Nothing major happened today. We went to a second-hand store, which turned out to have almost only clothing, and ended up with a wall-hanging. It is one of the ubiquitous elephant with tree of life designs, but it seemed to fit. We have hung it in the bower room, which someday will have a bower I hope, opposite the couch. Tomorrow, I hope to go to ( Read more... )

I think it is all the walking that is wearing me out. That's a good thing, of course, although I'm still worn out. I'm slowly settling in with my new computer, getting used to the Portuguese keyboard, and getting programs installed. There are things that I think I should do tomorrow, but I've forgotten what they are. I do remember that on Friday I ( Read more... )

This morning, I got a text from the post office that my shipment of gelatin would be delivered before 7pm. Less than an hour later, a delivery guy called. We were able to communicate just enough so that I understood that he was on his way. Five minutes later, he was at the door with not only the 2kg of gelatin but also my computer. I spent most of ( Read more... )

I've been having trouble with something biting me at night in bed when I'm asleep. At least, I think it is bites. We haven't found anything in the bed (and I am constantly looking) that seems like it could be biting me, except one terrible-looking, maybe dead for days, unidentifiable monster bug that Joel found this morning. Joel has no bites at ( Read more... )

Today, we went on a walk down to a street fair, which was at least kind of street fair-y. There were a lot of bars and little restaurants, which isn't my thing. However, it was fun to look at the jewelry and just to be out and about. Also on the way home, we passed a field with what looked like either an animal or a statue of an animal in it. It ( Read more... )

Today, we bought some warmer clothing, like robes, slippers, and sleepwear. It is great! Joel also finished constructing the body of our sideboard, which is a long cabinet that holds plates and linens (often). We talked about how it is one of the first expensive (and it wasn't that expensive) pieces of furniture that we bought. We generally don't ( Read more... )

Still no bank account. * sigh * This is a holiday weekend, so no progress can be made on this until Tuesday. Once we get a little bit more of our paperwork cleaned up, we're considering walking around town and seeing if we can get an account ( Read more... )

Our apartment is finally shaping up. I think the construction is all done, and now we have a working doorbell, an upgraded electrical panel, a cabinet on the wall to cover the pipes for the gas meter which isn't being used, and hot and cold water running to the things that are supposed to. This is on top of the earlier improvements of a working hot ( Read more... )

Minutes ago, I emerged from a bathroom that does not smell like sewage after having taken a shower with hot water in a stall with a working drain. A miracle! Of course, today we discovered that the hot water is not only hooked up to the wrong taps in the kitchen, but it is also feeding into the dishwasher and washing machine, which are only ( Read more... )

Today, we went over to check out the farmer's market, but it was closed, probably due to Easter. So, instead, we walked down to the water and along it for a while. (I'll post photos someday.) It was lovely, and the weather was good. After that, we came home, and I spent the next five hours trying to buy parts for a computer. I think that everything ( Read more... )