news
23 Jul 2009: One year on.
It is just over a year since my father died. My mother is living in her new home and enjoying it. There are still plenty of things that need doing but that, I am sure, will be the story forever! The home automation is still being developed and until it can work 100% without glitches and simply, we won't switch over. Mum has to feel confident with it all as she is on her own.
Mum loves the new garden and spends a lot of time tending to it - I will add some new photos next visit.
We are spending a lot of our time in Portugal trying to replicate the technologies in a villa there. Unfortunatley Paul cannot build the villa as he has to be registered as a Portuguese builder! Trying to explain the technologies to the builder out here is trying to say the least - more especially because of the language barrier! I will document the build stages on this web site - it is another journey but this time we are far less in control.
Our Portuguese language skills are growing - we are probably learning the most unlikely words - cement mixer, plaster, insulation, etc. nothing like a normal introduction to the language! Underfloor heating and cooling is known but not widely used in Portugal but ground to air energy exchange and ground source heat pumps are a new phenomenon...watch this space!!