The year is ending today and I am starting to plan what I will be focusing on in the coming one. I've been immersed in crypto for a few years and although I love discovering and working in this fascinating world, I believe I was starting to need stronger contact with "real" challenges. The picture above represents my biggest real-analog challenge for the coming months and probably years.
This small property was part of a bigger farm several years ago. I am purchasing what used to be the warehouse and stable. My goal is to convert this place into a small apartment plus a garage/workshop and although I will for sure hire some professionals for specific tasks, I pretend to do it myself.
As you can see in the photos, it is an old stone building with none of the conditions a modern house has. There is no water or electricity, nothing is isolated, and there are opening exits to the tiny patio which at present time leads to a chicken coop.
I will be spending my first two full weeks at the end of March, I plan to drive from home with a small trailer attached to the car to carry basic equipment such as two generators, a gas one and an electric solar one, tools, and some basic living equipment. I will be on my own during the first week, the second one my wife and son will join, so as you can imagine I will need to get things "slightly" clean and nice to get them happy :)
I have a few weeks to plan before I land there. Planning is probably the most important thing to do now. There are plenty of things to be done but the order in which you approach them matters. I may request urban power, water, and sewage water connection during my first days, but from what I have been told, I do not expect that to happen while I am there so there is a plan B for all our needs during this initial period.
I've been watching YouTube videos on how to restore the walls, do the floors, electric and water connections, build windows, and every single need I anticipate which I am sure I am short of, as many new unexpected needs will appear as I move forward, but honestly, that is part of the game and I am willing to start getting my hands dirty.
Of course, I will still work on my regular digital projects while there, so I plan to get a nice internet connection although I can initially work with my roaming cellphone for a while. The nice part is we have been seeing the fiber company wiring all over the village while we were there two weeks ago so whenever I need to contract a good service, there should be no problem at all.
Although I am starting to picture myself the internal distribution. I still need to be there to take measurements and see how to distribute water and power internal connections. But one idea I am thinking of is cleaning and making the chicken coop comfortable as it is kind of isolated from the rest of the building. This way I can keep the "living" place clean while working on the rest of the place.
One of the nicest surprises when we visited the place was the size it has, I knew it had a small patio but was not expecting to have the space where the chickens are. This area will be very helpful initially. Once we get the place ready it might be used as a second room. Another nice surprise was the ceiling. It is all new and was rebuilt three years ago. As with most cases in Portugal, it is not isolated at all and that work will have to be done, but having a well-covered ceiling makes renovation of the place way easier.
I will try to document my progress as much as possible and post it here. I would love to go over it after the years and laugh at the many mistakes I sure will be making.
Happy New Year to all the Hiveans and see you Next Year!
