There is something delightful in being announced and treated as royalty. Last night we were king and queen amongst counts and countesses, dukes and duchesses assisting a soirée of a belle époque puppet show about Genevieve - si chaste, si pure!

back to work

I must recognize merit in those who work from home: I could never ever do it.

I'm glad to say I'm back at work, reading the Constitution, surrounded by books and taking notes on how the whole system works.

Museu de Arte Popular

Took my bike for a riverside ride the other day and ended up visiting the empty Museu de Arte Popular. 

Empty because it has been closed to the public for years and its collection was placed in another museum for safekeeping. The emptiness of the display cases and shelves were balanced out by the remains of colourful murals in each main hall and curious visitors like myself who have always wanted to understand what caused so much commotion.

The story of this museum is somewhat entangled between the political breeding and manipulation of popular culture during the dictatorship and the post revolutionary "politically correct" behaviour. Everyone knows this for a fact, so why not just simply accept it, learn for it and recreate a new museum of popular culture. 

Traditional crafts are a part of who we are as a culture. They require patience and dedication and are most likely to be handed down through the knowledge of the older generations: my mom taught me embroidery and crochet; my grandma tried to teach me how to knit; I learnt from Senhor António Galhofa how to make a basket from chestnut branches; hopefully one day I'll learn to weave. And if this museum wasn't empty I could appreciate these crafts so much more.

This opening was just a one day exception. I hope to return to it soon as a paying visitor.

love you too...

the family grows up and then the family grows apart

Helena, my sister, is going back to Canada... this time there's no turning back, she already bought her one-way ticket.

Joana in Lx

 

I stayed in Lisbon this weekend for a special reason. Joana came to visit.

Joana, Beta and I lived together, along with Mimi, in an attic apartment our first year at university. The four of us with different personalities, all with a different approach to life and somehow managed to make it through our first year.

What started off with a plan to be a girl's night on the town to remember those good old days, ended up more with long conversations about "gosh, we got this far in 10 years." Of the three, Joana is the  married one; Beta finally found her happiness and as for me, well, one thing still remains: they still think I dress funny, which is nice to know!

We spent Saturday afternoon geocaching and just walking around preparing for a night of poker with hundreds of pennies and oversized playing cards. Sunday started with brunch and a visit to the Lisbon's book fair. Then it was time to say bye to Joana who went back to Pombal but promised to visit us single girls again.
It was great to know Joana found her way.

In the mail

Receiving postcards from Postcrossing is fun but opening the mailbox and receiving cards from people you know is amazing! Pedro and his dad went on a father/son adventure to Switzerland to visit family, site-see, travel and do tons of geocaching.

Ah... but the best part is that these cards came with chocolate...dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate with nuts, chocolate raisins... Aren´t I the lucky one?

red string and white cotton

I used to have this hobby... embroidery.
I finished it a day before the wedding so I didn't get a chance to take a photo of it completed.

Ela disse SIM!

How wonderful it is when two people truly love one another unconditionally. For me Maria and Alex’s wedding was more than just a wedding, it was a celebration of their love and our friendship.

The sun was out and they looked beautiful and overwhelmed with happiness. Everyone seemed to contribute to this collective state of joy and in fact I had never been to a wedding were everyone attended the religious ceremony. And how to make 140 people cry? Easy: close to the end, Alex stepped up and read this wonderful poem, which was for me the highlight of the whole day.  

Everyone, in their own way, helped make this day very special: preparing a homemade video with very creative messages, red balloons, a unique cake topper, pretty pins, “bolas de berlim” and “bolo de bolacha”, a accordion player, hands filled with rose petals, special gifts and tons of hugs to go around.

What I cherish about our friendship is that I know we will always be there for each other where ever we are. And in a way I envy their love and who they are together but I am grateful to be part of it. So fortunately for all of us who love you guys, after Saturday, you’re still Maria and Alex no matter how married you may be!