“Every human person is inevitably involved with two worlds: the world they carry within them and the world that is out there. All thinking, all writing, all action, all creation and all destruction is about that bridge between the two worlds. All thought is about putting a face on experience.” – John O’Donohue My writing […]
When we received a quote from our builder to build a retaining wall below the agricultural building he was busy erecting for us, we not only realized that we couldn´t afford it, but decided to do it ourselves. Well, let´s be clear, Michael decided, and I idiotically went along with his hairbrain idea, completely misunderstanding […]
“Others can stop you temporarily – you are the only one who can do it permanently.”– Zig Ziglar During the last couple of months Michael and I have seriously questioned the sanity of the choices we´ve made in recent years. Our struggles with the bureaucratic system, and finding people who work to our standards in […]
“Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.” – Saadi Summer means that I stumble like a sleepwalker through the long daylight hours. I get up before sunrise to take care of gardening or other chores before the heat of the day pins me down in a state of lethargy. Born in a […]
“When pale and sinking to the dreadful fall,You heard her quiv’ring lips on Pedro call;Your faithful echoes caught the parting sound,And Pedro! Pedro! mournful, sigh’d around.Nor less the wood-nymphs of Mondego’s grovesBewail’d the memory of her hapless loves:Her griefs they wept, and, to a plaintive rillTransform’d their tears, which weeps and murmurs still.To give immortal […]
“Looking forward you constantly acquire moments of arrival, moments of realization, moments of discovery. The wind blows your hair back and you are greeted by what you have never seen before. The material falls away in onrushing experience.” – Rebecca Solnit (from: A Field Guide to Getting Lost) When one is focused on realising dreams […]
“History is a never-ending chain of events, but it is hold together by strings. If we cut one of the strings, we can no longer take any event for granted.” – Rui Tavares Perhaps the most defining moment impacting and shaping Arraiolos’ history was a decree by King Manuel I, who inherited the Portuguese throne in […]
Not far from the historic village of Sortelha lies the ruins of a towering granite building. Visible just above the tops of some pine trees, as one approaches, and against the flank of the Serra da Pena, it can easily be mistaken for a scene from the pages of a fairy tale. The origin of […]
“The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.” – Jessica Hische I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions, yet, at the beginning of every year I do tend to spend some time thinking of various things I would like to either learn, […]
“How we perceive our surroundings is only ever a reflection of our state of mind in the moment.”– Clare Dimond To help banish the grey days and long dark nights, I wrapped 50 metres of Christmas lights around the big olive tree next to the house, where they now sparkle like my own special constellation […]
Recent Comments