Letter from Espargal: 26 July 2019

Friday evening was Cathy's last with us. To celebrate her visit, we sat down under the trees to an oriental meal supplied by a small Dutch team calling themselves Azul at Home. They offer a variety of Asian dishes that they are happy to deliver and that we sometimes share  with neighbours.



Saturday afternoon we ran Cathy out to Faro airport. The plan was to lunch at the beach, just across the estuary, before dropping her off. As it happens, the airport is located close to a vast campsite on which thousands of bikers from all over Europe descend once a year.



- and we happened to pick the rally weekend. Bikers swarmed around us like so many bees. The police had blocked off side roads and did their best to keep traffic flowing. To reach the beach was nigh impossible. So we headed straight to the airport instead.



Cathy, poor soul, was booked on an evening flight to Berlin but bad weather over the city caused her plane - and numerous others - to divert to Hanover. There, among the midnight masses, she eventually managed to share a taxi to the station and find a train to Berlin, where she arrived as dawn was breaking. She had to return to Tegel airport later in the day to fetch her luggage.



While we miss her easy company, the garden misses her heroic irrigation efforts. That's Bobby and Mello, camped among the ivy, that you're looking at. Their canine romance continues to charm us. The pair are simply happier in one another's company, which is really what relationships are all about.



Over the weekend our twice-repaired bedroom air-conditioning unit finally gave up the ghost, once again leaking water all over the floor. A company we've used previously with great satisfaction said they could install a replacement on Monday morning.  Yes, please! Jones manages to sleep on torrid nights; I just toss and turn.



With afternoon temperatures tipping the mid-30s, it's not only the humans who flee the heat. The dogs also retire inside. Bobby fancies the guest bathroom. Russ prefers the guest bedroom. Jack, above, isn't fussed one way or the other.



Of late he's taken to joining us upstairs where Dearheart, pictured above, eyes him with the greatest suspicion. She likes little better than to curl up beside her mistress, whether on the bed at night or the sofa for a siesta.


THE WEEKLY SHAVE
Tuesday brought the first of my bi-weekly visits to Jodi for physio on my sciatic leg. It's coming along, I think, sometimes.



So far we have been spared the sweltering temperatures that are cooking the continent. Even so, the pool is almost too warm for comfort. Not that we're complaining.



Wednesday, after shopping, we watched Teresa lead the way to Buckingham Palace to hand in the keys to Number 10 and Boris follow to slip them into his pocket. We are not among the believers awaiting his new golden age. It's only a piss-pot they're likely to find at the foot of the Brexit rainbow.



Thursday early the team arrived to finish the kitchen extension. They had been waiting on the granite work-surface.



In a couple of  hours, the kitchen was complete. What a difference it makes to the house!



Outside, Nelson continues to redecorate the walls. He's on to the second coat and should finish next week. Several other neighbours are waiting in the queue for his services. The house has never looked so good. Long may it last and we to enjoy it.

Letter from Espargal: 19 July 2019

As I was saying before the week interrupted me, Jones spent last weekend in Lisbon with Llewellyn and Lucia.



Cathy spent it here with me. Note Friday's still-to-be painted arch and white filler patches on the walls.



And see the magic that a coat of Saturday paint can weave - with a little help from Slavic and me.



Work completed, the artists relax over a well-deserved (alcohol-free) beer on the front patio.



The new ceiling lights (in both kitchen and living room) come with zappers that allow us to change both their intensity and colour, should the mood take us. Which is as close as we ever likely to get to clubbing.



Sunday Jonesy came home, much to Jack's relief. Jones is a champion rope thrower and Jack likes nothing better than to chase after his ropes.



Monday early the kitchen firm arrived to install the new kitchen furniture.



We've used Austral ever since we were introduced to them nearly 20 years ago. They do a fine job of work.



Much of the work involved installing clever shelving under the existing worktops, shelving that swings out to reveal the contents.



And this is how things look at present; we await a new granite worktop and several backings and doors.



Between packing away kitchen utensils, the ladies kept in touch with important people.



Also on Monday Nelson the painter arrived to paint the house exterior. The paint has been bubbling on a couple of walls.



Nelson says it's from an earlier coat of rubberised paint. After scraping down, he'll give the exterior a coat of primer before applying new coats.



While the workmen were busy, Jack kept a close eye on proceedings.



With back-up from Mini.



Tuesday morning we went to town. I bought a lot of paint. The ladies had their hair done and returned well pleased. That evening, Jonesy, who keeps an eye on events celestial, called us outside to witness a partial eclipse of the moon.



JONES MOON ECLIPSE
Wednesday we submitted ourselves to Jodi's massaging hands. At least, Cathy and I did.


ESPARGAL LIGHTS


Sufficient unto the week.

Letter from Espargal: 12 July 2019

This has been the week of kitchen renovations. The pictures tell the story. The first job was to empty the kitchen cupboards and pack the contents in boxes on the back patio.



Saturday morning Slavic assisted us to push the lounge furniture together and cover it in plastic sheeting.



We strung sheeting across arches and around cupboards, taping the edges to the walls and the bottom to the floor.



Next the upper floor was curtained off. Jonesy, who was fearful of having dust everywhere, had wanted to unpack display cabinets. I persuaded her to leave things in place, promising to seal the cabinets completely - and kept my word.



The breakfast benches pictured above were originally constructed with hinged wooden seats. We stripped off the wood for future use.



The builders arrived promptly on Monday morning and  set about demolishing the tiled concrete bases.



Next they set to work to chip away the wall separating the kitchen from the living room. The mounting rubble heaps were collected in large buckets and dumped in the box of the tractor parked outside.



A welcome breeze blew much of the dust out of  the window.



Tuesday morning, as soon as the workers were settled, I took Jones to hospital for a check-up on a finger that she'd injured while gardening. It will take time to heal. With a rubber glove to keep the bandage dry, she continues to swim.



Both of our black cats have caused us concern. Braveheart appears to have been bitten by some creature and has lost a lot of weight. Squinty, seen above, went awol for several days - unusually, failing to respond to Barbara's come-home whistles. So it was with much relief that we welcomed him back one afternoon.



Wednesday morning the builders set about plastering the arch.



Next on the scene was the air conditioner technician, for whom we'd been waiting for weeks. We haven't been able to use the AC in the bedroom as it's been leaking water. The problem turned out to be a spider cocoon blocking the drain.



Thursday saw the team fine-plastering the arch and retiling sections of the floor. Hard on their heels came the electrician and his mate to wire up the new switches and lights.



Thursday evening Cathy flew in from Berlin to spend ten days with us. Jones is spending the weekend in Lisbon with Llewellyn and Lucia. I think she'll like what she sees on her return.

Letter from Espargal: 5 July 2019

The first half of the week has focused on our guests, Chris Jones and family. Chris and Jane occupied the guest room while the two boys slept in Casa Nada. The weather was ideal - warm days for outings and cool nights for sleeping.


JACK THE RIPPER
On Monday, before setting out for the shops, we carefully closed the outer door to the south patio to keep master Jack away from the dog beds and cushions. When we are out and he is bored, the dog likes nothing better than to rip a few cushions up. What we didn't notice was that one of the French windows, which stand a couple of feet above the ground, was still open.



Jack did notice and had not the least difficulty entering. His handiwork speaks for itself. Although we groan, we don't blame the dog. He was as pleased as ever to welcome us home and we to greet him. We simply need to take greater care. One consequence is that I've done a fair bit of sewing while lolling back in my recliner in recuperation mode.



So, for that matter, has Jones. Here, specifically for those readers with a keen sense of irony, is a picture of Jack taking his ease on a dog bed (that he had "altered" earlier in the day) while my wife does her best to sew it up again.



Our guests would leave mid-morning for a beach or water park and arrive back late afternoon for a swim and a meal under the patio lights. Barbara has continued to walk the dogs twice a day, occasionally with company - although not mine. I reckon that I still have a week to go to get up to speed. I'll discuss it during follow-up appointments at the hospital.



Tuesday evening we supped early at the Hamburgo, returning in time to watch the second half of the women's football semi-final between England and the US. It was hard fought and with just a bit of luck the English girls might have drawn or even won the game. But it was not to be. Tears of disappointment on one side were matched by tears of elation on the other.



Wednesday morning early Chris and family set out for the airport, bound first for London and then for home. Barbara and I headed for the hospital where I had another test scheduled ahead of consultations the following day. The waiting is the hardest part of such visits. Typically, one waits half an hour to be called, spends 15 minutes being examined and waits half an hour to pay.



That evening we began clearing the kitchen and dining area in preparation for the kitchen modifications that are due to start on Monday. Most of the stuff is being packed into large boxes. The builder reckons that the work will take two to three days. The kitchen furniture installers are due the following week. I have taken photos of all the pictures on the wall in order to be able to replace them in the same order.



Thursday morning the vet arrived early to inoculate the dogs - that's ours and those of two neighbours. There was no time to take pictures. This is an annual all-embracing circus that has to be seen to be appreciated. The challenge in the midst of the melee is to capture the orphans, Pally and Mello, who are keen on the bribes being offered to them but not on being caught. Between us, one way and another, we managed it.


RIPENING PLUMS
Thence back to hospital for consultations, first late morning with the neurosurgeon, who removed the stitches; the second with the GP who had treated my pulmonary embolism. While there, we presented the nurses in the internment section with a coffee machine, which delighted them. Although the day staff can pop downstairs to the cafeteria, the night staff have been reduced to drinking instant.


BARBARA IN HER NURSERY