THERE SHE RISES
After briefly raising my head above the parapet this week - floods in Yorkshire, fires in Australia, riots in Hong Kong, chaos in Catalonia - I lowered it again. Our tranquil little patch has a lot going for it. One way and another, we've been pretty busy, even if that involved lots of attempts to take good pictures of a glorious full moon.
A "FROSTY" OR "BEAVER" MOON
One project that has occupied much of my time has been upgrading my satellite-beamed WiFi system, following the launch of a new programme by my ISP. Step 1 was to acquire the specified high-speed modem. The courier service notified me regularly of the modem's progress from the manufacturer in France to the Algarve. On the day itself it alerted me to the anticipated delivery between 12.30 and 13.30. I was impressed. This is a great deal more precision than we are accustomed to.
Even more impressively, a link in the final email gave me access to a moving picture of the delivery van en route to Espargal. It is the first time I've come across this facility. Noting the speed at which the van was moving, I drove down to the village square to await its arrival. To my surprise and disappointment, instead of following the route indicated on my phone, the van headed off on a new black line in the opposite direction.
A BARBARA DAWN
I watched as it spent the next 20 minutes lurking around Alte. Refreshing the image tended to show it in a different position each time, which prompted doubts in my mind about the accuracy of the software. As I was about to give up and return home, the driver phoned me from Benafim to arrange a hand over. Done!
My ISP had assured me that one had only to plug in the new modem and insert the activation code. Hey bingo, it would function! Ho ho ho! Over several hours, updates and phone calls (please may I have an activation code), I endeavoured, somewhat like Frankenstein, to bring the modem to life. Success eventually followed - and it was worth the frustration. My download (50 Mbps) and upload speeds have trebled, my data allowance is up and my premium is down - not that WiFi by satellite is cheap!
On an outing to the MAR shopping centre, we visited Ikea to look at dining room tables. Jones is considering a rectangular model, such as the one above, to replace our round table, which sits a bit awkwardly with the new kitchen-living room arrangement. We are still thinking about it.
Barbara, on the advice of a friend, made a small investment in cosmetics at the MAC shop. My wife, who is among the thriftiest of women, needed some persuading. Barbara is generally more at home in one of the Chinese shops in Loule. She says that she will keep her acquisitions "for best". I cannot complain about her thrift because our finances might well come under strain if we were both spenders.
With intermittent cloudy skies and light showers, we have lit living room fires early, generally around lunchtime - always conducive to the best siestas. (The whitish blur behind Bobby is his faithful companion, Mello.) We keep the fires small, just enough to engender that comfortable glow and sense of well-being.
One evening we sat down to watch A Star is Born on DVD. Although it's a long movie and definitely not our usual cup of tea, we saw it out. It was only during the closing titles that I learned I'd been watching Lady Gaga in the leading role. As often as her name has cropped up in the media, I wouldn't have known her from Lady Luck.
Wednesday I politely dismissed a Vodafone cold caller but took a look online nevertheless at the new (Red Infinity) tariff she was promoting. It was interesting enough to pursue later in the day at the Vodafone shop. As it too reduced our premiums and upped our data package, we subscribed. The only downside is that any such change commits us to a new two-year contract. Note that although the small print in the promotion is in Portuguese, Vodafone has given the tariff an attractive English name - not uncommon in these parts - and particularly apt as it puns on the Portuguese word "rede", meaning network.
Thursday dawned cloudy before turning dull, damp and windy. Amidst early showers I called Slavic off. This suited him well as he had other interior work in mind.
Barbara occupied herself stuffing feathers back into a mended cushion and sewing it up again. No doubt the dogs will be only too pleased to have another go at it. I think we now have more stitched up cushions than regular ones.
We restricted the morning dog walk to the park with a pledge (we kept) to take them out during the promised sunshine in the afternoon. Our showers generally amount to just a few mms but they're enough to thoroughly muddy the dogs' paws as well as Natasha's newly-mopped floors. The option is to de-mud their paws on the front patio on our return; however, it's an awkward procedure that finds little favour with the impatient beasts when comfortable couches and a flickering fire await within.
This is Sydney, a spider who took up residence above a picture in the study some weeks ago and who has been expanding his network of interests. I haven't minded. Sydney does good work trapping the annoying buzzers who dash around my computer at night. However, he is a lodger whom my wife has been eyeing with growing misgivings - and she is now keen to move him on. Just thought you might be interested.
BARBARA'S MOON
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