back home in aveiro for a bit of a strange week, spent mostly back and forth caring for an iron-deficient senior (who required a couple of blood transfusions to get back on her feet). i empathize, because my usually low ferritin levels are currently being dragged even lower by a malfunctioning baby box. 🙄 ah… the joys of perimenopause!

still, the week had some fun stuff in it! on friday, i went to a “peking opera mask workshop” by the local confucius institute, where we learned about this art form and even painted our own masks. i also got to meet my teachers in person for the first time!

and on the weekend i spent an afternoon with little niece, looking at my brother’s new chickens and old tractor, and also taking the kid on her second ever halloween walk. halloween is not a big thing in portugal, with just a few kids trying their luck here and there — but there’s one small village nearby that goes the extra mile, and we went there to check it out. whoa, i was not expecting such a mega production… and so many people!

the kid came home with lots of lollies and gummies and loved the whole thing, though afterwards she was so exhausted from all the excitement that she just fell asleep without having dinner…