It's the end of the summer and I have been mostly away of Hive for several weeks. I thought I'd do a short supper wrap as it has been full of ups and downs.
He hardest news is mom passed away at the end of June. I got a call from one of my brothers that she was in the hospital and doctors recommended not to go through surgery as she would suffer, would probably not make it and if so, she would lose all the minimal live quality she had. We decided to say our goodbyes. I drove all night from Portugal to try to see her still awake and I was able to do so. I miss you mom.
The rest of the summer, I had an issue with a clutch on the car. The official dealer in Portugal told my mechanic the part was not comming for one moth as there was an issue and no stock in all the country. My wife was comming for a couple of weeks with the other car and it was ok for the first two weeks, the other two I just focussed on several minor things on the house and some friends were giving me rides to the store when needed. We also managed to drive 3 hours north to see the full eclipse the third week of August, this was my second full eclipse, and It was impressive as the first one.
On the house, I've been focussed on working on the ceiling of the porch. I wanted to add wood and isolation. It took me several days and I still have to finish the small areas in the front. With the help of a friend I build the frame and the door of the propane cabinet, that was a nightmare as the door is actually a trapezoid instead of a rectangle, but happily we managed to do a decent job. I also burried all the electric wires from the solar pannels to the inside of that cabinet to get into the house, painted most of the interior and all the exterior and added the washing machine and some other cabinets in the kitchen. All in all, the house is starting to feel more and more confortable. I can't wait to feel the heat of the stove this November when I drive back to harvest the olives.
In the farm, I managed to cut all the remaining eucaliptus logs from the first summer to have wood for the few days I will come in the winter and I also managed to create the veggie patch to start growing some plants next spring.
I am back home, somehow closer to my dad wich will become 90 in November and more interactive here in Hive.
Cheers