Eleanor Froelich

Hi Denise, we bought it about three years ago at a small solar company in Portugal. Lorentz is a German company. The PS2-100 is still listed on the main webpage of lorentz.de and you can find stockists in the US by clicking on a red button on the upper right.  https://www.lorentz.de/products-and-technology/products/ps2-100/

If you are willing to consider solar, we have a LORENTZ PS2-100. Cost, including the solar panel and a stand for the solar panel, was about €1000, including 23% tax. It is a simple system, it works without an inverter or battery. It can pump water 40 meters uphill, and continues to pump in the early evening, when the sun is hitting the back of the solar panel. We have never had any problems with it. Highly recommended.

Lines made for sailboats neither stretch nor decompose. However, they are not cheap, and are certainly not made of natural materials. We have been using sailing lines for five years, they are still like new. They are put up and taken down with the laundry.

For busy (or lazy) people: an indoor drying rack has the advantage of being patient. You can hang clothes to dry, and take them off and fold them whenever you have time. If it is two or more days later, no harm done. (I do not want to think about clothes that have been left in a dryer for two days…) Family members can simply remove items they need from the laundry rack, saving time on folding and putting away laundry.

We have four posts, well spaced, behind our house. They have high quality stainless steel eye hooks mounted. (Lots of salt in the air here.) Our laundry lines are actually lines for sailboats, which do not stretch or sag. One end of each line has a stainless hook tied on, which slips through an eye hook. The other end is run through an eye hook and tied. You need to tie a knot for tightening lines, this is easy to learn. If you put hooks on both ends, it will not be as taut as when you tie it properly.
Lines are put up when we have laundry to dry and taken down when we take the laundry in.  

When making jam, you can just cook the fruits whole, they break down quickly and the pits can be removed with a slotted spoon.

John Marshall’s ‘Make Your Own Japanese Clothes’ has patterns based on the very narrow strips of cloth that once were common in Japan. I think it is out of print, maybe check your library.

I would be very interested in buying one of these, even a prototype, and would be happy to assemble it myself. I think it would be the easiest and fastest way for me to mark contour lines on my land.

Please be sure you plant sterile, non-invasive trees!
Portugal is a beautiful country, and the people are kind and generous.
The region around Castello Branco has suffered numerous wildfires. You need to be aware of this. Acquaintances who live in the area have said “The question is not if our land will burn, but when it will burn.”

The idea of soft wood is excellent, as long as you (and your guests) take your shoes off when you enter the house.

We have a large area covered with solid ash flooring which was very inexpensive because the grain was considered odd. It has been oiled, not sealed, and feels lovely under bare feet. It has held up well to children and foot traffic. (We don’t wear shoes in the house.)

It is probably worth finding local suppliers and asking about second and third quality as well as returned wood flooring.