Back in the USA

After completing all of my tasks to leave Portugal, I arrived back home in late July 2023. WIth the help of several neighbors, I was able to move right back into my house. The assistance and support I got from my friends and neighbors was just amazing and I will be forever grateful.

Because we sold our cars back in 2021, one of the first things I had to do was to buy a car. I actually did this from Portugal, using the Car Gurus app. I was able to pick the car up just two days after I landed. It didn't take long for me to get a vanity tag, add a Portuguese flag, and some beagle-related stickers.

Speaking of beagles, before I returned home, I had been following the website for the Triangle Beagle Rescue. Within a month of my return, I adopted Jack, a seven-year old beagle, who sports adorable speckles and a typical beagle attitude. Then in early November, we added Ziggy to the family. He is a three-year old who started his life at the Envigo Breeding Facility in Virginia that was closed by the government in August of 2022. At that time, 4000 beagles were rescued and are now spread across the country. I love both of them and they are really good company for me. They are diligent about guarding the house from the dreaded Amazon Prime monster.

While our tenants took really good care of the house, I have enjoyed sprucing up the landscaping and getting things organized inside the house.

Overall, I am happy to be back. I miss my life and friends in Portugal. I miss Will. I am still adjusting to the fact that everything (other than gas) is two or three times more expensive here. Now that summer is back, I am once again having a really hard time with the heat and humidity. However, I do enjoy having air conditioning, ice and water on the refrigerator door, and a clothes dryer.

As I now close this story of our expat life in Portugal, I am filled with memories of our time living in Europe and I am surrounded by friends, neighbors, and beagles. Life is still good.