Category: just life

weeknotes, 16/21

– spent the week in the north, helping the in-laws run errands and making sure they got the second round of vaccinations. all the parental units are either vaccinated or have appointments to get that done. hurray! :D

– currently using the momentum from our last hiking trip to plan new stuff. morale has been a bit low, so trying to remember there are things to look forward to.

– put together a walking desk of sorts in my parents old treadmill. it’s surprisingly comfy to type on it — i think i might make one at home, so that i don’t sit so much during working hours. raking up thousands of steps during the workday feels a bit like cheating, but if it works to strengthen the back and make me healthier, i’m all for it.

– while looking for stuff to draw, came up with an idea of drawing this day in (our) history. so everyday i go through our photos and draw something we photographed on this day, in previous years — an haphazard diary of sorts. it’s surprisingly soothing, and also nice to have an excuse to look back and remember.

– 25th of april, always!

just life weeknotes

weeknotes, 15/21

– this week was just… ugh. being away is amazing, but coming back to work after a few days away feels like being slammed by an avalanche. it’s relentless and overwhelming, and it takes days to catch up.

– on better news, my air plant is blooming! i got it from a friend’s mom, and it has been hanging in our olive tree ever since it got here last summer, looking half-dead. we just let it be, and now there’s pink flowers in it, whoa!

– following our detour into the chinese supermarket last week, i cooked my first gong bao chicken. omg, it was amazing!! :D i feel like i performed some sort of sorcery involving a dozen ingredients that somehow leveled up my powers!

– i finished listening to the artist’s way. i’ve been writing morning pages on and off for years, so it feels good to finally read the book that started this idea of stream of consciousness writing as a sort of rambling meditation, of getting rid of the thoughts that just clutter the mind.

just life

weeknotes 13/21

nice things this week:

– sending folares to family and seeing everyone else at the post office looking for boxes to do the same! my family was never really big on the traditional easter sweet bread, but the one from olhão is so good that we just feel compelled to share.

– this stop motion lego chocolate cake!

– watched beau miles’s long walk to work, and pondered about all the adventures we could do more locally. restrictions are lifting a little bit next week, and i look forward to hiking again.

– mike lowery drawing prompts & james richards urban sketching class have kept me entertained this week. i’ve also been listening to julia cameron’s the artist’s way and dutifully filling up my morning pages. i’m not much of an artist, but i still like the meditative aspect of it, and the really looking closely and paying attention. we’ll see what happens!

– for the past 2 days, we’ve woken up extra early and walked to the ria to watch the sunrise. only us and the birds are awake, and it’s kind of magical.

just life one second everyday

march 2021 — one second everyday

spring flowers, bread-making experiments, walking and cycling around the ria, birdwatching and zooming with friends. looking forward to the lifting of some of the lockdown restrictions, to seeing people in real life and to long hikes! :D

Post author By ana
Post date April 2, 2021
2 Comments on march 2021 — one second everyday

algarving just life

weeknotes, 12/21

– seeing the in-laws get the first dose of the vaccine, at last! they’re in their 80s, and it feels like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders, like a cloud that had been there for a whole year slowly dissipating. there’s nothing like this overwhelming feeling of relief, of knowing your family will be ok.

– i’ve been trying to eat a bit better this year, and i’m now at my lowest weight in… 10 years? seems a bit implausible, but i guess the scale doesn’t lie. eating mostly keto + not going out seem to have done more in 3 months than all my half-assed diets in previous years. i still have some kilos to go, but feeling pretty pleased with myself already. :)

– saw our first western yellow wagtail and also an iberian green woodpecker!

– the fields all around us smell like orange blossom and it’s just so dreamy.