Looking Forward

It finally happened!! We were standing in line in Melide at that bank yesterday, when the SMS message came through on Jeff’s phone. He is being called up. No, not to war – to get the vaccine. I am sooo happy. I teared up. He will be protected from all those variants, at last.

Next Wednesday morning, we were already heading into Lugo to straighten out my Social Security (medical care). So, now, we will kill two birds with one stone. A gruesome saying, I know. At 10.10am Jeff will be inline at the HULA to get it done. That’s the Hospital Universario Lucus Augusti. It’s the big, new state of the art public hospital in Lugo. In the local newspapers they are always talking about the pioneering research or procedures they are conducting there. So it will be nice to see it.

After my appointment with Social Security, I will head back to the HULA to finalize my registration in the Galician health care system. So that I too will have the joy of getting that text in the coming week, or so. They are saying 80% of Lucians (sp?) (what those from Lugo are called), age 50 and above have been inoculated, or have been given a time when they will get inoculated. I am in the 10% still waiting. But it will be remedied very soon. Just a few small hurdles to get past.

It feels like it’s been such a long road. Everyone we know has gotten it in the US. And most of our friends in Spain are in the midst of the course. Just in time, with the health ministry saying that very soon we can go without masks outside. Jeff and I can do that with confidence if we get the jab. Knowing we are safe. But also, that other’s likely won’t get it from us.

We can travel again, too. And others can travel to see us. Emilie and I are already exchanging possible dates on when she can come from the US – maybe July when the EU opens to the world.

But, it seems, she will come into a bit of a construction zone. We got the plan back from our contractor. We will be under the hammer for pretty much the rest of this year. Diego’s plan only has my name on it, since he had never met Jeff, who is always working when he is here. Diego apologized to him when he came to present it to us. I think Jeff is happy it doesn’t have his name on it. No tasks for him to manage.

Diego brought ‘the gutter boy’, who was probably 60 years old, out to the house last night to measure. Rain gutters are not compulsory in Spain. But we need them to manage the volume of water fit for a rain forest. The house will thank us.

We will tackle things that can be done without dependencies, first. At some point, we will have to move out for an entire month so they can rip out the kitchen, all the bathrooms, and install underfloor heating. Then connect them to a network of new solar panels covering the roof of the barn. Hopefully, fingers crossed, we will be zero carbon, at least from a heating and energy consumption perspective, by the end of the year.

Here, you can choose your energy company. Unlike in the US, where you get the only provider in your area. I selected a company who only uses renewable energy, so we are closer now than we were, even in Valencia, to a zero carbon footprint. With the new European Rescue Plan we will be able to take advantage of all kinds of direct and tax savings to go green.

It’s all so exciting. Things to focus on. Projects to manage. By Christmas, we will be snug and cozy. Ready to face our first Galician winter, knowing we are doing our best to have as little an impact on the earth as we possibly can. And we will be fully vaccinated. I can’t think of anything better to look forward to.