Saturday 18 May: it was raining. The car was packed, yet again, with more of our stuff but this time we had Betty with us, squidged in between boxes and bags. When we arrived the heavens opened and we all three stared at the house, rather reluctant to get out. A break in the downpour saw us leap out and into the house to be welcomed by the view of the valley beyond. It was our first day in the house. Yes, we were moving in, only four and a half very long years since buying the property.

First priority was cleaning the place, everything was covered in a thin layer of builders’ dust, there was sawdust that needed sweeping up, splodges of paint and plaster on the floors that needed removing, and the windows were filthy. We had bought a very old dresser from one of the Sunday markets a few months back which I fumigated, cleaned and varnished. Almost two weeks later we are still trying to get on top of the cleaning although now we have Betty hair to contend with too.

Eventually the sun came out, as did the champagne, and we could really believe, after this long road travelled, we had arrived.

That evening we were treated to lovely sunset, the first of many we are sure.

Since then we have been, along with the never ending cleaning, unpacking and organising our stuff, putting furniture together, putting up shelves, making curtains, and trying to understand how the new appliances we have bought work. Everything seems much more complicated and we have to regularly refer to the user manuals.

Today though is almost more of a celebration. We had been renting a small house near the River Lima. It was convenient for visiting the builder’s office, keeping an eye on the work being done, and a stone’s throw from the lovely river walks. We were also able to store most of our stuff there. Over the past few weeks we have been bringing that up to Casa Lima but after moving in here we had to clean it. More mopping and dusting and hoovering! And with summer temperatures now over 30 it was exceedingly tiring. We ache all over! But today we finished and returned the keys, that felt like a real milestone.

There’s still a few things that need to be done before the project is finished. It won’t be until later in the year, for example, that the driveway is cobbled. We’re hoping though that the main gate is installed soon, fencing has already been put up around the land, then Betty can have the freedom of the garden (although she seems to spend all day snoozing these days).

There’s lots more to tell: the tank cum pond project is up and running, there are the beginnings of a veg patch, and Richard has started brewing again but we need to sit down now with a large glass of wine, or home brew, and watch the birds.