A Little Destruction

 It has been some time since I posted. Denise and I arrived in Portugal in November of 2020 and since then, we have been furnishing the house, and making ourselves comfortable. There is still lots of work to be done, before we are satisfied. Some of the delay can be attributed to Covid-19 and some to the speed of workers in Portugal. One thing Denise has learned, since she made all of the arrangements for the repairs.... never pay all of the money, until it is completed. As a builder, I have learned that holding back even 15% can be a great incentive. That last 15% is pure profit. Alas... we have what we have. Our time in Uruguay has conditioned us to be patient.

Anyway - I have decided to take on a few projects, myself. While initially I thought I would just sit back and get the work done, I figured I might as well plunge in and take on some of the upgrades.

I am in the process of removing an old concrete sink in our side patio. Probably 100 years ago, it was the family laundry, but since we have a separate laundry room upstairs, we need the space for a sitting area and some lounges. What I have learned is that the Portuguese built things to last. I have never had a harder time than trying to demolish this old sink. But it has to be done. A little each day.

Our Old Concrete Sink

Next step will be removing the completely decorative fireplace in our tiny living room. Why anyone would make a complete fireplace, without a chimney... I don't know. But we need the space. Our little TV room is very small and this will make a difference.

Completely Decorative

As an update to our journey, here, we have received our formal temporary residence cards. We made all the necessary appointments in the U.S., then made our SEF (Border Control) appointment, and a few weeks later, received the cards in the mail. We have also registered with the National Health Service and received our health number. That means we have the option of using our private insurance (which is so much more reasonable than the U.S.) or using public facilities. We actually have an appointment in a few weeks for the examination needed to exchange our driver's licenses. There is still some paperwork needed to complete that, but that will actually be one of the last (if not THE last) thing we need.

Still unable to visit other places in the country. Looking forward to visiting Coimbra and Porto, not to mention Tomar and Lisbon. Denise has stayed in all those places, while she was here for the 5 months needed to secure the house, but I just came in November and straight into lockdown.

Portugal is slowly removing restrictions, and assessing the situation every two weeks.

So, this is the latest. Will try to do better as things progress.