Our solar system got hit by lightening and stopped sending lecky to the house
We'd already found out that it would cost around 6,000€ to replace the batteries, which would take us about 15 years to recoup the cost and as they only last about 15 years………..So we got a guy up to have a look and see what could be salvaged. We could still use the panels, but would need the tracker being fixed, as well as a sensor and the invertor. Costing about 2,000€. Not bad, we thought, we could do that. Then he came in with saying that this needed replacing, that needed replacing. Final cost, about 3,500€ ish.
So we decided not to bother. But what to do with the battery store and the one that held the generator, now gone. A spare room, I said, knock the wall down between the two.
Then the thought was, what shall we do with the money we have in investments. I know that Ria will think we'll make good the ruin, but to be honest, I think it would cost about 20,000€, on a conservative estimate and even then, not sure we'd get planning permission.
Then we thought of a holiday home, in Portugal. We love the Monsarraz region, also over towards the border with Spain.
We've spent many a happy hour, looking a properties
Saw a lovely one, not too far from Mértola, for 39,000€ 
Then we have the concrete base which the previous owner had as a chicken house, now gone. We had planned on using it as another store room, with Grumpy building it. Although I was a little concerned, as we're not supposed to have a permanent building 15 metres of the boundary, and that's right on it
Decision has now been made.
No holiday home, no re-building the ruin, no solar.
We use the base that held the chicken house as a nursery for our plants, veggies etc, which are normally kept either near the house or by the kitchen window. Grumpy will build a small wall and we'll have netting over it.
We'll get guttering for the car-port and he'll build a store for the water.
And we'll go on holiday more
