27 Comments

Save the artillery pieces, you need a lot of balls for this kind of work

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Sep 30, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman

Please take the canon balls to the antiquities department. Portugal is full of history that belongs to them, not us. They may be “junk” and you can do what you want with them, create your own stories behind them. But they could be a link to something important or fill a knowledge gap that had been lost. It’s the right thing to do. If they need to take them, get great photos, have molds made of them, a canon-ball “footprint” roll. You’ll always have this great story, and an even better one if they are noteworthy. 😊

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Oct 21, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman

What we are learning is that we better be very patient when we arrive to check out our new pad. loving watching the progress and cant wait to celebrate the grand opening. see you soon.

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Oct 11, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman

😂 Nancy, I’m torn between admiring your “balls” and questioning your sanity for taking on such a challenging project in your retirement years! I so enjoy your postings, and I love your feisty spirit! Keep up the good work! Wishing you good luck with your project and I hope to see it one day when I return to VRSA, after I get a new hip. Best wishes, Virginie in California

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Oct 7, 2022·edited Oct 7, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman

We knew we were reaching the home stretch of our renovation when the cement mixer finally departed from our living room! It actually sounds like your project is going well, congratulations.

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Oct 1, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman

I wouldn't tell anyone because they might be an historical find and that would have the historians at your house stopping the work and taping your property off as an archeological dig. Save them and take them to antiques roadshow so you get on TV and I can see you and Denise!

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Oct 1, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman

You are very brave and admirable for undertaking an exciting project like this, congratulations so far. I might suggest that the cannonballs will make good doorstops but not if they roll over your feet.

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Thanks for reminding us why we are shopping for a house that's already built! :-) We'll be there in late October to begin! Good luck to you both.

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Sep 30, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman

I admire both your patience and fortitude as you tackle this huge project. I love how you stick to your guns and make sure everything is done exactly as you designed. Hang in there! Keep playing pickleball for relaxation. Paula Fochesato

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Sep 30, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman

Definitely NOT for the faint of heart! Hang in there. I can’t wait to see pics of the finished project.

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Sep 30, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman

Awesome, and all to be expected (btdt!). Portugal time is not the same as 'merican time, eh? and yes, put every date in pencil...you nailed that one (ha ha ha). Parabéns, and keep yo' sensayuma!

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Sep 30, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman

You are taking it all in stride. I the cannonballs are a cool find!

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Hi Nancy,

I love your blog and your updates are great inspiration.

Previously I lived in Portugal in Caparide near Estroil however I have been living in Australia for the last 12 years my finance and I are coming to Portugal tomorrow the 10th October and are heading to your neck of the woods to look for our own project. I feel you have so much knowledge I would love to pay for a consultation to learn from your experienece do you do this?

We plan to be in Portugal for around 3 weeks before going to Northern Ireland.

Thanks Sara

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It would be so interesting to get a U.S. building crew out and have them compare notes. There may need sound reasons behind these "interesting" choices. Then again, there may not.

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Ha! We're in old town Lagos in a 48 year old apartment (we're in the top 4th floor so we lovingly call it our penthouse) and getting estimates on new sound-proof windows. In the U.S. the SOP is to get 3 quotes on which to make a decision. We're finding here that it's not so easy to do that.

We find ourselves defaulting to those contractors who speak fluent English (as we've just begun our grasp of Portuguese). And we're conflicted about that because we may be passing up some highly qualified contractors. In this round with the windows, we also find some hesitancy on the other side in contractors – possibly not getting back to us because of the language barrier (finer points are lost in translation).

For our kitchen renovation, we have a kitchen contractor who's translating for us with the "builder" (who demolishes and then comes in to prep for the new construction with plumbing and electricity). So that works.

Anyway, I'm curious as to whether you went shopping for contractors ... and how much of a challenge that was?

Always fun (maybe not to you!) to read about your exploits navigating Portugal. Thank you!

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100% agree with displaying the cannonballs, I might even be tempted to embed them in lucite and make an end table...

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