5 senses

Are you listening? STOP!! ... and listen. To your surroundings, to the ones around you, to your self. Really listen! and try to learn something, if you can

Are you seeing? STOP!!... and open your eyes. See what's around you, the ones around you. Try look beyond yourself and maybe you get to see something new

Are you still talking? STOP!!... kiss someone, taste something you never ate before, say somthing nice about a stranger. Who knows? You may like it!

Are you smelling it? STOP!!... and smell the roses, fresh bread out of the oven, a field of strowberies. Really take it in, and maybe you find new sensations!

Are you feeling it? STOP!!... and lay a hand to someone, let someone hug you, really connect. I mean, REALLY connect... And who knows, you might like being part of something!

Uma nova casa velha / A new old house

Este verão adquirimos uma casa com mais de um século de história. Uma casa de pedra, com pormenores encantadores como a escada de acesso ao primeiro andar ou a pequena varanda volta ao sol.

Last summer we have acquired a house with more than a century worth of history. A stone house, with charming details such as the staircase that gives access to the first floor, or the small balcony facing the sun.

Agora começamos as obras de restauro.
Começamos pelos acessos, mais em concreto pelo portão de entrada no recinto. Parte da propriedade eram ainda um lagar de vinho, um palheiro e entre eles as ruínas da casa inicial, essa já com séculos (no plural) de vida.
Tanto o lagar como as poucas paredes que ainda estavam de pés pertencentes à casa antiga foram mandados a baixo para dar espaço ao novo portão e não só. Fica o palheiro. E a casa.

Now we start the restoration.

We start with the access, more precisely with the entrance gate. Part of the estate were also a house were wine was produced, a stone barn where hay and straw were kept, and in between the remaining of the original house, this with centuries (plural) worth of history.

Both the wine house as well as the original house ruins were tear down  to create the needed space for the new entrance gate as well as space for a patio. The stone barn remains. And the house.

Esta é a configuração inicial, com o portão encostado à parede no lado direito e o lagar ocupando toda a área no lado esquerdo. O portão era à conta de um carro ligeiro entrar mas, devido à sua localização e ao facto de a rua ser estreita, tornava difícil a manobra. Para as obras de recuperação da casa, era também necessário criar espaço para que um camião pudesse entrar e descarregar o material no interior da propriedade ao invés de na via pública.

This was the original display, with the gate placed next to the house wall on the right and the wine house taking the remaining area on the left side. The gate was just large enough to allow a car to enter but, due to its location plus the fact that the street was quite narrow, the maneuvers were a bit complicated. Due to the house restoration activities, it was also necessary to allow the truck to enter the propriety so it could lay down the materials on the inside instead of on the public street. 

E assim começaram as obras. And so the work began.

Primeiro foi necessário remover os portões.

First it was necessary to remove the gate.

 Depois pode-se começar a derrubar as paredes do lagar. A parede exterior foi derrubada apenas o necessário para alargar o portão.

Afterwards we could start tearing down the walls of the wine house. The exterior wall was only tear down enough to enlarge the entrance gate.

 A quantidade de pedra é quase inacreditável mas as paredes também tinham quase 1 metro de espessura. Ao fundo pode-se ainda ver duas das quatro pedras que formavam o lagar.
 The amount of stones recovered is almost unbelievable, although the walls were almost 1 meter thick. At the rear one can still see two from the original four stones that made the winepress.

  Após remover a pedra excedente, usou-se as pedras do lagar para delimitação do novo portão.

After removing all the unnecessary stone, the big stones from the winepress were use to delimit the new entrance gate area.

 Uma pequena coluna foi também adicionada separando o portão da parede da casa. Nesta coluna foram colocadas as caixas para os respectivos contadores da água e electricidade.

A thin column was also added in order to separate the gate from the house wall. This column was used to fix the boxes that will house the water and electricity meters.

No fim, depois de acertar a parede à direita na fotografia, e de acertar a nova coluna, a entrada estava assim: bem mais espaçosa e pronta para deixar passar um camião.

At the end, after filling the wall on the right side in the photo, and after having aligned the new column, the new entrance looked like this: much wider and ready to let a truck in.

E assim terminou a primeira fase das obras, com uma nova entrada mais espaçosa. Parabéns aos pedreiros que fizeram a emenda do muro de forma perfeita. Não fosse a pedra nova ter uma cor diferente e nem seria possível perceber que sofreu uma intervenção.

Seguem agora as remodelações na casa.

And that’s how the first phase ended, with a new and enlarged entrance. Congratulations to the civil workers that made the new part of the wall in such a perfect manner. If it wasn’t for the stone's different color, it would be impossible to tell the wall had suffered any intervention.

Next we will continue with the house remodeling.

Sins

Tonight I confess my sins.

I surrender to judgment

For the fears I have not yet conquered,

For the victories I have not yet won.

I ask no mercy, beg no forgiveness.

My worst enemy stands as tall as I

And the giants that walk alongside me

keep me honest.

I’ll win, I’ll conquer and I will be stronger.

I will be victorious!

And so tonight I confess my sins

But I expect no absolution.

2016-01-14