I am starting to miss designing with plants and am very anxious to see what my pallet will be down here. I have not visited a nursery yet and have only seen the usual plants used in the public spaces. Lots of agapanthus, which I love, so I’m happy for that. I want to check at the universities to see if they have some plant ID courses. After all, Latin is Latin wherever its spoken. My Spanish is coming along pretty well considering that we came here mid January, so I think I could make some sense of a course like that. All of the private gardens here are behind tall walls so I only occasionally get a peek at what’s inside. I saw some pretty bearded iris and lots of flowering vines and big leaved tropical plants. Should be fun! The following photos are a few of what we see along our walks.









I am taking a couple art courses on line but have no supplies yet. Tomorrow is the day! I have addresses for three possible stores to buy what I need to get started. I am looking for inspiration. These following sky photos would be fun.










My daughter Anna is interested in watercolor. The following photos are of some of her work. I love it!
Our plan when moving here was to use Cuenca as a base for further travel. Now that seems a long time in the future, but we can still plan and dream. I have been reading a few web site postings from people living in Portugal. Our mother’s family originally came from that beautiful country and my sister Catherine and I would both like to spend some time there. Bruce too!



Bruce walks along the river every morning and usually takes a couple photos.










The 3rd Portugal photo looks like Eveira , east of Lisboa in cork country. I visited last year because my friends stayed there for 6 months. Regina
Sent from my iPhone
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Love the sky pictures and your daughter’s watercolors! We are having the grayest June ever. I should probably start watering as we are not getting that much rain, but the grass is still greenish and my plants are pretty drought tolerant so have not done more than water pots and new plants. Well, and the greenhouse and veggies….
I just heard that an old friend that I lost touch with is living in Portugal. She and her boyfriend took off traveling and he stayed in Ethiopia (he is African-American) and she in Portugal.
We are trying to decide our next move. Thought we might buy in AZ and downsize into 2 places, but this virus has confused our planning a bit as it has your travel plans.
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Yes! Learn up on all those tropical plants and come help me with my enormous garden!!! Most of the plants you show pictured look the same as we have here…. but I wouldn’t be able to tell you any of the names… unfortunately, the apple fell very far from the tree there! ❤️
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So rewarding to see what you are doing and following along with your day to day lives and plans. Love your journal. Portugal or Bust!
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The sky is gorgeous, what wonderful inspiration!! Anna is a very accomplished artist!! Watercolor is hard!! Something I never mastered. I am hankering to do some paintings,also. We are 99% done with our house! I finally got Bill to put up my bathroom door last weekend. It’s en-suite so it wasn’t crucial and the toilet has it’s separate room so no biggy. But I was once again researching Feng Shui for a presentation I will give at Fortnightly later (if we actually get to meet) and it said that not having a door on my bathroom was bad Feng Shui and has something to do with relationship in addition to letting all your chi flow away through open drains. I have been practicing Feng Shui since I first learned about it in the 90’s….but there is always more to learn. Maybe we will get the trim corners on the outside of the house today or at least start and then we will be 99.50% done….just a few shelves, a closet door and stair rails to go. Well, it looks like you are enjoying your retired life. I wish you were closer…..as I really have few friends here…and now, no one wants to get together. Oh well, better safe than dead!! The numbers have increased in Barron county radically this last week…a jump of 46 people in just a few days. Now there have been 146 cases and I think 6 dead. I still know no one who has had or has it. I guess that’s good. Governor instituted a 100% mask law starting today…and the STUPID Republicans are challenging it. How ridiculous is that?? Trying times!!
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