Finishing Lots of Projects on our Off-grid Homestead

Hi, we are Harriet and Mauro and in February 2021 we bought an abandoned smallholding in Castellón, Spain. In these videos we share our life as we restore and improve our little stone house, learn to grow and preserve our own food, and bring our 4 acres of farmland back to productivity.
If you would like to support us in return for early access, ad-free videos and other perks, you can find us on Patreon:
/ littlespanishfarmstead
Or if you're looking for a way to say a quick one-off thanks for the work that goes into making these videos, you can treat us to a little coffee here 🥰:
ko-fi.com/littlespanishfarmstead
----
Follow us on Instagram: / little.spanish.farmstead
Read our Newsletter: littlespanishfarmstead.substac...
VOLUNTEER/STAY WITH US:
Latest information about staying with us/visiting us is available on our website:
Our website: www.littlespanishfarmstead.co...
---
✉️ GET IN TOUCH ✉️
Want to collaborate on something? Email us at:
[e-mail]
Personal?
Send me a DM on Instagram :)
---
Music in this video:
Wandering Nomad - Cody Francis
Poppy Fields - Lindsey Abraham
Free Mind - Wildflowers
Quatro Contra Um - El Equipo Del Norte
Dreamers of the Shore (Instrumental Version) - Volcan Peaks
Don’t Give Up On Love - Ludlow
From EpidemicSound

[@user-yq4rv9ox1s]

My goodness Harriet to say that I’m impressed by your hard work is an understatement!! You are so gifted with creativity!! 👏🏻👏🏻 Much love ❤️💕🇺🇸

[@beeheart6324]

I agree! Incredible woman! 🙂

[@PensionersinPortugal]

I love how pragmatic you are.......the fish died....they're under a fig tree!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@IRSA1]

Wow, you are back , with enough energy and hard work to put many people to shame ! ❤

[@MnGirl1994]

Instead of using brackets for shelves, you can use a piece of wood that is the same length as the shelves ( maybe 2 or 3 inches wide and deep...chuncky but a lot narrower than the shelf). You drill the wood into the wall and then place the shelf on top and drill the shelf into the piece of wood. It's extremely sturdy. You can paint the wood same as the wall, and the shelves appear to float. My husband is a carpenter, and in the early years when we didn't have the money or time to create fancy floating shelves, they worked perfectly. Works well,in a pantry/kitchen too.

[@AussieTracy]

Glad you are healing well. Take care 💕💕

[@marianaleitebraga]

You are one industrious, down-to-earth woman. How lovely to know you're feeling better :-)

[@annneusidl5794]

Harriet, so glad you are feeling better. Santi is adorable. Your clean up of debris outside was very needed. Now you can see what next to fix. Little by little you both are getting there. It’s really becoming a homestead. 🥰

[@colemurphy3585]

I loved that little moment with the heap of crickets ^^ 17:28 Thanks Harriet for sharing this journey of hard work and vision realizing! Your projects inspire me endlessly and I wish you three the best!!

[@arimax888]

Happy to see you feeling better and sorry you lost the fishes, can't wait to see how that pool is going to look. Santi looked to be enjoying keeping mummy company while she works❣😊

[@erikafernandez3508]

Es genial tirar y despejar cosas

[@Pearl-zf3qk]

You are an amazing hard working mama!

[@user-yq4rv9ox1s]

You could not be able to pay me enough to get in that water hole for the swimming pool 😬😱😬😳!! You are such a trooper 👏🏻🦋👏🏻

[@beeheart6324]

So good to see that you are feeling better! Thanks for sharing all your work with us. Your place is lovely 🙂

[@metislamestiza3708]

when holes happen, pictures will always brighten up the space ! resourcefulness :)

[@infopubs]

Very satisfying to watch the clean up process! And smart of you to move forward with that before Santi is walking.

[@mrs.jillaroo6907]

So nice to see you looking much better & healthier Harriett! And there is no stopping you. The patio area is going to look really good once done over. And I loved your mosaic effect with the tiles, it turned out so good! I wish you more healing, and continued happiness.

[@itziaralkain6193]

I wish you a fast recovery!

[@carolmcmillan1108]

Keep all your tiles for more mosaics in the garden …. They always brighten up any garden 👌

[@emmabertrand3]

Everything is coming together so nicely! First you renovated a house and now you’re making a home ♥️♥️

[@josefinaherreros6129]

Harriet me alegro que estés mejor. Y también de ver a tú bebé crecer. Eres una campeona

[@shaunnarochelle]

yay I'm so glad your feeling better. you are an incredible person and your channel is one of my absolute favorites. I enjoy every job, however big or small you share. love seeing the progress in the front porch area 😊

[@katiepandey5023]

I’d have turned the bathtub into a bathtub. Hook up the hose to hot water for candlelight soak! 🥰 Keep some tiles in case some of places break.

[@annmcnamara8]

Santi is a beautiful little boy so healthy .Harriet you are a very hard worker and you get results.Glad to know you are back to full health Mauro was helping you to declutter the yard it looks spacious

[@racebanning6390]

Glad to see the Spanish homestead tidy👍👍I also keep very minimum things here on my land. I spent the last 3 years gitting rid of everything i cant use outside. So much easier to manage. Buy only what i can use... The Front of your house is a Special area , and is looking Much better. A great place for shade relaxation . 🙏🙏🙏Be blessed.

[@Chestnut_tree]

I am amazed at how much work you have done around the homestead, bravo 👏 ❤

[@elisanavarrohidalgo2032]

Qué bien os veo. Me alegro de tu recuperación. Eres muy valiente. Cómo me gusta ver que se está convirtiendo vuestro proyecto en una realidad de vida soñada para vuestra familia. Santi es muy afortunado de tener unos padres tan activos y llenos de ideas.❤

[@originaltwyla4991]

I love a good tidy-up! ❤

[@deehalpern8988]

A pit of snakes? - Yikes! But I do love your lighthouse idea. Everything is looking so good…garden, house, patio, etc. I wish I had some of your energy. ⚡️

[@earthangel8730]

Beautiful! The song at the end of the episode suits you Harriet. Don't give up. 💯 ❤

[@cantocant2346]

Your plinth looks amazing! It's a lovely little artist detail.

[@kb3716]

Amazing! LOL. As always. So happy you all are happy and healthy and making incredible progress. Everything is looking wonderful. The raised beds are so beautiful and handy. Love and admiration from Florida! 💖

[@luisaleonardi666]

The area you've just cleared is where Santi is going to start making his first steps.Lovey cute little boy. Very good progression,due also to your present health, Harriet . Love you all❤

[@petro3441]

Wow girl you have accomplished alot. It looks great where you have clean up and love the raised beds. Please just give yourself a little bit more rest time❤

[@jldisme]

The mosaic looks lovely! Yet another new skill you have learned. I'm so glad you're feeling better! I live in rural West Virginia in the US, and we can't ever store our pet food outside because possums, raccoons and black bears will stop by for a snack. We once had a black bear drag off an entire 20 lb bag of cat food. It was stored in a very sturdy wooden box with the lid wired shut, but the bear was able to pull the lid off with brute force. I am in awe of your creativity, your flexibility and your drive to just keep going, no matter what! A mess with drilling holes in a wall? Put up some pictures. The fish all died? Great fertilizer.

[@petro3441]

This mosaic project will look awesome at any stairs or flowerbeds. Great job

[@patriciapadgett4696]

Lovely to see you so much better Harriet,and always a joy to see Santi, he's absolutely beautiful & seems such a good baby. You are making a beautiful homestead together, & nothing seems to faze you. Love from our mountain in Spain. ❤

[@carolblackler9386]

Hello there lovely family 😘. My goodness you have been so busy 😊. The outside area is looking great 👍 and will be even better when you've finished all the other bits and pieces 😊. I'm so glad that you are feeling better 😌. See you next time 😊❤😊.

[@cantocant2346]

Your gallery wall is so pretty!

[@jldisme]

Maybe put a mosaic on the exposed edges of the bathtub? Thank you, Harriet, for the video. Admiring all your industry always brightens up my day. Using pegboards on the wall for tools It's a great way to maximize space. The fence looks very nice. Perhaps someday you can plant some twining flowers there. Or even cucumbers. I've had success in the past with training cucumber vines vertically. It makes some super easy to harvest.

[@dorothysutton5162]

It's great to hear that you're feeling better!

[@SmithsdaleFarm]

Cute mosaic. Good place to try it out.. and it looks really good! “I think I need an ice cream to spur me on” 😂😂 I knew there was a reason we were friends

[@normamurray4450]

I am so impressed with your strength and energy Harriet. You are creating a monument in time. So happy to hear you're feeling better.

[@jolene2172]

Such an inspiration as always! You’re videos are always motivating and calming at the same time 🥰

[@geraldinekerr8645]

You work so hard ,please take take time to recover ❤

[@valejul]

Hello and thank you for the videos. I think that if you want to keep the lovely dead tree stripped from its bark, you have to protect it from decay by covering it with whitewash or paint or varnish. It may end up falling off on a windy day as it looked a bit wobbly.

[@kristinregine4798]

cleaning up and organizing is the most satisfieing job in the world. And watching it is the best.

[@stephenmoss9842]

Glad to see your making a speedy recovery, remember to pace yourself.

[@juanitakauffman6336]

The raised gardens are looking good. The cleanup looks nice. I like the dead tree you are debarking.

[@angelescanedo1184]

Hola, desde Galicia, me gusta mucho ver los videos, aprendo mucho la verdad.Espero que estéis bien al 100% los tres.Un abrazo.❤

[@saulamedina3880]

Gracias , por dejarnos ver vuestra vida y experiencias , Santi es un duendecillo precioso y el cariño con que tratáis a los animales realmente reconfortante ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@alisymes2011]

Agree with all the lovely comments 💕 great catch up xx

[@catherineclement7798]

merci de nous faire découvrir votre coin, très jolie promenade

[@letibasgall9382]

Hola Harriet! Me alegra mucho saber que te sientes mejor. Has trabajado muchísimo, te felicito por todos los cambios. Mucha suerte 🍀

[@lidijabirsa7768]

So glad you feel better now, you're gonna use to get your thyroid pill the first thing in the morning. I'm waiting half an hour to have my morning coffee for the last 15 years!😁 You did a great job tidying around and mosaic work looks awesome! Best wishes lovely family ❣️

[@tracytanasiychuk8253]

Glad you are feeling better. Blessings from Canada 🇨🇦

[@Jo_Lori]

I'm so happy you're doing better!

[@juliannapasztory3819]

Contentos de verte tan bien Harriet, buen trabajo, como siempre!

[@user-el9ik1iv7n]

well done Harriet!

[@user-wi4es9tc7x]

So glad you are feeling better ❤

[@user-hd2mt9xh2p]

Lovely to see you getting thing's sorted out and the raised beds are a good idea.

[@erikafernandez3508]

Te felicito. Podrías un día mostrarnos la casa en su conjunto. Un tour de su patio fachada y alrededores

[@naranlidzhiev8957]

You make me calm and happy. Thanks!

[@PeterPazucha]

Love that you learn from your “oops” and revise and adapt, learning as you go. Homesteading can’t come with a set of hard fast rules, and every property wants something different! Keep up the delightful content!

[@susanyates4233]

Will you get small, unwanted visitors coming in throught hole in the wall? I can hear little Santi in this video, he has grown so muchxx

[@marilyndavis5798]

You are looking well. I'm pleased to see it. ❤

[@charola41]

Love you all, hoomans and animals!!!!!

[@LadyLeoneLocks]

Fish will break your heart. You do EVERYTHING you can for them and they die so easily. 🐟

[@ginacrusco234]

Harriet, you stupefy me with your endless creativity and productivity! Not content to build a simple plinth for practical animal feeding purposes, you create a mosaic work of art. I hope you plan to do the same with your leftover files for the cement terrace you cleaned up!

[@CherrieMcKenzie]

I know how easy it is for all kinds of piles to develop (as she looks sheepishly at her workshop) but you guys are doing a great job of just tackling tasks step by step and they build up to make life easier. That snake eating the fish was a scary sight and I have to say Harriet you are braver than I am to keep going on that task!! 😲😅

[@kdclothes]

Santi's little sweet face watching his mom is lovely. He is a beautiful boy. His sweet little gibberish makes me smile. I love what you did with the plinth. Very artsy. And am so happy to see you are feeling better. It took about two weeks for my medicine to begin making me feel better. I will be thinking about all three of you. You all work very hard and your home is warm and homey and inviting. I loved the pictures you hung. lovely. the walk was a perfect way to end the episode. As always, I will look forward to your next video. love from Italy, Katie

[@stacylandis9806]

We all need to organize our rubble at times...😂 Thank you for sharing your life with us!

[@adenvet2830]

Hi guys,when you mentioned moscitos i thought about the plant called catnip its related to the mint family if you can grow it in your area its a very useful plant its medicinal you can make tea with it and its a great insect repellent IE moscitos to use it as a repellent you simply pick a few leaves and rub them on your skin.

[@mariaarlen956]

Es increíble lo que trabajas, great! Thank for your videos,… nice music nice projects and little baby!

[@lisakilmer2667]

I'm so impressed by the volume of achievements. I think small jobs can be a real bane, because they take disproportionately long to do. So finishing a boatload of small jobs is very impressive indeed. Clearing out rubbish is sort of a never-ending task and your patio area is really nice now. Creating little raised-bed-potager areas is both attractive and smart.

[@catherinecarreiro3955]

Your hard work and creativity are impressive. Things are looking wonderful and things seem to be moving along very nicely

[@HarrietRosie13]

I'm amazed at how you're doing all this with a baby! I have a 20 month old and I can't imagine having done all this since I had her. We're looking to do a similar thing in another country and I'm thinking, let's wait until she's older...but this is great inspiration!

[@matimunizf8993]

Qué trabajadora eres Harriet y te felicito por tu decisión de tirar trastos!! Es una gran liberación mental y de espacio real!

[@elainepearman2309]

Love your picture wall, it adds a homey feel to your house. I didn't realise your patio was so big, beautiful space indeed. You could look at tiling the area that is in good condition, eventually. I must admit I am OCD too and the mess around your renovation pressed a few buttons in me but you did an amazing job of biting the bullet and clearing stuff away. That isn't easy to make that decision but once made carrying it out is a pleasure. So happy to hear that you are feeling a lot better, it does take time to recover. Santi is growing so big and gorgeous and I was very pleased to see you feeding him on camera, all power to you. Good luck with all you do on your property. 🥰🥰🥰

[@pianoplants7884]

I'm so happy to see your health and energy recovering Harriet! Also, the food garden beds closer to the house will be more practical (than the long beds you removed some time ago) over the long haul. Much love and respect from NYC! 🌻💚🥗🌻

[@i_might_be_lying]

When it's super hard to find where to drill reliable mounting holes in concrete, I usually first mount a big sheet of 15-20mm stained plywood to the wall as a wall double, and then just use wood screws to hang shelves, hooks and paintings. To figure out where to drill holes in plywood, you can use a cardboard template to transfer hole pattern to ply.

[@teresaedwards3659]

I'll watch this again later because I missed some. I was excited to see your tile project and I love how it turned out! I've been saving broken ceramics to do something like that , only a bit smaller proportions to fit on stepping stones. I love working with cement, I think because it's so permanent., take care, Teresa

[@robynclarke5274]

Good to know your on the mend. Mosaic always looks better once grouted.

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

I think your mosaic tile experiment was very successful! I'm sure you learned some things (like do the vertical walls first). You were wise to jump in and give it a try. That's how you learn. You have the soul of a 'builder' ♥ I had to laugh when you brought out your drill. At first it looked like a jackhammer! I was expecting a small cordless drill. Did you have a tungsten carbide masonry bit? With a good bit and your drill set to "hammer" it should have popped holes in rock no problem. But it all worked out in the end. Hanging pictures was a great solution :) AHHHHH Back to the tank! Just in time for the big heat :) In American folklore, the native peoples taught the Pilgrims (who were starving) to drop a fish into a hole before planting a few corn seeds on top. And that is how the Pilgrims survived in the new world. :) As you are rebuilding your pizza oven - and you said that your house was small - have you considered building an outdoor wood fired 3 season kitchen? Many homesteaders do - and I find the to be quite appealing - especially during the summer months. If you search YT, you can find some very creative outdoor kitchens that use one firebox to heat everything. The best are eastern European, in my opinion. Lovely video Harriet. Have a wonderful week :)

[@azuelectra]

Me alegra ver que estas recuperandote,toda la limpieza del exterior está quedando genial,se ve todo más espacioso. Ánimo y a seguir❤❤

[@thethreeamigos6764]

Glad your feeling better,you need to take it easy xx

[@robinsouth8555]

Glad you are feeling better, made me smile. The tree trunk your debarking, would probably hold up longer if you coated it with several layers of tongue oil.

[@shirleygreaves9650]

I’m so glad that you are feeling better. Even though your videos are busy I find them strangely relaxing. I love the mosaic. I could never swim in what will be the natural pool, I couldn’t swim with snakes and frogs!

[@dvidgonzales8376]

Maybe to waterproof sides could wash sides with cement powder not to clump but not to dust off . Vinegar is good removing mold. Have same shelf brackets , toggles are good on empty walls and ceilings,

[@carollee2078]

So glad you’re feeling better! ❤

[@jbyrd2516]

I have seen some terrific outdoor floors made using a combination of remaining concrete and smallish patches of tile mosaics. Might be worth considering… Regards from Aus.

[@morganleticia2316]

Harriet you are incredible my goodness you just had surgery I hope you’re resting

[@bellaloba2684]

Lovely to hear your feeling well and back up to speed ! Yes ! What a beautiful tesserae project! I was thinking a decorative tile finish would work well there, then there you are doing it ! I did a big project like that on an outdoor entry wall and landing of my house.You could do this over in tact areas of your patio you want to fix btw. I added flat pebbles I bought on mesh at tile store pulled some stones off and mixed tile and glass too, some seashells here and there glued lightly and placed the 12" mixed mosaics i created on the wall it looked great.Laying them out together to create your overall design/make it look random and not like a bunch of squares before placing helps. (just few drops of laminate floor adhesive added to each piece to hold to mesh while handling, allow most of surface area of each tessare/stone/ glass to accept cement) Maybe try adding these to one of your projects, so much fun! Making them in 12" x 12 "mesh blocks makes it easier and faster to do a large area like a wall, walkway step or patio before thinnest / cement sets.

[@ephphathaoracle]

So glad you’re feeling better ❤

[@cathyholt5215]

Glad you're feeling better! I take thyroid hormone as well. Amazing how quickly it works. I love the mosaic project.

[@valeriebostick1913]

Very nice video you stay busy baby getting so big 🇬🇧😊

[@doloresperez2139]

Hola familia, pasito a pasito se hace caminito. Tu constacia, tu trabajo infatigable, estan haciendo una casa y sus alrrededores, cada dia mas bonitos y confortables. Te admiro y te mereces cuatro helados , mas como premio 😂😂. No soporto ratas, ratones, culebras ,serpientes, eres muy valiente o yo muy cobarde 🤷🤷. Mil 😘😘😘😘😘

[@MatildeMoon]

Harriet you work so hard and you have done so much so many project to achieve but look after yourself first then work the baby needs you take care try to rest and find time to relax sometimes slowly but safe enjoy life with your family see you bye

[@anastasiyamemetova3849]

You were right about removing shelfs, at least it's risky that smth fall off and it gives more space in the room

[@gin3s]

very very satisfying video, please more tidying up and throwing away stuff!

[@biddyodea3876]

Like your old self again, Take it easy though!!!