Tue
30
Jun
2009

Socks and Tea Towels

It’s the strange little things I miss most.

I never had to give any thought or effort to having a drawer full of new socks or tea towels. Without fail, my mother would always ensure that each birthday, Easter or Christmas included a predictable supply of both. I took these small gifts for granted, never really appreciating how nice it is to have a magical, never-ending inventory.

My mother would have been 69 years old today. Of course I still miss her practical advice, her inspiring stories and her irritating optimism. But today I really miss those socks and tea towels.

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Special thanks to Exhausted Penfold, DaddyP, Daisyfae, and Lo,TG for their comments on Waiting for Take-Off (update: the birds are getting bigger but no signs of flight lessons yet …)

Sat
27
Jun
2009

Waiting for Take-Off

So the date has been set.

Ready or not, we will be moving into Cabril in just a few days - huzzah! The bathroom has (almost) been tiled, the walls have (almost) been painted, the kitchen parts have (almost) been delivered and (almost) all of the windows are scheduled to be installed on Monday. The heat is on and the pace is (almost) furious.

But Mother Nature has other ideas.

Progress on our bedroom ceiling screeched to a halt last week when we discovered a tiny nest hidden in the roof beams. Momma Pássaro is busy responding to the constant hungry twittering of her babies - her feathers just won’t be ruffled by any amount of grinding, hammering and cursing.

So now we wait …

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Where would this blog be without comments? Muito obrigada to DaddyP, Daisyfae, Stinkypaw, djbeat, fatboyfat, Penfold, SylvieD and Lo,TG for their comments on Barely Beige …

Sat
20
Jun
2009

Barely Beige …

Since the first time I left home I’ve dreamed of colour. I’ve dreamed of choosing from an open palette and painting the walls that surround me. To be energized or soothed by a room’s walls rather than feel confined by them. Instead, every place I’ve lived has been swathed in landlord white (apart from one unfortunate bathroom where the previous tenant left behind a horrible sponge experiment with human organ pink). Until recently, I had never painted a wall.

whiter shade of beige

How ironic that my first time should involve nothing but … white. But there is something about the warmth of the wooden floors and ceilings, the crisp green of the trees just outside the windows that calls for an untouched canvas. For the walls of Cabril, any colour other than white would just be wrong. I simply can’t describe the gratification I get from finishing a room, standing back and looking at my blank masterpiece.

My passion for Operation Beige-Free had me exploring so many different shades last year. I laughed this week when I realized that, after so much searching for colour, I’ve enveloped myself in pure white.

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I *heart* comments. A beige-free obrigada to StinkypawDaisyfae, DaddyP, Lo,TG, Somnambulist and the cheeky Penfold for theirs on Do Not Wait for Perfect Light.

Tue
16
Jun
2009

Do Not Wait for Perfect Light

I needed a little hocuspocus today and, in spite of the rain, I found some. Another Shutter Sisters assignment urged me to find magic just outside the kitchen window.

Do not wait for perfect light. Just go.

So I didn’t wait for the rain to stop, I didn’t even wait to finish my glass of wine. Instead I found a tiny, magical world inside each rain drop.

magic drops

So what’s outside your window right now?

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Thanks again for the insightful comments from Daisyfae, DaddyP, Lo,TG, the handsome Penfold, Stinkypaw and Somnambulist on Sink or Swim?

Sat
13
Jun
2009

Sink or Swim?

I constantly struggle with the dilemma of sunk costs. It seems counter-intuitive to abandon a project or idea after having invested a lot of time, passion and energy. The Great Wiki explains that humans are inherently loss aversive and thus normally act irrationally when making economic decisions.

But it’s just not that easy to exchange our rose-coloured glasses with sharply focused economic lenses. If we always follow rational decision theory we give up our irrational hopes and dreams, the stuff that keeps us motivated to try new things.

The point of no return is different for everyone. But sometimes going forward is at the expense of moving sideways.

And if this mixed metaphor couldn’t get anymore confusing … how can you tell if you’ve just hit a bump in the road or if you’re spinning your wheels?

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Let the comments begin! Many thanks to Daisyfae, djbeat,  Penfold, Lo,TG, Somnambulist and Stinkypaw for their dirty and literary thoughts on Sticky Books.

Sat
6
Jun
2009

Sticky Books

Deb at Booking Through Thursday recently asked about fifteen books that will always stick with me. I have no idea why, but I immediately thought of Harold.

It took me a bit longer than 15 minutes as I tried to imagine my bookshelf (currently packed away in a storage locker more than 8,000 km away), but here’s my complete list (in no particular order):

  1. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
  2. The Diviners by Margaret Laurence
  3. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
  4. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
  5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
  6. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
  7. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
  8. Animal Farm by George Orwell
  9. Les Jeux Sont Faits by Jean-Paul Sartre
  10. The Painted Canoe by Anthony C. Winkler
  11. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
  12. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  13. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
  14. Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding
  15. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler

Some are sticky because I loved every chapter, every sentence. Some are sticky for other reasons, like last-minute high school essays or angst-filled, unrequited teenage crushes.

But I have a growing stack of books on my bedside table - the stack beckons me as much as it mocks me. I can’t wait to find out which ones stick.

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Super duper thanks for the comments and conker debate on Wandering Castaneas from Lo,TG, Daisyfae, DaddyP, Somnambulist, the handsome Penfold, djbeat, and Surftwin!

Fri
29
May
2009

Wandering Castaneas

It’s an old habit that I remember from my Oma, one that she probably learned from her Oma. Tucked inside every purse is one Castanea (I say Chestnut, Penfold says Conker).

Last week Jen Lemen from Shutter Sisters asked:

Do you have a tricket, a charm, a tiny thing on your dresser, on your windowsill, that makes you a little bit stronger, that leaves you a little more happy?

Wandering Castanea

I’m not sure if my chestnuts are meant to bring health, prosperity, fortune or love but one travels with me wherever I go. My purses and pockets are always filled with plane, train, concert and bus tickets but somewhere in the mess is always a chestnut, reminding me of my maternal roots.

When my mother passed away she left behind a stunning collection of bags and purses, some of which were left behind from her mother. Without fail, inside each purse was a forgotten collection of tickets from their travels plus one predictable, chestnut treasure.

Like many family quirks and traditions, I never really stopped to think about why. Thanks, Jen!

Mon
25
May
2009

Crippled by Cobblestones

It’s been almost a week since I returned from my girls’ weekend in Lisboa and my feet have almost recovered. I’m still surprised by how much I enjoy living off the beaten track, but a small taste of city life every now and then is a glorious treat.

Tram Ride

My first solo journey in Portugal began with a surprisingly efficient and uneventful train ride to Estação Oriente - train tickets sent directly to your mobile phone, how cool is that? I met my childhood friend (now living in Germany) and we spent the next four days walking, shopping, talking, shopping, eating, shopping, drinking, shopping and laughing. Both mildly crippled by the incredible cobblestoned streets of Alfama, Baixa, Bairro Alto, Estrela and Belém, we had no schedule, no agenda and no objectives. Just glorious freedom to wander the hillside streets. We drank when we were thirsty, we ate when we were hungry and we stopped when we were tired (a few more weekend photos here).

Without my usual handsome interpreter I had no choice but to attempt speaking Portuguese and, although I may have been asking for larynx juice instead of orange juice, I survived. Sometimes there’s no better motivation than being thrown into the deep end without a life rope.

In those four days I fell in love with Lisboa, I’m already looking for an excuse to go back. There’s an unmistakable charm I haven’t experienced in any other European city. And, in case I ever get a hankering for a taste of home, it’s good to know that a non-fat, mocha, skinny Frappucino is only a train ride away.

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PS: Thanks again to DaddyP, djbeat, Daisyfae, Surftwin, Penfold, Lo,TG and Stinkypaw for their comments on Neither Patient Nor Virtuous

Fri
15
May
2009

Neither Patient nor Virtuous

The clever and inspirational djbeat (whose inspiration was begat by Shutter Sisters) gave me some unripened food for thought this week. She asked, “What are you waiting for today?” and suddenly all my earlier notions of patience went out the window.  Well, out the imaginary window …

So what am I waiting for as I try to savour every moment of my first spring in Portugal?

waiting for ... peaches

waiting for ... olives

waiting for ... grapes

I’m waiting for peaches to become peaches. I’m waiting for olives to become olives. I’m waiting for grapes to become grapes.

But most of all … I’m still waiting for windows.

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PS: Muito obrigada to Penfold, djbeat, Daisyfae, Lo, TG,  DaddyP, Surftwin and Stinkypaw for making my day with their comments on And Now We Dance …

Wed
6
May
2009

And Now We Dance …

It’s been a cruel and unusual wait since I wrote my Accounting Theory exam in March. The results were released today. I held my breath waiting for the news … and exhaled with a huge sigh of relief. I passed! Yippee!  Huzzah! Woohoo!

So that’s eighteen exams behind me. Phew. With the luxury of 20/20 hindsight, I’m not sure that I would do it again. It’s been a long road to this point and I’m still not done. I’ve sacrificed a ridiculous amount of time and money to get here. But I can see the finish line ahead, the light at the end of this accounting tunnel. I’ve simply come too far to stop. So I’ll keep studying until my bank account is empty and my brains fall out.

Until then, I’m basking in today’s good news and dancing with joy. W00t!

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Special thanks to Lo,TG, DaddyP, Refugee, Daisyfae, and djbeat for their comments on Dia do Trabalhador.