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weeknotes

weeknotes, 20/26

a quiet week, getting settled in aveiro. everything feels very temporary, with plates, cutlery and other things borrowed from family. but at the same time, the city is all new and fresh, with surprises (and ovos moles!) around every corner.

we registered for the buga bike scheme and i rode them around town on a couple of days. what a beautiful thing, all this infrastructure on our doorstep, ready to be used! :D

we spent a couple of days with family, picking (and eating) even more cherries straight from the trees! friday was “international day of family” and our seniors’ daycare center invited us to attend a little party they were having there — now we live close enough that we can just go and attend these things. :)

i haven’t had much time (or energy) for reading, but still finished a prayer for the crown-shy (the second book of the monk and robot series) and nana upstairs and nana downstairs these past few weeks. i’m digging into leviathan wakes now, a space opera that my czech friend recommended. it’s been fun!

i had another look at my cholesterol levels, and although they’ve improved a bit since the last check, my LDL levels are still highish. they’ve been that way since forever, and i think everyone would be more comfortable if they were actually within the limit. but how does that work, if we’re already not eating much meat at all, and close to no dairy/cheese…? well, the ovos moles might not be helping, but this feels like a complicated jigsaw puzzle without a happy solution in sight. sigh.

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one second everyday

april 2026 — one second everyday

april was a busy month, full to the brim.

we started the month flying to the north (instead of driving or taking the train) for a quick visit to check on family and celebrate a birthday. back south, we spent a few weeks working, enjoying our friends and the good weather and trying to destroy the bamboo that has been threatening to take over the garden. and i also did a quick detour to pardubice to see a friend and some birds! 😍

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aveiro just life

weeknotes, 18-19/26

two very full, very busy weeks. week 18 was just tidying up the house and getting it ready to leave for a bit. paulo finished hacking the bamboo that we’ve been trying to get rid of for some time, because it just keeps spreading everywhere… it was a whole thing and a hard lesson learned. never plant bamboo, kids!

we walked around town, saw birds, met friends, played games, got prescribed some more vitamin D and iron…

… and then packed the car with all the things we might need for coming north because we’re kind of moving to aveiro!

moving is not an easy decision to make, but it slowly became clear it might be a necessary one, if we want to see little niece grow up and also help out the parents without so many exhausting north-south trips. so we’re giving it a try for some time, to see how it goes. we found a 1.5 bedroom apartment in the center of aveiro, negotiated a rental contract (while stunned at the price of everything) and just drove here with our stuff.

the new place is small and central, sparsely furnished and with huge windows. there are supermarkets and all kinds of shops within walking distance, a bike sharing system, cafés that open early in the morning, the university… it feels like such a novelty to experience life in a city again (after 10 or so years in the quasi-countryside of conceição), so many possibilities and things to explore! i’m a tiny bit excited about it.

being closer to the parents also means fresh produce, like strawberries and cherries that we pick ourselves from trees! i foresee a lot of deliciousness in our future. :P

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birdwatching in czechia weeknotes

weeknotes, 17/26

this week had 2 highlights! first, me and the boy celebrated 20 years together, if you can believe it! <3 we had a nice pasta + tiramisu dinner and then watched when harry met sally. :) i mean, 20 years…!! what a brilliant adventure this has been.

this week’s other highlight was a quick solo trip to czech republic to meet a dear friend! we’ve been talking online for years, but had never actually met, and so it felt like it was time. lately, i feel like this might be the best reason to travel: just go and hug the people we care about. i don’t know if it’s because i’m over 40, or maybe because i feel the phantom threat of alzheimer’s on the horizon (made much more real by seeing how dementia robs us of our loved ones)… it’s probably a bit of both. it feels like the universe is always telling me there’s no better time than this to get out there and do things with the ones we love — so i try to listen sometimes.

i packed my stuff into a tiny ryanair-sized suitcase and flew across europe on a friday to spend the weekend with my friend D, and it was just lovely. we spent most of our time walking, talking and birdwatching. my phone battery died halfway through the day and i didn’t care one bit. i came back home the next monday with a huge smile on my face, ready for whatever.

plus, the country is just gorgeous, of a greenness that feels unreal to us southerners. rolling hills and thick forests where deer (and ticks…) roam. grilled cheese and gingerbread snacks. you can pay with cards or apps everywhere, and it’s so smooth that you barely even notice you’re using a different currency.


traveling alone also makes me brave, somehow — the more i get out there and prove to myself that i can do things on my own, the more i believe it and want to do more. so it was a very good week. more of this, please!

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one second everyday

march 2026 — one second everyday

jigsaw puzzles, theatre, friends, cinema, spring springing all around, the new smartwatch, tree planting in the rain, family birthdays, being sick and the new US Postcrossing stamp to close the month! so many things! <3