Housing and Blog Update

Our real estate "adventures" of 2025 are coming to a close after occupying much of our time and energy this year.  After selling our house in California in 2021, we enjoyed several years in Portugal of having relatively few housing responsibilities.  We were either renting a house or living in a new apartment.  In both cases, maintenance and upkeep were either non-existent or minor.  But there were drawbacks to this way of life.  Ryder and we had little space, particularly compared to our former house in California.  And some space was communal, which meant sharing with other neighbors. 

A year ago, we decided to get a house of our own, with ample space for Ryder and us.  This decision entailed selling two apartments and buying a house.  With ample good advice and luck, we were able to accomplish these tasks in mid-October.  We bought a four-bedroom townhouse with a small pool and a garden for Ryder.  The house was built in 2003, so naturally there are lots of improvement projects, some which we wanted to accomplish quickly.  Others, we will accomplish in the coming months and years.  

Here are some examples of what we have done so far:

Before

After

The shared bathroom on the ground floor needed several changes.  For some reason, there was no sink, and a washer had been put in its place.  In addition, there was a miniature shower that only small children could possibly use.  We had the shower removed, making a place for a new washer and dryer.  We added back a sink and replaced the toilet.

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Dining Room Before

Living Room Before

The great room on the ground floor contained space for both a dining room and a living room.  The odd thing was that the dining room area was larger and more spacious than the living room area.  Mark had the idea to switch the spaces, using the larger area for the living room, an area which would be used much more frequently.  This also conveniently allowed space for a wall-mounted big-screen television.

Dining Room After

Living Room After

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Office Before

Office After

The original office was quite cluttered, but by turning the desk around, it freed up space for a treadmill, a welcome addition for us both.  Also, we were happy to get rid of the lime green curtains!

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Other projects we have accomplished since purchasing the house include:

• Painting the entire interior 
• Both living room couches professionally cleaned
• Numerous additional electrical outlets added or moved
• Fiber internet and MESH Wi-Fi network installed
• Locks changed
• New microwave oven and dishwasher installed

All projects were done with Portuguese contractors!  We are pleased to have accomplished so much on our new home, even if it did come at the expense of work on this blog.  While we expect our home improvement projects to continue into 2026, we also plan to have many more adventures that we will share on this blog to our friends and family.  We and Ryder appreciate your interest!​

Ryder getting fit for new adventures