“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”― Roald Dahl “There’s the fox.” I say to Michael as I grab his arm. We stand like two statues in the half-light […]
“Even if you live your life engaged in full, frenetic, rumbustious activity, you cannot avoid coming into contact with others or stumbling over obstacles, however small, or feeling time pass. – from: The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa With the appropriate accompaniment of hand gestures to support his request in English, interspersed with a […]
“What makes life interesting is the unknown. It is the risks that we take every single moment of a single day.” – Paulo Coelho “Did you see the snake?” Michael asked. “What snake?” “The one you nearly stepped on.” “Oh.” I surprised myself by remaining calm. “No.” When we both had a closer look, we […]
“The important thing is never to let oneself be guided by the opinion of one’s contemporaries; to continue steadfastly on one’s way without letting oneself be either defeated by failure or diverted by applause.” – Gustav Mahler “So, what do you do, while Michael is working?” The question cracks like a cricket bat against my […]
“There are the places you wish to go, there are the places you desperately wish you never left, there are the places you imagine you should be, and there is the place called here.” – Padraig O Tuama from his beautiful book In the Shelter The Electrician promised us in an e-mail that he will […]
“Slow and steady wins the race.” – Aesop In November last year Michael installed the channels and studs for the bathroom wall, and hung the door. Instantly the space looked and felt different. Having had to make do with a temporary outside bathroom, this first step to build our indoor bathroom felt huge. To accommodate […]
“Whether the road is great or not, whether the speed is fast or slow, becomes a small thing when we are in the right company and are moving in the right direction.” – Gaur Gopal Das After not being on the land for eleven months it felt strangely familiar and comforting to drive down the […]
“You don’t get over the shadows inside you simply by walking away from them.” – Pico Iyer I pried my eyes open and tried to focus on the white doctor’s jacket that swam into my vision. “You are a tough woman.” He said. I didn’t feel tough, but I was alive. The pain I experienced […]
“Happiness does not depend on outer things, but on the way we see them.” – Leo Tolstoy With our tickets booked for our June visit to the land, I’ve done some research to see what we can expect temperature wise, especially as none of the future comforts and conveniences are yet in place. It seems […]
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius- The most important thing we are learning with our project in Portugal is to cultivate patience. Not easy, but definitely crucial, as there is not much else we can do, living so far away. Since Michael’s visit in […]
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