Week 26 of our new life

Monday, well first day in our new house, interesting day. All of our stuff came out of storage today, so the house is full of boxes, bits of furniture etc, cannot unpack very much as the builders are still in and the dust is awful.  We have our own bed tonight so that is a bonus.  Am managing to get a good fire going for the evening so we do have warmth. Adrian and Roger turned up at Lunchtime today, Roger got on with the steps outside our bedroom and Adrian connected the Hob, fitted my whirligig outside.  Problems with the hot water, boiler going on and off, got the heating engineer in, he adjusted a few things and so far fingers crossed it is working, think that because the radiators are not connected yet this could be part of the problem as the pressure on the boiler is very high, either that or we need a new boiler!!!  David is getting on with tiling the pool terrace.  Manuel came to measure for the exterior blinds and to make sure that I was happy with what Douglas had decided, LOL so the blinds will be fitted on the 16th December.  Unpacked a few kitchen items but have 4 packages undelivered so will need to chase the removal company tomorrow.  Decided we was having a casserole for tea, hit a big problem, cannot open the oven door.  Adrian had problems fitting this as he had to change where it was going to go, I was not too happy but it had to go right near the front door, well now because the front door has been fitted I cannot open the Oven door, not sure how we will get around this issue, cannot wait to see Adrian's face in the morning!!  Not looking good anyway!! Casserole ended up being cooked on the hob and it turned out very well LOL.  Have to keep smiling :)

Boxes and Packages

and more Boxes

Tuesday, another day has dawned.  Adrian decided that the front door should have been fitted according to the opening of the oven door.  Douglas was on the phone first thing this morning, they are sending two technicians out to seal all the windows from the outside, if they have time they will have a look at trying to refit the front door, well guess what they didn't have time, hopefully will come back Monday, meanwhile I cannot use the oven, Oh joy.  They are also disputing whether it is their fault or our fault that the door does not fit correctly, according to them they liaised with the builder and all was confirmed as correct!!! This will be a story that will go on no doubt.  Internal doors being fitted today and over the next 3 days, good start the first two frames did not fit, the door entrances should have been bigger, bloody hell, the dust and dirt is indescribable and I am decidedly pissed off, Adrian is moaning because a lot of his work is now going to have to be redone, we phoned the Company, they are doing the work and they will do the remedial work so Adrian has nothing to do with it, told Adrian quite heartily that he has nothing extra to do, hang his head in shame!!  We have decided that now on a day to day basis we will instruct Adrian as to what we want done, 2 days with only 3 lights fitted is not good enough and I want the inside finished sooner rather than later, Douglas took me out as I was on the verge of telling them all to get off the job as I feel I have had enough, not the right thing to do at this moment.  David is getting on with the pool terrace great and has finished tiling it today.  Roger has finished the steps from our room to the pool and also the shelves in the Living Room.  We had to get the Oil changed in the car today, so visited Sao Laurenco whilst we was waiting on the car getting done, again another lovely little village with the main attraction being the church. Unpacked the Hoover which is a godsend for all the dust so I guess I will be hoovering at 5.00pm every night when the builders finish just to keep the dust down.  Got the fire blazing now and a Morgans and Coke, aaahh reeelaaax :)

Sao Laurenco Church

Church to pray to get me through this

Wednesday, builders and door fitters all around us again today, decided to go to the beach for a nice long walk to get away from all the dirt and dust and regroup on thoughts etc.  The tap was rearranged today so now works normal red is hot and blue is cold. The grouting has been finished on the tiles in the kitchen think that was it for day 3 of this week!! another 3 door frames fitted and 1 bathroom door fitted, not on our bathroom, trying to get a pee in peace is slightly impossible just now, anything else just does not happen until after 5.30pm!! The tiles have been laid on the terrace outside our bedroom and the steps have been concreted, and the tiles are now finished on the pool terrace.  Funnily enough the lights on the terrace and the gates now do not seem to work, but the lights in the kitchen do, every day seems to bring something else that does not work or is not right, cannot understand what is going on incompetence springs to mind and I am fast running out of any patience that I have managed to hold on to.  Tomorrow is another day, this will be my mantra until this job is finished :).
Thursday, Portuguese lesson this morning, teacher started straight off in Portuguese so threw us a little bit, did finally get into the swing of it and our homework from last week only had a couple of mistakes in it, so quite happy with that.  We then went off to buy new sheets for our bed, flannelet is what you need for the winter here so got two sets of sheets, determined to be cosy. I have got the log fire going great every night and the warmth is really good, no radiators on as yet and not likely to be this week, have got a portable heater that we put in our bedroom just now so warms it up but the fire does great.  The internal doors are now fitted and look fantastic, just a couple of frames need attention.  The wardrobe doors have come in a slightly different shade so they need to be corrected, not sure how long we will have to wait for them!!  David has started the finishing touches to the rear of the pool extension.  Roger has got one more step to put in for our bedroom terrace to the pool and Adrian not quite sure what he is achieving (it is the things that we cannot see) that is definitely true as I cannot see very much having been achieved for this week!! My god the process is slow.  We also got two new lights for the terrace and looked at sets of drawers for the bedrooms but need to measure up to make sure they will fit, getting there!!!!

Fire on the go

Friday, Security Company were meant to come today to fit security system for house, they texted to say they couldn't manage today will do it on Monday!!  Had to go back to Guia to get some parts required for the radiators, done some food shopping etc.  James and Valentina arrived while we were out to fit the curtain hooks for tie backs, they just got on with it, one pair of tie backs too big so we will need to take them to shop to get shortened just because curtains have been shortened, not a problem as I want a cushion made as well for our bedroom.  Roger has nearly finished the steps, looking good.  Adrian has started on the 3rd bedroom bathroom but not quite sure how far he got, definitely not finished and now half the lights are not working, think we are going to have to get an electrician in now. We have started to unpack the boxes for the kitchen and managed to get them all finished so everything kind of put away. No point in unpacking any other boxes just now as work is still required in all of the rooms. The Internal Door people did not come today I guess they will be back on Monday.  Here you just never know who is going to turn up and when!!  Adrian should have done a bit of cementing for them to fit one of the doors, but that has not been done yet so maybe just as well.  Thank goodness it is the weekend, no builders for 2 days, perhaps we can get rid of some of the dust.
Saturday, have not been out of the door today. have been unpacking some things and repacking other things. Cleaned out all of the rooms to keep them dust free, cleaned all of the terrace also. Managed to sit on the terrace this evening and enjoy a drink. the weather is lovely during the day so making the most of it.  Gets colder at night so the log fire goes on and makes the house all cosy.  Plant Pots looking a bit dead at the moment so hoping I can revitalise them, we shall see, I think only time will tell.  Looking good and the feeling is so good to be in our own house and to be able to enjoy it just now. Snagging list being done for Adrian for Monday, lots of snagging!!!
Sunday, lovely day today managed to have breakfast on a nice clean terrace, then got all the washing done, hung out and dried, and sorted out the garden stuff into the area underneath the pool for storage, also cleaned up all this area as such a mess of cement and brick etc.  Went to a Christmas Fair in Sao Bras, bought some Hyacinth bulbs and a cork purse, met up with Mick and Pauline and then went for lunch in Almancil.  By the time we got back we managed to get all of the rooms measured for rugs, marked out where we wanted towel rails etc to go, finished off the snagging list (which is very big) and then I planted my bulbs.  This has been a good week for getting settled into the house, cannot unpack all of our things so we are living amongst a lot of dust and dirt and boxes but it is home and beginning to feel good.
Laughter line for this week:  Mansion Tax welcomed by Makers of Monopoly:
Hasbro, makers of the popular Monopoly Board Game have welcomed the Governments proposal for a Mansion Tax, but have called for them to go further and introduce taxes for those who have more than two houses on the same road, and for hotel owners.  Having these taxes will give us a reason to release another version of our game, said a Hasbro spokesman.  The new edition will be bang up to date, with a high speed railway going through Mayfair.  European court backing for the get-out-of-jail-free-card, and a quantitative easing version that comes with a free money printer.  We have also amended the rules, around the role of banker he added.  Rather than hiding profits offshore under the game box, they can spend all their cash safe in the knowledge that other players will bail them out.

Terrace outside our Room

Steps going in

Pool Terrace being tiled

Sunrise Sunday Morning

Hyacinth bulbs planted

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Week 25 of our new life

Monday, woke up feeling a bit fed up today, finished cleaning two chairs and then decided we should go for a walk.  The day was lovely but a slight wind, good for walking, walked 5 miles so felt a bit better after that.  David and Joao started early on the pool terrace, getting the electrics put in etc, and he will be ready for the tiles on Wednesday, now we need to see how we are going to collect them or get them delivered.  Adrian and Roger turned up at Lunchtime due to problems with the jeep, so dont expect much to be done today.  Went and had a chat regarding work still to be done and us moving in at the weekend, he is certain the inside will be finished from his side by Friday.  This afternoon we contacted Nuno from Mesteraposa to see if we can get the front door put on and the outside windows all sealed by the end of this week, should be a possibility for Thursday, he will call back, called in to Antonio to see about the gates being finished, he will be up to do them Wednesday or Thursday.  Called Carlos to see if he can schedule the interior doors for the end of this week, he will also call us back to confirm, and also he will finally give us the quote for the vertical exterior blinds.  Waiting to hear from James and Valentina regarding fitting the curtains on Saturday and waiting on an email from Gorges regarding fitting the flue to the chimney.  Have a distinct feeling that this week is going to be busy and also it will be a waiting game.  Adrian thinks he will need another month, weather permitting to finish all of the outside, and he needs to adjust his quote for the sun terrace as he forgot to add in sealing the terrace floor!! Told him he needs to give us the adjusted quote as soon as possible, he has Roger helping him now so think that is the real cost of adjusting!!! Douglas cannot decide whether we should get our things out of storage now or wait until we come back from the UK I have lost the will to live with this as clothes etc are all in storage and we are coming back to the UK for 10 days in all and have very little in the way of winter clothes, plus the weather is getting cooler here!!, also will have very little in the way of furniture and no fridge etc, hey ho will just have to make do or buy a couple of big warm jumpers and pairs of socks LOL.  Let us see how the week unfolds.  Feeling Glum :(
Tuesday, feeling a little better today, curtain fitting confirmed for Saturday, TV etc fitting confirmed for Sunday.  Tiles for pool extension being delivered on Thursday, and all our stuff from storage is coming on Monday morning, Oh joy, we will have clothes and bedding etc, cannot wait.  Went to Guia to organise Tile delivery, bought the grout required and spacers also paint for the fire, got back and realised I had forgotten to buy the extra plinth required for the kitchen, groan, now means another trip to Guia, it is quite a long trip and just cheeses me off that we now have to go again.  It is coming together really.......  By the time we got back to the house, Adrian and Roger were putting the slabs in around the outside area of the kitchen, looking good, the wall art has been put on the outside of the kitchen extension, also looking good and Roger has chipped out the last piece for the wall art on the column in the kitchen.  David was cementing the inside of the pool extension wall, although Joao seems to have disappeared so David was working on his own, very woolly answers when we asked questions!!!  I have got to the stage where I don't really care who likes who or who gets on with who as long as they get the job done.  Needed to ask Adrian some questions regarding radiators, outside windows etc but thought it best to wait until tomorrow. Had a good meeting with Manuel regarding the exterior vertical blinds and he has given us a really good price, so think we are going to go with him, but waiting on Douglas deciding.  Have been invited to Mick and Paulines for dinner on Friday, my first Portuguese cookery lesson, hey ho better get my mind in the right frame LOL. Have changed my mobile to a Portuguese number now, have texted everybody to let them know, if you have not received the text and want the number get me on Facebook as I seem to be now having problems texting certain numbers, just what I don't need really. I am practising my Duo Lingo twice a day to help with my language, doing not bad and have got to Lesson 5, quite difficult really as we have only one word for one thing, but over here there are about 5 depending on who is speaking or who you are speaking to, takes some working out. :)

Stone finally in for step

Archway from Kitchen to L/Room

Slabs going in

Wednesday, not sure what kind of day I could call it today, cannot get internal doors in until Tuesday, also not sure when we can get Front Door fitted and Windows sealed on outside, next week sometime!! guess we are going to have a few cold nights.  Rain is forecast for Friday and Saturday hopefully it is not the start of the bad weather just yet.  Radiators are not going to be done by Friday and a host of other things are not going to be finished so feeling a bit glum again :(.  There is so many things still to be done inside before even the outside is started.  Had a discussion with Roger today on the Sun Terrace, so will think about not having a roof on it because it is so high up a wooden structure might not stand the winter winds, we can still get the floor sealed and tiled and have a pool table maybe just not a roof above it, also discussed architrave around the outside windows, this is not too big a job and will give a better finish to the windows.  Not even going to think about landscaping the garden just now, that will come in time when we have lived in it for a bit and then get a feel for what we want, it is also not a major consideration just now, once the mess has been cleaned up it will look not too bad, and Rome was not built in a day!!!  The light has now been put up in the Living Room and the last piece of wall art on the kitchen column has been put in, also the slabs around the extension are finished.  The gates were finished off today and we now have electric gates, but another job we have to get done is to dig the electric cable for the gates into the ground and once again repaint the gates where they have welded the electric arms, oh bother more work to get done.  David is busy with the pool terrace although he is working on his own at the moment because Joao has not reappeared!! the tiles will arrive tomorrow afternoon so he will then be able to start tiling it, I have decided that Douglas and I will paint it, just add it to our list of jobs!! LOL.  The weather is still good and managed to get all the washing done today, dried and ironed.  Not cleaning until the weekend as we are moving out so will have double cleaning then, as will need to do our house as well, Happy Days.  Have booked our flights to come back to the UK, will be in Scotland 5th - 10th December and Devon 10th - 14th December, so December will be a mad month as well.

Living Room Lamp Shade

Thursday, 2nd Portuguese lesson this morning, sentences, ha ha would be a good idea if we could have the basics first, just as well I am doing Duo Lingo as well, this is not bad and I have got up to lesson 5 phrases now. We also have some homework to do for next week LOL.  Retaining the information is my greatest difficulty, Douglas shuts off after a while, he does the same to me so not to worry he is taking it in!!  After our lesson it was off to get another 8 tiles required to finish off inside, easier said than done as they have stopped doing the ones we originally got and have changed the size, why do they do that??? so frustrating, luckily it is in a spot that you will not really see so we should get away with it.  Also bought the plinth required to finish off the kitchen units, although still waiting on the panel and cornice to come in, December sometime, What!!!! Back to the house, Adrian is busy putting in Radiators and Roger is doing the step outside the French doors to our bedroom.  David is making a good job of cementing all the pool terrace.  It is definitely getting chillier now and I need my slippers to keep my feet warm LOL, only 4 days to go and we will have warmer clothes etc etc, cannot wait.  Have decided due to many factors that we will not be really settling in to the house in December due to work etc still to be done, we are just going to move in and muddle on, as long as we have, heat, light and hot water and something to cook on then we will just get on with things, we will be away for 10 days anyway so what does it matter.
Friday, going to be a non stop day today, phone call first thing we are getting the front door fitted sometime in the afternoon, Oh good, they wont be able to seal the windows outside etc but can fit the front door, well better than nothing I suppose. Another phone call to say that we would get a ton of logs delivered between 4 and 5, great supposed to be at Mick and Paulines to make the dinner tonight, oh well phoned to say we would be later.  Managed to go get some food shopping, got back to the house and front door was fitted after 3 hours, looking good, again nothing is being done any justice at the moment because the house is not finished.  Logs finally came, the truck just upended and dumped the logs in the front garden, so we then had to stack a ton of logs and wrap them in polythene as we have some rain and it is forecast rain for Saturday as well we need to keep them dry.  Put a pile in the new log basket and also a couple of small piles on the terrace, so that will keep us going, wrapped the rest with polythene in the hope that they will stay dry.  If they get wet we will not be able to use them this winter.  Finally arrived at Mick and Paulines just after six, straight into my cookery lesson, Bacelhau  et Nos, which is salted cod fish in cream with sliced potatoes, it was like making a lasagne only with fish and sliced potatoes, first time I have made Bechamel Sauce for a long time, but thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Dinner was finally served just after 8.00pm, along with Carrots and Broccoli it turned out very well and I was dead chuffed.  Mick has excellent equipment in his kitchen, and does all the cooking for them, and it was good for my confidence to do this, not sure if I want to cater for the size of parties that he entertains, but will certainly give it a bash once we are well and truly settled.

At last a Front Door

How to deliver logs

in two easy steps

Saturday, another early start today, curtains being fitted at 09.30, packed up quite a bit of stuff so moving that in to the house as well.  James and Valentina arrived and just got to work, they had another appointment at 2.00pm so had to be away by 1.30pm.  It is amazing what they have done with the curtains, I did not think they would do our windows but they have managed to remake them completely and we are really pleased with the results, again nothing does justice to them at the moment and some of the photos might be a bit on the dark side, the only thing there was not time to do was the hooks for the tie backs, so they will return next week, not in a hurry for them as work is still being done anyway and have to wrap the curtains in plastic to keep them free of dust anyway.  While they were doing the curtains we painted the fire, and that has come up really well also, so far so good.  Needed hot water to try and wash down the floors etc, surprise surprise no hot water, cannot believe Adrian has gone away and left us with no hot water, wait until I speak with him on Monday.  The Radiators are fitted on to the walls but are not connected to anything either, thank goodness we are still in our other accommodation until tomorrow, the fire will be dried by then so we will be able to use that and have some heat, not sure how we are going to wash on Monday morning, feeling annoyed :\ We then decided we would get the Double Bed put together as we will need to sleep on that tomorrow, proved rather difficult and really heavy as it is solid wood.  We had difficulty trying to get the base attached to the headboard, I had a light bulb moment and suggested standing it on its end and then we could knock the joists into place, yes we stood it on its head only for it to collapse and hit me on the head and Douglas on the hand and crash to the floor.  I now have a huge egg head which is very very sore and Douglas has a sore hand, as for the bed well solid wood it has some damage to it, that made me cry more than the pain, so not sure now what to do with it as once things are scraped and dented they never seem quite the same!!! feeling pained :{{ Oh well we might just have to go and buy a new base, oh joy!!!  We got the single beds into the other room, again with great difficulty, they are solid and so heavy to try and manoeuvre up steps and round corners, we eventually got them in the room, and by this time I had had enough, time to give up for the day, tomorrow is another day so will start again.  Not sure if today was as good a day as it should have been.

Living Room Curtains

Living Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Kitchen

Bedroom 2

Fire good as new

Kitchen

Sunday, Douglas was up first today and I got a cup of tea in bed, first time since we have been here, still have a sore head and my back is none too good either.  Busy day as we are moving out of our temporary accommodation and in to our house, it is a great feeling just wish it was all finished.  Alistair came to fit the TV and equipment at 11.00 so Douglas took things down and I cleaned from top to bottom so we left the house nice and clean.  The weather is good again today, no rain which helps as our garden is a mixture of sand, cement and god knows what so it has been really yucky for the past couple of days.  Alistair finished fitting the TV at 2.30pm and I had managed to finish moving everything else down to our house so we decided to go for some lunch, just to have a break.  Then back to the house, tidy up what we could and put away what we could ready for tomorrow, the builders will be back.  Lit the log fire, certainly need some practice getting a good fire going as it took a couple of hours, the house is cold though at the moment as we have no internal doors yet but we have heat so thank god for that.  Tomorrow is going to be sunny and dry just as well as we have all of our stuff coming out of storage.  A good day and a good end to the week and nice to at last be in our own house, a few more weeks and it should all be done.
Laughter Line for this week:
After the Americans went to the Moon, the Soviets announced they would be sending a man to the Sun. The Engineers objected. "If you send a man to the sun, he will burn up"! "What do you think I am, stupid?" he replied. "We'll send him at night!"

We have TV!!

The home fires burning

Week 24 of our new life

Monday, one of those days today.  Antonio came up this morning to measure for exterior blinds, good quality and what we are looking for only we have to have a downpipe moved to fit them in one corner. Waiting for quote.  Time to go for a spot of lunch then we have Nuno from World Telecom to try and sort out Wi Fi etc, two and a half hours later we were set up with Wi Fi and I have a new Portuguese phone number, only cannot use it just now as my phone appears to be still blocked so cannot change the Sim Card.  Strange because when we was in Glasgow in October thought all that had been dealt with and I had a text message to say so!! not sure what has happened will need to go on-line now to try and sort it out.  This will save me a fortune on phone bills plus I can use Skype so well pleased with that.  We had an hour left before the shop shut to go and get the tiles for the pool extension and sun terrace, had chosen them a couple of weeks ago but as usual Douglas wanted to wait, I am never quite sure what Douglas is waiting for!! anyway guess what there were not enough tiles left for what we needed, does that surprise me, No getting quite used to the fact that anytime I go back to get something it is never there, not sure what to do now guess will have to start looking again.  Have been back and forward to the house today but needed to catch up with Adrian, he has bought another builder in to help him and I had noticed today that there were jobs being done that had already been done!! not sure what this is all about, I am guessing that it is jobs that have not been done correctly in the first place.  This is becoming a pain in the A*** and I am getting more and more irritated, but by the time we got back they had finished for the night so will have to catch up with him tomorrow to see what is going on.  Also have to go and get more Hinges for the kitchen as we had not got enough, funny thought if you were told what to get then that is what you get!! obviously not here!!! I am going to become a builder and project manager or perhaps a mind reader would be more appropriate.
Tuesday, early start today to meet Mick and Pauline to take them around a few of the shops that we have found on our travels, they didn't buy anything but we managed to get two two seater outdoor cane furniture for one of the terraces, we are going to have 5 different spaces for seating areas so that means quite a bit of out door furniture, not all at once though, as and when I find it.  We then took them for lunch to Venepau in Almancil as they have never been there, think they enjoyed it!! Late afternoon back to the house to see what has changed today.  The Hob and Extractor have been fitted in the kitchen and the sink and taps, every time I go in the Kitchen I think Wow this is quite a big space LOL, the steps have been done in the Living Room and the false ceiling is going into the 3rd Bathroom.  David and Joao are laying the floor foundations for the pool extension and we gave him the lights for it and also pointed out where we want the electrical sockets. Things are coming together.

Foundations going in

How to get these from down here to up there

Dont use the step

Wednesday, Douglas was golfing today so I had a day all to myself, washing and housework to be done. Nice to do the housework without Douglas behind me waiting to hoover, managed to give it a thorough clean, as Douglas never thinks anything gets dirty.  Then I caught up with all my emails and Christmas shopping on-line, managed to get a few things and they are now on there way to Richards house ready for when I go back to wrap.  My day went really quickly.  Douglas didn't enjoy his golf today as much as last week, think because we are not settled in our own house yet and he is struggling with leaving me on my own, plus not used to having to travel over an hour just to play golf.  He is not sure yet as to where he will fit in on the golf circuit here, the one he is going to just now plays all over the Algarve where he is used to playing at one club and knew the course, whereas when he is playing here it is always at a different course and he feels under pressure to join the club, as he does not feel sure about it I think he should just wait and find his feet.  There are so many other things that we want to do and until we are settled in our home everything just seems to be up in the air.  It all takes time.  Was down at our house early this morning, David wanted to speak to Douglas, my words he is not here but I am the boss!!!  sorted out what was a minor thing anyway and the pool extension is going well.  Into the house. discussed with Adrian where we wanted the Shelves and Channels for the TV, this is ongoing as we have been through it a thousand times, so me being me made him draw it out on the wall, so now he is quite clear, just wait and see if it is what we get!!! Roger was getting on with the bathroom ceiling, and also he has put our wall art on the kitchen column, all I can say is WOW!! so pleased with it, and Ze has been digging out the pathway for around the kitchen extension outside, so the slabs will be going in shortly and also no rain will go into the kitchen, which was a maor concern with us, just because the way the ground was sitting, above the front door level rather than below it, now remedied.  My patience is being tested on a daily basis but also I am learning things about myself that I never knew, which at the end of the day can only be a good thing, mainly I am not as thick as I thought I was, and I know a lot more than I thought I did.  Tomorrow is another day LOL. Today I also got the printer connected to the Wi Fi so we can now print from Laptop, Phones, Ipad and Tablet, how about that!!
Thursday, today started with a very frustrated stressed Douglas, not sure why,  that is the way he got up, and it didnt really get any better.  It was out first Portuguese lesson today but before we went Douglas wanted to pop into the house, I didnt think it would be a good idea as when we go everything takes ages and there is always something not right, so I felt we would be late.  But!! we popped in, to find that Adrian was a panel short for the ktchen and then a Cornice short for the kitchen, he also wanted to go over once again the fitting of the shelves for the TV etc, NO NO NO how many times have we done this!!! needless to say it left us running late.  Arrived at our lesson just as it had started, which was not a good start, but never the less we got through it, but because the other people in the class are 3 weeks ahead of us, it was quite difficult to get into, but we managed, by the end we had done not too bad, whether it stays in our heads or not is something else.  We bought the book required so at least we can practice in between weekly lessons, although I think with everything else going on with the house it is going to be a struggle.  But we need to start some where.  At the end of the day everybody is in the same boat and are all learning just like us.  Roll on next week.  Then it was on to Guia to order the kitchen requirements, not in stock so ordered they are,  when they arrive is anyone's guess.  Whilst there we ordered tiles for the pool extension and sun terrace, could not get what I had originally wanted but like the ones we have chosen.  They will be in on Monday, next problem is how to collect 60sq metres of tiles!! Also bought shower baskets for in the showers, lucky enough we had discount to get so Douglas did not moan at the price.  By this time we were left with 10 minutes to get to Albufeira to meet Rigo regarding the pool table, we were 6 minutes late but that is usual for Portuguese so wasn't a problem.  The Pool Table is really nice, but Rigo now needs to come to the house to see if we can get it sited on the Sun Terrace, we also want the green cloth changed to Red Cloth, this is easy evidently!!!  So hopefully Rigo will visit the house on Sunday morning, we shall see.  After this Lunchtime had been and gone, and we needed to get to Almancil to pick up the Sky Box, The Blue Ray Player to take to the house to let Adrian and Roger see exactly what we are fitting in, we also had to talk to Alistair regarding the Wi Fi and if we have enough Ethernet Points on our router for our equipment.  Thank goodness Alistair offered us a cup of tea as by this time I was wilting and Douglas had not really come out of his stressed mode.  All became clear after a cup of tea and a chat and yes we have enough points etc etc, so we came away with the player, box etc to go back to our house and discuss with Roger and Adrian.  On the way back stopped at Venepau for a drink and then headed back to the house.  Adrian and Roger were just finishing, Douglas ran through the fitting of the boxes and then Adrian informed us that 'Bye the way' he doesnt have enough plinth for the kitchen either.  At this stage I just walked away and said we will have to go and order it on Monday.  8 days before we move in, still no radiators fixed in, electrics still to be done and more, is this really possible.  Having to put up with a bad tempered, stressed Douglas has been no fun today, but tomorrow is another day.

Learning Portuguese!!

Friday, busy day today unexpectedly, went to pick up our two seater sofas and got them in the car, on the way visited another shop and found two large tartan cushions, just had to have them and then found another two chairs for the terrace, which terrace I am not sure but got them anyway, lovely and comfy and they swivel and rock, LOL by the time we finished up and down transporting them home it was well past lunch time.  Went for Lunch and then went food shopping and finally got back to the house.  Adrian and Roger had left by this time but David and Joao were still finishing off the pool terrace wall, looking good. The Granite shelves have been put in the Living Room for the TV equipment, Hob, Oven and Microwave are fitted in the kitchen.  The gas man was up to check the boiler had been fitted correctly and he will issue a certificate once the radiators have been fitted, so that he can test them first. Douglas was in a bit of a better mood today thank goodness, didn't last long because I was spending!!.

New Wall going in centre

and to the Left

and to the Right

Saturday, decided today we were going to have a day off from thinking about the house or even going to the house.  There was a craft fair in Caldas de Monchique, so we took ourselves off to there.  What a beautiful place, we found the hotel that the craft fair was being held in, all local handmade items from, needlework, knitting, glass, leather, cards soaps etc, beautiful items that you just cannot buy, so bought a few things for unusual Christmas presents, Douglas grumping in his wallet again!!  Then we took a walk, such beautiful scenery and walks, thought it might be a nice place for a forthcoming wedding!! we found a bar, built into the hill, bricks and mortar, but such a lovely place, had a a large Pau E Chorizo (Sausage in Bread) and a Pastei de Nata (Custard Cake) absolutely melt in the mouth, washed down with a good cup of tea and a small beer, such a lovely place we will definitely be back to explore it more.  The days are still lovely and warm but as the sun starts to go down it is getting chillier, lucky we had our sweatshirts with us, but with only flip flops on our feet were starting to get cold.  Decided to head back and on the way stopped in at Albufeira to Charlies Bar, set right back from the strip and such a lovely bar, really friendly, another one to go back to, had a couple of drinks and then headed home.  A great day with nothing to worry about, we can do all that again tomorrow.  Settle down for the night and we will have our nightly game of scrabble of which at the moment I have only won 3 games, Douglas is a classic cheat at this as I do some really good long words and he finishes them with a letter on the end and grabs all the points LOL.  This is what happens with no TV to watch.

On Arrival

Having a stroll

Not our house!

Just a snack

Cosy surroundings

Original Bread Ovens

Rock Formation

Sunday, busy morning trying to clean and wash down the furniture although probably a but pointless as more dust will be created next week, trying to get things in order for us moving in next weekend.  Lit the wood burner to check that it was working properly, success a fire can be lit and works fine, still waiting for the flue to be sorted, but as long as I know it works we will have some form of heat.  Went out for lunch and had to put petrol in the car, alongside us filling up with diesel was a tractor, trying to imagine one of them in South Parks petrol station!!  Then off to Faro, wander around the shops, another birthday present to buy and then in to the cinema to see Captain Phillips.  This was a good film about the Somali pirates with Tom Hanks, kept you quite tense and on edge until the end.  Film finished about 9.30 so heading back, shops still open until midnight, also all the cafes etc and the mall was still very busy, amazing.
 Laughter line for this week:
I tried to login on my ipad, turns out it was an etch a sketch and I dont own an ipad.  Also I am out of wine.

Possible view for a Wedding?

Kitchen in Progress

Still in Progress

More Diesel please

Week 23 of our new life

Monday, the last day of Douglas's birthday weekend, and he has got a full day of golf and I get to go out shopping on my own, YESSSSSS!!! Douglas had a great day playing golf at Pinta which is near Silves, it is quite possible he has won the guest prize today, which would be a years free membership.  I treated myself to..................... A Mop, 2 bundles of Wire Wool, some Cleaning fluid for the fireplace and a ....Log Basket, plus added in lunch to make it a bit more exciting, I even looked at rugs today but at 25,000 euros decided against a rug (they were persian/cashmere), did have a voucher with 25% discount but still didnt think Douglas would be impressed.  Did see some nice saucepans but will go back and get them this week.  Managed to get back to the house before dark and wow, Ze the labourer was on site and my god the whole site was clean, and some exterior painting had been done, and the Granite had been fitted to the kitchen, so at the end of a good weekend this was the icing on the cake.  Long may it continue, we are moving in 5 days from now so collywobbles are beginning to surface and we are going to be busy for the next couple of weeks.
Tuesday, well forget what I said yesterday, we will not be moving into our house this weekend.  Work is just not finished enough for us to move in so we have decided to wait another fortnight.  Very disappointing and Douglas is like a bear with a sore head today.  The Granite has been delivered and fitted to the kitchen but there is so much mess around it that you cannot appreciate it at the moment.  We have signed up today for the security system, again that will join the queue of things waiting to be installed.  Nuno was supposed to come and see us today regarding the broadband etc but he sent a text to say he couldn't make it, he will get in touch when he can, if he cannot make it by the end of this week then that will be business he has lost. David and Joao have started on the pool extension, digging out for the columns to go in.  Off to quiz night tonight so should have a bit of light hearted fun. Sylvie the snail also visited us this morning but then rapidly disappeared!!  I did buy a new saucepan set today and got 50% off, thank goodness for that or I would still have no saucepans.

Sylvie the Snail

More bushes cut back

Prep work for Pool Extension

Wednesday, hoping today will be a better day.  Am going to work in our house today trying to clean up the fire and fireplace, we have a really good wood burner and rather than take it out and replace it, I have decided to attack it with a couple of good wire brushes and clean it thoroughly and then we can blacken it to make it look like new.  Spent 4 hours on it and must admit it looks rather good now, so pleased that I decided to do it.  Waiting on the chimney sweep to come and do the chimney and flue, hopefully then I can light it and test it.  Adrian is working on repositioning the boiler, which so far has taken 2 days and the work pace is very frustrating.  David and Joao have put in the metal rods for 3 of the pillars for the pool extension and I think the cement will be going in today as well.  Luis arrived to fit the satellite dish and also give us the correct measurements for the shelves in the Living room which will go underneath the TV, When that will be done is left to the imagination.  I managed to do a bit of sweeping as well so things are kept a bit tidier now.   The quiz night last night was good fun, and our team won so that made it even better, also on the raffle we won a Lasagne Dish and 6 bottles of Beer so we were both happy.  The quiz nights are held once a month and it is a good chance to catch up with everybody.  Thinking towards the weekend and perhaps giving the gates their second coat of paint, Douglas is thinking that it is not a job he wants to do again!!!  Managed to get hold of the removal company and the curtain people and cancel them for this weekend, have rebooked for the 23rd November. (We shall see). We have also had the door fixed where we are staying, the one that had the mosquito netting that Douglas ricocheted off (previous blogs), thank god that is done something less to worry about.

Columns going in

Thursday, this has been a quick week this week and the weather is still doing well although getting a bit cooler at night.   Got all the washing done today, dried and put away within 3 hours, amazing for November.  Picked up my Contact lenses after the third time of trying, seemingly they have 3 hours for lunch!! also collected 10 of our paving slabs in the car - only another 20 to collect.  World Telecom were supposed to come again today but could not make it, they have tomorrow or else!! ridiculous to think that they dont want to bother for our business, makes me think what would happen if something went wrong, they would not be reliable enough to come out, we have looked at other options for Broadband so will just wait and see.  Met Jan and Louise in Almancil so had a natter with them.  Adrian is still repositioning the boiler, David and Jaoa are moving on well with the pool extension.
Friday, early appointment for my Nails today, while I was chilling Douglas was going to the bank and then collecting another 10 paving slabs, only 10 more to go.  I did have to help him unload the car so I needed to put on my industrial work wear gloves, cannot ruin my nails can I !!  Then it was out and about to try and find someone to sort out our exterior blinds, as Carlos has not come back to us yet.  Found a Company in Patacao and Manuel will contact us, also found another one near Estrada Nacionale they will call us on Monday to come to the house and measure up, best out of 3 quotes this way.  World Telecom have made another appointment for Monday afternoon, we shall see if they cancel this time, if so then we will revisit other companies. Douglas is still trying to sort out his pool table and we have another appointment to go see one on Wednesday, have to remind him that the time it is taking Adrian to do anything there may be no point in buying one just now as we will have to pay for storage LOL. Went for lunch and food shopping and then back to the house in time for the guys clocking off for the weekend.  David and Joao have knocked down
the wall ready for the pool terrace and the 3 new pillars are drying nicely, amazing how much they have done in 4 days.  Adrian has put some kitchen cupboard doors on and he had Ze the labourer helping today so some walls have been cemented ready for painting, everything is so back to front that I am not sure what is ready and what is not, but again there is not one room complete as yet.  What have we got another 2 weeks!!

Once upon a time there was a wall!!

Saturday, we had our own little party last night so Douglas is the worse for wear today.  Went to pick up the last of our slabs so they are now neatly piled up in the drive ready and waiting to be laid.  Then decided to have the rest of the day as a lazy day, so packed a picnic and went to our house. Had a good look around at the work that has been done this week and then sunbathed by the pool, had a good four hours in the sun and then packed up and came back.  The weather has been really good and the forecast for the next week is also very good, still wearing shorts, TShirts and flip flops so cannot complain, just as well as most of our clothes are in storage so could cause a problem if the weather turns, hopefully it will last the next couple of weeks.  Booked our Portuguese lessons so start them on Thursday in the Beginners class, should be fun although Douglas not too keen, we will see how long he lasts.

Just a pile of slabs

New Boiler House

Slow rise of the Kitchen

Other side of the Kitchen!!

Foundations for Pool Terrace

Sunday, off to Estoi market this morning and then to Vilamoura in the afternoon.  Douglas wanted to go and see a pool table but it was too small, was a lovely afternoon had a nice lunch and also visited Pao Pao which evidently has the best chocolate cake in the world, will let you know as we have a bit in the fridge for later on. Getting dark by six o clock and you can feel the temperature drop in the evening, but all in all weather is staying good and this has not been too bad a week.  Laughter Lines for this week:
We all get heavier as we get older because there's a lot more information in our heads.  So I am not fat, I'm just really intelligent and my head couldn't hold any more so it started filling up the rest of me.  That's my story and I am sticking to it.