We sadly had to part from the stay at Pinheiro, and the lovely Alfie and Tilly, but the trip home was only forty minutes or so.
We arrived home to an empty house however, as our besties were staying in Spain with some other friends. It felt quite strange coming back to an empty house with no pets running up to you for affection (and food!).
Our other friends in the village (Paula & Bruce) were home however, so we went round to theirs the following day for a catch-up. We actually spent the next few days with them, mainly because Paula insisted in cooking meals, and who was going to complain as she is a wicked cook! There was also the matter of learning how things worked in their house and how to care for their daughter, and not forgetting the furries too. The reason for this was because Paula and Bruce had a planned trip to Madeira and they needed someone to care for their teenage daughter Kat. Kat has specific needs that were best provided by someone whom she knows and is comfortable being around, and although we were between house sits, we were more than happy to volunteer for this one.
Over the next few days, we managed to get down to the land and clear some of those pesky bramble bushes that were just starting to emerge. This will be an ongoing task for years to come, but each time Wayne knocks them back, they seem to be weaker and the grass starts to win out. We both remember what it was like when we first saw the land, it was covered in the brambles, now it is mainly grass.
There had been no further progress on the house build, and we knew it was because the rainy season had started. This did make us giggle though, as we had come from the UK where rain was the norm and building continued unabated. Not so in Portugal, but different cultures etc. We had a meeting planned with the architect, so we weren’t getting too frustrated yet, and the build permit was about to expire which means having to paying for an extension. That’s frustrating. We understand why delays occur, but it is the combined effect of them that tests your resolve.
During our initial few days, Wayne and Bruce took a quick trip out to São Martinho de Porto. This was for a meet-up with several other ex-pats looking to relocate or have done so, and also to finally meet Carl Munson who hosts the Good Morning Portugal show.
This meet-up turned out to be quite fortuitous, as Carl introduced us to a couple who have just moved to our village where we are having the house built. Our soon-to-be nearby neighbours Peter and Isabel. (Hi Guys! 👋👋). Super nice people and we even found time to meet them at their house for tea and cake before setting off for our next sit. (Isabel made the most delicious almond cake!).
But sitting for Paula and Bruce with Kat and the pets was quite fun too. We got out for some nice long walks with Maizie at the weekend and while Kat was at school. We went out bowling in Leiria which was fun, and went to the cinema with her too, although that was a long road trip as we couldn’t get parking at the first cinema so went to Caldas in the end! We also had some good nights in, making pancakes for breakfast and popcorn for movie nights. Maizie the dog was no bother at all, especially just getting over an operation, and the kittens were…well, just like you would expect kittens to be like!
Before we left for our next sit we also managed so have a catch-up meeting with our architect who is project managing the build for us. They are as keen to start as we are, and apart from the weather, everything is now in place. Our biggest concern was that we had received a large electricity estimate bill, which considering nothing had started, had thrown us. We tried to get the meter readings just before setting off, only to find the panel was locked and we didn’t have a key. Later we received the readings from our architect , which we then entered into the EDP App, so hopefully things will have sorted themselves out. As expected the readings had not altered since being installed.
We had arranged the next house/dog sit long before we agreed to sit for Kat, so when it was time to set off, we had to leave her unattended, but happy, until her parents got back later that night. Annette was in frequent contact via the phone though, just to give assurance she was ok. So, we were then on our way in atrocious weather. We had not driven in rain like that since… well, since years ago when we were in the UK.
We eventually arrived and had beaten our host Kath by about ten minutes. She had been out too, but had provided the details of how to get in. We had been to visit Kath and the dogs on a couple of occasions as previously covered, so it was great to see the dogs immediately recognise us and were pleased to see us. We were greeted by lots of love and licks! Kath arrived shortly after and we all settled into a great catch-up and night in with tea and cakes. (There is a definite theme developing here!).
Kath then left for her adventures the next morning, and we were left to look after the house and furries. Join us in the next blog to follow our story…
Our Portuguese Life 