Author: ana

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weeknotes

weeknotes, 31/22

– our small town’s festivities are taking place, and i’ve eaten farturas 2 days in a row! :D if that isn’t nice, i don’t know what is.

– doctor appointments! finally got the chance to go to faro to get my back checked, and it was fine. the doctor didn’t think it was serious enough to do anything about the back, and her recommendations were massages, relaxing and maybe some physiotherapy. sounds good with me!

– we found out about al-gharb coffee roasters sometime ago, and have been drinking their coffee since. it’s expensive, but really nice.

– we’ve met friends for night walks, and to go to the beach. i’ve finally dived in the ocean this year, and it was bliss — the water is fresh, in a way that feels good. as is already tradition, the boy got himself a sunburn on his only beach day of the year…

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just life weeknotes

weeknotes, 30/22

– another week of destruction, followed by the start of the fixing and putting things back together. the roof terrace has new waterproof insulation, which we hope will keep us dry for many years to come. the thermal insulation will come next, and then the tiles that cover everything. we’re learning as we go along, and understanding bit by bit how houses are made… and what mistakes were made in the building of this one.

– in order to properly deal with the roof terrace, we had to disconnect the new solar water heater… so only cold showers for awhile. these have been the quickest showers ever, but it’s been so hot that it isn’t really a problem.

– another lonely week, eating meals for one and talking to myself, of waking up to weird noises in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep… but the boy was back on saturday evening, at long last! hurray!


– finished bel canto at last, then promptly found this book next to the trash can, like a serendipitous reading recommendation from the universe! looking forward to digging in.

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weeknotes

weeknotes, 29/22

– construction begins! it’s been a week of hammering and destroying the balconies and terraces, so that they can be properly insulated and hopefully stop letting water in. banging and dust abound… but also relief at getting this done before it starts raining, and a bit of pity for the workers who are doing the job in the middle of one of the hottest weeks in the year (and the neighbors). :( we were only expecting the builders later in the year, but they decided to come earlier.

– which means i’m home alone, babysitting the construction while the boy visits his parents. it’s been a restorative week for my little introverted soul, who really enjoys the silence… but it’s also starting to feel (more than) a bit lonely. :|

– this furry looking specimen decided to bloom!

– in order to see people again, i ventured into the book fair in tavira on friday, and was almost eaten alive by mosquitos! it was almost like a comedy sketch: me and other tourists frenetically waving around, trying to bat away the mosquitos as if we were insane 😂 luckily i had packed the repellant (just in case…), and ended slathering myself and half a dozen other people with it. it’s not usually this bad, but oh boy, i must have hit the jackpot that day!

Categories
just life

weeknotes, 28/22

a quiet (and very hot) week.

– postcrossing celebrated its 17th anniversary, and it’s a little bit astounding. :) how many internet projects have lasted this long? we celebrated with an overdose of cake, from a cute new café in town.

– turns out, the tingling in my arm is the beginning of another herniated disc, this time towards the end of my neck… sigh. i still have to see a proper doctor, but yeah. more of the same, just in a different spot.

– got a quote for aligning my teeth with one of those fancy invisible thinguies this week, out of curiosity. the treatment is several thousands of euros and 2 years long, and includes taking out all my wisdom teeth and then some, to make room to straighten things out… do i want to do that? on one hand, my teeth are healthy and i don’t want to risk ruining that somehow… but on the other hand, they’ve always been more than a bit wonky. i don’t know what to do. :(

– in order to beat the heat, we’ve become the kind of people who only leave the house early in the morning and late at night. we’re hanging in here, trying to be clever about the shades and windows, to avoid using the AC too much. so far, so good… though i really wish we had a tiny pool!


– today i got up extra early, saw the sunrise at the ria and met a new friend. i think i’ll call him bush.

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birdwatching

common waxbill

because my back is kind of crappy, i’ve been taking more walks lately, which usually help. if the back doesn’t hurt too much and i feel like i can carry a bit of weight, i’ll usually carry the camera-with-the-nice-zoom to see what we can find. this week, waxbills!

they are so tiny and cute, which is probably the reason they’ve been introduced in many different places despite being a sub-saharan species. the name comes from the strip of red around their eyes and beak, which is the color of sealing wax (the stuff one used to put on letters, to close them).

they’re everywhere here in the south, usually puttering around in groups on the grass, but sometimes also high up on the reeds.