My home and me

I've not told you very much about me and where I live, have I? Are you curious? Do you really want to know? Well... if you insist...
I live in the Algarve with my gorgeous husband - to whom I have been married for ten years. We have been together since I was 16 years old!! (Shocking these days, isn't it?) We live in a beautiful house out in the countryside with our two dogs: Megan and Roxy and our menagerie of cats: Kylie, Poppy, Scully, Robbie, Hermione and Yoda. We did have another called Mr. Darcy but he moved home when Hermione and Yoda moved in... I guess he was ready for a change. Every six months or so, he does pop by for a visit, just to let us know he's alive and well, which I think is rather decent of him don't you think?
When hubby and I first moved in together (I was 19, he was ... three years older!) we rented an apartment overlooking the sea not far from a really special little fishing village called Carvoeiro. It's special because I pretty much grew up hanging out there... we had some laughs there, I can tell you. But that's a tale for another time!
We rented for about 9 months and then got sick of the whole renting malarkey and so decided to buy. Now that was an experience... looking for an apartment to buy. We went to various agents and were shown some seriously diabolical places, one we are certain was built for the seven dwarves. Everything was knee high to a grasshopper! We didn't quite get that. Why the agent would show something so ridiculously tiny and short to us (hubby is about 6ft 2"), we've no idea!
Needless to say, we didn't go back!
In the end we saw the perfect place... it was actually in the next block to where we were renting, it needed gutting but it was livable. It had the most amazing view, it was to die for... really!
It didn't take too long to sort out the mortgage and we moved in around October about 12 (ish) years ago. Over the next few years we gradually renovated it and it became a contemporary and stylish home. We loved it.
Our neighbours became our closest friends. Unfortunately they don't live here all the time, the apartment is (still) their holiday home. They visit as often as they can throughout the year though. We also became friends with their two daughters and their husbands (who are closer to our age), who call us their adopted brother and sister, which is really lovely!
About three years ago, we decided it was time to move on from apartment life and so we put the place on the market... assuming it would take a little while to find a buyer. We were so wrong... the first person to look at it, bought it!
We had planned on buying a really old cottage out in the country that needed total renovation, however, we soon spotted a real gem on the internet. It was a brand new house, all open plan with big windows. We immediately fell in love with it and made an offer straight away. The rest, as they say, is history.
Or should I say... history in the making?