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Evil Cats Destroy Lives In Europe

Category: Portugal

  • Bunny Babysitters

    Bunny Babysitters

    Back in my 20’s in St. Cloud I had 2 bunnies as my primary pets. The first was a gray Netherland Dwarf named George. He was adorable, mild mannered, gentle and oh so sweet. Dumb me thought he needed a friend, so Betsy the brown Mini Lop came next. She was a lot less sweet…

  • All Aboard The Train To Mexico

    All Aboard The Train To Mexico

    I’ve never really played a lot of tile placement games. Before moving to Portugal I played online Mahjong Solitaire, the occasional game of Carcassonne, and Upwords (which feels more like a word game). Andrew generally favors games like Blokus more than me. We didn’t own dominoes and none of our fellow board gamers in the…

  • Happy Birthday To Us!

    Happy Birthday To Us!

    My birthday is July 1st and Andrew’s is August 12th and for 2025 we decided to try something new. Although we dined out in fancy restaurants on our respective days, which is our time honored tradition, instead of getting separate gifts we agreed to shop together. We debated about whether our splurge would be something…

  • Finding The Tinned Fish

    Finding The Tinned Fish

    A very common question and discussion I’ve had multiple times since moving is “What things are hard to find at a Portuguese grocery store?” Oddly enough at least half of these conversations have been with other people who have also moved to the country. I’ve heard multiple strange stories about the lack of peanut butter…

  • On The Road To Recovery

    On The Road To Recovery

    I have chronicled my ACL injury and repair and people are curious about what life is like post surgery. I am almost at the 4 month post-op mark and am still on restrictions, but here are some factoids about my recovery journey so far. On 2 Crutches: First 4 weeks. First Look: After 6 days…

  • Perlers (Melty Beads)

    Perlers (Melty Beads)

    For many years now my main artistic hobby has been making art out of Perler brand melty beads. I generally use or tweak existing designs and have given away many pieces as thank you’s for Extra Life donations. Since we’ve got quite a few pieces up around our Urgezes home I thought I’d show them…

  • Surgery Day

    Surgery Day

    I arrived to inpatient check in at Hospital da Luz Guimarães, which is separate from the standard appointment check in desk, just before 9:00 the morning of January 31st. I felt a bit disembodied, floating around in a near dream like state. I had been struggling with my knee for such a long time that…

  • Lost Cities

    Lost Cities

    Another small two player game I brought on our journey to Portugal was Lost Cities by Reiner Knizia. This game is faster to play and easier to learn than Patchwork but has a depth of strategy that has kept me eager to play for many years. Before moving Michelle hadn’t played the game and I…

  • Torn ACL! Now What?

    Torn ACL! Now What?

    I had struggled with left knee instability for about 2 years. I was unable to run, jump or twist and dancing was right out. Lateral movements were limited and getting in and out of cars was challenging. If I stepped wrong or slipped on leaves or a slick spot on the ground, I would almost…

  • Navigating Healthcare Abroad

    Navigating Healthcare Abroad

    Access to quality healthcare that is also affordable was an extremely important factor when we started considering early retirement and a move abroad. Our 911 occupations in Oregon provided us with a “Cadillac Health Plan” and our employer paid the lion’s share of the expenses. We had become exceedingly spoiled, especially since we were double…