finally friday

After a week of indoor activities, I'm looking forward to a wet weekend of biking, camping, orienteering, site seeing and changing into dry clothes every 2 hours. There is nothing like the great outdoors! 

Zé Manso e Angela Brito

A weekend up north is always rewarding.

I spent quite a bit of time with my grandparents, Angela and Zé Manso. They live in an old house that was handed down by my great grandfather to my grandfather, that had belonged to an aunt of my great grandfather… long long story that I’ve heard a couple of times but it’s filled with names and intricate relations that I never seem to fully remember.

Anyways… this house has the most amazing attic! It’s a fairy tale attic crowded with old furniture, lamps, frames, gigantic cooking pots, old cutlery and my favorite: a wooden trunk filled with very old bed coverings! For years I was afraid of exploring it because it implies climbing the narrow steal ladder that connects to a trap door in my grandparent’s kitchen ceiling. I only went up their a couple of times many years ago.

This weekend it was my cousin Jessica's turn to discover the attic and so she brought out the Indiana Jones inside her and found two family treasures in the attic: 2 framed photographs from the 50’s in not so good conditions.

So, for the rest of the evening I spent with them, we brought out a family album and grandma explained to me who was who in all the photographs. Simply wonderful!

I saw photos of my great grandparents and their brothers and sisters; of my mom at the age of 8; I finally understood why Tio Adriano married his niece and who was Madrinha Amélia; I saw my grandmother in her wedding clothes (which see still has and I am hoping one day it might me mine!); my grandfather’s picture from when he did military service and had his bicycle license and one photo of my grandmother before she got married.

Before the sun came down, I helped her hang clothes to try and she helped me pick vegetables and fresh eggs to bring back to my urban residence!

In the end, I just sat at my desk and did some research.
At least I fell asleep cuddled up and smiling... that's a good thing!
Good things come to people who are happy!
I think I will go and colour my hair now....

I hate wednesdays

So many people hate Mondays. I like Mondays: I HATE Wednesdays!

Wednesdays have revealed themselves to be rather disappointing ... let’s just say for the past 3 weeks I’ve been having some sort of mid week crises! On Thursdays and Fridays I’m filled with so many expectations for the weekend which then turn out to be me not doing much; I get all fired up for the week on Monday… then Tuesday is a slow downfall until Wednesday where I hit rock bottom.

I want to blame it on the weather, but I can’t since I know exactly what’s bothering me and worse: I don’t do nothing to make it better.

I want to be my cheerful self again!!

So tonight there are several spirit lifting things to be done…

A weekend all by myself. Just me and my tooth ache!

friday 13

Today might as well be my friday 13:

- woke up in the middle of the night by the loud sound of a cell phone alarme clock;

- couldn't fall asleep because of a tooth infection that had been building up during the week and today became unbearable;

- the thought of having it pulled out haunts me; 

- it's cold and rainy which usually are two conditions that don't go together;

- got a parking ticket;

- had to go to the docter and he perscribed an antibiotic, plus pain killers, plus some other stuff for my stomach... Hurray!!

On the brighter side, (cause for me there is always a bright side) I'm looking forward to a pleasant evening of whatever may come.

old books and dried flowers

Unexpected things are so nice.
Lately I have been spending much of my time flipping through old publications searching for photographs to illustrate the book we’re putting together about the Portugal's First Republic.
In a portuguese dictionary from 1882 I found a lovely dried pansy flower. I had this habbit some years ago to place poppy flowers within books so I can return to them years after and surprise myself.

I don't really have to worry about what music to listen to at work: I have N. to do the thinking for me and for which I always appreciate the choices. Heres one from today's playlist that I absolutely love!!

The art of waiting

The art of waiting is sublime. Waiting is having the ultimate capability of endurance, it is about resisting and enjoying that feeling. Knowing that it is in your power to make it happen quickly, but deliberately decide to take the long road. Learning to wait is a self-taught process and I have been learning to wait. In doing so, I added another item on my list, perhaps the most subjective one and certainly the only one that does not depend on my will to be accomplished. (Though I truly hope I can check it off by the end of this year…)

Having this list is also about waiting: for a certain event, for an opportunity, for time, for me.

Waiting was never a strong feature of mine. I am the type of person who wants to know how movies end and always is the first to open whatever is meant to be kept closed. Reeducating myself to wait still means I will arrive late to places and everyone will always wait for me!

But mostly, waiting it’s about expectation, it’s about slowing down, it’s about being patient, it’s about breathing in and holding it in, it’s about anxiety, it’s about knowing it may never come.

Waiting is hard and I know I am going to wait a while for it.