"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

In our tale of two cities, the second city is a mountain village, tucked away: almost secret. A distinct disadvantage when you need two more srews of that exact size or you forgot the tiniest, least important thing that you needed for the job. There was never an intention to work quite that much; after all there was a roof that looked basically fine: there were solid 0.75m walls, basic electricity and our own water in the cisterna. The 'Studio' was only two and a half walls but we would get to that soon. The goal was to restore and refurbish while adding a bathroom; a beautiful Portuguese style five piece bathroom. Aaron offered to go to Portugal for a year and work on the house for us if we could afford to cover his costs and the cost of materials. Who could refuse the offer of an architect donating his time for free? And then of course we had the generous offer of Aaron being able to stay at Vasco's house for six months while he worked on the renovations, and of course Sr. Manuel: retired councillor, contractor, farmer, local wise man and previous owner of our house.

Rebuilding the roof.	Adding skylights to the roof while insulating.
Pine lining for the roof with the original roof beams. We are fascinated by the hanging pressure fitted joint.	Manel made a beautiful job of the plastering. Emma and Paulaput 4 coats of finish on the pine floor.
Summer 2002 - behind schedule, we all stay at Vasco's house as there is still no septic tank; Sr. Manuel is arranging for the excavation. Aaron was not to worry as the man is coming next week. (for three months.) Michael and Aaron build the septic tank under Sr. Manuel's direction.	The method of replastering up to the existing stone is a detail that we really love. Aarons design of the windows and his search for well designed hardware really worked well. The steep staircase to the loft space is his preferred alternative to a ladder.