Windows

Our house finally has windows! All the windows on the top floor were delivered and placed yesterday afternoon, which gives the house more of a 'home' feeling. The contrast of the new windows and the bricks around them is amazing, with the outside of the house painted and a little more cleaning up of the bricks it will look absolutely stunning.




Take a look at slideshow of the works to see more pictures of the windows and all the other work that has been going on the past couple of days.

Bye Bye Fig Tree

Removing the fig tree from the staircase seem harder than expected.

Our House

After several months of demolition, we are at the stage that all we are doing now is repairing, in hope that we can return the house into the beautiful house it used to be.
Here a picture of the side of the house all new and waiting for windows and it's final coats of paint.

Friday

A day spent digging the ditches which will be used for the plumbing and electricity.

Floor Plans

For those of you that like a visual of how all the rooms of the house fit together I have made some simple floor plans.

Ground Floor
(4 guest rooms with ensuite bathroom)



1st Floor
(Reception and Dining Area, and 1 guest room)



Top Floor
(part of the house that will be our private living space)

Before and After

With 8 workmen at the house day in day out, the works are coming along very well. Almost all bathrooms (1 still in progress) have now been tiled and they are thinking about tiling the floor soon. In our bedroom the plasterboard walls/ceilings are coming along very well. If everything keeps going at the rate they are going now I have been promised that we can move upstairs in about 3 weeks. Keeping our fingers crossed, as this would mean that I can start painting walls and unpacking boxes!

Take a look at what the room looked like a couple months ago, and what it looks like now.

Festas de Sao Miguel de Poiares

Beautiful September...

It's past mid-September, and the weather here is still beautiful. The temperature reaches over 30 degrees Celsius in the shade at the warmest time of the day, beautiful weather to go for an afternoon swim at one of the local river beaches or a walk through the forest. With temperatures still rising over 30 degrees it is nice to know that the evenings do cool down, perfect for a late evening BBQ and drinks and a good nights sleep.

Floor Tiles

The first floor tiles have been placed in our private bathroom. Here a picture to have an idea what it looks like, better pictures to follow this weekend when the shower floor has also been placed.

More photos placed in the slideshow.

Back to work

The past month we've have quite some delays with paper work, but we are finally back on track. We have received the approval from the local communue or 'camara municipal' for all of our building plans and can go back to work! Our first day today included hanging wall tiling in the bathroom on the 1st floor, preparing the walls in the guest room bathrooms for tiling, and starting on the floor tiles in our private bathroom. (see pictures under updated photos of the works)


In addition to the approval of our building plans we have received all paperwork for the registration of our car here in Portugal and have been able to change our license plates. Another important point on our list that we can now check and cross our as done!

Also on our list today was making fig jam from the figs in our garden. I can now say that after a whole summer of making jam, peaches, grapes, and figs, I am excited to have people taste it and let me know what they think. Any volunteers?

Pictures

Several new pictures posted of our watermelon and figs in the garden and our new tree that we bought at the market today. As well as pictures of the festa in Sao Miguel de Poiares this weekend. (under the first slideshow)

Monday Market Day

Monday is market day here in V.N. de Poiares (or Poiares as the locals call it), which then also becomes sardine day at our place every couple of weeks. 15 sardines ready for a BBQ dinner tonight.

Other than the usual fish, fruit and vegetables we bought our very first tree for the garden. Take a look at the picture below.

Fado in Lousa

Antonio Pinto Basto and Jose Gonzalez performing in Lousa on September 4th.