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16 November 2025 It was a quiet week. But I did have to have a confrontation with my attorney. I mentioned last week that I got my FBI background check back. So I sent it to my attorney and asked what I need to do next. He waited a week to reply and said simply,…

9 November 2025 It was a more routine week. Classes are going good. Because I was sick for three weeks in the Spring, and have done so much traveling this year, I’ve paid for more classes than I’ve used. So, I’m adding some private classes on top of my four hours per day to make…

2 November 2025 Whew! I’m home! And what a wonderful two weeks! Here’s a run down of my second week in Portugal. It’s another long…but photo rich blog post. On Monday morning, we woke in Porto. John (my friend from Denver who suggested this trip) and I met a tour group at 8:00 am for…

26 October 2025 Greetings from Porto Portugal. My trip to Portugal with my friend John continued this week. There’s a lot of detail here. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy sharing the memories as we’ve traveled north from Lisbon. Monday: We took a ride share to the Belem neighborhood in Lisbon,…

19 October 2025 Greetings from Lisbon, Portugal. I’m here with my friend John from Denver. More on that after a weekly update. For my pending visa application, I finally got my fingerprints sent to the FBI this week. I had arranged for Fedex to pick up the envelope last Friday. But with the heavy rains,…

12 October 2025 It’s been a full week. The big news is that I got a new set of fingerprints for an updated FBI background check. I’ll get that mailed via FedEx tomorrow. I have no idea what impact there will be, nor for how long, the US government shutdown will affect that process. But…

5 October 2025 First, the big news is that I’m starting to plan my next visit to the U.S. At this point (no airfare had been purchased), I’m planning to arrive the 9th of December and return to Spain around the 17th of January. Vicente is looking at the possibility of joining me for the…

28 September 2025 Visa and Travel plans Up until a few weeks ago, I had been planning to return to the US in January to file for the new visa application. I have always known that if I change my visa to a Nonlucrative Visa (NLV/ retiree visa) after my student visa expires, that the…

22 September 2025 Not a lot of news this week. The big news is that I have learned that if I apply for my non-lucrative visa (retiree visa) from the US before my current student visa expires in 2 January 2026, I can deduct 50% of my time here (one of two years) towards my…

14 September 2025 Water at home: I am looking for a new apartment  When I leased my apartment in February 2024, there were some issues that needed addressing. The kitchen, my bathroom and the guest bathroom all have damaged tiles.  Biggest on that list was the guest bathroom with numerous floor tiles that were cracked…