The Adventures of Limpy & Itchy

When we last posted Gerrit was limping and Pat was itching.  Both complaints are fading: Pat found a topical antihistamine which helps with her mosquito bite reaction, and Gerrit is taking it easy and wrapping his hyperextended knee while it gradually heals.

Not so much that he hasn't been outside pressure washing all day long though (but sitting as much of that time as possible).  He's cleaned off tons of that Portuguese black algae and discovered gleaming granite and concrete under there.  It's a big job, but if it only needs doing once a year or so that's not bad.

Then his pressure washer broke, just a few days after purchasing it.  He packed it up and returned it to the hardware store, and found out that warranty returns like this are treated just like repairs in Portugal.  Instead of just exchanging machines and sending the failed one to the manufacturer like you'd expect in the US, Gerrit now has to wait 2 to 4 weeks for evaluation and approval.  We were told that this is the law.  It is probably in order to certify that the problem was not due to misuse, which is sensible we guess, but it puts the consumer out of the use of his new item for weeks and at the mercy of whomever decides whether the warranty claim is legitimate or not.  If it fails under warranty, especially within a few days of purchase, it should just be replaced, we think.  Portugal is generally pro-consumer, but this policy?  Not so much.

Here are some photos of the front of the house with the plants blooming.  We'll post more house photos once the place is all pressure-washed and gleaming.  You can see what a terrific job our new gardeners are doing, after only one all-day visit.

On Sunday June 1 we went to our friends Maayan and Dan's for a vegetarian dinner and get-together with some Israeli friends of theirs in celebration of a Jewish holiday.  They live in a secluded rural area on the mountain which we explored some weeks ago, on the other side of Ponte de Lima, in a lovely house which they are partly renovating.  It was a very nice evening; everyone's native language was Hebrew but they spoke English with us and made us feel at home.  The daughter of one couple was about one and a half and had the most beautiful radiant smile.  She was a joy for everyone.

Gerrit had a phone conversation with a rep for automatic pool covers, which we've decided to have installed.  Our pool needs that, plus a good thorough cleanup, plus chemical balancing and a heat pump, and it will be all ready for year-around swimming.  Well, maybe not in January.

We're also on the calendar for a visit from the solar panel installation company we selected.  There really isn't an optimum number of panels, which makes that decision a little fuzzy.  We opted for a large number of them, for more self-sufficiency through more of the year and plenty of electricity for all the powered equipment around here.  With the right electrical utility we can sell surplus solar power too.  We will also have a large battery, for normal nighttime off-grid power and to help bridge us through power failures even in winter.

Pat cleaned the accumulation of pollen and dirt from the patio furniture.  (And see all that white granite?  It was grungy black a few days ago.)  Plus she installed some additional Ikea shelves in our hall closets, because she's the Queen of Organization.

There are European Turtle Doves (rola) which roost around us, who make the nicest purring sound.  Here is a brief recording from out our back door.

We're working with our immigration consultant Nia to get our Certificate of Baggage, which is required in order to ship our goods from the US to here.  Nia is collecting all the necessary documentation, but a bank check in US dollars is also required in order to to pay the consulate fee.  What?  A mailed paper bank check in dollars?  How quaint.  And annoying.  No Portuguese banks issue bank checks in dollars, we have to have one sent from the US!  How ridiculous, expensive, and time-wasting is that?  A perfectly secure money transfer in any currency could be done in two minutes from your laptop.  Nia is incensed, and has written the Foreign Affairs Ministry to register a complaint.  Meanwhile, Pat's cousin Jeff will be getting the bank check for us and mailing it to Nia.

Today we paid our first visit to the local farmer's market in Ponte de Lima.  It's not the sprawling everything-for-sale affair we went to a couple weeks ago, it's just a simple farmer's market with fresh fruit and vegetables plus flowers.  It's much smaller, more local, and friendlier.  Today we just bought some fresh olives because we're stocked up on everything else, but we will make this Saturday market part of our weekly routine now.

(As usual, you can click on any photo to enlarge it, scroll through them all, and click outside a photo when you're done.  Also, you can click on the bold underlined phrases to play the audio.)

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