19th July
I posted two week's worth of blogs when we went into Castelo
Branco today.
We booked the truck in to get it's emissions sensor
replaced; there was a letter at the Post Office, sent in April, recalling our
model because there was a problem, which explains the trouble we had a few
weeks ago (nothing to do with not driving it fast enough!!!).
Chris and Di texted to say they'd got their van stuck; so we
went and gave them a tow (well Brett did, I just stood around and generally got
in the way).
We went to P&M's, to use their secure internet, to book
ferry tickets back to UK (7th Aug).
Nick is going to order the inverters today
.................. flippin' heck I thought they'd been ordered days ago, I've
been waiting for him to turn up with one! Ho hum more waiting.
20th July
Ok getting frustrated now - so I must be getting better!
Today I resorted to taping my eye shut (which is a feat in itself - there're
masses of videos on Youtube so it's not just me that finds it hard); yesterday
I was irrigating it constantly (because I can't blink it dries out and then
aches), wearing an eye patch and dark glasses. But having only one functioning
eye makes everyday life quite a challenge as your sense of perspective is
altered - I find it hard walking on uneven ground and steps are a nightmare.
Poor old Brett continued to point the walls, every so often
he'd come in with a wasp sting (they nest in the walls and are vicious little
buggers) and I'd have to apply vinegar, which works quite well.
Well I must be on the mend; I started making another dress,
from one of Debbie's duvet covers, this afternoon! And I went in the pool for the first time in a
week.
P&M invited us over for a barbeque; Pam had made me an
eye patch, the one I had been wearing I made out of cardboard and string, so she made me one out of material and
elastic and it's soft and comfortable. On our way home we followed a young hare
down the track, it had really long ears, long legs and a black tail; and then
we saw a nightjar. When we 'googled' "nightjar" and listened to it's
call we realised we heard it quite often, at night, and had assumed it was
frogs!
21st July
I hate this taping my eye shut business, but it does make it
feel better; I tried taping up my droopy eyebrow but Brett said I looked
strange (I think I look strange with a droopy eyebrow!). I'm trying to massage
my facial muscles, but I don't really know what I'm doing; if we were in the UK
I would have started physiotherapy by now - last time the physiotherapist
loaned me an electrical machine which I could use to stimulate the nerves on
days when I didn't have sessions (initially I was having physio three times a
week) so I'm a bit worried that I going to be left with permanent paralysis.
Brett rendered the
back wall of our house - it makes the building look much more solid, less like
a shed and more like a house. Next week we're going to order the windows and
doors (dark green), they'll come with built in mosquito nets and shutters. I'm
looking forward to choosing the paint for the outside of the building; we were thinking of a yellow ochre, but we have
seen a rather nice pale green we both like (on a house) so now we have to source
it.
I carried on making my 'duvet' dress; I'm making this one
properly, the blue one I 'threw' together (and it shows) but it's fine for
around the quinta, this one I'm even facing the neck and sleeves. I worked
until it got too dark to see (with one eye and no proper lighting).
22nd July
Poor old Brett, none of his jobs are simple...............
today he fixed the ridging sheets to the roof; you'd think that would be
straight forward wouldn't you? Inverted V shaped sheets cut out (by machine) to
fit over the box profile sheets to form the ridge of the roof - the
castellation shape is ever so slightly different on the roofing sheets to the cut
outs on the ridge sheets, so Brett had to take them (individually) up onto the
roof, measure and mark, bring them down and use his angle grinder to recut the
profiles, then back onto the roof to fix down.
I finished my dress, it looks a bit plain I've got to think
of a way to tart it up a bit. I'll probably add some pockets, with maybe a bit
of lace on the front?
23rd July
I just want to sleep all the time, I really have to force
myself to stay awake and do stuff' and I really should finish painting the gates.
Brett finished the roof and it looks brilliant.
Then he did some lumber jacking; he took down the dead tree
outside our front door, it's really opened up our view (and we have wood for
the winter).
Logs (obviously)
View from front door
I started making a top but I ran out of thread, so opened
one of the five large new ones I bought off ebay just before we left - it just
snapped, it had no strength in it what so ever; I can't use it in my machine, I
can't use it for hand sewing, in fact I can't think what I can do with 15,000m of
weak white cotton thread!!! I'm very frustrated because now I can't do any
sewing either.
Tonight on our walk around the quinta we saw the genet
again, though I'm not as excited as the last time I saw it ; I have read the
Wikipedia entry for it and it eats domestic poultry - so it's probably a bit
like having a pole cat on your land!
24th July
Happy Birthday
Claire!!!!
So what is overlocking thread???? Apparently that's what I
bought (I had an answer back from ebay) and it can't be used for normal sewing
and I have 15,000m of the stuff!!! Now I have to source cotton thread on
Portugal (I've got Pam looking for me this morning).
Brett carried on lumber jacking - we already have a good
pile of logs for the winter.
I've had really bad ear ache for the past two days (all part
of the BP I imagine), it's making me very miserable; I found some old ear spray
in the bathroom drawer which states "throw
away 28 days after opening" - it was opened, at least, five or six
months ago, so I had a dilemma, to use or not to use ............. I used (it
was really bad earache)!!! I did do a
bit of 'googling' first and couldn't find any good reason not to use it.
P&M came round for dinner (Brett cooked); I haven't
drunk alcohol for nearly two weeks now, I just don't fancy it (see I told you I
was ill!).
25th July
Back to the doctor today as I have still have a painful ear
(and a very noisy clicking sound inside my head if I touch the outside of my
ear - weird); she said I had a very bad
infection and has put me on strong antibiotics - hopefully the pain should
subside soon, I didn't sleep at all last night.
Brett prepared the back wall ready for rendering at the
weekend, when the temperature is supposed to drop a bit (26
.
No comments:
Post a Comment