If this winter is indicative of the weather in the north of Portugal, we’re in the money. We commiserate with our friends in Oregon and Washington shivering under 14 inches of snow with more on the way, and don’t think for a minute that we do not understand extreme weather. In the early morning last week it got down to 52 degrees Fahrenheit. There were thick gloves, fur-fringed Arctic parkas and lined, knee-high boots all over Viana and you could see your breath, for God’s sake! The days, however, seem to warm up to the high sixties so that a light wrap is sufficient.
This morning is crisp, with a light breeze under brilliant blue skies. The weather seems to pattern as follows: a day of rain, maybe two days of rain followed by this drop-dead gorgeous, balmy sunshine for a week or ten days. I can take it. My dog who has very short hair can take it. My wife rides her horse outside. We are surviving.
And there is wonderful news….for the past several months we have been in the process of closing on the sale of our Lake Oswego house and the purchase of a spacious, handsome house on the town square of Barroselas (you wouldn’t believe how it is pronounced). Well, both happened; no more contingencies, no more waiting. The old one is theirs, the new one is ours…we could take Crayons and write on the walls if we wanted to. We could buy draperies. We could unpack boxes or even read the manual to the pellet furnace.
Forget joy from the manual; even in English it seems to have nothing to do with the furnace which is “Fully Automatic” We are deep into the intrigue and mystery of the Automatic part which is accompanied by the headstrong bullying parts. Actually it gives our lives a slight tinge of third world adventure to see smoke coming out of the chimney that actually heats the house.
And all our stuff arrived from its ocean journey, much of it unbroken, gouged, scratched or punctured and two of the five husky commandos who showed up with our goods to schlep furniture out of the container and unpack boxes seemed completely sober. 
It turns out the third world vibe is closer than a pellet stove, and that perhaps dreams may differ. The moto with its friendly sidecar is freshly insured and on the streets…what a wonderful machine, although it gave me a moment of angst two days ago when I pulled up to a stop light in Darque, where most of the Gypsies live, across the river from Viana. Going across the street with the light were two elderly women (older than me), both of them thin and very dark skinned with fierce deep-set, black eyes, Gypsies almost certainly, both scarved and dressed in heavy black clothing, pushing a big hand cart piled high with limbs and bits of scrap wood. The only difference in their big wheeled cart and one they would have owned in 1600 is that pneumatic tires have replaced the iron rimmed ones or the solid wooden disks.
Their furnace is almost surely not automatic and the look of hopeless envy they gave the sidecar rig as they pushed their heavy load toward the village made me ashamed. It also made me resolve to understand the best way to share our good fortune with our own village, and our good fortune is immense.
Congratulations to you two! So happy for you, and your home looks lovely. I looked up your town and it sounds like a place that can speak to one’s soul. Enjoy this new adventure!
Love your new digs!! Love that you three are so happy!
Love your new digs! Love that you three are so happy!
That hand cart full of limbs… please tell me they were tree limbs.
We so look forward to these blog posts! Thanks for sharing and please post more often. Also, please keep us posted on the “fully automatic” progress, we’re hooked 🙂
Dennis & Michel
Exciting news. Love the happiness I can feel in your post. Much happiness in your beautiful new home. Love to you both.
Nan
Well I hadn’t checked your blog in a while and now all this! What great news! We’re so happy for you, it must be such a relief to finally have it all settled.
Jean & Willy