hero and villain

Have you ever noticed that in super hero movies, the hero, being a the personification of good, never really "kills" his arch enemy, the villain? Even though the hero has this thriving urge to aniquilate the bad guy (and we all do too when we're watching the movie), he'd rather catch him with life. If, by chance, the villain dies, he simply dies in a way that was impossible for the hero to prevent his plunge to death.      

Have you ever thought about it? It´s a matter of principal: if the hero actually killed the villain then he would be nothing different from the villain. 

here

We don't have television, so we don't watch the news. Which sometimes makes me forget that I'm even living in the United States.  But the other day we were listening to the radio in our car and the local news comes on: this man is going to be executed on July 18th, here in Georgia. An then I'm remembered that I now live in a country were there is no difference between hero and villain. 

blueberry picking

This past weekend, aside from being volunteers at the Youth National Sport Climbing Championships, we managed to go blueberry picking at a local farm. I had this romanticized idea that it would be fun... it would have been lots of fun but not under a 40ºC heat picking teeny-tiny berries one by one from the bush!! We were exhausted and sticky after almost 2 hours of picking. 

We picked about 6kg of berries (around 2 gallons in american metric system - a thing I will never figure out...). It's all going into smoothies, homemade jam, pancakes, bread, salads you name it, it'll have blueberries in it!

welcome back (part three)

To know what we (Sandra, Helena and I) did in Toronto and what Helena did to her hair, you can read all about it here, here, here and here. I don't care what anyone else thinks, her hair looks awesome!

The best part of revisiting Toronto was seeing friends from elementary school again. Though I didn't get the chance to see everyone I initially wanted to see... for which I'm sorry and promise the next time we'll all get together! It was nice remembering the dumb stuff from when we were kids and catching up on life since then.  It turns out that I have a terrible memory and they remembered so much more. 

Loved it! 

Thank you so much for making this a "welcome home" journey! 

PS: I did forget to mention one thing: I crossed off 2 more items on my list, # 16 and #55. I'll be making a new list soon...

homemade pesto

I've always wanted to make homemade pesto. I love the taste of it with pasta, salads or smudge potatoes with it before roasting them. So good.... 

In our last trip to the farmers market we bought 3 bundles of basil, Parmesan cheese and walnuts (you're supposed to use pine nuts, but walnuts are just as good). 

You can find hundreds of pesto recipes online, but read up on 2 recipes and based on what they said, I did my own pesto: with no accurate measurements, a blender, a bit more garlic than usual (cause I love garlic) and not too salty. It probably won't preserve for long, but I doubt it will last long in the fridge, because it tastes so good. 

101 cookbooks has an amazing pesto recipe straight from an Italian grandmother, but she chops it all by hand... which I think it really does make a great sauce, but I had no patience, so Just tossed everything into a blender. The other recipe is Jaime Oliver's pesto. No secret here. 

Honestly, it takes about 10 minutes to make and the flavor is just wonderful. Try it and you'll never want to buy supermarket pesto ever again! Oh, and the bread was also made by me: cinnamon, raisin and cranberry bread. 

welcome back (part two)

Toronto seemed smaller than I remembered. Years ago the buildings were huge and the distances enormous.  Today everything seemed as though it is walking distance. Oddly enough, it also felt like a cozy city: it must be all the old brick buildings that give it a more feel-at-home sensation.

We  roamed the streets until our feet were sore but I loved every minute of it! I'd love to come back and live for awhile in Toronto. It would be nice. 

collect moments not things

The other day we were taking about the things that should matter to us and what we could do to cultivate them. Small things, like say thank you or send out a letter instead of an email. 
We talked about how we should collect and register life's special moments whether it's through photography or just a simple drawing. 
We talked about if we should take photos just for the sake of it or photograph with the intent of preserving memories. We love looking back on our photo albums and remembering, so definitively we should make an effort and preserve our memories. In the end it's all about collecting moments.

When packing up to come to Atlanta this was one of our hardest challenges: what memories do we take with us?  You could say it's contradictory since to "collect memories" is to register them on a physical format, thus collecting "more things". But I do distinguish these "things" from all the unuseful stuff people tend to accumulate. 


With this said, I'd like to share this video/memory I just discovered on facebook. Thanks Ana Claudia. 

Look Up at the Stars, Portugal! from Matthew Brown (Matty Brown) on Vimeo.

green and red

The place: Portuguese neighborhoods in Toronto.
The time: Euro Cup 2012.

The weird thing is is that most of these young generation "Portuguese" don't even speak Portuguese or have never been to Portugal. The older generation use 4-5 English words in a Portuguese sentence and left the country at a certain time in their lives because it just suck living there. But yet they still bring out the flag and cheer the country on. Being away from Portugal makes you sometimes appreciate things even more. It's nostalgia or better... saudade. 

After the last victory against the Chec Republic everyone filled the streets in cheer until a thunder storm came and literally made it rain on our parade! We had hitched a ride from 2 Portuguese guys (coincidentally, also from Viana) to make it to the epicenter of the festivities on St. Claire Street, only to get caught in the rain and soaking wet. It was worth it!!

welcome back (part one)

17 years later, I´m back in Toronto.
It´s such a vibrant city, I don´t want to leave.

car shopping

First we started looking for European styled cars, small and compact. This means we have a very short selection to choose from here in the States, where absolutely everything is extra-large. Bored of the limited styles and character of these new cars, we then turned to the classics.

The truth is, these were all classic cars at a local show in Tucker that we bumped into while heading towards  Lilburn to have a look at this 1973 Mercedes 280 coupé that is for sale. Though we know nothing about classic cars, we do know we want a car with personality, so we've been looking into other Mercedes coupés, specially those from 1982. 

Just imagine, our first car, made in our birth year, bought in the year we both turned 30, nice?!

101 things to do before 30

I love this list! It was great trying to keep up with it and having fun checking them off.

The stuff I did:
56/101, not bad.

101. dye textiles (11 Mar. 2011 first experience with lichens) here
99. buy a twin lense reflex (5 Jan. 2011 amazing Christmas present!) here
98. give only handmade christmas gifts (Christmas 2011, half were handmade wrist warmers)
97. embroid something (Oct. 2010: embroidery hoops)
95. roadtrip with pete (13-15 Ago. 2011 Ribeira Sacra here)
94. bake an apple pie (made 2 pies but not from scratch; official apple pie: 23 Nov. 2011) here
93. visit historical villages (belmonte, castelo novo, aigra nova, aigra velha, piodão, aldeia da pena, monsanto)
91. take photobooth pictures (3 Jun. 2012)
90. thansgiving dinner (23 Nov. 2011) here
88. origami (7 Dec. 2010 christmas tree ornaments)
87. donate blood (25 May 2011) here
86. cover pete in kisses (i must have covered him in kisses tons of times!)
84. make a snowman (6 Mar. 2011) here
83. frame photo (work in progress: 4)
82. treat myself to a spa (massage 6 Jun. 2012)
81. rafting (15 Jan. 2012 here)
79. have a massive birthday party (huge, massive and amazing! 6 Jun. 2012 here)
77. chew gorila bubble gum (2 Jun. 2010)
76. donate to charity (Associação Slice of Heaven and Kiva)
75. creat the perfect playlist (it's not that perfect, but it's good)
72. take a nap in a hammock (1 Ago. 2011)
71. creat a stencil (3 Set. 2010)
70. wait for it. it will come (17 May. 2010)
67. buy a dr. seuss book (17 Jul. 2010) here
62. nudism (23-26 Jun. 2011 naturist beaches in the Atlantic, sorry no pics)
61. make a stop motion film here
53. paint a canvas (Started!)
52. curate an exhibition (2011: Camera Escura - Museu d'Arte)
51. volunteer (Banco Alimentar)
49. participate in a flash mob (10 Jan. 2010) here
48. start my own business (23 Mar. 2011) here (I could call this a "business")
42. make a pinhata (6 Jun. 2012 didn't make it, but smashed it!)
38. make cornbread in my grandpa's stone oven (AMAZING! 18 Ago. 2011 here)
37. make videos of my grandparents (6 videos)
36. buy a bicycle (7 Jun. 2012)
35. buy the perfect black dress
34. get a decent hair cut (6 Jan. 2011) (26 Jul. 2011)
32. creative photoshoot (26 Mar. 2012 here)
31. start a piggy bank (4 Jan. 2010: 192€ in coins)
29. finish my masters (30 Set. 2010 HURRAY) here
28. sleep under the stars (25 Jul. 2010) here
27. write a poem (6 Jun. 2012 for a special friend)
26. send my parents on a honeymoon (22-24 Oct. 2010 Porto: romantic weekend for two)
25. keep all tickets
24. do something nice for strangers here
23. geocache (27 Feb. 2010) here
20. keep a written diary for a few months (does a blog count?)
19. fly my kite (24 Jan. 2010) here
18. publish an essay (3 Mar. 2011) here
14. plant an oak tree (18 Apr. 2010)
12. ride a rollercoaster (5 Sept. 2011)
10. smoke a joint with sandy (22 May 2010)
7. make love in paris (7 Sept. 2011)
5. jump from a high place (6 Jun. 2012 it wasn't that high, but it was fun)
2. carnaval in lazarim (8 Mar. 2011) here
1. roadtrip with my sisters (23 May 2010) here


Things I didn't do and I WILL NOT DO: 
13/101 


66. color my hair (no way)
63. walk the trails of santiago (mabey one day...)
56. see northern lights (won't happen)
50. parachute (I don't think I have the courage to jump)
45. run a half marathon (it's too much)
44. attend photoespaña (not going to happen)
43. find the owner of the photo album (too hard)
41. ride a vespa in southern italy (I wish, mabey for my 40th birthday)
40. visit fundão during cherry season (missed it)
33. learn french (only if I move to France)
30. edit ventura terra's wiki page (I don't feel like it)
21. backpack around spain (too late)
9. prank my roommates (I can't believe I didn't do this!)
4. swim naked in the mediterranean (I almost did this one...)


Though the list isn't completed, it is my list and since I am 30 and have a new sense of authority, I can now do whatever I please.
So I now sentence the rest of the list to an official extension of the following items:
32/101


100. weave (Institute of Craft, Atlanta)
96. learn to swim underwater (we got a pool and I'm praticing)
92. print blog after 30 (work in progress)
89. collect sixs (find them at yard sales and second hand shops)
85. photo album of my life (this one is going into my next list)
80. organize a huge family reunion (next year, for our second wedding)
78. finish my quilt (I WILL do this)
74. leave a stranger a book with a note (too easy not to be done)
73. go to the opera (next sunday!)
69. attend a jewish religious service
68. host a murder mystery party (officially it wasn't done)
65. learn choreography for thriller
64. buy a camera obscura
60. fill a notebook with illustrations (work in progress)
59. make a chandelier out of junk
58. climb a 6a (in the indoor climbing gyms)
57. work abroad (hopefully I'll get a Job here in Atlanta)
55. visit sandra (Hurray, next week)
54. 100 pinholes (15/100)
53. paint a canvas (Started!)
47. see a fortune teller
46. sell stuff at a flea market
39. play baseball (Atlanta, home of the Braves!)
22. do a street performance
17. winter photo tree trip
16. visit canada in the fall (does visiting in the spring count?)
15. host a tea party
13. print albumen photos
11. be a voyeur
8. learn to tango
6. get a tatoo (i'm getting ths done!)
3. go fishing

Gosh, it's still alot!
Getting started on the next list...