In the aftermath of losing Peter, our focus shifted towards supporting Isabel, offering a helping hand by volunteering to pick up or drop off family and friends at Lisboa airport. Our house, which usually took center stage in our lives, momentarily took a backseat as we grappled with the emotional aftermath.
Unfortunately, shortly after the funeral, both of us succumbed to a virus, halting any content creation for our blog and YouTube channel. The challenging times, however, paved the way for resilience, and gradually, a semblance of normalcy returned. We were aided in this by our pals and current hosts Paula & Bruce. They are a constant positive force and feed us enough to nourish an army. Unfortunately we were both off our food for a while but trying to keep our strength up.
A ray of positivity broke through when we finally reconnected with our architect after the holiday hiatus. To our delight, they surprised us with a thoughtful gift—a bottle of bubbly adorned with a label depicting our dream house. This unexpected gesture brought joy and served as a reminder that even in the face of loss, support, and challenges, there are moments of unexpected brightness waiting to be discovered.
Despite our shared sense of weariness, we occasionally rallied and seized the day, ensuring to take a moment for fresh air and a stroll with our friends’ dogs through the village.
We’re incredibly grateful for the unwavering support of our friends here in Portugal during the house build. Their assistance has been invaluable, providing not just physical help but also emotional support that has made the waiting period more bearable. Additionally, engaging in housesitting has proven to be a blessing, allowing us to experience less stress by creating a temporary haven away from the build site. This arrangement has not only minimized the anxieties associated with construction but has also enriched our journey as we eagerly await the completion of our new home. Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.
In crafting our home, we aspire to embrace techniques and ideas like the Passive House standard, weaving sustainability into every corner, where energy efficiency becomes a cornerstone of comfort. In the last few days the weather has turned a bit chilly on the odd day which really brings home our desire to be warm and comfortable. Our choice to opt for a wet underfloor heating system coupled with a MVHR system will hopefully achieve our desired levels of comfort. The addition of the solar system with battery storage and backup will hopefully assist in managing the energy required to meet the demands, and it is here where the integrity of the pasivehause standard would have been our real desire. Instead we are relying on the tradesmen to apply their skills in trying to meet our goals, but with uncertainty of certain outcomes. We may opt to employ some pasivehause services to see how far we are off the standard, but that’s for another day…
And work on the house is really ramping up! So here are some photos from our last visit. As you can see the progress is good. From our last trip there, there has been more external cladding added, a significant amount of taping and skim coat has been applied to the drywall, and some more wood cladding added to the cathedral ceilings.
We also visited the day after some significant rainfall. There were areas where water appears to have infiltrated the building. A bit of this is around the area where the kitchen and livingroom wrap around the old olive tree, which hasn’t yet been sealed or finished, but other areas where it is coming through is unclear why at the moment. We believe that the roof and guttering need some form of capping off, and perhaps that will cure those leaks? Either way, there is still quite a bit of finishing and we are sure the guys are on top of it all. We really hope the weather dries up to enable them to quickly finish off though, as damp insulation quickly looses its efficiency, so crossed fingers for good weather!
So, dear readers, as we embark on the next phase of our journey to a new life in Portugal, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support. Your interest in our house build and wider journey has been a source of inspiration and motivation.
This week’s article may be shorter, but it’s filled with anticipation as we prepare for the upcoming round of house-sits. Your continued presence in our community fuels our excitement, and we look forward to sharing more moments and milestones with you.
Thank you for being a part of our adventure.
Annette & Wayne
Our Portuguese Life 