cabin really does look fantastic. Great that you brought in the old picture for comparison, so dramatic of a difference. You've done wonders with it.
We surprised ourselves when we compared the then & now! You forget when youâre living the changes day by day
I just love you guys! Your channel is easily my favorite on CZcams!â„ïž
Those sills and the install made me very happy. They are gorgeous. And the banter never dissapoints. Well doen on the garden. â€â€â€
This looks great. Very clever way of getting it in positionâ€â€well done diy team of 2024đđđ
Good work, good cheer, good relationship, good doggies. That must be what they mean by "it's all good."
You guys are a joy to watch. Love the cabin. Appreciate all the hard work that goes into it.
Tips to keep the greenhouse from scorching: net cover the roof for partial shade + door and windows open both day and night. You may still be able to use it for germination of seeds. Lovely to see your progress in the kitchen garden! â€
Wonderful work on the window sillsâŠâ€
Thank you!đ
Put a Cos lettuce into a pot and let it go to seed..then spray the seeds when formed all over the garden, grass, other pots, everywhere....they will self sew and when 4/6" tall you can pick them...I have done this before. ........even had them growing in winter in the lawn. .......
That cottage is looking so beautiful! Night and day from how it used to look. Also, consider biscotti for the GF bread! That way you get your sweet treat â€
3:28 If it's so hot, try ordering a cooling mat for dogs online - very useful in hot weather đșđ¶
We already have two đ
Great job on the sills! The house is looking so beautiful! Your ingenuity continues to amaze me. Thanks for sharing your journey.
Be sure to open the vent in the greenhouse to regulate the temp, especially in the summer heat. Everything is looking lovely. The roof and windows are great.
Imperfection makes an old house perfect. No worries!
it's nice to see a really happy couple.
very rare nowadays. â€
love following you guy's....
Thanks Lewis đ I think weâre very blessed in that most of our family & friend couples are happy too â€
Thanks for your entertaining videos, you both are a delight and a pleasure to listen to. Good luck with your venture, I wish you the best.
Doing a great job with your stone home. It's beautiful! Big smile over your brick bread. I baked biscuits once and forgot the baking powder. The children came in and asked if they could use my hard biscuits as baseballs. Of course I laughed and agreed it was a great solution. They were delighted and had some fun at my expense. đ
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Corgettes are very versatile, look up recipes for stuffed courgette flowers. You can pollinate some to produced the fruit and any others to pick to stuff and cook particularly when there is an abundance of flowers .. Recipes I know of is stuffing the flowers with a mixture of fetta cheese, herbs and minced garlic with black pepper to taste. Crumbing them and then deep frying for a few minutes until the crumbed coating is golden brown..
Another great work! And the little cotage been transformed! What a Journey!
Sorry about the bread but the little cottage is so sweet..
Y'all did a great job!
I can't believe Poppy is three already. The house looks amazing. What a transformation. Well done guys. Love and be safe!đđ€đŒve
With gluten-free bread, try adding a 125ml plain greek yoghurt to the mixture. The mixture gets a bit more soft, but it becomes fluffy when you bake it. I cannot eat any gluten also, and have to always bake my own. There are options you can buy, but I am also allergic to most yeast. The only yeast that does not affect me is brewers yeast. So that combination works perfect for bread, buns, etc. Give it a try.,
"i know you love those sills but....geez" đ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł best line of the day, nice job guys well done to you both and a Happy Birthday to Poppy đđ¶
Take Care.
Barry (UK)
You guys never fail to deliver, I watched the whole video with a smile on my faceđ. Thank you â€
â€â€â€
You are both very sweet. â€
The sills are beautiful, the whole cottage is wonderful.
Itâs all coming together nicely folks a cute cottage .đââïžđŠđș
Watching your videos just starts my day off better. Love how the little house is looking.
Awww happy to hear that Margarett!â€
Wonderful channel and a belting couple. Best of luck with the rest of your project. đ
Thanks Ian!
I canât handle working in the heat, Iâll take the nonstop rain over the 35c days đŹ window sills look epic!
What an awesome job with the video. Love your work and appreciate your kindness and love for Poppy.
Using Ricky and Unorthodox in the same sentence is an Oxymoron... :) Seriously though your home is spectacular and the before and after proves that, you guys have done an amazing job and we love the sills as much as Ricky doe's...:) Happy Birthday Poppy, you two are great with your dog's.
luv seeing the dogs glance at Ricky & Victoria with that admiration that humans do make the year-round vacation comfy for four-leg pals.
I just love watching your progress. Itâs just beautiful well done both..đ€đ
Happy 3rd birthday Puppy. Loving all the grand progress on your beautiful home and property. Looks absolutely beautiful
As always, sooooo lovely! It is a Sunday treat to see the cottage, dogs, and you two perform magic! Happy birthday, Poppieđđâ€â€â€â€
I agree with Gretchen below - One day you will look back and be amazed at all you achieved now. The slabs of concrete looks very good! Her garden also looks good this year.
This was a wonderful episode (again). The dry bread can be used in French onion soup, toasted cheese sandwiches, turkey stuffing, any number of recipes. I am proud of your effort on that bread, but those sills are outstanding!!!! Congrats. DA (Vancouver, WA - USA)
The render and the roof compliment each other so well!
yes, the accent is now on the roof, rather than on the red stone collar under the roof.
The before and after images of the stone house are stunning. What a huge improvement. Great improvements and again a very amusing episode. đ
The sills look terrific and the cottage is prettier every day! Love the puppies, they seem quite content. â€
Fantastic job getting those sills in! Victoria, bread takes practice, gluten free or not. As you have tackled everything on your property, you will definitely master bread⊠just keep trying. đ
to save some work when mixing the soil and manure you can get 2 buckets and mix them from bucket to bucket back and forth. still some work but easier than mixing with your hands.
Looks "Happy and loved again"....
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL đâ€đ€©
Well done, you cheekie little devils
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The sills look amazing. Everything is looking good. The garden is beautiful as well. I have been using almond flour to make bread and using egg whites as filler to lift the bread instead of yeast. Pretty good. Bravo Brava you two
Victoria cracks me up .. sheâs so funny .. you know what Iâm referring to đđđ the sills đ
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@@LifebyLiving best comment yet đ
In Arizona they work 6-10am the go back evenings at 5-9 pm since the light is still there. That is concrete workers. It can get to 120F there. đź brutal hot.
Very good job with the horses to manipulate the sills!
Good thinking by Ricky. So, he is as smart as Victoria.
the window sills are beautiful. I'm 75 and have never tried to do what you are attempting...Great success!
What a difference the window sills make. What a brilliant job you've done. Bravo đ
Your skills and clever approach to solving difficult tasks never cease to amaze me! Additionally, your work is so professional and beautifully accomplished. I enjoy your videos immensely and your pups are thriving as well, great job Ricky and Victoria!
dogs know when they are loved..as they very much are