Week 12 of our new life

Monday, today was a non event day for me, had a terrible headache all day, slept most of the day in our room with air conditioning on, think the heat has just got to me.  So much to do but not a chance of doing anything as no energy at all. :(.
Tuesday feel a bit better today thank goodness as quite a few things to do today.  Early start so early breakfast, Douglas had been on his wasp annihilation so there were quite a few bodies around.  While we were eating breakfast out came the ant army to carry the wasps away, amazing to see them at work, they carry the wasps away, don't know what they do with them!! Then it was off to Tavira to look at accommodation for September.  We have stayed in Tavira before when we have been on holiday and it is a lovely place.  We was to meet Sharron from Whitby who is renting out a mobile home, well this mobile home is something else, 3 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms and an extensive patio on a beautiful site with bar, restaurant, pool and various forms of entertainment, perfect for us for September, and believe it or not Douglas thinks us buying one would be an ideal opportunity for rental income, he is going to look at it anyway, no prompting from me on this.  Anyway we have decided we will rent it for September as it is only 40 minutes from where we live we will be able to keep an eye on things at our house also.  Happy with that on the way back we visited a Pottery/Garden Centre which we have visited before, we bought 2 plants for the garden to replace two of the trees that we have cut down, bougainvillea so we wil get lots of flowers from them and also bought 6 light shades typical algarvean, we are trying to make sure that although our house will be modern it is going to have algarvean features rather than Brit features, I think it will work, although all the Brits are somewhat surprised as they believe in everything "English" even some with carpets!!!  We then headed into Santa Barbara to sort out a Post Office Box, after having to supply much paperwork , and thankfully meeting Julian, Louise and Marcia in the Cafe who were able to help us out with the paperwork we finally got one, hopefully now we can receive post.  Frustratingly enough we are still trying to track down a parcel which should have been delivered to us on Friday and which we now think or hope is at the DHL depot in Quarteira, wont actually know if it is there until we go tomorrow.  We then went on to Victors another cafe near home and met Dower our neighbour so that was another couple of beers, finally got back to Mick and Paulines just in time for the Water Delivery.  6.00pm dying for a swim so done my 28 lengths, missed yesterdays swim so Douglas thinks I should double my lengths, don't think one missed day will too much harm.  Finished up with a lovely full moon and the thought of another early start tomorrow.

Working Ants dragging the wasp

August Full Moon

Wednesday, another early start, had to be up at our house for 9.00am to let the water man in, we need the pool filling up as it needs a good clean as it has not been used or otherwise it will start to go green, and once that happens we have had it, this filling up 2 houses with water is becoming rather expensive.  Then off shopping again, we needed to get the shower cubicle for the small bathroom, lights for the kitchen and 2 bathrooms, wanted halogen lights for in the ceilings to give plenty of light, a tap for the new shower in the small bathroom as when we bought the shower it didnt come with a tap, very strange.  We managed to get all that plus a Whirlygig for the garden.  Still have not managed to get internal doors yet and also trying to decide on what lights to have in the living room.  Finally collected my parcel that cannot be delivered, this is because the postman cannot spend his time looking for a house name, which we have but we do not have a street name so end of!! I hope our post office box works, when we go back to my dads I am going to send myself a letter to see if it works.  Actually I am going to send myself a parcel with decaf teabags and sun lotion in it.
Thursday, another early start today for me to get my nails done, Douglas hates early starts and as he s not letting me drive the car at the moment (as he says I need to practice!!) he needs to get up, this is something at the moment that we cannot agree on.  I prefer to be up and out and back early afternoon whereas he prefers to lie in and then go out when it is at its hottest (just does not work for me that). We then went for a drive to Alvor, which is another fishing village, it has a lovely beach, plenty of shops and restaurants and will be well worth another visit.  Found the cheapest Morgans Spice in the Algarve at 16 euros a litre, Smirnoff is only 13 euros, will be worth a trip to stock up when we finally move into our house. Problem is they close in November until March so would have to do a lot of stocking up.  Still trying to track down doors, have found another place in Almancil so we are going to visit them tomorrow.  August in Portugal is complete shut down until beginning of September due to the Portuguese taking their holidays, this is in line with all of Europe, maybe the UK should look into that, but it does cause problems when you want to try and buy anything non touristy.  Whilst having tea tonight Douglas has come up with another invention, a onesie made of mosquito netting, I quite agree with his ideas as long as he lets me take photographs, getting a bit worried though as his brain is working overtime with things that he wants to invent.  Today we finally got a full address for our post office box (how hard can this be) if anybody wants the address just let me know.  The postal system seems to be a bit of a joke, I sent our granddaughter a birthday present last week and it still has not arrived, I hope the card we sent for Sarah's wedding arrives on time as there was a few days difference.  It costs a fortune to post anything and for it not to have arrived after a week is a tad annoying, I will need to be more on the ball with future parcels.

Alvor Harbour

Seafood Restaurants Alvor

Friday, woke up this morning with no use of my right eye, got bitten last night and now my eye is just a mess and very sore, off to pharmacy to try and get something for it.  Then off to Almancil to track down a company that sells doors. Managed to get cream from the pharmacy for my eye, I think it will be a couple of days before it gets better though.  Finally tracked down the shop in Almancil only to find it has closed down, so not much luck there either, am in despair of getting any doors.  On up to our house, Adrian has come back refreshed from his break and has started putting the false ceiling in the bathroom.  Our pool is in a sorry mess and starting to go green, but Jwow is sorting it today so hopefully by tomorrow it will be back to normal, I forgot to get compost for the new pots so the poor sad geraniums are still waiting to get into their new home, but the garden is looking good and taking shape, the lads don't mess about anyway.  Also bought a typical algarvean antique light for our living room, it is in need of a bit of restoration so that is going to be our project for next week, we got it cheap too plus instructions on how to restore it so looking forward to doing that. Just hoping that when we hang it it doesn't bring the ceiling down.  Some good news at the end of today, we had a phone call from a company regarding doors, they sent us a link and if we make an appointment we can get doors sorted out, keeping fingers crossed.

Trees disappearing

One Swollen eye

Pool going Green!!!!

Saturday, woke up today with an eye twice the size and completely closed so its not going to be a good day, off to market for meat, fruit and veg, had to rely on Douglas to pick the best of the crops this week.  Then off to our house, the pool is still looking green even after a good clean yesterday, hoping that we are not going to have to completely empty it, will see Jwow on Monday to see what the solution will be.  The false ceiling has gone up in the master bathroom complete with lights, still to be painted. Out for a meal tonight to Ze Dias in Sao Bras, had a lovely meal Peru e Banan - Turkey with Banana, Douglas had a chicken and Prawn Kebab which happened to be at least 12 inches long stuffed with thick chunks of chicken and prawns on the side. a nice place to eat with a play park for children so will keep it in mind for when family/friends visit with children.

False Ceiling

Garden Rubbish

Plot 3

Sunday, we have decided is our chill out day, so I done the washing, ironing cleaning and even washed all the shutters.  Douglas helped mop the floors and then dismantled the new light-shade ready for restoration work to start.  Eye is a bit better today and at least it will open and I can see partially out of it.  This has been another good week, although not much has been done to the house as Adrian was off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, hopefully progress will be more next week. Douglas has been killing Wasps with a vengeance and his fly swat is never far from his hand, he is also trying to talk to the owls tonight!!  We are both doing well with our swimming with me doing 28 lengths every day and Douglas 20, from tomorrow it goes up to 30.  Hopefully next week will bring us closer to getting our new doors and sorting out our pool.  Plus the thousand and one other things that we still have to do.

New Bougainvillea 1

New Bougainvillea 2

Week 11 of our new life

Monday, very hot day today spent a lot of time during the afternoon in the house trying to keep cool. Had to wait in for the water man to fill up Mick and Paulines Cisterna, had nearly run out of water.  Had a meeting with Antonio about our new electric gates he is going to start them 2 weeks today, we are also getting a new door for underneath the pool, as this houses all the pool pumps etc and a new door for the pump cupboard. Only downside of this is he galvanises the gates and doors and we have to get them painted, so Douglas has agreed that it is a job that we can both do together, oh joy I cannot paint to save my life.  Still electric gates will be good, and I am sure I can learn to paint properly.  Went in the pool tonight at 9.00pm and swam 26 lengths so that is my target for the rest of the week, sorry to say my Ab Challenge has finished, I found it very difficult to keep up with the amount of sit ups, crunches, and planks so will stick to my swimming and water aerobics and keep with the Mediterranean diet, I am sure the effects will show shortly.  We have booked to come back to Glasgow in October as Douglas needs to see the surgeon again for his eyes, we are only coming back for the one night so wont be a jolly this time.  Next week the process starts for us to gain residency over here, so that should be exciting.  Douglas made a prototype of his project, but he still has to work on the plans so it has been dismantled and will come back out at a later stage, sorry was not allowed a photo as TOP SECRET.

Pool House Door

Pump Cupboard Door

Gates

Tuesday, heat is catching up with me I think it seems to be relentless, note made for next year be away in August lol.  Bought a Beach Ball and tried to get a noodle for my water aerobics, couldn't get one so will try when we go a bit further afield tomorrow.  Paid the storage bill and need to try and arrange to get some stuff out as we added to our storage when we went back to UK in July, now realising that lights and things that we bought are in the storage facility, wont do any good there as Adrian will be needing them soon, blast a bloody palaver. Douglas did say stronger words but I am being polite.  Also waiting for our electric bill as the lawyer needs that for our residency, guess what we have not got that yet either. Today is the day for a few cheeky wee Morgans I think.  Never mind plus point I got my next Account transferred today so I can shop hahaha, just hope they find the address.
Wednesday, went shopping to Guia, trying to get Douglas to relax a bit and buy a few modern TShirts etc, did finally get him a Salmon one and a Beige one and a pair of Denim Shorts, wow he does suit them, but very strange he took not well after paying for them, honestly so frustrating shopping for him as he never likes anything and anything that costs more than a Euro is too expensive, wonder why he took ill today then.  Also shopped for Zoe, as it is her birthday on Tuesday and I need to get a parcel in the post, hope I have chosen well and she likes it plus it will fit.  Got word from the storage people we can go Saturday Morning to pick up what we want, at a cost of 50 Euros plus we have to get up really early to get there for 09.00am, another two reasons for Douglas to become not well.  Went to our house, a bedroom floor is nearly tiled and the primer paint has been started outside on the BBQ area and the Poolside area, what a difference it makes just with the primer, gets exciting as we see bits and pieces being done now.  Forgot that I have to shop for two big plant pots for my Geraniums, they are starting to flower and the pots are broken so need to replace them, it is amazing what a bit of TLC and Water is doing to the plants, thanks to Adrian who has taken it upon himself to look after them whilst he is staying at the house.  Lots of good pictures on Facebook of the
Grandchildren all ready to go back to school, lovely to see.

BBQ Area Prepared

BBQ Area Primed

Sad Geranium needing new Pot

Thursday quiet day today as we have a busy couple of days ahead with early morning starts, booked to go and see my dad for a week at the beginning of September, as my sister is going on holiday, will not make it to Scotland this time as too much going on with the house. Have got an appointment to go and see a mobile home in Tavira on Tuesday that we might use as our accommodation for the rest of September, this being homeless is not much fun, but it wont be for much longer we hope.  Still trying to find doors and having no luck, have emailed a couple of companies in Glenrothes so hopefully they will ship over here.
Friday, picked up our new car today, I was presented with a key and a leather key fob, Douglas just got given a key, he was most upset but hes not getting mine lol.  Slight panic when we handed the hire car back as we had forgotten the documents (you are supposed to keep them in the car at all times) we had to drive back to Mick and Paulines to get them, thankfully we found them easy.  Antonio was fine though and gave us a lift to the garage, panic over.  Went shopping for two new pots for my sad geraniums.  Up to the house, OMG the gardeners are getting along like a house on fire, big difference already, trees have been chopped down, big palm tree has had the chop and the front garden all the plants are now in the process of being shaped, wow well pleased.  Inside the house Adrian has started painting the bedroom, he is now going to be off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for a holiday so nothing will be done again until Thursday, I am getting tetchy now as time is going on.

Sad Geraniums new homes

Palm Tree Going Going.....

Attacking the front

Winter Firewood

Shape of things to come

Saturday an early start today so that we could go to Algoz to collect some things from our storage units, we have 3 large crates full of our stuff and we had to sort out the packages we wanted ourselves.  So Douglas was busy passing me packages to pile up until we found the numbers on the packages that we wanted, not an easy job glad it was first thing in the morning as it was nice and cool, but yes we managed to find them without having to unload the full crates, good to see that everything is intact anyway.  Once we finished that we went and had some breakfast and then went to do some food shopping.  Douglas has been translating recipes for me, but some of the names for things are really strange, Parsley is Salsa, Caster Sugar is Soup Sugar and the list goes on, but we are finding it a good way to learn. Then off we went to our house, it is nice to be able to be able to nosy around whilst the builders are not there, I think we make them nervous, we met up with Dower our neighbour and he took us to look at an apartment in the village with a possibility of renting it for September, it was very nice but a bit claustrophobic we think and also as there are 4 different apartments together there would not be much privacy, but we have not ruled it out yet.  We also found out today that the cafe where we get our post delivered is closing for two weeks holiday, so this pushes us into a decision on what to do about a post box, we have 2 options so need to make up our mind for Monday.  This also messes up our application for residency as we should be going next week but as we will get no post we will have to postpone until September which has a knock on effect on other things.  Never mind we expect to have some hiccups, just seems daft that we cannot have a postman that will walk up a hill to deliver mail (or even drive up come to that).

Storage Crates

Sunday, housework day today and then chill out for the rest of the day, started very early as it was going to be another hot one. Douglas didn't get up til late so by the time I got round to doing our room it was really hot, but Douglas did help, he stood behind me and fanned me while I mopped etc, very funny.  Desperate for a swim afterwards. Translated some more recipes this afternoon and caught up on my emails and phone calls to the family.  Been another good week, my cooking of local dishes is coming on a treat, I have made fresh tomato sauce from Mick and Paulines home grown tomato plants, it was great with Pasta they are going to come back to no tomatoes, Fish Kebabs with salmon, salted cod and pineapple and peppers and a Raspberry Bavarois which was fresh and light, using plenty of fresh garlic and herbs, vegetables and fish, plus fruit and freshly squeezed Oranges for Juice are just delicious, the amazing thing is I do all the prep first thing in the morning and then it takes only minutes to cook the tea, also use the BBQ a lot.  Cannot wait until I can use our own kitchen.

Week 10 of our new life

Monday, up bright and early today, washing done, cleaning done, let Douglas have a long lie.  Going to see the Carpenter about new internal doors, no luck he was out.  Up to our house,we needed to order water, managed to call Joaquim he will deliver 16000 litres today and 16000 litres tomorrow, great as we have not a drop.  Could always siphon off some of Mick and Paulines if necessary as we just topped theirs up on Saturday, this water business is becoming expensive between two houses.  Skip was collected today and we then had to meet Jwow the gardener, he is going to start at our house on Friday afternoon.  Started my 30 day Ab Challenge first thing this morning and finally swam my 24 lengths at 7.00pm.  Bought a book on 23 walks in the Algarve, some lovely walks in it to discover more about the Algarve, so hope to start them about September when it gets a bit cooler.  Researched How to make a Compost Heap and How to make a Compost Bin, so another project for Douglas to make the bin.  He is definitely going to be busy.

Skip ahoy

Skip to go

Tuesday, day 2 of the Ab challenge, do that first thing in the morning to get it out of the way, then wait til afternoon to do my swim, so far so good. Douglas is swimming as well now.  Pulled out the cucumbers for Mick and Pauline as they had not grown as expected, and planted my Ginger Root and Jacaranda Seed that Mick had given me before they went away, evidently it could take 10 years for my seeds to grow, well not as if I don't have the time to wait, will be interesting to see if they come up. Up to our house again today, met with the Carpenter regarding interior doors, this could take at least a month due to Portuguese industry taking their holidays in August, waiting for a quote but will try and source from the UK as well. Disappointing news regarding our external windows and doors, again due to holidays they will be delayed delivery until end of August as well so this means fitting hopefully 1st week of September. Adrian is still set for finishing at the end of September as long as nothing goes wrong, all fingers and toes are crossed.  The terrace was being attacked whilst we was there today, looking good, hahaha.  Douglas has an idea regarding tubular skylights for the new kitchen (seen them on Grand Designs!!!), so we now need to let Adrian know quickly about them before he starts blocking in. Our to do list is just getting longer.  We also discovered how to get our post, we need to buy a post box, get it cemented in on the main road leading to the lane to our house, we then have to go to the road and wait for the postman around about 12 noon, once he arrives we show him our postbox with our names on a piece of paper and he will issue us with a number, we get that number put on to the postbox and hey presto we will get our post delivered, we could always get a post box in the post office - Douglas is still reaching a verdict on that one. Very bizarre.  40,000 litres of water delivered to our house as we had not a drop left OMG.

Terrace going, going.......

Wednesday, Day 3 of the Ab Challenge done and still continuing with my swim and water aerobics, Douglas is managing 24 lengths also daily. Made a Pudim de Pao which is the Portuguese equivalent of Bread Pudding, very tasty, it is great to have the use of a fully equipped kitchen, cannot wait until the end of September.  Went out and about looking for doors, this is not going to be easy.
Had a light lunch in Faro and then had to go and buy a new Wireless Mouse for the laptop as my mouse gave up the ghost, think the weather was too hot for it. On up to our house to get my daily fix, master bathroom is now coming along nicely, the pipes for the sink have been moved so onward with the tiling, its looking good.  Ashley is working outside doing the rendering of the walls and the terrace is now being reconstructed, what a difference to outside already.  Confirmed with Adrian that a plug socket is required in each bathroom for a hairdryer/shaver etc (the norm over here) and double checked if I have the right voltage of lights for the suicide bathroom as we cannot have a false ceiling in there and I still want it to be bright, still not sure, he will connect one up so we can have a look.  Also need to go and buy a shower tap as the shower we bought for the small shower room did not come with a tap!!  Have decided not to go with tubular skylights as we do have 2 windows in the kitchen anyway and think that will be enough even though it is being extended.

Terrace ready for reconstruction

Rendering of walls

Douglas's quote to the builder today Perfect Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance, he took it well.
Thursday, getting a bit worried about Douglas, he has become something like the mad professor, he wants to invent things all the time and is making notes of projects he is going to do!! His first project is going to be a "keep safe from flies cover" to explain, Douglas has a bugbear with flies when he is sun bathing, they annoy the life out him, so he is creating a cover that will protect him and his sunbed from flies.  Unbelievably today we had to shop for the materials that he required to create this. This evening he decided to start on his creation, framework is surrounding his sunbed as I type, sorry folks he will not let me take photographs just in case someone wants to steal his idea.  Hopefully he will allow me to photograph the end result.  On a more sensible note after shopping for project material we shopped for a car, we have found a Toyota Rav4 that we like and are going for a test drive in the morning.

Possible new car

Friday, up early and out to test drive the car, a nice comfortable drive so we bought it, as we have a hire car at the moment we will wait until Friday to pick it up.  Off to the Insurance Company to get it insured, one hour later all paperwork done it is ours.  It is an automatic which Douglas thinks will make it much easier for me to drive as well. We will also get a moped eventually as back up and I would rather scoot around on that, at least I can get to the shop and back.  It is big enough for the golf clubs and to get family or friends with a suitcase in so just ideal, also 4x4 so will survive the roads we need to encounter to and from our house.  Insurance here is for the car only so family or friends can drive it if required.  Went to the Post Office to enquire about getting a Post Office Box, Douglas is not sure about the post box on the road, so Jury is still out as to what we do to get our post.  We have picked up the appropriate forms needed anyway. Met Julian in the insurance office, and then met Graeme and Fi in the Post Office so caught up on all the news as well.  Time now for a spot of lunch, then off to our house to meet the Gardener.  Met with Jwow (the Gardener) and discussed what we would like done immediately, as Ashley needs to get on with the preparation for the painting of the exterior we have to get some plants cut back or taken out completely.  Such a shame gone the Bougainvillea and Honeysuckle that was by the pool, this was done while we were still discussing the rest, by next week 4 big trees will have come out and I need to buy a couple of large pots to have the geraniums replanted as the pots are all broken.  Master Bathroom nearly finished, the shower needs to be moved down a bit and the bedroom floor tiling has now started. After all that back to Mick and Paulines for a swim.

New Car

Honeysuckle No More

Bougainvillea No More

Master Bathroom

Trees x 4 Coming out

New Car

Saturday, early start today for market day much to Douglas's disapproval, he does not like getting up early.  Got fresh meat and vegetables, also fruit and rolls, and fresh Tuna, then went for breakfast.  By 10.00am the temperature was 34 degrees. We went up to our house to see what had been finished yesterday, the gardeners had been really busy and got quite a lot cleared by the piles of plants etc left in the lower garden.  It is illegal at this time of year to make bonfires so it is difficult to get rid of garden rubbish, so at the moment as we will not be using the lower garden it will all be piled up there and then moved in the winter.  Pleased with the results.  There is a big difference also with the terrace having been knocked out, we like it like that and are going to see how we get on with it through the winter months before we make a decision on whether to put glass into it or not. We are now also trying to sort out accommodation for us for September which is proving rather difficult, we visited a camp site in Quarteira as we felt we might camp out for the month, but the only 2 bungalows they had left were very dreary and in the darkest corners of the site and the price they wanted was ridiculous for what it was, so not for us this one.  We do have the offer of staying with Mick and Pauline again for September, but feel that another month might be a bit too much, but we will wait and see as not a lot of options available at this time of year.  Spent the rest of the day lazily by the pool.  Nice to see we have Lizzy and her family visiting us now every evening, hopefully we will have them at our house too.  Highlight today Douglas got stung by a wasp, not much of a high light for him a high scream was more the case, after that he suffered in silence.

Lizzy

Sunday, washing and ironing all done, then a lazy day in and out of the pool, too hot to do much else, it has been a good week.  Great to have free reign of a kitchen thanks to Mick and Pauline, I have enjoyed creating some new recipes using local ingredients, the element of surprise for Douglas as he never knows what he is going to get for tea, also done a couple of BBQs and some baking.  Mick and Pauline are having a good time in the UK, sadly not having the same weather as us, still they will enjoy catching up with all their family and friends knowing that we are looking after their house.

Week 9 of our new life Home and Away

Monday, off to the Bridge Inn, Queensferry today to meet up with |Yvonne, Evie and Harris, took Danielle and Carly along.  Had a lovely lunch and a great natter.  Good to see Evie and Harris, how kids grow is unbelievable and great to see Yvonne also (could not post a photo as did not get a chance to take one, and Yvonne promised to email me one).  From there went to Kirkcaldy to try and get School Uniform, managed to get Danielle kitted out apart from her coat, but poor Carly ended up with one Cardigan and 4 Blouses, nothing else in her size, so possibly need to finish off shopping online.  Then took the kids home and then off to the Fettykill Fox to meet up with Isobel, nice natter again over a pot of tea and some mixed breads, couldn't fit anything else in as had already had lunch, one good meal a day suffices.  After that off to finally catch up with Elaine and Gogs, Claire has nearly moved into her new flat so hoping she will be very happy there, and then some not so good news, Janet (Elaine s Mum) had been taken into hospital this morning with suspected heart attack, hope everything turns out to be OK for Janet.  Received update from Adrian today, kitchen wall is nearly all out, bedroom and bathroom floors have been screeded and tomorrow all the guttering is being taken down, it will be a shell for us going back on Thursday.  Email from Mick and Pauline, they hope we are staying sober!! haha well at least I am, and we will have Piri Piri Chicken waiting for us on Thursday, how good is that.
Tuesday, collected 6 of the grandchildren again today, weather not so good so what will we do? I wanted to take them to Cairnie Maze and they were quite happy to go until it started to pour with rain, not a good idea when everything is outside, so off we all went to the pictures, Monster University was the chosen film so armed with the usual sweets, juice and crisps and of course the 3D glasses, off we went, the film was great enjoyed by all and it seems that Sulli and Mike are the stars of the show and all the kids want to be them.  Only half of the kids wanted to go back to Auntie Katies for tea so drop off for some and then back for tea.  After tea, time to drop the last one home home and then its off to meet up with Richard and April, thought we could grab something to eat have a drink and catch up, this did not prove easy as the first place we went to was totally packed, would have to wait at least 45 minutes for a table, so we tried another place managed to get in there just and two hours later it was off to see Ellen and Diane for a cross stitch lesson.  By this time I was cross eyed with tiredness but managed to take in the basics of what it all entails, left Ellen and Diane at 11.00 with a good few designs to pick from which is going to be my masterpiece, need to pop in again Wednesday just to go through details and collect my kit. (Well if I master this one it will be a miracle, but I will give it a go, whilst I will have so much time to myself back at home!!!).

Richard and April

Katie with the Monsters!

Wednesday, caught up on emails this morning, one from the builder, a new challenge the kitchen wall is coming out BUT!!! Adrian will now need to put in a concrete beam to reinforce the roof for the extension as the wall that is coming out supports the roof, oh well!! tiling has started in the bathrooms and the outside work has been started with everything being power washed and the new guttering has gone up, the extra parts required for the kitchen have been ordered, hold the roof we are back tomorrow so we can have a chat and take it from there.  Then its off to the hairdressers, family time, I am in dire need of having my hair done as it has not been touched since I left, Katie needs a new style and Danielle and Carly want messy buns, 4 hours later, time for Katie and Danielle to go home and Carly and I along with Danny are off to Dundee to see if we can get the final bits of Carlys school uniform, success we managed to get it and just had to order one cardigan and some tights to be delivered to the Kirkcaldy store, which Danny will do when he receives the text.  Time to take Carly home, pick up my car and then its off to see Lynne and Zoe for a quick cuppa and to say goodbye, had a good chat got showed around the garden, which is looking really good and met Norman!!, then off to drop my car of with Richard and he can drop me off at Ellens and Dianes, this was a quick catch up as time was not on my side so I will pop in to collect my Cross Stitch Kit on the way to the airport in the morning, time to then pop in to say goodbye to Elaine, she was that tired she had to gone to bed so off down the road to catch up with Lesa and Danny for a Chinese, finally relaxed with some good banter and food, still a bit of packing to do, all goodbyes said and done, will wait on news from Danny and Lesa on Friday as to what our 8th grandchild is going to be!!!

Lynne, Zoe & Norman

Lesa and Danny

The Bump, Boy or Girl

Thursday, up bright and early, washing to be done, final packing to be done and some cleaning to be finished.  All ready for the off for 9.00am.  Danny arrived to take us to the airport, needed to pop in to see Elaine and Ellen. Lucky to catch Elaine as she had just popped in from work so was able to get the news that her mum Janet was in Edinburgh Infirmary and having a procedure done today and that she will be fine, thank goodness for that, big hugs and bye bye, then off to see Ellen, collected my Cross Stitch Kit, big hugs and bye bye, see you all soon off to the airport.  Danny in his wisdom had bought his luggage scales so that we could weigh our luggage before checking in, OMG 4 kilos overweight, yes at the drop off point we had to sort out the suitcases and redistribute the luggage, Danny went back home with my Decaf T Bags, contact lens solution etc etc, not a happy bunny, cannot get large packs of Decaf Tea over here or Olde English Marmalade and they were my two most wanted, never mind.  Big Hugs to Danny, reminder he must text me tomorrow to let me know what my next grandchild is, on to check in, massive queues, got to check out, Yes we were 2.5 kilos overweight, £40 to pay, good start, then to security, by the time we got through we had to go straight to gate, no time for a cheeky wee morgans for me then, on the plane, arrived home at 4.00pm, searing heat, picked the hire car up and straight off to our house to meet Adrian.  Yes it is resembling a bomb site, but we were not disappointed and could see that things were coming on, luckily we came back today as a couple of changes to be made, a door had been bricked up completely, but should have only been half bricked as a window is going in ooops!! we cant have a false ceiling in one of the bathrooms as there are two windows in it so a ceiling will not fit in, we have to look at lighting for that now, and then a sink in the other bathroom the pipes are too near to the shower so that will need to be moved as well, so a bit of extra double work for Adrian, and we need to go and source the sinks and lights for Monday afternoon, oh its good to be back.  We also need to think about where we are going to locate the Boiler and we need to contact the Gardener to see if he can cut down the honeysuckle and Bougainvillea on the outside wall of the pool so that they can get on with power washing ready for painting.  Not a lot to do then!!  Finally we make our way to Mick and Paulines where we are going to stay for the next month while they are in the UK, finally a few cheeky wee Morgans and Chicken Piri Piri and then so to bed!!!

Kitchen Part 2

Kitchen Part 1

Bathroom Floor

Bathroom Wall

 Friday, Visit to the bank required this morning, then off back to the house for a few more discussions with Adrian, some shopping to do then we are taking Mick and Pauline out for a meal to a lovely Italian in Santa Barbara as a thank you for all they have done for us since we arrived and also for letting us use their house in August, wont be a late one tonight as they are driving back to the UK tomorrow.  News from Danny and Lesa today, we are having a Granddaughter, how blessed are we to have 8 Granddaughters.  As long as she arrives after Christmas and healthy that will be good, she is due on the 22nd December.
Saturday, up early and off to Loule Market, the array of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and fish is a delight to see, Mick needed some fresh Oregano to take back to the UK, as he was in a hurry we didn't stay long but will definitely visit again next week when we can take a bit more time and make some purchases, this is what I have been looking forward to.  Back to the house so that Mick and Pauline can get the car packed up and then they are off, we cannot do much at the moment as we need to wait in for the man to deliver water, was hoping to get out and do some shopping, but it is now five o clock and no sign of a delivery yet. Still managed to use the pool and swam 24 lengths, felt good after a month of no swimming, the heat is on today so am off back in the pool just now.  Finally the man arrived with the water, after filling up we managed to go out for Pizza in Sao Bras, fresh made on the premises yummy.
Sunday, up early again today as we needed to go out shopping for sinks etc for the bathrooms, glad we went early as by 2.00pm we had finally found what we wanted, so purchased 3 sinks, taps, cabinets and mirrors, the 3rd one we had to order so will now have to wait 3 weeks which will now hold up the master bathroom, guess we will have an unhappy builder tomorrow, also bought the lights for the suicide bathroom, there is plenty for Adrian to be getting on with.  Had a good look around our house and we can see a difference already, sat on our terrace admiring the view. The passion flowers we planted in June are growing and one has 2 flowers on it already, so gave them a good water.  Tempted to have a dip but there is lots of debris in the pool due to the builders, so waited until we got back at 5.00pm, done my 24 lengths and had an hour in the sun.  This has been a good week with half of it in Scotland and the other half home, have not quite unwound yet but am getting there.