Sunday January 31st 2010

Yesterday we experienced firsthand “Brazilian time”. Our relocation agent had arranged for the Internet and Phone service provider to install whatever they needed to in the house. So we arrived at 11.45 having been told that "the phone company will be there between 12 noon and 6 pm." We brought with us 2 cushions to sit on, a packed lunch and various things to read. Well, we stayed until 6.10 and of course no one showed up. Mentioning it to some people that we had supper with last evening they said that it was “normal” for no one to show up and just to reschedule so that we can wait in all day again.

Whilst I was in the house though, I thought I would go around and do a “snagging” list. The house we chose is two years old but has never been lived in. As a consequence it was very dirty and dusty and has never really been finished off.

We chose it because of the location in terms of proximity to Steve’s office, has a small garden for the dog and has an aircraft hangar for a garage. This is really important because the house is about half the size of the house in the United States, and, with the exception of the dining room table, we are bringing ALL our furniture with us. Clearly it is not all going to fit so a lot of it is going to have to be stored in the garage. Either that or Marcelo is going to have the best equipped driver’s room in the entire neighbourhood.

But back to the snagging list. The easy stuff is getting rid of the rubbish that the decorators left, cleaning the place up and polishing the floors. That said, if they start to sand the stone floors the dust is going to be immense.

The more difficult things will be re-hanging the front door so that it actually fits, finding the keys that are missing and finding the locks for the spare keys. We also have sinks that leak, sinks that are blocked, and no water pressure in the hot tap in the kitchen. Our hot water heating is solar and try as I might, I have yet to master the mechanics of it. One day it is scalding and the next day it is tepid.

I will also need to find a plumber to install the tiniest dishwasher that you have ever seen that cost nearly $ 900 and will just about fit 6 cups and a few knives and forks. And before you ask “why bother?” the answer is that I have to have something for the maid’s day off. Now that my nails are beginning to grow again, I don’t want to lose them.