an in-between week of sorts — sandwiched between the intensity of the world postcard day and our impending trip north. a week trying to get things back under control and failing. a week spent getting the house ready for our next guests.

i took out the last of the tomatoes from the backyard, and planted some wintery crops, like cabbage and beets.

we saw eden in the cinema on monday, and it was unexpectedly brutal. the new theatre place in town is great though, and it was well worth the wait — i’m looking forward to many more movies there.

on thursday we went all the way to quarteira to get a couple new spokes put on my bike — it seems like we’re on a streak of bad luck with bikes recently, but it was nice to find a shop that services the same brand i use. and because we had to wait around for some time, we had some delicious korean food there and even stumbled on a romanian shop! it really felt like we were visiting a big city and discovering lots of new things… even though the city is not that big nor that far.

i finished remarkably bright creatures this week, and it was such a wonderful book, so tender… it’s probably going to go on my top 3 of the year.

and i finally managed to score yellow bird on vinted, for little niece. it’s a book about an inventor bird, and the book includes both postcards and the accurate names of birds (not an easy feat!). so of course, i had to get it for her.

did i mention that i’ve been sending her one book every month since she was born? it has become a really enjoyable project for me, to discover all these nice books and also take in suggestions from friends and their kids. and of course, it’s nice to see her enjoy them too and become a “reader”!

on sunday it was the local election day. an independent group of people lead by a local driving instructor won the presidency of the parish council, so they’re going to be responsible for what happens in our part of town for the next 4 years. i don’t know them, but in a way, it’s kind of nice that none of the big parties (nor the fascists!) won here and that the population organized itself to take matters into their own hands. let’s see what they do in the next few years! :)