The weather has been gorgeous, and we fully failed to exploit it by going to the beach or sitting by the pool. We did, however, eat lunch outside in the Square on Sunday, so that's all right.

Miss Kitty and I went to the beach pub on Friday evening, to celebrate her finally getting her money back.

About a month and a half ago, Miss Kitty used a brand spanking new ATM, right here in Cascais, that impressed her so much she told Harold and Maude about it. It had a touch screen and everything, although it didn't tell you it was out of cash until after you put your card in and entered your PIN number, so she had to go find another machine that would actually give her some money.

A week or so later, on Saturday evening, when she went to withdraw some cash at the mall, the ATM told her she had already withdrawn her limit for the day. Which came as quite the surprise, seeing as she hadn't withdrawn any cash at all since the Monday before. She called her bank's emergency number to cancel the card since the bank was closed. Miss Kitty assumed, at this point, that someone had stolen her card's number when she used it, probably at a bar or a restaurant. We hear about things like that all the time, although usually they can't actually withdraw cash since they don't have your secret code. Miss Kitty also got a copy of the activity on her account. Somebody had been withdrawing cash from her account on a daily basis-- over 500 Euros worth.

Monday morning, she was at the bank first thing. Rude surprise number one: the bank hadn't cancelled her card, despite having assured her that they had. The theives had managed to withdraw another 400 Euros. Then she talked to the Fraud Squad guy from the Police. Turns out that the nifty new ATM was a fake. They put some sort of plastic device in the slot where you put your card, which gets the info from the magnetic strip on the back. When you use the touch screen to enter your PIN number, they've got that, too. Very crafty. Very high tech.

Apparently, they'd already arrested the guys running the scam. They were Venezuelans, and it had been on the news. It was easy to prove the fraud, since it's physically impossible to be using your card here, and then use it again in Albufeira an hour later (it's a good three hour drive from here). The police told the bank to give the stolen money back.

The bank said it would, but saying and doing are two different things, aren't they? So, basically, Miss Kitty has spent the last three weeks trying to get the bank to put the money back into her account. She had to open a new account as well, which really sucks since she's moving to another country in a week. The people at the bank said it would be there Monday or Tuesday, then Wednesday, then the next Tuesday ("hopefully"), or maybe Wednesday, and on and on. But-- finally!-- they put it all back on Friday, every penny, so Miss Kitty is a happy camper once more.

Also, I'm happy to report that Miss Kitty and Pooka Boy are now on speaking terms once more. Praise the Lord, because we were all getting heartily sick and tired of the awkwardness.

And now I'm off to play with some laundry.