Sunday October 31

 

Today was the time change here in Portugal. We switch back of daylight savings time one week earlier than they do back home. We headed over to church and had okay meetings. A bit difficult to understand, but I guess it may be as good as I get. The young deacon wore his new white shirt we had bought for him, he looked good. After church there was a baptism for a young son of a member. Everyone stayed. We came home and I cooked lunch and soon we were calling our family. They are being very supportive of each other and it looks good. So far we are planning on staying. I figure there will be many days like this one as winter sets in. When the rainy season starts without a car we will be more or less home bound. Yesterday I put 2 bottles of soda in the freezer they froze over night. The guarana was really good cold like this.

Meanwhile we keep going. We love you all.

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October 30 Saturday

 

Today was supposed to rain all day, but it really never did. We needed butter for the frosting for the cake so we set out for the mall. We arrived and the stores are starting to really get in the Christmas mode. 

I like it. We bought our stuff and headed back home. A little old lady was across the street. We see them at times and they all dress the same, only some of them are a bit younger and appear more active and perhaps cleaner. The old ones sit in their doorway. They dress all in black from their scarves to their shoes. They are widows and sometimes they are in the cemetery or shopping. It is like their life is waiting to die. The reason I noticed this one is we are getting ready for our branch halloween party and I thought she was in a witch costume without her pointed hat.

We went to lunch with at a member’s house. Then to follow up on one of our contacts a woman from Brazil. We found her and set up a return appointment. Next the church to help with the party. It was well attended. 

One of the elders and I cooked. Good party. But a lot of cleanup. I was tired when we finished. 10 people who had not been to any church function while we have been here attended.

Home checked in with Logan and got a call from the branch president reminding us of the time change tonight. We love you all.

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Thanks for the comments. Jim I saw your campaign photos looking good.

Friday October 29

 Today was not such a good day. The forecast was for rain, so I was surprised to get to go for my solo walk. I left at 7:00 s usual and walked right down. I was in the middle of my little workout when it started to rain. I thought no big deal, and did a little more and decided maybe I should go. It waited just a little more and then I was in for it. Next time I go when I first notice it. I arrived home wet but not cold as it was almost 70 degrees. We didn’t get to go walking thinking there was a better time or else we would miss a day.  We walked to the church at11:00 so a member could get in and write a talk for her son. It didn’t rain during the walk to and from, but did while she was working on the ralk. Arriving home we ate. We had fasted for Cherie and so this was a nice meal. It kept raining on and off so I made cake for the halloween activity tomorrow night. The oven is small and things take longer to bake so I baked for 3 hours. We had a teaching appointment at 8:00 but they called and canceled. This was sure one of those days when a car would have been nice. I did get to look out the kitchen window at the distant ocean and watch the waves as the wind blew hard all day. This makes 2 days of hard wind reminds me of home. I sat and watched some and thought not every day is sunny and perfect. I would love to have this weather at home when it snows. I like to sit in the warm house and watch the snow blow hard, and I like to sit and watch the rain here.

The only way to make it better is to get out and do something. Next time. Meanwhile suck it up buttercup. We received word that Cherie’s operation went well so that alone makes life better. We love you all.

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Thursday October 28

 Well the good news it quit raining for now. It was still real cloudy so when i went walking alone it was darker than normal. We waited togo walking until 9:00 as we wanted to shop for a white shirt for the young deacon. The lady clerks were very helpful and fun in helping me. We got a shirt bought a backpack full of food and came home. We ate and then grandma made a special cake for elder teare’s birthday. It had rained a little but we waited and went for a walk. The car was unavailable so we were tired of the apartment.  There is a small lighthouse about a mile from our place.

Across the street is the lighthouse restaurant.

We walkd on for a while. I could count on one hand the number of trailers I have seen here but when you think of the narrow streets and sharp turns even I wouldn’t want to pull one but I did find one

We came out on a point and headed back.

Walking back on a little side street was a little store advertising fishing stuff boat stuff and guns and

ammo. And hunting stuff. Sometime I need to check it out. Home again just before dark. Later the missionaries came and we sent the cake home with them.

Not a busy day. I much prefer doing things but another day where not having a car limits what you can do. We love you all.

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Thank you for all the comments again. I try to mention things that are asked and I really like the feedback. Sometimes I write just to keep this going, but then sometimes I write because I know you are reading.

Wednesday October 27

 

This morning it looked like it was going to rain. I finished my solo walk and we packed our rain jackets in my pack and set out. Because it was overcast he sun wasn’t blinding us as we walked along the coastline.

Pretty. We walked down by our swimming place where the cruise ships dock and while sitting there taking turns to use the bathroom all these buses gathered out where the ships dock.

I counted 9 grandma said there were 11. Just then I noticed a cruise ship coming in. There is a harbor there the ships enter protected by a large rock barrier. The only problem was the ship wasn’t going to make the entrance but instead was headed for the rocks. We headed for higher ground to watch. Somewhere in there the people in charge of the ship realized the problem and put her in reverse. The water was shooting up behind the ship but it kept going forward. I noticed now I wasn’t the only one aware of what was happening. The ship slowly stopped and turned away from the rocks. 

There is this little tugboat looking boat that has pilot in big letters painted on it and it came hurrying out but a little late. Meanwhile these ships take a bit of room to turn around. Even more than my white truck. So it has circled out in the ocean and all stop. The buses all left and we didn’t see the ship at dock for several hours. Someone probably was in trouble over this one. We were down there to visit a family but after talking for a little he got upset and we left. We stopped at farmers market for hamburger and stopped at the health food store for some vitamins. We went home in rain falling slowly most of the way. We ate and visited a nice member who struggles with reading and wants to bear her testimony. Grandma had prepared a simple lesson using a glove to learn how and what to bear testimony of. She did a great job. We  had our weekly activity tonight it was fun. It had rained all day at times so hard with the wind that visibility was almost zero. November is the month with the most rain so suck it up buttercup. 

This was a good day.

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Tuesday October 26

 Those are Christmas trees. This morning it was really dark. Beautiful day but the sun doesn’t come up til 8:00 that will change back to 7:00 this weekend when the time changes. It gets dark at 7:00 so that will change to 6:00. The days are getting shorter but we are close to the same latitude as home. I walked and then we left for a walk. There was a little old lady down on the sidewalk but there were plenty of people helping so we went on.

We were on a short walk today as we have language class then district meeting. I have taken so many pictures of things it is hard to remember to take more so today is really short on them. After the meetings we went to a store to look at white shirts for the young guy just baptized and now a deacon. When we walked in there was a good sized Christmas display, thus the trees at the start of the blog. There were ornaments and all kinds of stuff.

We went home and I cooked some of that potatoes hamburger noodles and tomato soup stuff. I meant to only make enough for one meal but made enough for several. We headed out and left the elders at the other chapel where they were picked up for a teaching appointment we went with a member to visit some less active members. It was fun. Driving around new places and in the dark is a challenge but I remind myself I was born to drive in Portugal. We arrived home late took care of things and went to bed. The weather is supposed to be not so good tomorrow. We love you all.

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Monday October 25

 

It’s Monday, it’s p-day, and it’s not raining. We headed back to the pine forest to show the missionaries and just because. I decided I had taken enough pictures of the place last Saturday so I just enjoyed the peaceful walk and the pretty scenery. There were few people here and we only saw 3 others. The elders either were impressed or at least acted like they were. We hiked up to the tower and looked out over the island. We used my nocculars to look at a lot of the places. It is amazing.

Coming down from there we found a stump cut to form a chair, back and all.

So grandma watching again. We circled around the park to see the deer and the birds and the picnic areas. There are a lot tables with and without shelters several playgrounds for the kids bathrooms and grills even pizza ovens with the long handled hoe to remove the ashes and the long handled flat spatula to put the pizza in and take it out. Here is a picture of some.

These are for grilling l didn’t take pictures of the ovens and all the other grilling areas. It was quite impressive. We drove back and ate lunch at the brazilian restaurant. We had plenty of time to shop and then our mission zoom meeting. We bought very little as we feel mixed messages about what we should do and have decided to try and use up the food in case. We sort of are confused and I have no idea how to plan. I get the feeling that we should have been home from one and others say to stay. We want to make the right decision so please help us. Please discuss this but please respect each other’s opinions. Meanwhile grandma keeps studying português and we have kept things private here. We will just keep working as we would normally and yet get things in order. We have a lot of events planned for the next 35 days but things can change quickly. When I always said health issues could cause changes quickly I was thinking of us. We are still doing good and enjoying it, the members seem to appreciate us so life is good. We love you all.

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Sunday October 24

 

Today it was wait around and take it easy until time for church. We had great hopes and expectations for the people who would attend but we were not as fortunate as we hoped. We had 70 in attendance so not bad. The meeting went well and then home for lunch. We had a couple of meetings scheduled with members one of them being supper. Things went well. 

We stayed until well after dark and it cooled right down. We headed home and spent a couple of hours calling the kids. Sometimes the anxiety from home makes me feel inadequate. We are a long distance away and therefore of little help. We can only hope for the best and be prepared for the worst in a limited way. We love you all.

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Saturday October 23

 

Once again a really full blog with lots of pictures and stories is followed by a slow day where I forget to take photos. After my solo walk we waited to go walking so as to arrive at the shopping mall just after 9:00. The mission nurse had e-mailed a prescription for grandma and we wanted to beat the crowds. We did good mainly due to kind help. We bought a backpack full of food and walked home. If you are wondering why we didn’t use the car it is because we like to walk. Hard to see new things and have adventures in a car. On the way home I got a picture for Jim.

A delivery guy drives it and I talked a second with him. We came on home and I cooked a nice lunch. Grandma has been collecting these huge leaves that look like they come from maple trees and drying them. Then she printed the name of each family member on one and randomly taped them to the windows in the living room.

If I figure how to get better pictures I add them in a later blog. They do cheer up the apartment. We made some visits and attended a meeting starting seminary and nstitute and met with a member who wanted to talk with us about her depression. Some things are hard to know how to help. We came home in the dark after a busy day even though not the most exciting.

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Friday October 22 back to where we started.

 This morning I did my usual solo routine only a little bit earlier. We have the car. We ieft early for Pinhal da paz (pine forest of peace). This is the same place we visited for the party on our first day in country. The drive here is some of the best to see ld rock fences and pretty county. When we arrived I wasn’t real sure which way to go. We walked abit and seeing a church with lots of steps I thought of Drew and how much he appreciates pictures of steps t churches, grandma with flowers, and the elders. There were no elders but the other two are fr Drew.

We wandered around and found some neat.things this duck pond with houses made from rock hard Palm branches.

Why I really wanted to come was to see the deer and I finally had to ask a worker where to find them. They are still tiny but for their size the antlers are large. The velvet on the antlers is gone and they look good. I have way too many pictures to use all of them in the blog but will try not to let it stop me from trying. Grandma had my camera when I got some of them to eat out of my hand.

More.

And more.

If there is a need I have more but due to limits in my storage I erase photos after posting them to the blog. We headed  for the top to see the lookout we had visited before but made a wrong turn and ended up at another site.. grandma crawled up on a wall for a better view,

We had noticed this set of stairs going up while we were walking so we used them to go back down. Sort of neat but a little rough on the knees. We were sort of ready to head home when we found the sign for the lookout.

So off we went. The climb was a little steep but shorter than I remembered. Maybe all the walking is paying off. I took pictures of the sign, the tower itself and some from on top.

We spent a lot of time up here. Watching the waves from a long ways away. Looking out over the pastures and farms all divided by rock walls. It’s beyond comprehension the work that must have been done to build those fences with the limited modern technology available. It was very peaceful there. We passed an older couple headed up as we were coming down so grandma waited to make sure they made it down okay and then we showed them the route to the deer. They were here visiting from Lisbon, so count it as language practice. The dirt roads, the quiet, and the rocks and trees, combined with the cooler temperature reminded me a lot of areas in the Selway.

I must come back often and get more pictures for Drew. We actually got headed home early. There was an old pony staked out just by the park.

We arrived home ate brunch and got ready to go. Laura called Cheri was headed for the hospital so some tense hours for a while. We don’t know what we would do in an event that ends up bad. Thank goodness for answered prayers. We headed out and spent time with members and got home late after a really good day. We love you all.

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Now for some feedback on the comments. Jim I like your comments they keep me in touch with my old world. The cold nights here will be close to 51 at night and only 59 for a high with the coldest month being February. By then we may be like the natives and find it miserable. With the high humidity it does feel both hotter and colder.

Skye first I like your cooking and look forward to it again. I would eata pan of your pizza right now. Baking is a challenge here due to differences in ingredients and low elevation. Thanks for the comments from you Jordan and your mom.

Ashley you are still the best. Your comments help make us happy. The perspective you show makes me enjoy writing the blog. We love you.

Gail your comment was different. I am a truly romantic guy but fixing up that old house the movie would need to cover a period of decades. The house would be amazing though and I bet in its day the house was beyond compare. I always wonder why one mansion goes to rack and ruin while other houses are kept up. The majority of the houses here are hundreds of years old so why did this one die? Nice comment.