these last 2 weeks started off with a few last meals with friends and family (including a francesinha!), and then a 7-hour long train back home, spent napping and reading.

finished reading “adventures in stationery” and “legends & lattes“, and also listening to “the big year” and “five red herrings” — all so different!

in an effort to keep trying new things, we’ve been cooking one new meal every month for a while now. we missed it last month, so these weeks we worked on catching up and made 2 dishes: a very radioactive-looking beetroot rice, and orange/fennel couscous. both were big hits! the recipes came from tavira’s own mini food magazine, which highlights a few seasonal ingredients every month.

we were in faro for the boy’s doctor appointment at the central hospital, to try and move forward with a treatment for his breathing woes. his doctor wants him to have some special monthly injections that will hopefully make his systems not go overboard, but they’re stupidly expensive and a committee will have to review his case and give their okay. hopefully he’ll get a reply soon!

while there, we stumbled on this amazing mural by mariana, a miserável!

and last but not least, there were goats and sheep being herded in the backyard, and one day, the sheepherder let me pet a baby goat that had just been born!!! :D

cuteness overload! <3