A few sad farewells this month. Alas, we had to say a final goodbye to our dear Jussi, just one month shy of her 14th birthday. How she survived all the illnesses, allergies and operations up till now is a mystery. One thing is for certain: we will have some more cash to play with now we no longer have to fork out for vet’s fees (Betty, apart from being caught in a javali trap, is never ill). This is the last photo we took of her, in a favourite place: under the table (in case anything falls on the floor).

We’re not entirely sure how Betty feels about being on her own. She and Jussi never really got on but somehow I feel she preferred to be top dog rather than being solo dog.

Jussi was certainly a well travelled dog, she came camping with us on various Portuguese trips, as well as a number of times across the border to Spain. She loved the water, and once Richard taught her how to swim, there was no holding her back: lakes, rivers, the sea, town fountains, village washing pools and wells… she made a bee-line to all of them especially if it was hot. She didn’t like the heat, and she wasn’t so keen on long walks either!

We miss her terribly but we certainly don’t miss stressing if a door has been left open and she’s sneaked out to eat something that will give her a tummy bug. She ate everything, however disgusting. The only thing she turned her wet nose up at was, bizarrely, lettuce. The most innocuous and insipid of food items would be left in her bowl untouched.

Another adieu is to Casa Azul. Yep, we are (sort of!) moving. No, not to our new house but to a rented house, both quite near the river and its wonderful ecovia, and to the new house. It’s the only way we can get on top of the officialdom that is slowing the whole process down, if we don’t pop into offices on a regular basis nothing will happen. We have very mixed feelings about this: leaving Casa Azul, our home for 12 years (the longest by far either of us have lived anywhere) is going to be very sad but new opportunities are around the corner and we are excited to live in the north and to discover a whole load of new places.

We will particularly miss our walks with the changing face of the countryside each month, the fields of flowers for dyeing, the orchids and the bird song. The hens, before you ask, are to have a new home.

So linked to all this is the inevitable: this is our last blog post! 308 posts have been written about our journey and it’s been great having people following us along the way. We do think that we will have a blog about the new place (and we will put that info here) but that realistically won’t be for a while. So, so long and thanks for all the fish!

Jackie, Richard and Betty x