The rain in spain is in Portugal

This morning it’s raining. Not real hard but enough to wear your hood up. We went for a walk anyway and met a really nice man and saw some really cool stuff. We went down a side street and there was a really old church. Then we passed by lots of small shops that usually sell only one item. The tool shop had their entire inventory on display in the front window. There was one shop that sold high end luggage, purses, wallets and belts. Grandma said they were calvin kline, I just know they were expensive. It makes me wonder how they sell enough to be profitable. We came home and since we were fasting we started studying and getting ready to go. We decided to go buy umbrellas and be ready for the next rainy day. I came up with a new idea for grandma to get a jump on speaking português and it just work. We went to do a visit with the missionaries but we were unsuccessful. We went shopping and bought frango assado which is sort of like rotisserie chicken, only they cut the chicken down the back and flatten it out and cook it. It was really good. We talked to all the kids today who knows maybe we’ll stop talking to them so often. I was able to get some neat pictures from the balcony tonight. And the pictures of the tools has to be of Milwaukee tools even the battery looks the same. By noon it had cleared up and no more rain.

Fog and baby strollers

Today when we got up it was really foggy. It was difficult to see across the street from our apartment. We went out walking anyway. Not much happened on our walk so we were soon headed for our district meeting. It was okay but we ate after and we can’t keep doing this or we will gain more weight. We had our language class today and it is still hard. They keep telling me it will get better, but I am still waiting. Meanwhile grandma said in order to go to Portugal all she wanted was a cook and a maid so I have been getting all the meals and doing all the dishes. We eat some different things, we bought a bag of salad and l am sure it had some kind of wild lettuce in it. It was really strong, I bought some what I thought was margarine and it was margarine alright but I missed the word for with garlic. Good thing I tasted it before I made the frosting. It tastes great to scramble eggs. We have to be careful when buying cheese, some of the cheddar cheese is so sharp it will cut you. Grandma saw some cute strollers in the window of one of the stores and had to have a picture of them in today’s blog for Laura and Gail to see. Asher I don’t call you a m because you aren’t a morning person but because there are two of you grandkids whose names start with a. So al and am. Think about it. We go over to the church on Wednesday and Friday night where the elders teach an English class. I think grandma is learning more português in the class than the others are learning English. Even with the inverters grandmas curling iron had a meltdown. There was smoke and melted plastic involved, and I had to throw it out on the balcony to cool down. The fog made it tough to take pictures today so hope for better pictures tomorrow. If anyone wants to read this and can’t because we have not friended them send their names in comments. We get a lot of friend requests and we are not sure which ones are legit.

The fight goes on

We had a big meeting ln Lisbon today. We didn’t find out about it until last night. So we were up and walking as usual. Today on our walk we found the bull fighting arena. It is huge and I hear it is very popular. It is in a part of town where there are a lot of either abandoned buildings or they were never finished. One old gal came up to us and started to talk to us I didn’t understand her very well, but hey at least she talked to us. I figured out a way to get people to greet us by making them look at us and then saying good morning. We had a nice breakfast, see pictures and with the elders from our branch headed for Lisbon. Right off we got off the wrong exit and it was about 7 miles before we could turn around. We did arrive in Lisbon with enough time to get a pizza at dominos. We then had a long meeting with elder kearon and his wife. He is one of the president of the 70. Right off the bat we met elder basham so k you need to show his family the pictures. He seemed really nice and when elder kearon asked why we needed to find people to teach, elder basham said “you can’t teach no one “. We drove back to Santarem and ate dinner at Burger King. we went grocery shopping and it was really busy. Long day but okay. 2 27 20.

Playground

This post is mostly for Laura. We have a nice playground right across the street from us, and there is nothing wrong with it. When we were walking we found another one made out of logs. I thought it was really cool and figured Patrick and Laura would get a kick out of it. I think I should build one when I come home. We had a great walk going down small winding streets that soon turn into wide sidewalks, little shops on both sides selling limited items there is no way they can make a living in such a limited spot. This is what I thought Europe would be like. We keep trying to get lost but so far we seem to be able to find our way out each time. One store had Milwaukee cordless tools, same red color, but a european name. Cool. We had one of the missionaries get transferred today so we went to give him a ride to the train station. He was really surprised when we knew where it was. I parked to unload and helped him with the luggage, when this lady came up to me and pointed at my name tag and said you’re a missionary, I asked if she was a member and she was. I asked if she lived here in Santarém and unfortunately she said no. The missionary leaving said he had never had that happen to him before, I didn’t say he still hadn’t,  because she came up to me. I knew eventually they would have to start talking to me, I just have that look people always talk to me. Meanwhile back at the car it turns out I had parked in a taxi spot so this English speaking cabbie was giving grandma grief. She came in and got me and I moved the car. Isn’t life grand? There was a lot of traffic today so driving was a bit exciting I don’t know which was worse grandma screaming or the cars honking at me. At least it was exciting. There is this stereo in our apartment that lets me hook my phone up and we can listen to all my music. Sadie, Whitney, and Jul l i a n n a    would love it. In answer to the question from k most of the food is strange, but good. I made a cake on p day, it was good but tasted different, we had pizza for supper and with some catsup dipping sauce it was close to little caesars. We get to try some different things and I look forward to it. Meanwhile we have English class twice a week and it is good for grandma to attend so we went tonight. Good to see k,h,z, and am today. Í

Don’t try this at home

Today was our first day of trying to follow a schedule. We went to bed early last night so we could get up early. At 7:30 we went walking. We walked for an hour then we came home for breakfast and studying. I don’t want to turn this into a list of daily events so let’s just say we were busy till after lunch. We wanted to find this old roman wall which is also the site of an old chapel of the knights templar. We headed out and because of traffic we were only able to do a drive by. Something for another day. We drove all over town and even out of town. Not once did we have to use the phone to navigate. We still have to use the phone to find specific addresses, but to just drive around we do great. The roads are really narrow and some are cobblestone so a bit rough. Once we needed to turn around and I backed into a parking spot and whipped back out. It was really tight and I said “don’t try this at home, go to Portugal “. The garage we park in is 2 stories below ground and the circular drive down is so tight that I think it would be hard to do in my jeep. I don’t know how I will park if the spot next to ours is ever full. I am getting better at driving but the garage is difficult at best. Since most of the Toyota yaris are white or silver I wonder if I could save the rush and just buy a passenger side mirror ahead of time. I need to take some pictures of our car and the garage. I keep offering to let grandma drive but so far she just says no. Sorry no pictures today l will do better tomorrow.

Almost like being there

This was our first Sunday here in Portugal. It took a while for us to get ready, and we were about on time. Everyone greeted us with kindness and grandma will get used to the hugs and kisses all the women do. I could not understand às well as I would like to, but it is what it is. We stayed after church and had lunch with some of the members. These are really nice people. We went home had a nap and then off to a member’s house for dinner. P.S.K and H yes we do spend a lot of time eating. We came home and called home and talked with everyone. That was fun. We miss you all but we are glad to be here. Carter is looking good. All my grandkids looked good, clean and happy. We went to bed cause tomorrow is P day. Well grandma sort of slept in so we had a bit of a late start. We went out for a drive and also a long walk. We went out again walking all around our apartment and getting familiar with our area. We changed some more money for euro, and took some pictures. For Caleb this my new fishing vest. I figure everyone will be wearing them in the next two weeks. The building in the background is where we live and the blue blanket we hung from our balcony. Good planning huh?

The first picture grandma took looks like the leaning tower of pizza.

Saturday in the park

Saturday morning we slept in a little. When we got up there was a flea market or moving yard sale going on in the park across the street from where we live. After a shower we ate and then went out for a walk through the park. Lots of old rusty tools and junk that would look great on my outhouse, but no way am I bringing any of it home. We next went down the street to the China store they sell almost everything except food. They are owned and operated by the Chinese and the workers are all from China too. One old gal was really yelling in Chinese at a younger worker in Chinese. We got some household stuff, mom some new shoes, and me a fishing vest. Just for Caleb and cause it has pockets for everything. Next we drove all over town while the traffic was slow. We stopped in 3 grocery stores and bought a ton of food. We had pizza at pizza hut. Our pizza had 3 toppings pepperoni, hamburger, and pineapple. Grandma liked it. We came home and I made a batch of chili. We went out with the missionaries, but their appointment fell through. We went to 2 more grocery stores trying to find powdered sugar so grandma can make a cake. I took a cool picture of the small pickup it is almost small enough to bring back in my suitcase. I was in shirt sleeves after 10 am. K and H thanks for the posts. Thanks to their mom for the video. 

Big waves

Well today started early with us going to inspect missionaries apartments with another senior couple. We rode with them and spent quite a while inspecting two apartments. Then we headed to the ocean. We went to a place famous for big waves and surfing. It was warm and windy and so there were no surfers. We were able to take a few pictures and visit an old fort built in the 1500’s overlooking the ocean. While at one of the apartments we had a chance to take a picture of an old castle. Good stuff. We headed home and went for a drive while the traffic was lite trying to get the hang of it. Logan if you are reading this let jim and others know about it. Maybe Jared Bevin ect.  There is a link to it on Marcia’s facebook account I think. Now you need to post comments once in a while so I know you are able to get this. This includes grandkids. Kenna knows the code for their responses. I would like to hear from some of you from time to time. P.s. K great comments. The weather here is nice cool in the morning but warm in the afternoon. Today it was 70.

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Finally here

The flight was not as bad as we expected. We arrived here ahead of schedule. We cleared customs literally in minutes. We were met by the mission president and his wife. Next stop was the mission home. We were tired and soon were taking a nap. We had dinner with some of the leaders and went to bed to start early tomorrow. Tuesday we were up and going early. We went for a walk to some historic sites close by. I told grandma we should tell our grandkids the fort was our apartment and the turrets were for punishing bad missionaries. We were able to call most of our kids while getting organized at the mission office and then l drove our car to our apartment an hour drive away. Another senior couple went with us to show us the way, he rode with me and she drove grandma. They are from Brazil so they speak no english. It was an exciting ride every road always ends in a traffic circle.  Meanwhile I am trying to find my way getting all my directions in português. We have a toyota yaris one of those gas electric hybrids. We arrived safely and we have a wonderful apartment. We are on the fifth floor and have a wonderful view of the city. We have two balconies with 4 doors coming out of different rooms. Two full bathrooms, and we park in assigned parking garage. We purchased food then back to unpack and sleep,long day, but a good one. Next day Thursday we purchased a SIM card for our phone that gives us unlimited internet and let’s us use the phone as hot spot for our other devices. We have interacted with lots of people and so far my português ls holding up. We are eating well and walking a lot. I hope the pictures come through. Feb. 20, 2020.