It’s that time of the year again. At the end of summer, we’ll be inspecting our homemade limestone caves, just like every year. Pardon? Where might that be? Those limestone caves are growing in our boilers Calcium-rich water combined with heat does a lot to your equipment. Not just your equipment, by the way, because […]
Homemade Limestone Caves Read More »
It was hot, this past week. Over 35º C. Even with the usual ocean breeze that’s warm. Now that there are no guests, I took the opportunity to have a good go with the high-pressure cleaner. Satisfying in terms of effect but a bit of a boring job. You can think about the upcoming work
Work in progress – part umpteenth Read More »
The new acquisition has been put to good use right away, this past week. I had seen a few things on OLX and CustoJusto – the two largest second-hand sites in Portugal. Second-hand shopping is fun, although very different here than in the Netherlands. When returning the rental car I saw a second-hand shop: “Look,
Second-hand shopping Read More »
“That contractor doesn’t know what to do anymore either,” says amiga J., who is telling me a wonderful story about her Ukrainian-Russian neighbour Maria over coffee. Maria is struggling with her Portuguese contractor, who according to him “has done everything possible”. Foreign approach to Portuguese architecture Maria wanted a roof window. Absolutely. Now. Can’t live
Foreign decisions on Portuguese architecture Read More »
The president of Vinha da Rainha stands at the top of the stairs: “Bom dia, dona Helena” and gives me a hearty handshake. That’s what it’s called in portuguese, the president of the sub-municipality. The mayor. And translated, I’m dona Helena. He announces the arrival of four other presidents Next Friday – when you read
Four presidents visiting Read More »
“Oh dear!” I say anxiously after I hobbled from one bed to the other, “Where is my arm?” “Look at that, you found it there,” the nurse says to me with a smile. My left arm is almost lying across my head. Completely numb. Very friendly staff at the hospital in Figueira How did I
How does it work at the portugese hospital? Read More »
There are few things you can do without on your body. Of course you can cut your hair and your nails, that’s no problem. But for the rest it is important that everything stays in place and in good condition. Nice considerations when I was in the dentist’s chair this week. For the infamous root
Magic word: Couto toothpaste Read More »
It was quite a challenge to get this glued, dear readers! You may not be able to imagine what a challenge it was – especially if you have never mosaiced before. It was a technical transportation challenge, this mosaic That was mainly because we put it – like we often do – on a board.
Chimney mosaic – a technical challenge Read More »
In the municipality of Soure I know of three places where you can get rid of your waste. That was accompanied by a substantial european subsidy, and was thought up at the drawing board, but it does work. You can drop off all your waste there Great initiative. Before that, the alternatives were: leave it
